based on 36 experiences from female travelers
Overall, the city is beautiful and has so many gorgeous buildings with clearly different influences from history. Sofia feels very lived in, but overall it’s a chaotic place in my opinion. It’s a very walkable city with lovely public parks and green spaces to chill. We were really lucky with the weather and had a lovely time walking around. We stayed near Serdica metro, which was very convenient. However, at night time we felt a bit unsafe as there were a lot of people drinking on the street and being rowdy together. I also spent some time on my own and was followed from a cafe all the way to the Main shopping street by a man. That was very scary, and in broad daylight where nobody intervened as he was saying things to me. We visited some museums - the National Gallery which had a beautiful host of Bulgarian painters, as well as French and a (slightly misleading) Picasso exhibition. We also went to the museum of natural history which was charming, but mostly for kids and a little stuck in the 90s aesthetic wise. I also did the free Balkan Bites tour, it was so fun and my tour guide was really knowledgable. We got to try local cuisine, fusion items, and some Bulgarian wine. You are expected to tip though! Food wise: I highly recommend Kuzina for Greek food, Mezza for Turkish and Middle Eastern food, and I do not recommend Happy as my chicken was bright pink even after I send it back to be recooked.
Posted: June 20, 2025Experienced: June, 2025Even though a few streets seemed sketchy literally nothing happened, the transportation was extremely well organized and not too overcrowded, plus even when it was nobody pushed personal boundaries. I stayed in an apparent next to the biggest square and it was amazing
Posted: May 12, 2025I felt safe, but I did not do a lot of things. I met cool people and tried some bars and a flea market. The problem was also the friends I visited on my stay, who did not make it easy. Overall I would recommend
Posted: May 12, 2025Experienced: May, 2025I stayed in a hotel in varna and it was kinda interesting. Weather was nice and also the people were kind but I missed the feeling of really getting to know the other culture. I hoped to get some more interesting activities. But Bulgaria is beautiful I just would recommend to inform yourselfs better
Posted: April 11, 2025Alina
Ukraine
Overall I felt quite safe because I was with my mom and her friends. Some people are a bit unpleasant towards tourists, but I've only seen this in small resort towns. We didn't try local food because it was too expensive in restaurants. Prices in supermarkets are average, about the same as in other European countries, but higher than here in Ukraine. I was surprised by the cost of public transport. On average, the price was no less than $1.5 per trip, while in Ukraine it is about $0.4. I would recommend visiting Burgas and Nessebar, those are very nice towns.
Posted: April 7, 2025Experienced: April, 2024Hi, in January 2025 I was in Sofia gor two days with a friend. We slept at a host place an it was really nice! We loved the city! With a free walking tour we learned a lot about the history and the main places of the city. The other day we went to the big mountain and walked trough the snow. The public transportation was really cheap. It was a nice trip! :)
Posted: March 12, 2025Based on 85 local experiences
Based on 85 local experiences
I feel safe in my city, especially in my neighborhood. In the center there are some weird people but nothing has ever happened to me or my friends. Tourist spots aren't very crowded. Main streets are well lit. But there are a lot of stray dogs.
Posted: July 3, 2025Bulgaria is known to be a safe country although people tend to be low-minded. Being different in some way may cause issues with the locals due to the lack of open-minded people. Unlike, young people seem to be extremely open and laid back.
Posted: July 1, 2025