Today was a travel day for me. I am leaving Bulgaria tomorrow and needed to situate myself closer to the airport. In order to do this, I had to take two buses to reach the coastal city of Varna. After my arrival and a horrendous bag drag to get to my hotel, I went for a walk-a-bout town. Here are my first impressions of Varna Bulgaria.
The Buses
Lets start off with the buses to get here. Not Bulgaria’s strong suit. My first leg was from Nessebar to Sunny Beach bus station. Trying to find any type of schedule online is a shot in the dark at best as far as accuracy. What I ended up doing, was leaving my flat early in the morning, going to the bus stop and just waiting for the next one to come along. Fortunately, it wasn’t too long.
At Sunny Beach station, I was able to purchase a ticket to Varna for 15 LEV ($11.30 CAD). Again, with no previous info to go on, I just waited for the next bus. It seems like there are multiple private companies servicing the country and no state run bus system. Some companies have minimal English on their websites, some none. I ended up on a short bus, 28 seats, in the back row. The ride was 2 hours and let me tell you, my teeth were rattling by the time I disembarked on a random street in Varna. It was that bumpy.
I used google maps to get off the bus as close to my hotel as possible. It meant a bag drag of 20 minutes through the not so great part of town on rough terrain. Sidewalks here are pretty bad. My hands were raw when I arrived at my hotel.
Anyways, I made it, that’s what matters. 😊
Varna!
After dropping my bag, I headed out towards the ‘old’ part of town. Wow, totally impressed! This city is cool! It reminds me of all the best parts of Plovdiv but on the coast, like literally it has a big beautiful beach!
Pedestrian Area
I ended up inside a massive pedestrian only area, I could have wandered here for hours. So many beautiful buildings and great people watching!
Really hungry, and mostly thirsty, I saw a Starbucks and caved. The thought of ice-cold coffee and a snack called my name soooo loud. Man, it was farking delicious. Never had a caprese sammy warmed up before, but wow, this just knocked my socks off.
Beach
I needed to see what the beach was all about, so after my snack and people watching fix, I headed towards the sea. Wow, again, this town is so impressive. There is indeed a huge beach! With a pool, diving centre, water slides, aquarium, and hoppin beach bars.
Right behind the beach is a gorgeous and huge public garden full of shade and interesting vignettes. There is no doubt in my mind, I will return to Varna one day. I must stay in this city for a month or more, so see what it is really about. My interest has been peaked and I would definitely recommend it to fellow travellers. Good vibes, young people, street art, beautiful architecture, beach, green spaces, you name it, Varna Bulgaria has it.
