The Epic 7 Days Bulgaria Itinerary: Culture, Hiking & Food

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Bulgaria? But why?

This was one of the most underrated countries that I visited in the EU.

I was on a trip to Turkey and to break up the overwhelming chaos of Istanbul, I decided I’ll spend 7 to 10 days in Bulgaria.

If you’re ever in Greece or Turkey and want to visit an underrated gem, you’ve to travel to Bulgaria.

Interestingly, the country is surrounded by mountains with numerous spa resorts and the most up and coming digital nomad town: Bansko.

Here’s my best Bulgaria itinerary you can cover in 7 days / one week.

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What You Should Know About Bulgaria

here’s my complete bulgaria itinerary that can be done in 7 days

  • Get your e-sim card online here which covers most common providers (A1, Yettel, or Vivacom)

  • To get from the airport to the city, take the metro to Serdika. It was the most safest and easiest way to get to the city. Have a lot of luggage? Take this private transfer.

  • The best way to see the mountains here is join some of these epic tours which I did: Rila mountains or Rila Mountains with Monastery

  • Public transport is not the best. Most people rent a car here if you’re heading to Rhodope mountains or Bansko. But you make your bus bookings here.

  • Taxi apps like TaxiMe and Yellow Taxi work in cities like Sofia and Plovdiv

  • People are not the friendliest especially in Sofia and they’re reserved, blunt and sometimes rude! But in the mountains, they’re super nice especially when staying with the local families.

  • Safety: I found it generally very safe for solo women but in the morning and night you might want to keep an eye out and avoid quiet streets

Where to stay in Sofia, Bulgaria?

a view of some of the scenic parks in sofia, bulgaria

I would recommend staying in the areas around the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, the area near the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, or Vitosha Boulevard and the streets around the National Palace of Culture (NDK).

The area I stayed in was called Tsar Simeon street closest to all the cute cafes and happenings near Orthodox temple of Saint Paraskeva.

Here are some recommended stays:

The 7 Days Bulgaria Itinerary

Day 1-2: Sofia

downtown sofia, bulgaria

On the surface, Sofia may look like another “boring” city with a mix of grey Soviet-era blocks compared to its flashy European capitals.

But I was wrong, there were so many festivals happening at the same time.

Sure, the city may feel a bit dated and the locals can seem reserved at first, but I stumbled upon hidden gems and meaningful conversations in its artisan streets and charming spots like the Mahala independent store.

I would recommend checking out places like this IG handle called @experience.sofia to have a pulse on what to do before you get here. They have a range of festivals happening all the time from summer festivals, to book fests and a Mish Mash fest featuring creative workshops.

the stunning Alexander Nevsky Cathedral when lit up at night

If you’re there for 2 days, the best thing to do is start by visiting Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and there’s a beautiful city garden next to it. Spend some time visiting the The Red Flat - Everyday Life in Communist Bulgaria museum. It is an apartment preserved from the period that tells the story of a family, through guided audio, during the communist regime.

For a local feast stop by Izabata Tavern and try out their chicken kavarma and homemade purlenka and for good coffee and pastries, try Flow coffee & pastry. For Italian homemade goodness, try Pastrorant.

In the evening head to Borisova Gradina Park to see their rose garden and have a view of the mountain range in Sofia.

Day 3: Day trip to Rila Lakes

gorgeous rila lakes

How often do you get to see seven lakes with gorgeous views of the Rila mountains? This was by far one of the most memorable experience for me in Bulgaria.

There are two options to go with the tour: the full day hiking tour or hiking tour with the monastery. The full day hiking tour has a self-guided option or guided — depending on your experience you can choose the one that’s suited for you.

It’ll be a long day if you do the monastery option so I opted for the first one so I could have as much time to hike all the seven lakes.

It took about 1.5 hour to get to the cable car station and from there it is about 25BGN (13 euros) return ticket for adults.

The lakes are accessible between June and October and sometimes in late May and early November if the weather is good. You’ll be able to reach the top of the lake which is about 2,500 metres. It takes about 3-4 hours to complete it.

Day 4-6: Bansko

a view of vihren peak

This is the day where you will head to the foothills of the Pirin Mountains and towards Bansko.

If you love cobble streets, having access to hot springs and spa and being able to climb one of the tallest peaks Vihren peak, Bansko is the perfect place to spend 2-3 days here.

I would recommend booking a bus here from Sofia to Bansko (there are often two timings 8.30am and 11.25am).

Your first day in Bansko you absolutely should visit the Thermal Mineral Pool "Izgreva" with three different temperature pools. Some of the best restaurants in Bansko town are The House and Baryakova Tavern.

For the best pastries, visit The French Guy Café-Microbakery.

enroute to climb the mountain

wild antelope goats on my way up to vihren peak

The next day prepare yourself to hike Vihren Peak, the highest peak in the Pirin Mountains range at 2,914 metres. You can get the full trail access here from AllTrails.

Your guesthouse owner will be able to arrange a taxi for you in the morning that will take you to the starting point. I didn’t wait for the 8.30am shuttle bus as it would take too long and you’d want to start as early as possible by 7am.

Hiking Vihren mountain can be tricky — I would recommend going up the same way and coming down the same way instead of the whole loop. It was one of the best solo treks I did — it would be best to keep an eye out on the weather as it can be pretty sketchy up there once the fog rolls in.

Where to stay in Bansko?

Day 6-7: Plovdiv

the kapana district in plovdiv

I contemplated visiting Plovdiv but after some mountains, I was ready for some cafe scene and seeing different side of Bulgaria.

Known as the second-largest city, it is also known as European’s Capital of Culture. The city is super old almost 6,000 years old but there’s so much happening from roman ruins, to revival-era houses, and and a hip art scene.

From Bansko, you can easily book a bus from here — there’s only one bus that leaves at 6.54am and takes you to Plovdiv in 3.5 hours.

walking up during sunset to youth hill

Just like how Rome is, Plovdiv is built on seven hills where you can hike up to Nebet Tepe or Youth Hill for sunset views of the city.

The first thing you should do is explore Plovdiv Old Town, see the Balabanov House, and antique merchant mansions and tour the Roman Theatre and Roman Stadium.

After that head to Kapana district for discovering the best streel murals, cafes and bar scene. I absolutely loved it here and it brought back a very lively atmosphere that uniquely European!

Their “Tsar Simeon Garden” Park is amazingly well kept with singing fountains and gorgeous flowers.

Other day trips from Plovdiv:

Where to stay in Plovdiv?

From Plovdiv, you can also make your way to Istanbul like what I did. I booked my bus here.

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