Driving in Bulgaria is challenging because the Bulgarian road network is largely under-developed. There are few sections of limited-access divided highway. Some roads are in poor repair and full of potholes. Rockslides and landslides may be encountered on roads in mountainous areas. Travel conditions in Bulgaria deteriorate during the winter as roads become icy and potholes proliferate. Aggressive driving habits, the lack of safe infrastructure, and a mixture of older cars on the country’s highways contribute to a high fatality rate for road accidents. Heavy traffic conditions have also led to a significant increase in ‘road-rage’ incidents. Finally, horse-drawn carts, motorcycles and scooters can sometimes be found on major roads and travel at night without lights. You need to be very alert when driving at night.

City Driving

• Roads are of a fair quality in the cities

• There is always heavy truck traffic along the two-lane routes from the Greek border at Kulata to Sofia and form the Turkish border at Kapitan Andreevo to Plovdiv

• You should expect long delays at border crossings

Country Driving

• Roads can be poor in rural areas

• Beware of frequent rock and landslides in the mountains and livestock and animal drawn carts constantly present hazards on the roads