All accommodation places in Bulgaria are categorized on the 5-star system. There is wide network of small and cozy three-star hotels and rooms throughout Bulgaria, which are usually quite good and clean, with private facilities in each room, TV, mini bar, even air-condition sometimes, meeting all modern requirements of the tourists. Some of them have their own taverns. Three-star hotels have usually the best balance price/quality of services.

          Another option is sleeping in the monasteries you pass by. Some of them provide accommodation in double rooms, having even private facilities. In these cases you will be obliged to respect the rules for behavior within the temple.
           Bicycles usually create no difficulties with hostel staff that are always helpful in finding an adequate storage location for it.

          A typical view of  private house-hotels - in Melnik town (up, left). We usually stay here when we lead a bicyclist group (Anne and Tony, Susan and Stratton have to remember it!). Summers 2004 and 2005 we stood for a night in it too (at the 3rd floor). Prices in the same place for 2 and 3 bed room were $20 and $25 respectively. The wine for our dinner in the restaurant (the 1st floor) was free for us (very nice local type red wine prepared by the house owner).

          Everywhere in the country there are many such private clean lodgines. Prices for bed/person/night vary in a range of  $6 - $15 bed/night.  The middle photo shows a private home in a little town in Rodopi mountain – 6 we paid $ 30 for a night in it summer 2004. The same evening we invited our host family (teachers) in very nice local restaurant just above a big reservoir. 

         Summer 2007 were the same, but in EURO.

         The left photo shows the typical interior of the room in such home-hotels. Rooms are clean but not big,  with private facilities in each room, TV, mini bar ...

        No any problems to design a tour staying in the nights in such places.  If necessary, much more luxury and much more expensive hotels are available everywhere in the country.

        The  camping in the wilderness is possible in my country and it is absolutely free (both me and Maya like it so much! – summers 2001, 2003 and 2007 we did 1400+ mile tours across BG for 30 days living only in the wilderness). Usually we prefer to stay near water – rivers, reservoirs, irrigative canals, so after a day of bicycling along hot and dusty roads, it is very nice to refresh in the water, to wash clothes. Summer time it is really exciting. Nights you can hear voices of night birds and in some remote (and not so remote) places – the laugh of jackals.

       The camp places in the wilderness  must be choose very carefully.

       Well, sometimes when the circumstances impose it, a heavy rain for example, non customary decisions are possible – to sleep into a bus shelter for example (up, right). Here are (in the end of May 2004): me (in the left shelter corner) Steve, Ann and Laura. Marty is on the bench in the right corner. There was a little table in the shelter - we had a dinner there just before sleeping. Yes, next sunny morning all we felt the best, we were fresh, dry and ready for the next distance. Luckily this night nobody was waiting for bus there. (no charge when you sleep in a bus shelter in BG).

Food

      Typical views of a local type restaurant - available everywhere in the country - can be seen below. A dinner or lunch for a person including a salad, sup, roast meal (chicken or pork & fried potatoes) and nice wine is 6 - 8 EURO. We love to share our meals. 

        It seems foreigners like our meals – the bicyclists toured with us so far liked to visit restaurants very much. I only can say that we have many different types of perfect local red and white wines. People loving beer say it is very nice too, I do not know, I do not like it, again, we have many types of it.

        Here (left) are Susan, Stratton, Maya and me in “Etara” – a village-museum near Gabrovo town –  the extreme hot July 2000. Other 2 photos - summer 2005 - me&Maya, Jean&Jetje, Guido &Yvette spending a nice time with local type meals.

       Many types of ice-creams are available too (0,5 - 1 EURO). So pleasant to relax for a while in such a place. (here are Steve – at the left -  me, Laura, Marty, Maya, Ann – Varna town, May, 2004).

       Staying in the coffee place is maybe one of the most pleasant time for all us. We speak about the country, its history (the history is of my interest – we have too much history!), usually I speak about the road in front of us.

          If I remember well,  here I assure Laura (up, right), that no more hills for today pointing the green part of the map. Our tour is in the beginning and she is still believing me. Very often we order for us a second cup of coffee and enjoy our conversation.  

          When I see there will be a  rain, I always prefer to wait its ending in such places.

          Yes, sometime the hill is long and steep, already more than 10 miles there is no a coffee place in the mountain, bicyclists are a little tired, and I see already nobody believes me that the end of the hill is just behind the turn in front of us ... the things are going tight … but soon I have bought a little cooking device (the red one) and now it is not a problem for me to prepare an instant coffee for my bicyclists quickly. More of them have cookies, soon the situation is again under control and our climbing can continue slowly …

         Especially Maya is very enjoyed by that my activity; even in one of our  tours (August 2004) while both we, Ulla and Birger were traveling by the train, she asked me to prepare for all them coffee in the train … can you suppose … never mind I refused to do it.

         Everywhere in the country are available shops full of food even in the little remote villages too – you can buy almost everything in it.

         So sometime instead to visit a restaurant, we buy some sausage, cheese, bread, a big bottle of soft drink and beer, tomatoes and eat all that just in front of the shop – often the shop owner bring us a table and chairs, forks and everything necessary for us. In the small and remote villages people like to do it for bicyclists – no often such visits. The product price for 6 hungry bicyclists is no more than $10 - $12. Now - the same but in EURO.

         Some of tourists prefer to buy products for dinner and after finding a camping place, fixing our tents, we prepare something for dinner. We are enjoying the moon, stars, fireflies, the sound of crickets, we discuss our day trip and plan the next day…. O.K., we test some type of our perfect wines as well …..

         Here are Ulla, Birger, me and Maya – August 2002 in a zone of trees between corn fields in the plane part of the country.