Public transport to the centre of Sofia is provided by the metro and buses.

The metro stops only at Terminal 2, from where you can travel to Terminal 1 every 20 minutes on a free shuttle bus. Buses 84 and 184 run to the city centre from both terminals.

	Fare	Journey time to the city centre
Metro M4	0,80 eur	Terminal 2 – 28 minutes
Bus 84	0,80 eur	Terminal 1 – 30 minutes Terminal 2 – 35 minutes

View the top 10 best hotels in Sofia

Public transport tickets

Tickets are valid for all forms of transport in Sofia, i.e. the metro, buses and trams. You can change between all modes of transport as you wish.

You don’t need to buy tickets at all. Simply use your own contactless card, which you tap against the turnstile each time you enter a metro station. You can also use the card to pay on buses and trams by tapping it against the reader inside the vehicle.

However, you can still purchase tickets in paper form (single-journey) or as a rechargeable card (Sofia City Card).

Single-journey tickets can be bought from ticket machines in metro stations (cash only). Day and multi-day tickets can only be bought at the staffed ticket counter in each metro station (cash only).

Ticket	Validity	Price	Payment method
Ticket 30+	A single journey with one change, which must take place within 30 minutes of validation	0,80 eur	Contactless card Paper ticket
60+ Ticket	A single journey with a change, which must take place within 60 minutes of validation	1,10 eur	Contactless card Sofia City Card
All day	Valid only on the specified calendar day from 00:00 to 24:00	2 eur	Contactless card* Sofia City Card
24-hour	Valid for 24 hours from validation	3 eur	Sofia City Card
72-hour	Valid for 72 hours from validation	7,60 eur	Sofia City Card

*In practice, there is a daily limit of 4 leva. Once you reach this limit, no further amount can be deducted from the card that day. However, you must still tap the card on the reader each time.

If you’re travelling from the airport by bus, you can only buy full-day or multi-day tickets at the metro station in Terminal 2. We therefore recommend using your own contactless card on the buses.

Metro M4

The yellow M4 metro line is the quickest and most comfortable way to get to the city centre if you’re travelling to or from Terminal 2.

When travelling from the city centre, trains on the red M1 line also stop at the M4 line platforms in the same direction, although they do not run to the airport.

From the airport, the metro will take you directly to the city centre (St. Kliment Ohridski and Serdika stations) without the need to change trains.

At the terminus ‘Obelya’, the yellow M4 line automatically changes to the blue M2 line without the need to alight; the M2 line goes, for example, to the main railway and coach stations. However, you’ll reach the station much more quickly if you change at Serdika station.

• Journeytime – 28 minutes (Serdika station), 35 minutes to the railway station with a change at Serdika station
• Frequency – every 7 to 14 minutes
• Last metro from the airport – 23:52
• First metro from Serdika station – 05:09
• Official metro website: metrosofia.com/en
• Transport search engine: sofiatraffic.bg/en
• Cheap hotel near Serdika station: Hotel Central Point **

Buses and night transport

The bus service is the most convenient way to get to Terminal 1 without having to change. Buses also run for longer hours than the underground.

Bus 84 runs to the city centre, terminating atGeneral Gurko, where you can change to metro line M3 (Orlov Most station) or M4 (St. Kliment Ohridski station).

The bus travels from the city centre first to Terminal 1 and then on to Terminal 2.

You can find detailed timetables on the website:sofiatraffic.bg/en/schedules

• Journey time – 30 minutes (General Gurko Street)
• Frequency – every 10 to 15 minutes
• Last bus from the airport – 23:27 (Terminal 2), 23:33 (Terminal 1)*
• First bus from the city centre – 4.30
• Top hotel near Sv. Kliment Ohridski station: InterContinental Sofia *****

During the night, between approximately 23:40 and 3:40, the N4 night bus service runs to the airport once an hour – see map and timetable.

Taxi

There are plenty of taxis waiting outside both terminals at all hours of the day and night. The fare is calculated using a taximeter, which takes into account both the distance travelled and the total journey time.

On average, a journey to the city centre will cost around 12 eur and payment is by cash only. Taxi drivers also commonly accept euros. The face value in euros is always half that in Bulgarian leva.

Apps such as Uber or Bolt are not yet available in Sofia.

Car hire

At Sofia Airport, you’ll find many local and international car hire companies.

Prices for a week’s hire during the summer season are significantly lower than at coastal airports, starting from 70 eur.

• Compare prices and book a car

Hiring a car is a great option if you’re heading straight from the airport to the Rila or Pirin mountains, or off to explore the Bulgarian countryside.