Sofia could be considered as a point of departure in several destination that could seem attractive to a foreigner. If staying in Sofia you could visit also the city of Plovdiv that is a bit more than 100 km away. There are a lot of things to see as the Ancient City, the Amphiteatre etc. The one way trip lasts about 2 hours.
The reknown Rila monastery is also near but you will need a car to get there. Bus transport is available at the Ovcha Kupel Bus Station, but it is not reliable mean of transportation. The road by car is about 1h to 1:30 h.
An easy trip could be made to Thessaloniki, Greece which again is within 300 km range off Sofia. The best way to go there is by train, which could be taken from the Central Railway Station. Train tickets could be purchased at the Station or at the ticket centre located at the National Palace of Culture’s subway. The trip to Thessaloniki by train is about 6 h.
If having more time you could also visit Istanbul, Turkey. You can consult the Central Bus Station’s schedule.
Other places of interest could be the cities of Varna and Veliko Tarnovo. The first one is referred to as the Maritime Capital of Bulgaria and is located by the sea. The best way to get there is by bus and preferably using Biomet transportation company. With these busses you will get to Varna for 6 hours. In other cases the trip lasts even 10 hours. Veliko Tarnovo is in the middle of the road to Varna. So the trip to the city would last 3 h. Again I recommend Biomet, which operates a line to the city. I’ve travelled enough in these directions to know they get faster and better to its destination. A timetable of the lines is available at the Central Bus Station’s site.
