We went to Burgas today and timed the trip back to Yambol

Burgas Center to Yambol Center 50 Minutes

But beware there are no services until you reach the outskirts of Chirpan/ Plodiv

There is a layby just after the Karnabat turn off marked as an area with Toilets but none to be seen not even a bucket

tonyb60 wrote:

We went to Burgas today and timed the trip back to Yambol

Burgas Center to Yambol Center 50 Minutes

But beware there are no services until you reach the outskirts of Chirpan/ Plodiv

There is a layby just after the Karnabat turn off marked as an area with Toilets but none to be seen not even a bucket

This country always appears to be a DIY country and so maybe you have to provide yourself with a bucket. This could be conceived as an inconvenience of course, but well worth it in the end!!

It would be nice to have a motorway from VT to somewhere, preferably an international airport. Never mind, only a thought!!

When i drove from Plovdiv to Burgas last week, decided to check with the sat-nav the time saving, the latest new bit of road isn't on (sat-nav) and so would direct me via Yambol exit etc etc. So the time saving according to the sat-nav driving time versus the actual driving time was 45 minutes. Now the Vidin bridge is open it's now possible to reach Burgas from Romania comfortably, or vice versa.
Slightly off topic, i needed a new sat-nav as my 5 year old Tomtom (according to Tomtom) won't update, and even if it did was nearly £50, so "
invested"
in a new, cheap Chinese Sat-nav off Ebay, £35 ish with life time free updates, with a 14 day money back guarantee if not satisfied there was little risk. Suffice to say i'm very satisfied with it, every road is on including Greece (which as always been an issue with my Tomtom) and the POI's brilliant. I don't know the forum rules if I'm allowd to place a link, i will if anyones interested and Mod gives the green light. I have absolutley no connection with the seller, just wishing to pass on a great money saving tip.

One problem that the new motorway has brought is trafic jams at weekends coming into Burgas, last Friday the jam was upto Vetren at times. It's going to be 2 years before a new bypass is built to relieve the Sozopol bound traffic. Burgas is busier than i've seen it in years!

Just what I didn't need to hear..leaving for Sozopol at 8am and not looking forward to the drive.

bgbazz wrote:

Just what I didn't need to hear..leaving for Sozopol at 8am and not looking forward to the drive.

Forwarned etc etc etc etc. Actually mornings aren't too bad, but i would allow a little extra time just in case ;
-)

Edna Bira wrote:

When i drove from Plovdiv to Burgas last week, decided to check with the sat-nav the time saving, the latest new bit of road isn't on (sat-nav) and so would direct me via Yambol exit etc etc. So the time saving according to the sat-nav driving time versus the actual driving time was 45 minutes. Now the Vidin bridge is open it's now possible to reach Burgas from Romania comfortably, or vice versa.
Slightly off topic, i needed a new sat-nav as my 5 year old Tomtom (according to Tomtom) won't update, and even if it did was nearly £50, so "
invested"
in a new, cheap Chinese Sat-nav off Ebay, £35 ish with life time free updates, with a 14 day money back guarantee if not satisfied there was little risk. Suffice to say i'm very satisfied with it, every road is on including Greece (which as always been an issue with my Tomtom) and the POI's brilliant. I don't know the forum rules if I'm allowd to place a link, i will if anyones interested and Mod gives the green light. I have absolutley no connection with the seller, just wishing to pass on a great money saving tip.

I would be interested in the link you have for the satnav as I could do with a new one as a spare.

My old TomTom One (version one) is obviously getting on now but still works great and updates ok with all and any of the new maps that are available on the internet and from certain Satnav only related sites.

Phil-H wrote:

Edna Bira wrote:

When i drove from Plovdiv to Burgas last week, decided to check with the sat-nav the time saving, the latest new bit of road isn't on (sat-nav) and so would direct me via Yambol exit etc etc. So the time saving according to the sat-nav driving time versus the actual driving time was 45 minutes. Now the Vidin bridge is open it's now possible to reach Burgas from Romania comfortably, or vice versa.
Slightly off topic, i needed a new sat-nav as my 5 year old Tomtom (according to Tomtom) won't update, and even if it did was nearly £50, so "
invested"
in a new, cheap Chinese Sat-nav off Ebay, £35 ish with life time free updates, with a 14 day money back guarantee if not satisfied there was little risk. Suffice to say i'm very satisfied with it, every road is on including Greece (which as always been an issue with my Tomtom) and the POI's brilliant. I don't know the forum rules if I'm allowd to place a link, i will if anyones interested and Mod gives the green light. I have absolutley no connection with the seller, just wishing to pass on a great money saving tip.

I would be interested in the link you have for the satnav as I could do with a new one as a spare.

My old TomTom One (version one) is obviously getting on now but still works great and updates ok with all and any of the new maps that are available on the internet and from certain Satnav only related sites.

I have a Garmin with life time updates. Works fine

I have a brain and brilliant sense of direction...coupled with logic....works fine too.......

It actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting..ended up further south in Kiten because Sozopol was pretty much full up.

Never seen so many people at the beach as I did today..and we've been every year since 2006.

Mount the 22 toilets on the highway "
Trakia"



Sn.: Moreto.net
DarikNews.bg

Thursday, 1 August 2013 20:58
(14) (2)
Installed 22 toilets in recreation grounds in the direction of Stara Zagora to Burgas highway "
Trakia"
, the press center of the road agency. Friday is expected to be placed and the remaining 22 in the area of the region of Stara Zagora. According to the contract the contractor the contract for "
Supply, installation and maintenance through the rental of chemical toilets on the site for recreation Lot 2, Lot 3, Lot 4 and Lot 5 AM"
Trakia "
-"
You &
G Master Kliin "
Ltd. to provide a total of 44 chemical toilets on 22 recreation grounds in the area - between Stara Zagora and Burgas.

Following a week on the coast, I've just driven back to Plovdiv from Burgas..what a boring, endless trip! No services, no fuel stops, just a series of laybys with blue chemical toilets and nothing else. To me, it was as exciting as watching paint drying and I can quite understand why drivers fall asleep at the wheel. The first chance for a coffee or snack was just 18 minutes before home in Plovdiv..following a 3 hour drive!

My advice for anyone travelling from Sofia to the coast, on the A1, is to eat up, drink up, fill the car up and carry lots of snacks and drinks, especially if you have children in the car. I'm pretty lucky, my car can go just about 1000 kms on a full tank, I also have a small 'fridge full of cold water and other drinks..the only thing I can't do is make percolated coffee 'on the run', but I'm working on that.

the only thing I can't do is make percolated coffee 'on the run', but I'm working on that.

Here you go then, although not very cheap with the postage, but just goes to show they are available.
[url:2x5xqe6w]http:
//www.
ebay.
co.
uk/itm/NEW-12V-Fast-Perk-Auto-Coffee-Percolator-Deluxe-1970s-Vintage-NEVER-OPENED-/360645689376?pt=US_12_Volt_Portable_Car_Appliances&
hash=item53f8288020[/url:2x5xqe6w]

[url:2x5xqe6w]http:
//www.
ebay.
co.
uk/itm/Vintage-Empire-Kar-N-Home-Travel-Coffee-Maker-Percolator-Dual-Power-12-120-Volt-/111124711798?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&
hash=item19df8c8976[/url:2x5xqe6w]

Although I dare say if you got a high enough powered 'Inverter' then you could use a normal percolator.

Sell the trabant and get a faster car, the journey from Burgas is just over 2 hours, i know i've done it, about 250kms, hardly a endless journey. It has also been widely publiced about the lack of services, the reason for this is so is because of the effort/rush to complete the road for the summer season.
You say you carry snacks and cold drinks, what more do you need for a 2+ hour journey. There are exits at Karnobat, Yambol and Stara Zagora for malnurished and dehidrated people. I'm sure you must have driven the old road which resembled "
death race 2000"
evrey Kilometer, I know which i prefer and will use.

Sofia to Burgas in a little over 2 hours..I'd like to see you that legally! It's actually about 330 kms.