Conveniently situated in the southeastern part of Europe, Bulgaria occupies the whole eastern portion of the Balkan chain of wooded mountains. Bordering the Republic of Bulgaria are Greece on the south, Turkey’s European area on the southeast, the Black Sea on the east, Romania on the north, and the republics of Macedonia and Yugoslavia on the west. Such strategic geographical location and mapping make Bulgaria easily accessible to tourists and travelers who want to check out this country of mountains and hilly plains.
Bulgaria has functioned since olden times as a major intersecting point between Asia, Africa and Europe. It is easy for Europeans to go on a cross-country tour in Bulgaria as five out of the ten Trans-
European transport passageways run across the Bulgarian territory. Just like most European countries and other regions in the west, Bulgaria can be reached by tourists through the various means of transport that suit their purposes and needs in terms of reference points, time or budget.
By Air
Air transportation in Bulgaria has developed fairly tremendously in Bulgaria. The republic has five official airports that cater to international airlines and visitors, namely the airports of Sofia, Varna, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Burgas, and Plovdiv. The Sofia Airport, also commonly known as Vrazhdebna after the village located north of the city, is the chief airport in Bulgaria’s capital city, Sophia. With its secondary terminal recently completed in 2006, Sofia Airport reported around 2.7 million airbus passengers in 2007 and 3.23 million in 2008. Terminal 1 of the Sofia Airport is well known to inbound/outbound passengers in Sofia while Terminal 2 was unveiled in 2006 with the arrival of Bulgaria Air flight from Brussels. Other airlines passing through the Sofia Airport include El Al with travels to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, Czech Airlines from Prague, and LOT from Warsaw, Poland. The Varna International Airport, which is situated at the maritime capital of Bulgaria has reported more than 1.5 million passengers and 15,129 aircraft travels in 2008. The Burgas International Airport, also called Sarafovo, reported 1,936,853 airbus passengers in 2008 and recorded 16,962 aircraft travels. Some of the international airlines that pass through the Burgas Airport include Air Finland which travels to and from Helsinki and other Finnish cities, Germanwings with seasonal travels to and from Berlin, and the Norwegian Air Shuttle with travels to and from Oslo, Norway.
Such foreign airline companies and most of the private Bulgarian airlines link the Republic of Bulgaria to other countries in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa, giving tourists from around the world easy access to this unique European country.
By Train
Since most of the major European railway routes run through Bulgaria, add to that the international trains connecting Sofia, Bulgaria to most of the European city capitals and other settlements, access to this republic is simple and easy.
By Car
Another mode of transport that provides tourists easy access to the republic of Bulgaria is through road vehicles. Not only is the republic accessible through its many state line checkpoints but it also permits foreign driving licenses within the Bulgarian territory, as long as foreign drivers follow the speed limit implemented within the country.
