Local Guides World
Photos — 98
Reviews — 8
Paying with card is a nightmare. Only cash normally (remember Bulgaria is not in Schengen space which means everytime you get cash from the ATM you pay a HUGE commission)
Windows number 2 or 3 (downstairs) have this possibility BUT if the woman refuse you to pay with card (because she's not familiarized with the system right in her hand) insist or call another woman and you'll get it with a time wasting of course...
Go there in advance to avoid losing the train for these kind of issues (very common all around Bulgaria)
Windows number 2 or 3 (downstairs) have this possibility BUT if the woman refuse you to pay with card (because she's not familiarized with the system right in her hand) insist or call another woman and you'll get it with a time wasting of course...
Go there in advance to avoid losing the train for these kind of issues (very common all around Bulgaria)
Bei der Bahn in Bulgarien ist noch sehr viel Luft nach oben. Das gilt für Bahnhöfe, Gleise und Züge. Eine Fahrt nach Warna sollte 7 Stunden dauern hat aber 10
+ Right next to the central bus station. 1-2 minutes walk max. Great if you need to switch between the two.
+ Billa (local supermarket) right next to it, great for last minute food shopping before a train or bus ride
+ currency exchange at the central bus station.
- Staff at Ticket Counter were pretty unfriendly based on my experience
+ Billa (local supermarket) right next to it, great for last minute food shopping before a train or bus ride
+ currency exchange at the central bus station.
- Staff at Ticket Counter were pretty unfriendly based on my experience
Working hours are now posted, so i had to come all the way and try my luck .. this is for the international tickets
My experience here was not good. I waited in here for 3 hours as it felt safer than the bus station. The shops don't except cards only Levs. You have to pay for the toilets which are not kept clean and all the staff I tried to communicate with through Google translate were very shouty and not helpful at all. Avoid waiting here for too long if you can.
PLACE NAME: Central Railway Station
HOW WE GOT THERE: an easy walk from our hotel B1 Hotel Sofia (with below ground Metro-like walkway to cross the main road), and a stop on the bus route (#1, #12, #27)
WE VISITED ON: on a Saturday in mid-April 2023 at around 1400
AMBIANCE: We were only in the ticket purchasing area, but it had some seating & an ATM; not the cleanest but not the dirtiest train station we’ve ever been in
STAFF: Horrible. There were 4 counters open nearby, but only one for “international tickets”. We were trying to buy a ticket for İstanbul, Türkiye. Our line was long (while the other 3 counters had no lines at all). We waited right at an hour to reach the front of the line, only to find out there were no tickets to Istanbul available until Wednesday (which was too late for us to travel).
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
1) put up a sign showing what has sold out so people don’t wait an hour+ in line to find out.
2) put more staff on the busiest counter. one person could have handled the few people buying tickets at the other 3 open counters nearby.
3) allow train tickets to be purchased online. In this day and age, there is no excuse for making people go in person.
4) if you want to encourage foreign visitors, having better (digital!) signage would help. There was a paper hung at the front of the line saying it was the line for International Tickets (& the English words were buried in the middle of the paper). Having that info up high and digital and in multiple languages (for international travelers) would improve things. By the time we figured out the right lane for purchasing tickets to Istanbul, we already had a bad taste in our mouths.
5) develop an app that works for monitoring train arrivals/departures, purchasing tickets, etc.
RECOMMEND?: NO, not as things stand
HOW WE GOT THERE: an easy walk from our hotel B1 Hotel Sofia (with below ground Metro-like walkway to cross the main road), and a stop on the bus route (#1, #12, #27)
WE VISITED ON: on a Saturday in mid-April 2023 at around 1400
AMBIANCE: We were only in the ticket purchasing area, but it had some seating & an ATM; not the cleanest but not the dirtiest train station we’ve ever been in
STAFF: Horrible. There were 4 counters open nearby, but only one for “international tickets”. We were trying to buy a ticket for İstanbul, Türkiye. Our line was long (while the other 3 counters had no lines at all). We waited right at an hour to reach the front of the line, only to find out there were no tickets to Istanbul available until Wednesday (which was too late for us to travel).
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
1) put up a sign showing what has sold out so people don’t wait an hour+ in line to find out.
2) put more staff on the busiest counter. one person could have handled the few people buying tickets at the other 3 open counters nearby.
3) allow train tickets to be purchased online. In this day and age, there is no excuse for making people go in person.
4) if you want to encourage foreign visitors, having better (digital!) signage would help. There was a paper hung at the front of the line saying it was the line for International Tickets (& the English words were buried in the middle of the paper). Having that info up high and digital and in multiple languages (for international travelers) would improve things. By the time we figured out the right lane for purchasing tickets to Istanbul, we already had a bad taste in our mouths.
5) develop an app that works for monitoring train arrivals/departures, purchasing tickets, etc.
RECOMMEND?: NO, not as things stand
Very nice station and friendly staff! Single ticket is only 1.6leva, which is around 0.8euro.
