Sofia Airport to Plovdiv: Bus, Train, Taxi & Transfer (2026)

The easiest way to get from Sofia Airport to Plovdiv is a pre-booked private transfer, which covers the roughly 150 km on the Trakia motorway in about 1 h 45 min, door to door. The cheapest is the metro from Terminal 2 to Sofia Central Station (€0.80) and then a coach for around €10–12 or a BDZ train from €5.62, taking about 2–3 hours on top. For a fixed price and a driver waiting in arrivals, compare Sofia Airport transfers.

Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, so all train, coach, metro and taxi fares are now in euros.

Sofia Airport to Plovdiv: quick comparison

Option	Price	Journey time	Runs	Best for
Metro + coach from Sofia Central Bus Station	€0.80 metro + around €10–12 coach	Under 30 min metro, then about 1 h 45 min – 2 h 45 min	Around 30 coaches a day, about 08:00–23:30	Budget travellers, most arrival times
Metro + BDZ train	€0.80 metro + €5.62–7.62 train (2nd class)	About 2 h 25 min – 3 h by train	Around 10 direct trains a day	Rail fans, light luggage, Plovdiv station area
Pre-booked private transfer	Fixed price per vehicle, from around €85–110 for a car on booking sites	About 1 h 45 min	24/7, to your flight time	Families, groups, late arrivals, heavy luggage
Taxi (OK Supertrans)	No published fare – agree the total first	About 1 h 45 min	24/7	Last-minute trips
Hire car	Daily rental + e-vignette from €5.30	About 1 h 45 min	Any time	Touring Plovdiv, the Rhodopes or the ski resorts

Coach and train fares are per person; transfers are per vehicle. Times are for the trip from Sofia; allow 30–40 minutes more for the metro and changes from the airport.

Step 1: Sofia Airport metro into the city

The metro station is part of Terminal 2: follow the blue line on the floor of the arrivals hall. Line M4 trains run from 05:30 to midnight. Two options matter for Plovdiv:

• Iskarsko Shose, two stops from the airport, connects with the railway line, and direct Plovdiv trains call there about 20 minutes after leaving Sofia Central.
• Central Railway Station and Central Bus Station: ride M4 to Serdika and change to line M2 for Central Railway Station; the bus station is next door. The whole trip takes under 30 minutes.

A single metro ticket costs €0.80, or tap a contactless bank card on the barrier for a 30 plus ticket at the same price. If you land at Terminal 1, take the free shuttle bus to Terminal 2 first; it runs around the clock. Our Sofia Airport to city centre guide covers the metro in detail.

Sofia to Plovdiv bus

Coaches are the most frequent public link. Recent ticket listings show around 30 departures a day from Sofia Central Bus Station (Tsentralna Avtogara, next to the Central Railway Station), from about 08:00 until a last departure around 23:30. Operators include Union Ivkoni, Karat-S, Meritrans 2002, Group Plus and Citylines. Most fares are around €10–12 one way – Karat-S, for example, lists €11 – and the trip takes about 1 h 45 min to 2 h 45 min, averaging a little over two hours.

• Arrival in Plovdiv: most coaches arrive at Yug (South) bus station near Plovdiv’s Central Railway Station, a walk or short taxi ride from the old town; some use Sever (North) bus station. Check your ticket.
• Tickets: buy at the bus station windows or online in advance; Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings are busiest.
• Luggage: coaches have hold space; very large or extra bags may cost a little more.

There is also a scheduled shuttle from the airport itself: Traventuria has listed a morning departure from Terminals 1 and 2 to Plovdiv’s Hotel Trimontium for around €25, about two hours. With only one listed run, it suits morning arrivals only; winter timetables may add more.

Sofia to Plovdiv train

BDZ runs around ten direct trains a day from Sofia Central Station to Plovdiv, from early morning until a last departure at 22:50, plus slower journeys with a change in Karlovo that you should avoid. In the October 2026 timetable direct trains took 2 h 40 min to 3 h 05 min from Sofia, or about 2 h 25 min to 2 h 45 min from Iskarsko Shose. That is slower than the coach, partly because of repair works on the line, so check times on the day.

Train fares in euros

BDZ fares are set by distance. For the Sofia–Plovdiv band (151–160 km), the official euro tariff is:

• Fast train: €5.62 in 2nd class, €7.06 in 1st class.
• Fast train with compulsory reservation: €7.62 in 2nd class, €9.56 in 1st class.
• Seat reservation, where needed: €0.51.

Some trains require a reservation for every carriage, others only for some, and the timetable marks which. Buy tickets at Sofia Central Station, or online from BDZ before you go if you plan to board at Iskarsko Shose. Trains arrive at Plovdiv Central Station, south of the centre and close to Yug bus station. Carriages have limited room for big suitcases, so the coach or a transfer is easier with lots of luggage.

Sofia Airport to Plovdiv taxi

OK Supertrans is the official taxi company at Sofia Airport, with booking desks in the arrivals halls of both terminals. Its published tariff covers trips within Sofia: €1.50 to start and €0.75 per km by day, €1.70 and €0.85 per km between 22:00 and 06:00. It does not publish a fixed fare to Plovdiv, so ask at the desk for a total price, including luggage, before you leave. Ignore drivers who approach you inside or outside the terminal – the airport warns against unofficial taxis. For a 150 km trip, a pre-booked transfer gives you the price in advance.

Pre-booked private transfers from Sofia Airport to Plovdiv

A private transfer is priced per vehicle, so for a family or group it can cost little more per person than the coach once metro rides and taxis at each end are added. Prices on booking sites we checked in October 2026 started at around €85–110 for a car, with minivans costing more. A transfer is worth it when:

• you land in the evening or at night, after the metro stops at midnight;
• you travel with children and need child seats (give their ages when booking);
• you have heavy luggage, golf bags, bikes or ski gear;
• you are staying in the old town, where streets are steep and cobbled;
• you want a fixed price and a driver who tracks your flight if it is delayed.

Companies listed on intransfers.com include Transfers BG, BG Trans Company, Bulgarian Transfers, Bulgaria Chauffeur, Bulgarian Limousine Services and Transfer Bulgaria. Compare more on our Sofia Airport transfers and Plovdiv transfers pages, and book directly with the company. Ask whether the price includes waiting time, night supplements and child seats.

Driving from Sofia Airport to Plovdiv

Car hire desks are in the arrivals halls. The route is simple: leave the airport for the ring road, then follow the A1 Trakia motorway east to Plovdiv, about 1 h 45 min in normal traffic. You need an e-vignette for the motorway: from 1 August 2026 a car vignette costs €5.30 for one day, €6.60 for a weekend and €10 for a week, bought online through the official BG TOLL system if the rental car does not already have one. Winter tyres with at least 4 mm of tread are required from 15 November to 1 March.

Plovdiv Airport: the alternative

Plovdiv has its own small airport, south-east of the city near Krumovo, a short drive from the centre. Flights are limited and seasonal. In late October 2026 the airport’s flight board showed Ryanair flights from London Stansted, Manchester and Milan Malpensa and Wizz Air flights from London Luton, so travellers from those cities can skip Sofia altogether. For most other routes, Sofia Airport, with far more airlines, is the practical gateway. Public transport from Plovdiv Airport is limited, so most passengers take a taxi or pre-booked transfer.

Beyond Plovdiv: Pamporovo, Bansko and Borovets

• Pamporovo: about 85 km south of Plovdiv in the Rhodopes. Buses towards Smolyan pass through the resort in about 2 hours, and a private transfer from Plovdiv Airport takes about 1 h 30 min. See our Sofia Airport to Pamporovo guide and Pamporovo transfers.
• Comparing ski resorts: if you are choosing between Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo, our Bansko, Borovets or Pamporovo guide compares transfer times and prices from Sofia Airport.
• A night in Sofia first: for operators within the capital, see Sofia transfers.

Tips for travelling from Sofia Airport to Plovdiv

• Late arrivals: the metro stops at midnight and the last coach leaves Sofia around 23:30, so after a late landing a taxi or pre-booked transfer is the only realistic option.
• Coach before train: unless you like trains, the coach is usually quicker, more frequent and similar in price.
• Official taxis only: book at the OK Supertrans desk or use a car you booked; never accept offers in the arrivals hall.
• Old prices in leva: some websites still show leva (1 euro = 1.95583 leva); convert before comparing.
• Traffic: Tsarigradsko Shose and the Sofia ring road are slow on weekday evenings and Friday afternoons; the Trakia motorway is busiest on Friday and Sunday evenings.
• Payment: contactless cards work on the Sofia metro, but carry some euro cash for coach tickets and taxis in Plovdiv.