• Book individual flights with easyjet - this means you can take your own luggage (20kgs max).
  

• Stock up on food at the Billa supermarket in Samokov on way through to Maritsa.

• M&S money offer competitive rates of exchange for Bulgarian Lev.

• You should expect to pay 10 lev (£4/5) for a pint of beer and a good meal.

• A cab from the Airport should cost no more than £30 (aggree a price with the driver before setting off)

• If using a hire car, then please remeber to drive with your lights on all the time as this is a legal requirment.

• BA from LHR terminal 5 to Sofia Airport terminal 2.

• Wizzair from Luton to Sofia Airport terminal 1 and Easyjet from Gatwick south to Sofia terminal 1.

• Supermarkets in Somokov, 17 Kms from Maritsa.

• Taxi from sofia approx 300 Leva, get from taxi desk in the airport.
  In the winter season if hiring a car ensure snow tyres are fitted or snow chains are supplied.
  

• Some garages don’t take credit cards so check first.

• If hiring a car from Sofia airport there are 2 routes to Maritsa. One which is the most direct but is slow due to the road conditions. This passes through Samokov and Borovets so you can visit the supermarkets en-route. The other is via the AI/E80 motorway which is slightly longer but quicker and better at night.

Additional usefull information

State system of Bulgaria: Parliamentary Republic

Capital: Sofia (1.2 mil. Inhabitants)

Official language: Bulgarian, alphabet – Cyrillic

Religion: Orthodox (85%), Muslim (8%), others (7%)

Time zone: GMT (London) + 2 hours, East-European time (Germany) + 1 hour

Climate: Continental to Mediterranean in the South parts of the country. Average temperatures during January vary from -2 to 2 degrees centigrade in the valleys to – 10 degrees centigrade in the mountains. Average temperatures for June vary from 19-25 degrees centigrade in the valleys to 10 degrees centigrade in the high mountains. Rainfalls are 450-600 mm in the valleys to 1300 mm in the mountains.

Electricity: 220 V, 50 Hz

Entrance in the country: Most of the foreign citizens entering Bulgaria don’t need visa but they must carry their valid international passport. The list of the countries which citizens need visa, when entering Bulgaria, can be found at www.mfe.government.bg

Custom’s formalities and limitations: Upon crossing the state border of the Republic of Bulgaria passengers may import and export duty free commodities that in type, quantities, and value are not of a commercial nature and personal belongings. Common custom declarations and restrictions are applied for import and export of currency, food, alcohol and goods. There is a special custom regime for antiquarian objects, historic and cultural treasures, medicines, narcotics, weapons, ammunitions.

Money exchange: The Bulgarian Lev is pegged to the Euro.1 EUR = 1.955 BGN.
You may exchange money in banks and in any of the numerous exchange offices. Some of those offices are opened during the holidays. Euro-checks may be cashed on a lot of banks.

Approximate Exchange Rates for 1 BGN as of Dec 2008.
1 USD 1.53 LEVA
1 EURO 1.96 LEVA
1 CHF 1.34 LEVA
1 GBP 2.86 LEVA

Credit cards: Most of the hotels work with VISA, Master Card or American Express.

Transportation: Roads - 37.3 thousand km.; railways - 6.5 thousand km. (65 % electrical). Sea ports – Varan and Burgas. Danube ports – Russe, Lom , Vidin, Silistra etc. International airports – Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas and Varna.

Taxi-cabs: In towns and resorts there are taxi-cabs situated in the respective taxi ranks. People can take a taxi by calling a taxi company or in the street.

Urban transport: In towns there is urban transport: buses and mini-buses. In Sofia there are trams, trolley buses and underground. Tickets are usually bought before getting on the vehicle.

Car rental : You can rent a car from international rent-a-car companies such as AVIS, Hertz, Budget , Eurocar, etc. Many of the hotels in Bulgaria offer this service through a licensed Bulgarian rent a car companies.

Post offices and telecommunication: Working time of post offices is from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Postage stamps and postcards may be bought from the desks in the post office or from pavilions selling newspapers. There are a lot of internet-cafes from which you may talk cheap or send e-mails (most of them work 24 hours).

Telephone: Local and international telephone services are covered through automatic street telephones operating with tokens and calling cards. Tokens for local calls (0.20 leva) and calling cards are available for purchase from any post office or places where newspapers are sold.

Important phone numbers:
Dialling code for Bulgaria from abroad +359
Fire-brigade 160
First aid 150
Police 166
Road assistance 146
Telephone information 144
Traffic police – car accidents +359 2/ 982 72 823, 866 50 60
WWW.Sofia-airport.bg for airport info.