Cherburg to Bulgaria

Serbia loves a uk/gb sticker..btw the sticker now should be Uk..many get fines..i always go Germany..Austria..Hungary..Romania

Bg...some ask for receipts  so take what you can..safe trip.

Serbia is not part of the EU and so this can cause problems, even though you would only  be transiting through the country - Customs could, in theory get difficult, if they have reason to believe you're not actually travelling to Bulgaria.

If you travel via Hungary and Romania instead, you are much less likely to have customs issues, as both countries are EU members.  Likewise, your home country, Eire, is also EU.  You will have paid VAT on your UK purchases and because all your items are for personal use, it's unlikely Customs will be interested.

Thanks Pal Google Maps is telling me the same so will do Cheers

Serbia is fine to drive through, unless you’re in a van, in which case the delays at the border cancel out any time saved driving. I’m always in a van so have yet to cross that way but if/when I go by car I’d certainly give it a go.

I sometimes get questions at Dover, couple times looked inside, but rarely anywhere else. At RO/BG borders if/when asked I explain I’m moving house, the stuff in the van is not all newly boxed, it’s not 20 brand new TVs or whatever, so clearly used personal items. I get checked more often going back to the U.K., van’s empty so no issues.

cyberescue1 Thanks great info there appreciate that makes sense and i love the Eire Thank You

Will you have UK or Irish number plates?

Hi HelenDinBG,  Thanks for Reply im all new to this and didnt even realize if i bought stuff it would be a problem travelling through Countrys? But im an Irish Citizen (with Passport) so can i travel to Bulgaria with loads of unpacked stuff from Argos or should i take it out of the Boxes to be safe?   

SimCityAT I have UK Plates DV55......

Why does that make a difference?

I went to Britain bought a car but never changed the Plates i live in a very quite Countryside place in Ireland if i lived in Dublin i would have been stopped very quickly

But surely my Irish Passport is more important than my Reg? 

But surely my Irish Passport is more important than my Reg?
-@janecaruthers

I would say yes, but seeing a UK number plate might just draw attention to you. You would just have to show your passport.

I live in Bulgaria and did a 'Yugoslavia" tour last summer and the only places that we had issues on the border were in Serbia.

They were looking through our luggage searching for things and it took ages.

I dread to think what it be like with a van full of belongings.

As others have stated - stick to the EU although the roads through Romania are not highways if you are coming to Sofia.

Last time I came from UK via Serbia, I had two new laptops (cheapo ones from Amazon) that I'd just bought. Serbian customs immediately spotted brand-new tech boxes, and hauled me over. My protests that they had very little value (350 euros each, I had the invoices too), and that I was only transiting Serbia fell on deaf ears.

I've passed through before, but with stuff that was more obviously old (packed in plain moving boxes, or battered suitcases), and they couldn't care less about it.

I can't remember the exact conversation, but it got ridiculous when they said I had to take one of their people in the car with me, to ensure I left the country, and I had to pay them some exorbitant fee for the "service".

I ended up turning around and doing the final leg to Bulgaria via Romania instead.

So my guess is that EU-all-the-way is preferable. Or unpack everything and distress it. :-) Or both.

Can i just say if there was an Award for the Best Person for Information on Bulgaria it would be gwynj This man should write a Book on Bulgaria and moving there, his knowledge and his willingness to pass it on is amazing He is one of Lifes GOOD People I ended up buying in Bulgaria because of him and because of his advice i got a nice place and i havent even met him!

@janecaruthers

Awww, shucks. :-) Many thanks for the kind words, much appreciated. Of course... I'm not the only one, there are many valued members here who frequently share their insight and experience about Bulgarian life, and how to make the move here as painless as possible. It's great that we have so many regular contributors with different perspectives.

I really enjoy my new life in Bulgaria, it's one of the best moves I've ever made. I hope you will find it similarly rewarding!

Thanks for all Replys i have now sorted out my Route to Bulgaria im staying clear of Serbia and not sure about taking new stuff out of Boxes if i bought in Ireland surely i can travel through EU Countrys with no problems because taking this stuff out of boxes will be a great pain and most likely cause damage in transit 

Thanks for all Replys i have now sorted out my Route to Bulgaria im staying clear of Serbia and not sure about taking new stuff out of Boxes if i bought in Ireland surely i can travel through EU Countrys with no problems because taking this stuff out of boxes will be a great pain and most likely cause damage in transit
-@janecaruthers

you can wrap in towels etc which will probably be smaller than the original boxes so you can get more home goodies in