Located in the Balkans in the south-eastern part of Europe, Bulgaria is easily accessible by plane thanks to the massive presence of low-cost airlines in the market.
Frequent bus services run to Bulgaria mainly from Turkey and Greece.
International trains run only once a day to Istanbul and once a day to Bucharest.
By air
The most convenient way to get to Bulgaria is by plane.
Flights from Bulgaria are mainly to Europe and also to the United Arab Emirates or Qatar. There are no long-haul flights to Bulgaria, but there are frequent connections to many major European airports.
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There are 4 international airports in Bulgaria. Click on a name to find out practical information about transport or services at that airport.
- Sofia SOF - the country's largest airport with many flights across Europe, to Qatar or Abu Dhabi, and a large base for low-cost airlines Wizz Air and Ryanair.
- Burgas BOJ - a major seaside airport with many summer charters throughout Europe. During the winter it has the only regular service to London
- Varna VAR - a major seaside airport with many summer charters across Europe. Over the winter has several regular Wizz Air services to Western Europe, Austrian Airlines to Vienna and Bulgaria Air to Sofia
- Plovdiv PDV - the smallest airport with several Ryanair flights to Western and Southern Europe
By bus
All neighbouring countries have direct bus connections to Bulgaria.
The table below gives examples of the most common connections on which tickets can be bought online.
| Route | Price from | Carriers | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sofia - Plovdiv - Haskovo - Istanbul |
60 bgn | Flixbus Metro Arda Tur Huntur Alpar |
2x daily 5x daily 6 times a day 1x per day 1x per day |
| Blagoevgrad - Istanbul | 70 bgn | Alpar | 1x per day |
| Pazardhik - Istanbul | 60 bgn | Huntur | 1x daily |
| Varna - Burgas - Istanbul | 50 bgn | Arda Tur | 4x daily |
| Varna - Sunny Beach - Burgas - Istanbul | 50 bgn | Metro Arda Tur Nisikli |
Total up to 15 times a day |
| Dobrich - Varna - Burgas - Istanbul | 70 bgn | Arda Tur | 1x per day |
| Ruse - Razgrad - Shumen - Sliven - Istanbul | 70 bgn | Metro Huntur |
1x daily 2x daily |
| Veliko Tarnovo - Stara Zagora - Istanbul | 80 bgn | Huntur | 1x daily |
| Sofia - Blagoevgrad - Sandanski - Thessaloniki | 15 bgn | Flixbus Arda Tur Union-Ivkoni Tourist |
2x daily 3x daily 3x daily 1x per day |
| Sofia - Blagoevgrad - Bansko - Kavala | 70 bgn | Flixbus | 1x daily |
| Sofia - Kumanovo - Skopje | 50 bgn | Flixbus Matpu |
2x daily 2x daily |
| Sofia - Dimitrovgrad - Niš | 34 bgn | Flixbus | 2x daily |
| Sofia - Belgrade | 72 bgn | Karat - S | 1x daily |
| Sofia - Pleven - Ruse - Bucharest | 20 bgn | Flixbus Union-Ivkoni |
1x daily 1x daily |
| Burgas - Stara Zagora - Plovdiv - Thessaloniki | 100 bgn | Union-Ivkoni | 1x daily |
| Sunny Beach - Varna - Shumen - Bucharest | 45 bgn | Flixbus | 1-2x daily |
| Sofia - Elbasan - Tirana | 80 bgn | Flixbus | 1x daily |
| Sofia - Zagreb - Ljubljana | 50 bgn | Flixbus Union-Ivkoni |
2x daily 1x daily |
| Sofia - Budapest | 115 bgn | Flixbus Arda Tur |
1x daily 1x daily |
| Sofia - Vienna | 89 bgn | Flixbus Arda Tur Union-Ivkoni |
1x daily 1x daily 1x daily |
| Sofia - Linz - Salbzurg | 74 bgn | Flixbus Union-Ivkoni |
2x daily 1x daily |
| Sofia - Bratislava | 100 bgn | Flixbus Union-Ivkoni |
1x daily 1x daily |
| Sofia - Prague | 107 bgn | Flixbus Arda Tur Union-Ivkoni |
1x daily 1x daily 1x daily |
| Sofia - Brno | 100 bgn | Flixbus Arda Tur Union-Ivkoni |
1x daily 1x daily 1x daily |
| Sofia - Berlin | 150 bgn | Flixbus Arda Tur Union-Ivkoni |
1x daily 1x daily 1x daily |
| Sofia - Munich | 75 bgn | Flixbus Union-Ivkoni |
1x daily 1x daily |
By train
International trains from Bulgaria currently run only once a day to Turkey and once a day to Romania.
Train Sofia - Istanbul
There is a daily night train from Sofia to Halkali station in Istanbul with sleeper and couchette carriages only. Seating cars are not available.
The train follows the following route:
- Sofia - Klisura - Kazanlak - Stara Zagora - Dimitrovgrad - Svilengrad - Kapikule - Edirne - Istanbul
Tickets can only be bought in person at the international ticket office in Sofia. Online sales of train tickets to Istanbul are not possible.
- Basic fare - 52 bgn
- Sun lounger - 20 bgn
- Sleeper - 30 bgn
The train journey time from Sofia is 12.5 hours, almost 4 hours longer than the significantly busier buses.
Detailed information can be found on the official Bulgarian Railways website: bdz.bg/en/a/sofia-istanbul-sofia.
Sofia - Bucharest train
Direct trains currently run daily from Sofia once a day along the following route:
- Sofia - Pleven - Gorna Oryahovitsa - Ruse - Bucharest
The trains are daily in both directions: from Sofia the train leaves around 7:00 and back from Bucharest around 10:45.
Tickets can only be bought at the international ticket office in Sofia in person. Online ticket sales for the train to Istanbul are not possible.
- Basic fare - 58 bgn
Travel time is 10 hours, 3 hours more than by bus.
Detailed information can be found on the official website of Bulgarian Railways: bdz.bg/en/a/sofia-bucuresti-sofia.
