Sofia Airport to the City Center: Metro, Bus and Taxi

Sofia Airport has its own metro station, and the M4 line runs from Terminal 2 to Serdika in the center in about 20 minutes for €0.80. Here is how the metro, bus 84, the official taxi queue and private transfers compare on price and time, and which one I'd pick for a daytime landing, a late flight or a pile of luggage.

Sofia Airport to the city center at a glance

Sofia Airport sits about 10 km east of the center, and you have five ways to cover that distance. The metro wins on price and speed for most people, and the taxi wins after the trains stop.

Terminal 1 or Terminal 2

There are two terminals, and the one you land at decides your first step. Most airlines use the newer Terminal 2. The low-cost carriers Wizz Air and easyJet, plus a few charter airlines, have used Terminal 1, so check the terminal on your booking before you fly.

The metro station is only at Terminal 2. From Terminal 1, take the free shuttle bus between the terminals, a hop of about five minutes. Bus 84 and the taxi desks serve both terminals, so you only need the shuttle for the metro.

Taking the metro from Sofia Airport

The M4 is how I'd get into Sofia on almost any daytime arrival. It skips the traffic on the boulevards, and it drops you at the city's main interchange for €0.80.

Finding the airport metro station

From the arrivals hall at Terminal 2, turn left and walk past the check-in desks to the far end of the building. Go out through the doors there and turn left again, and the station is about a minute's walk away. The English signs say "subway", and the station is on the same level as arrivals, so you never deal with stairs or elevators while pulling a suitcase.

Tickets and paying by card

A single ride costs €0.80 and is valid across the metro network, so a change to another line on the same trip is included. The simplest way to pay is to tap a contactless bank card or a phone on the reader at the gate, which opens and charges the fare.

You can also buy a paper ticket from the staffed booth or the machines beside the gates. The machines take cash, and one of them also takes cards. A paper single works for one metro trip from that station within 60 minutes of buying it, and children under 7 ride free.

The luggage rule

On Sofia's metro and city buses, each passenger carries up to two pieces of luggage free. Every extra piece needs its own ticket, and a big suitcase can count as that extra piece. With a suitcase, a backpack and a duty-free bag, I'd buy a second €0.80 ticket for the suitcase. It costs less than a fine.

Where to get off

The airport is the end of the line, so every train heads into the city and you always find a seat. Serdika, 12 stops in, is the central interchange and the stop for most hotels in the old center.

Get off one stop earlier, at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, if you are staying east of the center. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is about 250 meters from that station, and Serdika is about a 10-minute walk from the cathedral. Most first-time visitors stay in the center around Serdika, which puts the hotel a short walk from the platform.

The airport line is one of four lines on the Sofia metro, and your €0.80 covers a change to any of them on the same trip. That makes a hotel near NDK or out in Lozenets one change away.

First and last trains

The first train leaves the airport a little after 5:20 AM and the last one at about 11:30 PM, with small changes between the summer and winter timetables. Trains run every 7 to 14 minutes on weekdays and every 12 to 15 minutes on weekends and on public holidays.

Bus 84 and the night bus

Bus 84 links both terminals with Gen. Gurko Street in the center for the same €0.80. It takes around 45 minutes on weekdays and 35 on weekends, and it sits in the same traffic as every car on the road. I'd only take it if your hotel is right on its route and the metro would leave you with a long walk.

Buy the ticket before you board, from the Urban Mobility kiosk or the machine in Terminal 1 arrivals, or tap a contactless card on the validator once you are on board. A tap buys a 30-minute ticket for €0.80 that also covers a change to the metro or a tram, as long as you validate again in each vehicle. The two-bag rule applies here as well. Ignore bus 384, which serves the eastern suburbs and never reaches the center.

The night bus N4 leaves from Terminal 2 between midnight and 4 AM. The €3 24-hour card includes the night lines, so check the route to your stop before you rely on the N4. A contactless tap works on the validators in trams and buses as well as at the metro gates, so the card you use at the airport covers getting around Sofia for the rest of the trip.

Taxis from Sofia Airport

Yellow! is the airport's contracted taxi company, with desks in the arrivals areas of both terminals. A ride to the center costs about €13 to €15 on the meter and takes 20 to 30 minutes, depending on traffic. To the central railway and bus stations, expect about €14 to €15.

Since July 2026, Terminal 2 has a ticket queue for taxis. You go to the Yellow! desk beyond arrivals, request a car at the kiosk, and take the printed ticket to Exit 5, which is marked Taxi. A coordinator there assigns you a car. Signs and gates move, so follow the airport's own signs if they differ.

Uber and Bolt send no cars in Bulgaria, so a ride app from home shows nothing at the gate. A licensed cab carries its prices on a sticker on the windshield, and reading a Sofia taxi's tariff before you get in is the surest way to know the meter is honest.

Private transfers and hotel pickups

A pre-booked transfer gives you a fixed price agreed before you fly and a driver waiting at arrivals with your name on a sign. It suits families, groups with a lot of luggage and anyone landing after midnight to a hotel off the metro line. Compare the quote with the €13 to €15 the Yellow! desk charges on the meter before you book.

Ask which terminal the driver meets you at, how long they wait if your flight is late, and whether the car has room for every bag. If your hotel offers a pickup, ask whether it is shared or private and what it costs.

Which option to take

Your landing time, your bags and the distance from your hotel to a metro station decide it.

From the airport to the train and bus stations

You can go straight from the plane to a train or a coach out of Sofia without a taxi across town. Ride the M4 to Serdika, change to the blue M2 line toward Obelya, and get off at the second stop, Central Railway Station. The Central Bus Station stands next to the railway station.

That route works well if you are heading on to Plovdiv for the day: trains run from Sofia Central to Plovdiv Central, and buses leave from the coach station next door. The intercity trains to Plovdiv take about 3 hours, so the bus is often the quicker of the two.

Going back to Sofia Airport

The M4 runs from Serdika to the airport in about 20 minutes for €0.80, and you can board at any station on the line and stay on to the end. The last airport train leaves Serdika at 11:23 PM on weekdays and 11:32 PM on weekends and on holidays. The first leaves at 5:08 AM, or 5:10 AM on non-working days.

The metro drops you at Terminal 2. If your flight leaves from Terminal 1, allow up to 40 minutes more for the shuttle.

Cash and phone data when you land

You need no cash for the metro, since a card works at the gates, but most people want some euros for the first day. There are ATMs in the public areas of arrivals and departures. Skip the stand-alone yellow Euronet machines in the hall, which charge about €3.50 to €7.50 a withdrawal, and look for a bank machine from DSK, UniCredit Bulbank, Raiffeisen or Postbank. When any machine offers to charge you in your home currency, choose euro: money in Bulgaria runs on the euro, and the home-currency option costs 3 to 5% on the spot.

The SIM shops are in the arrivals hall, right in front of you as you come through the sliding doors from baggage claim. They charge more than the same networks in town. An eSIM for Bulgaria bought the night before has you online at the gate, and you need data to order a taxi through an app such as TaxiMe or Yellow!.