Sofia

Sofia (Bulgarian: София) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria, lying in the west of the country.

Hitching Out

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East towards Plovdiv

Take the bus #5 and go with it until it enters the highway. Along the highway there are lots of gas stations, but it is recommended to stay in the bus until it leaves the highway out of Sofia. Then ask the bus driver to get out of the bus, otherwise you will land in the little village of Lozen in the middle of a beautiful nowhere. You will stand on a motorway junction with directions north, east to Plovdiv and west to Sofia. Go down the ramp to direction Plovdiv and you will see some shops where people stop next to the highway. Try standing on the hard shoulder to get a lift or ask people there. Nearly all traffic there goes to Plovdiv or even further east.

North towards Bucharest

Take tram 22 in direction east, get off at the last stop. The road parallel to the tramline runs directly out of the city, its possible to hitch anywhere from here but I would suggest a better place after the ring road which isolates only the traffic running to the A2 motorway. 7 km up the road is a shell garage, the last stop for gas before the motorway, you can either walk the 7 km straight up the road or if you look to the left you will see a carpark in front of a car dealership. This is the bus station, take either the 117, 90 or 12, all will run directly up the road and stop more or less in front of the shell garage. You can choose either the garage or just up the road is also ideal for hitching.

South towards Blagoevgrad and Thessaloniki

Take tram 5 to the last stop - the tram originates behind the court building in the center of Sofia. Walk another 5-10 minutes in the same direction of the tram until it is clear you are out of that neighborhood where all the traffic is heading out of the city. A good place to stop is at or just after the last stop light so the drivers are already stopped and have time to see you. If you are lucky a trucker will pick you up going all the way to Thessaloniki and on to Italy, otherwise the first 20 km are tricky (lot or cars going short distances) but after you pass Pernik you'll get a ride all the way to Blagoevgrad in no time. ���������������������