Day 13 - Kromidovo to Dimitrovgrad

Monday 9th July 2018

From Camping Kromidovo we ride over the Pirin mountain range east to Götze Delchev. Thirty miles or so of lovely mountain roads, quite a few hairpins but mostly single apex curves with good camber. So it’s fast and technical, just what the doctor ordered after the horrors of the motorway yesterday. 

Local traffic on the roads in Kromidovo


 We stop for coffee in the town and then head north to Simitle, through a gentle pass between the Pirin and the Rila mountains. Both peaks rise to just shy of 3000 metres.

In the Pirin mountains


 Then it’s back on the motorway for the run north up to Sofia and the Serbian border beyond at Kalotina. 

The border crossing is relatively simple. Weirdly the Bulgarian authorities want to see our bike ownership documents before letting us out. Strange because they didn’t ask to see them when we entered Bulgaria so I don’t really see the point. 

The Serbian checkpoint was just a wave through after a glance at our passports. No one asked us whether we had insurance cover.

Arrival at the Hotel Amfora in Dimitrovgrad
Our destination is Dimitrovgrad 5km on the Serbian side of the border. I found the Hotel Amfora on the internet while planning this tour last winter. It is basic but clean, has good WiFi and garage parking for the bikes. It costs €30 for an en-suite room with a double and a single bed. Breakfast is extra. Not complaining about that!

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