Is Bulgaria safe to travel?

Bag-snatching and theft of money and documents still hit foreigners, tourists above all, mostly in Sofia and along the coast in summer. Keep away from areas where demonstrations are happening and follow what local authorities say.

Park where the vehicle is visible or in a paid space, checking the tariff first, particularly if your accommodation has no guarded area of its own. Leave no documents, keys or valuables inside: criminal groups with strong links abroad are still active in the country, mainly in drug trafficking.

Do not take on long journeys outside towns in the evening or at night, especially in an expensive vehicle or one with foreign plates. Outside the big cities and main tourist centres, few people speak a widely used foreign language, so travelling alone in your own vehicle calls for extra care.

Do not stop for anyone who is not in uniform or whose car carries no clearly recognisable police markings. When a genuine patrol stops you, stay calm, stay in the vehicle unless the situation demands otherwise and hand over only the documents needed for the check. If you are fined, ask for a receipt and note the number plate of the police car.

There is a fire risk in mountain and open country areas, and flooding is possible, mainly but not only on the Black Sea coast and near watercourses. Some areas in the north-west are rated as seismic, though recent tremors have caused no significant damage.