Before you land
- Money: Bulgaria uses the euro (€) — if you’re coming from the eurozone, no exchange needed at all.
- Documents: passport, university admission letter, and several passport photos (you’ll need them for more forms than you expect).
- Download offline: Google Maps offline map of Pleven, Google Translate with Bulgarian offline pack. Cyrillic street signs are much less scary with the camera-translate button.
Day 1–2: SIM card
A Bulgarian number makes everything easier — deliveries, bank, university admin.
- The three operators are A1, Yettel and Vivacom. All have shops in the city centre and the malls, and all work fine in Pleven.
- Prepaid starter packs cost roughly €4–8 and include several GB of data and national minutes; monthly top-ups are in the same range.
- Bring your passport — registration is required by law, and the shop cannot sell you a SIM without it.
Student tip: ask for a predplatena karta (prepaid). Don’t sign a contract plan in week one — you can switch later once you have a residence address and know how much data you use.
Day 1–2: Cash & cards
- Cards are accepted almost everywhere in Pleven; Apple Pay / Google Pay work with most cards.
- Get some cash anyway (€20–50) — small shops, markets, and some taxis prefer it.
- Use bank ATMs (attached to a bank branch), and if an ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, always choose EUR — the “home currency” conversion rate is a rip-off.
- Opening a Bulgarian bank account can wait until your residence paperwork starts.
Day 2–3: Supermarkets & essentials
- Big chains in Pleven: Kaufland, Lidl, Billa — cheapest for weekly shopping.
- Pharmacies are everywhere (green cross signs). None is 24/7 in Pleven — Phoenix Pharmacy (bul. “Danail Popov” 16) is open daily 08:00–23:00 and SOpharmacy next to it until 24:00.
- For plates, hangers and everything-for-the-room shops, ask for a domashen magazin or just head to the nearest mall.
Getting around
- The city centre is compact — most things are walkable.
- Taxis are cheap by Western standards. There’s no taxi app in Pleven — you call: Orion +359 64 805 555. Ask the price roughly in advance or make sure the meter runs.
- City buses and trolleys exist; we’re preparing a full transport guide with lines and tickets.
Paperwork — start early
- Non-EU students: your residence permit process must start soon after arrival — the university’s international office will guide you; go there in your first week and ask for the checklist.
- EU students: you’ll register your stay too, but the process is lighter.
- Full details in our Visas & Paperwork guide (coming soon) — and always confirm deadlines with the migration office; rules change.
Save these
- Emergency page — 112, hospitals, late pharmacies. Add pleven.guide to your home screen: open the site in your browser → menu → Add to Home Screen.
- The university international office — number and hours coming to the University & Campus page.
The one cultural thing to learn on day one: in Bulgaria, a head shake means YES and a nod means NO — the opposite of most of the world. It causes real confusion in shops. More in Bulgarian Basics.