Hiring a car

@derekhandyman

I haven't heard of that, but I was looking at hiring a car for next month and I found out that if you don't have an EU driving licence, you'll need an International one. Apparently you can get them online and they're not expensive. You will also need a credit card for the deposit.

@grumpyoldbird that's us buggered then because i no longer have a credit card and hubby has never had one, never felt the need.   

@ButterMyPaws19

Me too. I got rid of mine years ago because they're so tempting. We're having to get the train to the nearest town and the owners of the house are picking us up from the station. We're only there for 3 days and most of that will be travelling, so they're putting us up for one night. Thankfully we're only looking at the one house, otherwise we'd be screwed.

I have not read anything about a credit card. The hire companies that I have looked at say that you can pay by Debit as well as Credit cards. If you guys are right I may be in the same boat as well as i have not had a credit card for the last 30 years

@derekhandyman

You can pay by debit card, but you need a credit card for the deposit. Check again, because if you turn up without a credit card, it's going to be nightmare if you then find out you need one.

    @derekhandyman
You can pay by debit card, but you need a credit card for the deposit. Check again, because if you turn up without a credit card, it's going to be nightmare if you then find out you need one.
   

    -@grumpyoldbird

Correct, virtually all car rental companies require a credit card for the deposit.  Some may accept a debit card, but only with ticketed return travel itinerary.

@derekhandyman

Have only ever paid cash or debit card

@derekhandyman

Hi Derek

Well uv been travelling to Bulgaria since 2005 and in the early years was going 5 or 5 times a year all using hire cars up to this very day ... Never heard of a licence check .. think that codswollap .. IV got a hire car now for 3 months ... UK nationals don't even need an international driving permit .. my licence is a old pink paper version given to me in 1978  I think I can just about remember  🥹

Use sky scanner .net they give you the best prices ..  however don't use economy bookings they are  shite an when it goes wrong they leave you stranded with no car an are not gonna help you .. bg car firms not to use .. easy rent   or add car.  Both will make it hard to get your deposit back . Especially add car who don't block the deposit they actually take it and it took me 3 months to get it back ..  make sure you type in the BG hire company name and ask for reviews ... I wish I'd done it with add car they were appalling on trust pilot..  take what uv said seriously because if your stranded at the airport you can double the price you paid for in the 1st place that let you down ..

Recommended suppliers are top renta car and Bulgaria current  also car jet

Beware to daily insurance scam  for full protection  it cost a fortune and they all like to scare you to death about what will happen if you have an accident ...  Use stay sure travel insurance they do a damage waiver for hire cars abroad .. costs about £25 extra but make sure you do exactly what they say if you have a accident... You get your money back    other thing to say is ant accident in a car the police have to attend ..  make sure you always have your phone in you

Thanks Philip for your help. I will bear all this in mind when I do eventually come across.

@ButterMyPaws19

If hiring a car is essential, you might be able to use a preloaded credit card, which wouldn't need a credit check to get. I think it acts the same as a credit card, but would probably need a fair lump of cash on it, depending what deposit the car hire place needs. It's tricky when you've paid cash for everything so have no credit rating.

I use a Wise Visa card, an online financial service which I keep money on in pounds, leva, and Euro. It's not a credit card but it doesn't say on it that it's a Visa debit card, either, and I think it might be accepted as if it's a credit card. That might work for you.

We've only used buses and taxis to get around. The intercity buses are good, and buses between big towns and smaller towns tend to be fairly frequent, too. From small towns to villages can be a bit trickier, One of our requirements was that the village had to have a regular bus service. Ours has three buses a day, but the times aren't the most convenient.

Estate agents will usually drive you to properties, too. Mine arranged a driver to collect me and take me to the house I'd bought from them online, there was no charge for that. fI you're looking at a few properties, it's usual for agents to charge a mileage fee, unless you end up buying somewhere from them.

@derekhandyman I fly into Sofia or Varna and take the intercity bus to V.T.  I use Biomet as you can book your tickets online (£9) before you go to guarantee your seat.  There are intercity buses every hour throughout the day and more than one company providing this service.  In V.T. I hire a car with Kamen Cars, just need my UK drivers licence, passport and a deposit of 200lev (about £90).  They prefer the deposit in cash but can pay the daily car rate by debit card.  Last time I was in BG a few months ago I didnt have enough cash so did a Revolut bank transfer and they transfered it straight back when I returned the car.  Their stock is a bit dated but I do go for the cost effective options that get me from A to B.  Just realised this response may be redundant if you are going to a different region.  Anyway, wherever you get your hire from take a video of the external and internal before you leave the lot, take your own mobile phone holder for google maps as they charge too much to hire this and know where your nearest petrol station is to get fuel as in my experience the tank is always near E when you get the car.  Good luck and hope you have a good trip.

Thanks @dencriess. You are in the right area, as I was planning to fly into Sofia and travel north east heading towards Popovo. Thanks for the info. I did watch a video from a family that has just bought 2 houses out there. They hired a car at Sofia from BT Car Hire. The prices that they mentioned seemed very good so I may give them a go.

@derekhandyman

What @dencreiss suggested is excellent advice, especially if you're looking around the Popovo area. The intercity buses are fast, cheap, safe, and reliable. The first time we went to Bulgaria ten years ago we used Kamen Cars in VT to travel to look at a house near Popovo I won on an ebay auction back when village houses regularly sold for under 2,000 GBP. Sadly that sale fell though due to the seller having family issues. Since then we haven't needed to hire a car, but for a first visit it can be useful to have your own transport.

I hope you find what you're looking for!

@janemulberry

The pre loaded cards are not credit cards they are debit cards and tried to use my wise card for the deposit but its not a credit card they cannot block the deposit on it .. a decent hire company will only block the money .. if you get a hire car on your credit card then look at pending transactions the day after  you will see it the 200euro it will stay there for 30 days  an then just disappear.. they don't actually cash it unless you bash the car..  I have a hire car for 3 months now and I have to renew my deposit every 30 days .. bit of a pelava but i need a car .. 

Even if the T&Cs say "credit card" they all know that lots of folks have debit cars, and most/all can accept a debit card, if they're inclined. As the deposit is a specific amount (1,000 euros or so, often), they're usually perfectly happy to take that via a debit card... so as long as you have the funds in your account, it's no problem.

If you take the hire company's full insurance (i.e. including all damage, theft, with no excess) then there's no deposit to take, and they don't need to worry what kind of card you have. It is a little pricey (compared to buying an annual policy, or getting the intermediary website's own insurance), but it's the least hassle, and you don't have the rigmarole of the deposit issue, and then reclaiming via your separate insurance.

I no longer carry credit cards, and I've never had any issues.

@dencreiss

Are Kamen cars only based in VT?

@grumpyoldbird

I have been looking at using Kamen cars, I have been recommended them a few times by Brits too, Their website is kamen-cars.com for reference, I haven't used them yet.

I have also been told of another one smartrentacar.bg there have been some good reviews about them.

Again, I haven't used any of these, but they are what I have found when researching for when I decide to fly over, It looks like it's very cheap to Fly to Sofia, get a bus or train to VT, then hire a car.

I would love to hear if anyone has used either of these two companies and what your experience has been.

Bus to Ur destination is the stress free way to go then get your hire car .. but it's the last part of the journey that brings it's challenges especially with heavy luggage ... It will be so nice when all I have us a backpack .. maybe by the end of 2026 I'll have everything I'm going to bring over here

@philip Mckay good luck mate your nearly there

You DO NOT need credit cards to hire a car out here. Local firms still do cash.