Keep in mind that your bank/credit institution may be at liberty to charge you a transaction fee for ATM withdrawals abroad. For more information, please contact your financial institution. To obtain cash from your credit/debit card at an ATM, you will need to use your four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN). If your PIN consists of more than four digits, or if you do not have a PIN yet, please contact your financial institution for advice.
There is an excellent collection of travel tips - including a list of possible scams - at "Round The World Travel Guide" http://www.travel-library.com/rtw/html/rtwsafetycoll.html. We highly recommend that you read and put into practice as many travel tips and pieces of advice as possible.
Disclaimer: This information is current as of June 2003. The PlovdivGuide declares that the information above is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, PlovdivGuide does not bear any responsibility for its accuracy. All trademarks mentioned above are the property of their respective owners.
Tourist facilities
Bulgaria is a moderately developed European nation, undergoing significant economic changes. Tourist facilities are widely available. Although not an “exclusive vacation spot”, sometimes your countries’ Bureaus of Consular Affairs draw a rather unfair picture of all the
Balkan nations.
As in every free-market country, Bulgaria's economic marketplace sets prices at affordable levels for the average Bulgarian wage-earner, about 205 USD per month. The urban elderly survive on monthly pensions of 50 USD. To the tourist, this means: The kids want pizza? Head for the nearest Verdi Pizza Place (ask to see their English menu) - a large pizza for three will cost the equivalent of about 4 USD - wash it down with a half-litre of Coca Cola for 0.80 USD (half a litre of beer is 0.60 USD). If you prefer a full dinner for the family - plan on 9-11 USD per person (including drinks) at most of the "very-good-quality" restaurants throughout the city.
A taxi ride almost anywhere in the city? Plan to spend no more than the equivalent of 4-5 USD. Taxis are painted yellow and always have a sign on top of the cars. If you phone-call for a taxi (you could easily spot the phone numbers of the different taxi-agencies written on the car-doors) there is always a discount. A helpful receptionist at the hotel you are staying at might always call for a taxi.
We might give you a good piece of advice – try to use a local tour-guide, a person of knowledge of the city and of course your language, and who could take you to all the key places to see and will make your visit truly unforgettable - instead of the do-it-yourself-method which will definitely deprive you of the pleasure to see the city or the country from a “local point of view”.
If your shoes wear out from walking through the Old Town, a new pair in your size in a quality leather shoe is no more than 20 – 30 USD. Avoid slick-soled shoes; the cobblestone streets can become very slippery.
You get the main idea - Plovdiv is an affordable vacation spot! Bring your camera and take plenty of photos. Enjoy yourself!
If you need any help – please do not hesitate to contact us! There are phone numbers you could find in the Contact Us section, or you could send us e-mail. If there is any additional information you require - read through our message forum by clicking this link. Often, some other website visitor has already asked a similar question and we have not yet updated this "tips" page. For that reason, we are preparing an FAQ list for this web site. You might also want to subscribe to our free Newsletter.
Electrical power (220 V.A.C., 50 Hz) is supplied through a 2-pin connecting plug which is similar to that used in most European countries but it is different from those used in the US, UK and Japan.
DHL, UPS or TNT are all reliable international express freight carriers in Bulgaria. DHL have an express centre inside The Plovdiv Fair administration building, and the main Plovdiv office at 9 Svoboda Boulevard. TNT’s office is also close to the Plovdiv Fair grounds, at 52 Tsar Boris III Obedinitel Blvd. The staffs are extremely courteous and speak good English.
Bulgaria abides by the East-European time, 2 hours ahead of universal GMT time (the time of Greenwich Observatory in Great Britain). Daylight saving time is used from 0 hours on the last Sunday of March, till 24 hours on the last Saturday of October.
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