Lonely Planet Bulgaria (Country Guide) [Paperback]

Richard Watkins (Author), Tom Masters (Author)

Book Description

Series: Country Guide | Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Lounge on sandy Black Sea beaches, hike in the spectacular Rila Mountains and soak up Bulgaria’s fascinating history in frescoed monasteries and Roman ruins. Whether you’re in search of cultural riches or outdoor pursuits, this bestselling guide will inspire you to uncover all the delights of Bulgaria.

Immerse Yourself – our discerning cultural coverage includes folk festivals, lovingly restored national revival architecture and Byzantine ruins

Find Adventure – our dedicated Great Outdoors chapter describes some of Europe’s best budget ski runs and where to see brown bears, wolves and over 400 species of birds

Drink Up with information on where to find the best Bulgarian wines

Get Around – over 30 detailed maps include Cyrillic for easy navigation

Sleep Tight in family guesthouses and mountain huts – reviews to suit every taste and budget

Editorial Reviews

Review

Lonely Planet guides are a must-pack” --Toronto Star, February 2006

From the Publisher

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travelers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travelers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
*We update our guidebooks by visiting thousands of places in person to get the details right and tell it as it is.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travelers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travelers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 2nd edition (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740595300
• ISBN-13: 978-1740595308
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Travel > Europe > Bulgaria

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor research and lack of facts, June 16, 2010

By 

Rossitza Ohrdiska-Olson "Travelng Frog" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet Bulgaria (Country Travel Guide) (Paperback)

If you need a guidebook to visit Bulgaria, this is not the book you should buy. Major mistakes in history, cities descriptions and biased commentaries make this guide useless for people who travel the first time to the country. Travelers will learn that there is an impressive Roman castle in Vidin, or search for prehistoric constructions around the Belogradchik rocks. Tough task, since the Vidin Castle is Medieval and the Belogradchick rocks don't have any prehistoric construction preserved. You will learn that by October all Black Sea resorts have closed, which is totally false. There are endless possibilities to stay on the Black Sea coast during October, for less money and huge discounts, and many of the hotels (all 4 and 5 star hotels, for example) are open year around. In Nessebar, UNESCO World Heritage Site, you will search for Roman ruins (again, is everything that Lonely Planet see in Bulgaria "Roman"?), where surrounded by Byzantine Churches and medieval Revival architecture.

Biased and false commentaries such as "youthful maritime cockiness of Varna" are abundant. (Varna is one of the most elegant cities on the Black Sea Coast, often compared to Barcelona or Lisbon, plus it hosts the oldest gold of the world, recently exhibited in NYC. There is nothing "cocky" about the city - an adjective better used for Burgas, for example).

The examples of lack of accuracy are endless. My advice: go with Eyewithness Guide or any other guidebook.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guide, November 8, 2009

By 

Douglas Van Vlear (San Francisco, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lonely Planet Bulgaria (Country Travel Guide) (Paperback)

I spent 2 weeks driving around Bulgaria in October 2009. I used this guide exclusively for accomodations and frequently for restaurants. I found it accurate and discerning. It led us to a number of unique and excellent hotels and with no losers. The restaurants it recommended were good choices. The description of the Bulgarian cities, travel sites, and history was good, helpful, and accurate. A good buy all around. Doug Van Vlear

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 28, 2010

By 

Shoshana Battat (Israel) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lonely Planet Bulgaria (Country Travel Guide) (Paperback)

As a very old timer with Lonely Planet Guidebooks, I have observed a turn in them from "survival guides" to more general to almost vague guides. It is not clear to whom these guides are intended. This one although recently updated lacks much basic information about places, times, prices etc. As was written by a former reviewer:" If you need a guidebook to visit Bulgaria, this is not the book you should buy". We recently returned from an 8 day trek in the mountain areas covering the Rila, Pirin and Rhodopi ranges. Many of the places we visited are not mentioned at all in the guide and those that are have very limited discriptions.
I reccomend trying the Rough Guide.