We had someone write about Belogradchik, Bulgaria, a town that has a fortress and unique rock formations that is also close to a cave system and other historic areas - you can see the article here at TheSavvyExplorer.com.

Thanks for the link. Those guides offer a lot more than I've been able to find with the usual suspects (LP, Frommers, RG, etc.), most of which don't even have Albania or Macedonia publications.

Any recent updates to this thread? I'm particularly interested in Hilton hotel experience and things to do in Sofia.

Thanks

The Hilton hotel is located near the Sofia City Center Mall. Right now there is a lot of construction in this area because they are extending the metro line.

I've been living in Sofia for 2.5 years now. I do not live far from the Hilton.

The traffic here is absolutely horrendous and the drivers seem to make up their traffic laws as they go. It took me 1 month to get up the courage to drive here and I am not a person who is afraid of much. The roads are full of potholes. Parking is a nightmare and people park on the sidewalks. The air polllution has gotten real bad because of all the traffic and ancient cars here, so if you are sensitive to bad air quality be forewarned.

I never experienced Sofia as a tourist, only as an expat.

Wine is good and inexpensive here. So is the locally grown produce.

How many nights should I stay in Sofia? I'm thinking of heading over in mid-December, and definitely want to visit Rila Monastery. Would 3 nights be a little rushed?

You only need one day to experience Rila Monastery. I see no problem with three days. For the Rila Monastery leave in the morning and come back at night. The trip takes no more than two hours each way. I would only be worried if it is snowing with 2'+ on the ground...in that case stay in Sofia. The only problem with snow is that it takes about a day to clean the secondary roads if it snows continuously. I've been there two times but that was more than 10 years ago.

Snow removal in Sofia (and other parts of Bulgaria) is extremely poor. Typically they don't do any road clearing of snow unless there is more than 10 inches on the ground. They may sand and then everything becomes a huge mess ( a bigger mess than it already is). But if you are not driving, then you won't have to worry about dealing with the mess (your taxi or bus driver will). It doesn't snow that much in December - usually Jan and Feb are the months for snow. But it may rain in December.

Walking here in the winter is always a challenge. Since they don't plow often, and people park their cars on the sidewalks all over the city and there is never enough parking, so you have to walk in the street and compete with the cars. Recently they have made an effort to paint the crosswalks with red and white stripes. In my opinion, this seems to do nothing except make the pedestrians a more visible and possibly concentrated target.

Thanks for your input! Looking forward to making my travel plans!

You can see Rila Monastery in a day trip, or you may even sleep there. I'd suggest not to rely on public transport, better take a tour. There are a lot of places for hiking in the mountains, but December is not the time for this.
The roads are best avoided if it has just snowed, but it does not happen too often in December.
I am a Bulgarian and may help with info, but have in mind I don't live there now (just visit once or twice per year).

You are correct as to the 20/7 traffic backups and the new metro digs and the shuts=down of the road to/from the airport. Also add the sidewalks are probably the most broken and crumbling of any city north of Bogota. I did ride the buses and they are crowded but are cheap but confusing. The taxis are unbelievably cheap but ripoffs can occur. I only use the ones outside the major hotels but did much walking as the city center is not too big.

MisterNice

Resurrecting this thread again. We have two nights in Sofia in late April and will welcome any particular places that we should visit. So really one full day. We'll be staying at the Hilton.

We plan to take the Metro from airport to European Union station. We arrive at terminal 2. Does this sound reasonable? Do I need to get a Sofia Smart Card and load with money or can I directly use my debit card (as in London, Singapore)? Preloading a card must mean I need to estimate how much I will use.

From Sofia we plan to take a bus to Skjope. I need to check details of the bus. I believe Matpu have a service around 9am. Not sure where to buy a ticket from yet.

Any advice is welcome.

Another attempt at reviving this thread...

I'm only staying 24h on a MR side trip from ATH on A3 (dragging the family so everyone is finally *G). Staying at the Hilton.

Should I bring EUR cash and change small amounts (for taxis, metro) or can I get away with EUR and cards? Should I take taxi or metro between airport and the Hilton (there are 3 of us)?

Thanks

You can use card on the metro and I'm sure taxi drivers will take euros at 1 to 2

When I stayed at the Hilton some years ago they were willing to convert euro notes to lev at 1.95583, but not sure if they will still do it today

You can get by with card only. Sofia public transport (both the metro, as well as buses) is now contactless as well - just tap your card to ride! (turnstiles at metro stations, payment/card reader devices in bus). Most restaurants and shops will accept card payments as well - but just to be sure ask in advance if card payments are possible, as some smaller shops/restaurants might still accept only cash.

As for taxis, I really wouldn't recommend paying in euro. Why would a cabbie give you a honest market rate without a mark-up, if he needs to make the extra effort to get to an exchange office afterwards? You will for sure pay more than when you pay in Bulgarian leva. And that's not even taken into account that by asking if it's OK to pay in euro (which you have to do in advance, of course) you are giving yourself away as a tourist without any local knowledge - increasing the chances of being ripped off if you happen to encounter a dishonest taxi driver.

I'd still always suggest to carry at least a bit of the local currency in case you want to buy something small. Whether or not it's easier for you to take euros cash and change it locally, or just withdraw some Bulgarian leva from an ATM, depends on whether or not you are charged heavily for foreign card withdrawals (if based in Switzerland and using a Swiss card, I'd assume it's just as easy to just withdraw cash from an ATM - it's what I always do when travelling around Europe).