Everything you need to know before flying to Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is a member of the European Union. EU citizens enter with a national ID card, and holders of American, British, Canadian, Australian and dozens of other passports need no visa for stays of up to 90 days in any six-month period. Your passport has to be valid for three months past your planned departure. With any other passport, check with the consulate before you book.

Depends what you are after. For skiing: January to March in Bansko and Borovets. For the beaches: July and August in Varna and Burgas. For hiking in the Rila and Pirin mountains: June, and September too, once the heat breaks and the trails empty out. April and November are cheap, but the weather then is a lottery.

Shopska salad, banitsa for a morning pastry, kavarma in a clay pot and kebapche off the grill. The white brined cheese, sirene, is at its freshest here. For wine, a local Mavrud or Rubin is worth trying.

We are the team that lives here. You get ready-made routes, hotels and restaurants we checked ourselves, transfers and cars you can book straight from the site, and a real person on WhatsApp when something goes wrong on the way.

English, Russian and Bulgarian, among others. Private and group tours are led by licensed guides who know the place close up. Tell us which language works for you and we will match you with a guide.

Safe. The usual trouble is pickpocketing in crowded places, and taxis that do not switch the meter on. Order taxis through an app, keep an eye on your bag in the city centres, and that is about all you need to remember.