Best way to travel from Sofia to Varna? Rent cars or train?

Hi all,

I'm going on a group holiday to Bulgaria in August and we're flying in to Sofia. Our villa is in Varna on the coast, so I was wondering about the best way to get there from Sofia.

We plan to get rental cars for the week anyway so how is the drive there - how long will it take roughly and is it scenic + are there any nice places to stop enroute? Is it an easy drive?

On the other hand, the train may be easier and is supposed to be very scenic - has anyone been on this train trip - how was it?

Think the cost will be similar with either option due to the number of people in our group (14) so any advice on the best form of transport would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Well, the lanes are rather small in Bulgaria. And the drivers are rather insane LOL. I would take a train--trains are fast, and though they may not be very clean, they ARE scenic. They're not expensive either.

I would take the train.

By air!
But if you want to stop- rent a car and stop in Veliko Tarnovo (ex-capital). Very,very beatiful town !Arbanasi, too.
I don't recomend you train-it's so many hours-near 9-10.