Sofia airport to city centre: trains, buses, taxis and costs

Sofia Airport (SOF) has two terminals. The metro serves Terminal 2 only; Terminal 1 sits on the other side of the runway and is linked by a free shuttle. Everything below assumes you are heading for the centre — around Serdika, the Alexander Nevsky area or the main bus and rail stations.

The metro is the reason most people do not need a taxi. From Terminal 2 the line runs under the city to the centre in about 25 minutes, with trains every few minutes at peak. It is clean, signed in English and unaffected by traffic. Tap a contactless bank card at the gate or buy a ticket from the machine; keep the ticket until you exit if you bought paper.

Terminal 1 is the catch. There is no metro station there, so take the free shuttle bus to Terminal 2 and change. Allow about 40 minutes door to door. If you land at Terminal 1 with a lot of luggage late at night, a taxi may be the better trade.

Sofia taxis are cheap by Western European standards — the parent country facts put the city rate at about €0.80–1 per km — so a run to the centre is a low double-digit figure in lev, not a major cost. The risk is not the price, it is the car. Use the official rank outside arrivals, or book through an app so the fare is tracked. Yellow and OK Supertrans are the established local names; Uber operates in Sofia (check).

Ignore anyone inside the terminal who asks whether you need a taxi. Posted rates on the window vary between companies, and unmarked cars routinely overcharge visitors. If you do take a rank taxi, check the meter is running before you pull away, and pay in lev rather than agreeing a euro price.

City buses also connect the airport with the centre and are useful as a daytime backup if the metro is not running. They are slower, stop more often and are harder to use with big bags, but the fare is a single city ticket. Check the route and stop at the airport information desk rather than guessing.

Pre-booked hotel transfers and fixed-price private cars cost more than the metro but remove all decisions: someone meets you in arrivals with your name. For a family or a group of four with ski bags, that is often the cheapest sensible option once you divide the price.

The metro is the only option that costs about the same as a coffee. Taxis scale with distance and traffic, so the same trip can differ by a few lev depending on the hour. Everything here is a 2026 estimate — treat the numbers as a band, not a quote.

Landing late changes the decision. The metro stops overnight, so an arrival after roughly 23:00 usually means a taxi, an app car or a pre-booked transfer — decide before you fly rather than at the rank. Check the current last-train time for your date.

Change a small amount of money or use a card; you do not need much cash for the metro, but taxis and small kiosks are easier in lev. Buy a local eSIM before you land so you can book a car the moment you clear baggage. If you are continuing straight on, Sofia's Central and Serdika bus terminals sit side by side — check which one your onward ticket uses.