Safety Tips in Sofia

Don´t trust the taxi counters inside the airport. I ordered a taxi from them and they gave me a a taxi with a very fast ticking meter. It said that the fare was .18 Lev/minute in addition to the km rate, but the meter was ticking at a speed of at least .60-.80. My advice is that you keep filming the meter and keep as evidence if you get into trouble.
I think I ended up paying the double, but as it was less than half of what it had cost in my home town I took the loss with a smile

The thing that struck and scared me most in Sofia, more than the broken sidewalks, more than the snow, more than walking in the dark from the tram/metro stop to my flat, was... the huge amount of street dogs!
I had seen an unusual number of street dogs when I went on a class trip to Greece in 2002, but they weren't so numerous compared to those in Sofia.
The first weeks were quite terrible for me: whenever I saw one of those dogs, I stopped, walked backwards, waited for them to go away or changed of direction myself.
I remember that, on my first Sunday in Sofia, I was walking toward or coming from the Catholic cathedral when I saw a dog on my way. I suddenly decided to cross the street and... oh, my!, I had failed to bump into a much bigger dog sleeping under a trash can!
I slowly got used to street dogs and to walking close to them, especially when they were laying on the street or the sidewalk.
But on one of my last Mondays there, as I crossed the street toward the trash bins to throw away my garbage, one of them ran after me and forced me to cross the street backward, without even giving me the time to check if any cars were coming. That was definitely my scariest experience in Sofia!

we were stopped several times within Sofia by the police who checked for documents. We were also pulled over outside the city for speeding (we were going slower than most but we had a bigger car) and were told by the police "I will either take your license away or you can choose something else" not a very subtle hint. We managed to talk ourselves out of that predicament

Sofia streets are amongst the most chaotic and congested I've come across in Europe. Not only that but the drivers are totally reckless and every time you cross a road you are taking your life in your hands. Even when the traffic lights at pedestrian crossings are with you it's always advisable to double check that no-one has tried to beat the light change or that no-one has had brake failure and is unable to stop.

Here's a little video which graphically illustrates this - Streets of Sofia

Scary stuff! So don't even think about jaywalking!

As to thinking about hiring a car to get about...

I hope you won't need his services, but in case you need manual therapy,acupuncture, laser therapy etc see the website below.
I have been his patient and can recommend you his services from first hand experience.
Beside that he is treating our football nationals, aerobics , tennis and other sportsmen .

Well, I am very sorry to tell you there are many homeless dogs and cats in Bulgaria. Poor animals,I love them very much!
This is a danger tip, so I have to appeal to you to be careful when you meet homeless dogs on the street. Some of them are aggressive (well, not each dog, it doesn't happen each day). Just be careful!
Don't be aggressive towards the animals, they're really good and they have no fault they're homeless.

When you decide to cross the street be careful. Bulgarian drivers don't stop in front of zebra each time they see a pedestrian, so you have to wait until you are sure the driver will stop and give you a chance to pass.

This warning is valid for Bulgaria, not only Sofia. The roads here are very bad and dangerous. You have to be very careful if you are a driver and decide to drive a car here. The big holes in the asphalt can make you lose control and even have a car accident. Drive slowly and carefully and be ready for the next hole :)