Sofia for Digital Nomads

Sofia is the capital city of one of the cheapest countries in the EU. For anyone with an EU passport that makes it a very appealing destination. It's safe, has beautiful architecture, lots of green space and a mountain backdrop. So while you're in Europe, should you add Sofia to your itinerary?

No.

Why don't I like Sofia?

My first time in Sofia

It was late in the afternoon when my bus from Bucharest pulled-into Sofia. I took the MRT to my Airbnb, did a self check-in, put my bags down, got some food quickly, then went to a phone shop to buy a SIM card. This was at an A1 store, one of three main mobile networks in Bulgaria. It was right in the middle of the touristy city centre, visited by many people as soon as they arrive in Sofia to get connected.

I'd looked online the night prior and knew that a SIM card cost 15 lev, so when I was quoted 21 lev by the girl serving me, it was more than I'd been expecting but I'd been sat on a bus all day so couldn't be arsed to question it. She put my SIM and a little freebie phone stand into a bag and I went on my way.

It was only back at my room that I inspected the receipt to see that the SIM card had in fact only cost 15 lev. Without a word she'd charged me 6 lev for this shitty little phone stand that I didn't want or ask for.

What had been essentially the first person that I spoke to in Bulgaria had scammed me out of an insignificant amount of money, but scammed me all the same. And while I'd arrived in Bulgaria uncharacteristically optimistic about how much I was going to like it, this instead moved me to a place of wondering whether or not I could trust the locals.

You can't let the actions of one person determine your opinion of a city of well over a million, so I tried to put it out of my mind, but I found some of the local people here to be the most angry that I've encountered anywhere - just constantly in a bad mood and hating life, to the point that by the time I left Sofia I really didn't like it. It didn't really get any better after being scammed by the first person I met.

Why did I come back again?

I can count on one hand the places in the world that I don't like. So with so many places that I do, and so many others that I've never visited, you may be asking why I came back to Sofia for a second time.

Sofia is the capital city of one of the cheapest countries (along with Romania) in the EU. As an EU passport holder, that makes it very, very appealing as I can live here indefinitely and legally without any kind of visa. On top of that, with Greece to the south, North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north, it borders three countries that I really like.

I try to avoid flying wherever possible, and as I was in Macedonia travelling to Romania, well why not stop in Sofia for a couple of weeks on the way? It'll save me having to fly, and perhaps I was just unlucky my first time. Perhaps the people aren't all endlessly angry. Perhaps I just met the wrong ones.

My last time in Sofia

On this visit I bought an eSIM prior to crossing the border from Macedonia, which side-stepped having to deal directly with any mobile operators. Instead on my first full day here I went to the bus and train stations to figure-out my transport to Bucharest.

These were both the least foreigner-friendly transport terminals I've ever been to. Everything is written in Bulgarian only, which for terminals with international destinations seems a bit of an intentional inconvenience. While I was in the train station I decided to use the toilet.

I hadn't yet got any Bulgarian currency because you can pay for pretty much everything with card in Sofia. There was a barrier for the toilet, but it was open and there was no one there collecting money, so I figured it was fine to go in. Better than pissing on the floor.

I was only at the urinal for 30 seconds, but by the time I came out there was an overweight middle-aged woman sat at the desk, and she immediately started shouting in Bulgarian, motioning that I had to give some money. I tried to show her that I only had euros, and that just made her even more angry, and it turned-into full blown screaming in Bulgarian. All I'd done was take a piss.

I motioned to her that I'd change some euros and come back, then I legged-it.

A few minutes later I was at a ticket window buying a ticket to Bucharest. I asked to pay by card, and when I did I got a notification that the money had been taken from my UK bank account, but at the same time card reader died. Despite being able to show that the money had been taken from my account, and despite it obviously being an error with their card reader, the woman behind the glass was adamant that my card was the problem and that I could only pay with cash.

I was a bit annoyed that I could prove that the money had left my account and I was being asked to pay again, but even more so in paying by cash because that would involve the ATM fees of withdrawing with a foreign card, so when I protested, she too resorted to the Bulgarian default of just shouting in order to get her way.

Eventually I conceded and withdrew cash from the ATM - it was the only thing I paid for with cash the entire visit. The failed transaction later got reimbursed into my bank account. But on my first day back in Sofia, I'd had not one but two people shout at me for what seemed like completely innocuous reasons.

The first time that I'd been in Sofia, the closest thing I had to a regular vegan restaurant was a place called Edgy Veggie. According to Google Maps it opens at 11am, so the next day I went there at about 11:35am for lunch.

There were no other customers, but the door was open so I went in, but instead of being greeted as a customer, a middle-aged woman working there came out and said something in Bulgarian.

It's worth noting that this is a restaurant in the touristy centre of the city with English signs and an English menu - they're clearly trying to get foreigners to come in here. It's not like I was in a local restaurant on the outskirts of the city.

I obviously didn't understand what she said to me in Bulgarian, and her response to me asking if she spoke English, was again to just start shouting in Bulgarian. To this point I have no idea why or what about, but it was enough to make me leave the restaurant, and I didn't come back again, despite how much I'd liked it on my first visit.

I'd say that in a typical year, I'll have one or two negative interactions like this. It's very rare. I'm patient with people and I avoid conflict wherever I can, so it's very uncommon. And whereas outside Bulgaria, it happens once or twice per year, I'd been back in the country for less than 48 hours at this point, and I'd already been shouted at by three different people. For the three crimes of using the toilet, buying a train ticket, and going to a restaurant. For the remainder of my stay I interacted with local people no more than necessary.

When I eventually took the train to Bucharest I was in a berth with other foreigners, and as we talked it was apparent my experience was not an isolated one. Everyone else said the same thing - Bulgarians are just always angry. For whatever reason they hate life, and it makes Sofia a very unenjoyable place to visit.

If you look around you'll find some really impressive street art in Sofia.

Getting in and out of Sofia

Getting into Sofia is easy. If you arrive by air, line 4 of the metro goes to the airport, and if you arrive by bus or train, then a station for line 2 of the metro is right there, as well as trams and buses.

Leaving by air is equally easy, however I've never been to bus and train stations that are so foreigner-unfriendly. If you're leaving by bus or train and need to buy tickets in person, then good luck. Don't expect to find any signs in English, and don't expect any people to speak English.

How to pay for things in Sofia

Card payments, including Apple Pay, are accepted basically everywhere, so you don't really need cash. You'll find a few annoying exceptions, like if you want to pay to use the toilet in the train station.

At present the currency of Bulgaria is the lev, however it's set to join the euro on 1st January 2026. There will presumably be a bit of a transitional period where both currencies are accepted, but during my visit it was still only the lev - no one was accepting euros yet.

How affordable is Sofia?

Along with Romania, Bulgaria is the cheapest country within the EU. You'll find accommodation in Sofia to be roughly half the price of something equivalent in Athens. However, coming here from North Macedonia there was a noticeable jump in prices, so there are cheaper places to stay in this region if money really matters to you.

What language is spoken in Sofia?

Bulgarian. Very loudly.

How easy is it to get by with English in Sofia?

Not as easy as you'd imagine for the capital city of an EU country with a modest tourist presence. Even going into business with English signs that are clearly trying to appeal to foreigners, the staff often don't speak English.

How is the Internet in Sofia?

Perfectly fast and reliable for remote working. During my second stay I had download speeds of around 80mbps and upload speeds of 86mbps in my Airbnb.

Is Sofia safe?

Very much so. I've never really sensed any kind of crime while I've been here.

Who is Sofia suitable for?

Sadomasochists.

If you need to go somewhere cheap, then go to North Macedonia. If you want to stay within the EU then go to Bucharest. Sofia doesn't offer anything that you can't find in neigbouring countries, other than pain and sadness.

Is there anything good about Sofia?

It's a beautiful place. Lots of green space, a mountain backdrop, and very pleasing achitecture. If you're an introvert and don't plan on interacting with the people at all, then Sofia is a lovely place. It's once you learn how angry everyone is that the beauty seems to fade away.

Is the tap water drinkable in Sofia?

Very much so.

Throwing away your rubbish in Sofia

If you've been to Athens or Skopje, Sofia's sanitation system is the same. Every couple of hundred metres you'll find a big wheelie bin at the side of the road. Throw your trash in there. No bin days that you have to remember, and no separating your recycling.

Being sociable in Sofia

There's very little in Sofia in the way of events for meeting new people. On my first stay here, there was a weekly Meetup event that would get a small crowd of people every week at McCarthys Irish Pub. That was quite fun, but by my second stay that event no longer existed, so there's not much point mentioning it really.

If you're someone that's comfortable sitting at a bar alone and chatting to people, then McCarthys is a good pub for doing that.

If you're willing to pay for an event, then the Sofia Pub Crawl is something you could try. I only know of it because I spoke to one of the organisers when they came into McCarthys one time, and honestly it looked very dry, but I think it was a bunch of strangers who hadn't drunk anything yet. I'm sure it picked-up a bit once the alcohol flowed a bit more.

I'm unaware of anything else going on in Sofia.

Where to run in Sofia

Sofia has three parks that are suitable for running and an easy walk of the city centre.

The first is called South Park. The second is also called South Park. And the last is Borisova Gradina Park.

The first South Park is the smallest of the three. A lot of people use it for exercise, while a lot of other people use it for smoking. It's not really great for running because none of the main paths make any kind of loop, they just go across the park, so you have to make your own loop to save going backwards and forwards. It's good for short or slow runs when you don't want to worry about getting lost or crossing roads, but for longer runs looks elsewhere.

The second South Park is more of a middle ground park. It's much bigger than the first South Park, and while it has some paved paths all the way through, it also has some trails that are quite fun to explore.

Borisova Gradina Park is bigger than both of the South Parks combined, and it's much more of an untamed, wilderness park. It's great for trail running, although very easy to get lost in. The main downside is that it's dissected by a couple of very busy roads. In some places there are tunnels underneath them, but in others you have to cross, which is a little unnerving seeing as how fast the traffic goes.

While each park can be used for running on its own, as they're all quite close to each other the best runs I've had in Sofia are the runs that combine all of them. That does mean spending a bit of time running along roads to connect them, but it's worth it.

In the first South Park you have big wide paths, but don't let them fool you. They only go across the park and don't make any kind of loop, so you really need to make your own route here.

Where to get vegan food in Sofia

Restaurants

Of the three vegan restaurants that I recommended in the first edition of this article, two had closed-down by the time I returned, and the one that remained, Edgy Veggy, has changed its menu for the worse and has a crazy old bag working there now.

Loving Hut is another vegan place you could try, but it's unreliable in its hours as I've found it to be closed when it says its open on multiple occasions. If you do eat here, the food is not overly inspiring.

So Fresh is a slightly generic sandwich shop, but they do have a couple of vegan items on the menu. One block away is Coffee Fellows, a coffee shop that's uncomfortably popular with people sitting on their laptops, but that sells two different vegan bagels.

Hummusbar really should be my kind of place. It's not a vegan restaurant but it has some vegan options clearly marked on the menu. Yet, despite having English menus and signs in English, when I came not only did the guy working the till not speak a word of English, he didn't know how the till worked either. He charged me 9.60 lev for a 16.90 meal. I did the honourable thing and pointed this out to him, but he didn't know how to do refunds, so he charged me 6.70 for another meal because it was the closest thing on the menu to make-up the difference. Despite the ordering issues, the food was excellent.

Since my first trip to Sofia, Edgy Veggy made their menu worse, put their prices up, and hired a miserable old bag to work here. If that sounds like your kind of place, then the Grillzilla burger will cost you 17.90 lev.

Groceries

In the first edition of this article, I recommended a really good, vegan-friendly health store called Zelen. That's now closed-down too. In its absence buying healthy, vegan good in Sofia is a bit of a pain.

I eat a lot of pasta for example, but I try to only ever eat wholewheat. And where do you buy wholewheat pasta in Sofia?

I'm actually asking, because I couldn't find any. It's not in Lidl and it's not in Billa, the two main supermarket chains here. And in the absence of Zelen I instead went to Zoya, another health food shop. Even they don't sell it, with the closest equivalent being very overpriced buckwheat pasta.

Lidl is good for fruit and veg, Zoya is good for overpriced health food shop type foods, but if you want a high protein, vegan diet as I did while I was here as I was working out a lot and trying to put on a bit of weight, you're probably going to resort to vegan protein powders at one of the many supplement stores, like Fitness1.bg. I typically try to eat as naturally as possible, but a high protein, natural, vegan diet is not easy in Sofia.

Shopping for vegan groceries in Sofia leaves a lot to be desired. I had the most success at Zoya, where you can get vegan cheeses, tempeh, and tofu among others.

Where I stayed

Luxury Apart Sofia Center

Neofit Rilski 20

This apartment is on the ground floor. It has decorated bars on the windows and the door looks like it could guard Fort Knox. From a security perspective, this room is as safe as anywhere I've stayed. From a privacy perspective it's less so.

The room is on the rear side of the building, so you at least don't have to worry about people peering in as they wander down the street. However, it's next to a restaurant and all the staff take their smoke breaks out the back, and should you leave the curtains open, they can look at you lying in bed. As the room has blackout curtains, it's a constant battle between closing the curtains enough that you have privacy, but not closing them so much that you don't get enough daylight.

Save for the crippling loneliness, despondency and endless longing for it to all be over, the great thing about travelling alone is that you always have an entire double bed to yourself. I don't have a side of the bed, I always just sleep in the middle. So when I stay somewhere with an alleged double-bed, but it's actually two single mattresses pushed together, then I don't have a good time.

The room is a studio, and it has just enough space to do yoga, despite also having dining table with two chairs, an armchair, a desk with an office chair, and a double bed that some nobhead put two mattresses on.

The kitchen area is serviceable but a bit lacking. It has an induction hob that you can unplug and put in a drawer when you're not using it, which is efficient. It also has a microwave-grill, which I'd never heard of until I stayed here. It's a microwave and a grill, together. I found some minimal use for it by getting baguettes from the nearby Lidl and toasting them, but it certainly wasn't an adequate replacement for an oven.

If you want a central location, then the location here is pretty perfect. You're a couple of blocks from the main tourist area, Lidl isn't much further, and it's an easy walk to the MRT.

While this room certainly didn't blow me away, it was good enough for a month.

I bet you've never stayed in a studio with a chandelier before.

Snow White Home NDK

Lyuben Karavelov 67

This is a room that I'd recommend for anytime of year... except the time that I stayed here.

When I booked it I was aware that it didn't have any AC, but I was thinking "Ah, it probably won't be that hot."

As my check-in date approached and it was clear that I'd be coming during a heatwave, I even looked-up other accommodations in Sofia, but found that an equivalent room with AC would cost about £200 more for my 13-night stay, so decided fuck it. For £200 I'd rather be hot for a couple of weeks.

I regretted that.

The good news is that its a ground floor room that doesn't get much direct sunlight. Considering the outside temperatures, the room actually stays very cool, but that's relative. I knew that there wasn't any AC, but I assumed that the host would at least provide a fan. They didn't. When trying to sleep especially, that made my stay here very uncomfortable. Had I come at any other time of year I think it would have been a lovely room.

The location is really good - you're only a short walk from South Park, which is great for running or for going for a walk in the evening, and you're close to the metro. You're also an easy walk from the city centre while being away from all the tourists. And the room itself is pretty nice. It's much bigger than I'd been expecting from the photos on Airbnb. There's loads of space for exercise without having to even move any furniture.

It feels a little bare in its equipment. There's a kitchen, but it doesn't include a frying pan, or a colander, or any paper towel. There's enough there that you can say on Airbnb that you provide a kitchen, but they certainly haven't gone to the trouble of providing everything you might need, like some hosts do. And the cooker itself is the only cooker I've ever encountered that's not powerful enough to boil water. I'd boil it in the kettle, then the cooker could just about keep it hot enough to cook pasta, but if you put a pan of water on to boil you'll be waiting all day.

Usually the most important thing when I stay somewhere, is how much natural light gets in, and I intentionally stayed here because of its big windows. However thanks to trees and other buildings, very little natural light actually gets in, and it's quite a dingy room, even in the daytime. For once this was a blessing, as being in direct sunlight would have made it hotter than it already was.

Due to the heat, I kept the windows open 24 hours per day. The apartment is part of a complex that surrounds a little wooded area. That made it quite nice to sit on the balcony with a cup of tea, but you'll find that a lot of noise comes from the surrounding apartments. Dogs barking, babies crying, and most annoyingly was the guy who'd sit on his balcony every morning coughing while smoking cigarettes. You can't fix stupid.

The wifi had 80mbps download speeds and 86mbps upload speeds during my tests and was perfectly reliable.

This room won't blow you away, but you could definitely do worse. I just recommend that you do not stay here during the summer months. If you're at all sensitive to the heat, you'll hate it.

Despite having windows right behind the bed, due to the trees and other buildings, not much natural light actually gets in. Normally that would be a negative, but in the heatwave while I was here, that was a blessing.

Summary of Sofia

Do I want to come back again?

Lol.