CLIB 2024 will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Getting from Sofia Airport to the city centre and around town

There are three available transport options from Sofia Airport to the city centre: by taxi, metro or public bus. In town there are also trams and trolleybuses. Buying and validating tickets for all ground means of transportation is the same.

By taxi

A taxi ride to the city centre of Sofia costs approximately € 10 – 11 (BGN 20 – 22) and the journey takes about 25 minutes on average. Taxis are located at both Sofia Airport terminals.

By metro

Sofia Airport Metro Station is located in the eastern part of Terminal 2. You can reach it by following the floor markings in blue at the public area of Terminal 2.

Sofia Airport provides free-of-charge transportation between the two terminal buildings (Terminal 1 and Terminal 2). The shuttle bus stops located in front of the terminal buildings are designated by signage and pavement markings. Check here for more information.

The metro line provides a transport connection to the city centre. The journey time from Sofia Airport to the city centre is approximately 18 min. The metro trains on the route to the airport operate from 5:30 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and weekends/holidays. 

Serdika station is one of the most central stations in downtown Sofia, but you may need to get off at a different stop so check in advance which station is most convenient for you.

By bus

There are two buses from Sofia Airport to the city centre: 84 and 184. Both buses follow the same route to the city centre, where you need to get off the bus at General Gurko Street next to Knyazheska Garden. The journey duration is 40 minutes.

Both bus routes operate under an all-day timetable. 

Buses stop at both Sofia Airport terminals, right outside the Arrivals Hall as you exit the building.

You can request more information at the kiosks or check the info provided by Sofia Airport.

The timetables, routes and real-time planning options are available at the website of the  Urban Mobility Centre.

Tickets and baggage allowance

Sofia is transitioning to electronic ticketing and validation, but paper tickets are still in use. Electronic cards/tickets and paper tickets are validated on the ticketing machines by the bus/tram/trolleybus doors. The same machines are used to pay the fare by means of a bank card.

Validation: Tap your ticket/card against the machine and check that it flashes green, if not, try another machine. The ticket is then valid for the following 30 or 60 minutes depending on which ticket you purchased. Make sure to validate your travel document immediately after boarding the vehicle.

The cheapest ticket costs BGN 1.60 and allows you to transfer between as many vehicles as needed in the span of 30 minutes. If you choose the other type of ticket, which allows passengers to transfer within 60 minutes, you will pay BGN 2.20. You must validate your ticket upon entering your first vehicle and revalidate it at every subsequent vehicle. You can also pay-as-you-go with your bank card. If you choose this method, and you take more than two trips per day, you will only be charged BGN 4.00 and issued (electronically) with a day pass that can be used on all modes of transport (Metro included) for the remainder of the day.

Another option is to buy a ticket from the driver of the tram, bus, or trolley bus. It costs BGN 2 and is single-use. It must be validated in the vehicle it was purchased from and cannot be used in subsequent vehicles. A metro ticket is different from tickets for buses, trams, and trolleybuses and can be purchased at every metro station either from a machine or the service desk. More information about the types of travel documents is available here.

Passengers with regular transport documents are allowed to take up to 2 pieces of hand luggage on public transport vehicles free of charge. Any additional pieces of luggage are charged with a separate transport document.

At Sofia Airport you can buy tickets for the public transport at the kiosks of the Urban Mobility Centre, as well as from a ticket vending machine, installed at Terminal 1 Arrivals public area.  The machine works with Bulgarian levs and coins and the issued tickets are valid for the bus lines.

Ticket machines for metro tickets are located at Sofia Airport Metro Station. The ticket machines accept Bulgarian banknotes and coins, and one of them accepts credit cards as well.

More information

Check the Visit Sofia website for more information about places to visit and things to do while staying in Sofia.