Guide in Bulgaria

My husband and I traveled in Bulgaria, May 12-16, 2007, with a guide I found on the Internet: Patrick Peneff (e-mail patrick@guide-bg.com or visit www.bulgariaprivateguide. com).

Patrick and I communicated by e-mail, and he made all the arrangements, improving on my itinerary and booking our hotels. He joined us in Sofia with a car and was our driver and guide. He spoke perfect English and was informative, enthusiastic and very helpful.

We paid for our hotels as we went along and for the gas whenever Patrick filled up. He paid for his own expenses, staying in hotels where guides commonly stayed (inexpensive). If he joined us for a meal, he paid for his own, though we invited him to join us for our last dinner and covered that.

Bulgaria is still very inexpensive for the tourist. We stayed at the best hotels and paid under $100 a night; most were about $80. Most meals out were very inexpensive. A complete meal in the nicest restaurant was about $25 per person.

We spent one night with friends of Patrick, a married couple, in their home in a small town. This cost $25 for our room and three meals. We could not begin to finish the home-cooked, delicious meals, we were served so much food!

Bulgaria has the euro, but U.S. dollars and Bulgarian lev are used as well, and all three are dispensed from ATM machines.

Patrick charges €10 (near $15) an hour or €80 ($119) a day for any number of persons in the car plus €10 per 100 kilometers. He lives in Varna and does shore excursions from Black Sea ports as well as fishing and cultural tours.

It was a great trip, very comprehensive. I strongly recommend Patrick.

DONNA PERELMAN

Narragansett, RI