My experience in Bulgaria was only 2 weeks long. I loved it. I have many friends there from working on the ships. I went to Macedonia from here too. More about this below.

As my friends live in Varna, this is where I headed. I got the bus from Sofia to Varna. Got a night bus. Get your ticket early in the day, you don’t want to be stuck up the back. I think it was about 22 BL to get there. Cheap. Buses to Varna leave from the main terminal. I went with ETAP.

I also got the bus to Skopje. The taxi stand in the aiport will try to tell you that the buses aren’t running purely to get you to get a cab to the border. DON”T. Just get the cab to the bus station and you will find the busses are running. Think I paid around $18 return to Skopje. Around 5 hours I think. after you have got your ticket in the main bus station you have to go over to the other bus station across the way.

Don’t change money in the aiport for leva. RIP OFF
The casino across from the bus station has an ok rate and I liked playing there too.

The bus station has reasonably priced snacks and drinks. I didn’t stay in Sofia, just used it as a base for getting my transport.
My experience in this country has inspired me to want to return and explore some other places this great country has to offer.