Frequently Asked Questions

• MONEY RELATED
• GENERAL ABOUT BULGARIA
• ABOUT SOFIA
• ABOUT HOSTEL MOSTEL
• BULGARIAN PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

MONEY RELATED

Q: Can I use my credit card when in Bulgaria?

A: In the bigger towns you can use your card but still in the larger shops mainly. All the major shops and petrol stations will accept cards, but in general other transactions are carried out in cash.

Q: What is the currency in Bulgaria

A: The unit of currency in Bulgaria is called Lev (BGN), divided into 100 Stotinki. The nominals are: Coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 stotinki & 1 Lev; Banknotes: 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 BGN

Q: Is the Euro accepted in Bulgaria or is it best to stick to the Lev?

A: Just change your Euros in Levs because you can not pay with Euro in shops, restaurants, markets, stations, etc. There are lots of money exchange offices in cities and resorts.

Q. What is the exchange rate for 1 Euro?

A. Bulgarian Lev is fixed to the Euro, exchange rate is 1 Euro = 1.96 Leva and it doesn’t change. To convert any world currencies you can use an online currency converter: http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Q. Where can I exchange my money?

A. We recommend you to use the banks. Any bank. There are lots of small private exchange offices as well. Some of them are good, some will rip you off badly. So be careful with them.

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GENERAL ABOUT BULGARIA

Q. What is must to see and do in Bulgaria?

A. Bulgaria is small, yet very diverse country.
Our advices you can find at: http://www.hostelmostel.com/bulgaria

Q. What is the Bulgarian alphabet like?

A. Bulgarian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet. Almost similar to the Russian.
Click Here to see and print Roman / Cyrillic conversion table

Q. How are Bulgarian letters pronounced?

A. Click Here to see and print Bulgarian alphabet pronunciation guide.

Q: What are the bigest religions in Bulgaria?

A: Official religion is Eastern Orthodox. The Bulgarian Church is autonomous and headed by a Patriarch
Allocation of relligions: Eastern Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1.6% (1998)

Q: What is International dialing code for Bulgaria?

A: International dialing code to call to Bulgaria is +359; the Sofia city code is 2, Plovdiv is 32 when dialled from abroad.
Dialed from Bulgaria the city codes all acquire 0 in front: Sofia 02, Plovdiv 032, etc

Q. Is English language spoken and understood in Bulgaria?

A. You can expect young people in the bigger towns to speak English but not in the smaller cities and villages.
You can also find elder people speaking bits of French, German or Russian.

Q: What kind of prepaid GSM SIM-cards there are in Bulgaria?

A: There are 3 GSM operators in Bulgaria that sell pripaid SIM cards:
– GSM opertor MTel – pripaid card name Prima (for more info: www.mtel.bg)
– GSM operator Globul – pripaid card B-Connect (for more info: www.globul.bg).
– GSM operator Vivatel – pripaid card VivaTel 4 play and Every day (for more info: www.vivatel.bg )

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ABOUT SOFIA

Q. What is must to see and do in Sofia?

A. Our advices you can find at: What to do in Sofia

Q. How safe is Sofia as a city?

A. All travelling carries with it certain amount of risk, Sofia however is still one of the safest places you can go to.

Q. What are the common dangers and annoyances in Sofia?

A. Watch out for pickpockets – usually well dressed women and kids working in team. They are trying to distract you and this is when your belongings are flying away.
Be careful with the taxies. You shouldn’t pay more than 5 leva from the main bus/train station in Sofia to the city center and more than 12 leva from the airport. (Correct as of 2007)
Porters at the main railway station sometimes are trying to grab your luggage and make you a "favor" to carry it for you around the train station. At the end they will ask you for money. There is no reason you should pay them ANYTHING above you think their service was worth. One euro or two is a decent payment if you are happy with what they did for you.

Q. How do I get around the city?

A. The city is small and compact, and most visitors never need step on a bus. Everything is within an easy walking distance – especially as Hostel Mostel is so centrally located.

Q. What time do the pubs and clubs shut?

A. Pubs and clubs can be open whatever hours suit them. Most will regularly stay open until 3am or later.

Q. What’s the weather like?

A. See it for yourself: Check the Sofia weather forecast, so you know what to pack: http://weather.digsys.bg/c/index.pl%3Fplace=15&action=real&lang=_eng.html

Q. Where can I find a detailed map of Sofia?

A. An excellent interactive map of Sofia and few other cities in Bulgaria you can find on http://www.bgmaps.com/en/map/sofia

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ABOUT HOSTEL MOSTEL

Q. How late can I come back to the hostel?

A. We have an electronic access system so you can come and go as you please 24 hours a day. We only ask when you are coming back late at night to respect our neighbours & fellow guests and keep the noise down.

Q. Where can I find banks and ATMs?

A. You can hardly walk for more than 5 minutes in any direction without seeing a bank or an ATM.

Q. Is there an age limit at Hostel Mostel?

A. If you’re young at heart there’s a warm welcome for you in every youth hostel.

Q. What time do I have to check out?

A. We don’t have a check out time.
However we will ask that you make your bed available for newly arriving travellers by 11:00AM. After that you are welcome to stay with us and to use the facilities until the departure time of your transportation.

Q. Let see if I understand this – Free as-much-as–you–can–eat breakfast, Free beer and a portion of spaghetti, Free Internet and WiFi connections, no specific check in and check out times and only 10 euros a night. (Correct as of  2007). Where’s the catch?

A. There is no catch. We are just trying to provide more for less.

Q. I am arriving late. Is this a problem?

A.It is not a problem at all! Our reception is open 24-hours a day. Of course if you would like to remind us that your still coming, our reception and reservations team would love to say hello and mark you down as definitely "arriving" on our lists.

Q. Where can I leave my things?

A. Every room has lockers for your personal belongings. On check out you’ll be able to leave your bags at the hostel kept in a secure room for the whole day!

Q. Can I park my bycicle or motorcycle outside the hostel?

A. Yes, it is not a problem at all.

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BULGARIAN PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Latin – Roman to Cyrillic alphabet online text converter, translation, search engine
http://www.2cyr.com

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