Sofia airport, practical information for tourists

Information about Sofia airport in Bulgaria.

You have landed at Sofia airport and your doubts begin about where to change currency?, Where to go out?, How to get to your hotel?, What means of transport to choose to go to the center of Sofia?, and all this in an environment that is new to you, where of course you cannot ask anyone in Spanish and if you try in English you will be surprised that you know more English than the person at the desk of “Information”… Don't panic, in senderismoeuropa.com , What travel agency specialized in active tourism in Bulgaria, We have already gone through this and they are also doubts that our clients often ask us. Therefore, here we offer you practical information about Sofia Airport, We hope it helps you and you can start enjoying your stay in Bulgaria as soon as possible., a fascinating country and that “hooks up”. For more details we can expand information if you hire any of our tourist services: Hotel Reservations, rental car or local guide… You can see examples of our trips here: “Cultural circuits in Bulgaria“.

Passport / DNI control posts.

Inside the airport.

Sofia airport is the main airport in Bulgaria and the only one that receives direct flights from Spain. Other airports in Bulgaria with international flights are Varna and Bourgas, both on the Black Sea coast. If your destination is the Black Sea coast you can fly to one of them but you will have to make a stopover in Sofia.

The first thing you should know when getting off the plane and entering the Sofia airport building is that they will direct you to some passport control posts because although Bulgaria belongs to the European Union, is still out of the “Schengen area” (although it is already in the process of entering), therefore you have to show the passport to a policeman, does not usually ask questions but you have to queue about 5 minutes. The DNI is equally valid if you do not have a passport.

Then you go to the baggage claim area, which is like any other and from there you go to the main arrivals hall. Depending on the airline with which you have arrived, you will be in the terminal 1 (antigua) or in Terminal 2 (new). They are both in separate buildings., so if someone is going to pick you up, you better inform them of which terminal you are arriving at, because going from one to another takes a long time, they are not communicated by corridors. Also The Terminal 1 has in turn 2 buildings, one for departures and one for arrivals, that are not communicated either, you have to go out to the street to go from one to another, but I already tell you that this only affects you if you have to ask someone to come and pick you up. The companies “Iberia” (operated by “Bulgaria Air”) and “Ryanair” operate in the Terminal 2 and the company “Wizzair” operates in the Terminal 1; what are the 3 companies with direct flights from Spain to Bulgaria.

Summary map of the Terminal 2

Terminal Hall 2

If you have arrived at the Terminal 1, to go outside you will find some vertigo stairs, do not worry, if you look closely, behind a large sign there is a curved ramp to lower suitcases if you stumble down the stairs. The public parking of this Terminal 1 is in front and is surface, it is paid when leaving in the booth of the exit barrier itself.

If you have arrived at the Terminal 2, which is more modern, everything is at the same level, from the main hall you go directly outside. If you have to go to the parking lot, this is underground and you get off by elevator. Unlike the Terminal 1 in this car park you have to pay before taking the car, it is done in the hall of the terminal, paying to a cashier who is at the counter next to the elevator or at the automatic machine (when it works that is few times).

Terminal 1 from Sofia Airport

Terminal 2 from Sofia Airport

Means of transport to the center of Sofia.

But the most common is that you want to use public transport to get to your hotel or to the center of Sofia. In this case you have at least 5 options that I indicate in order according to our recommendation:

1) Taxi. In many other cities in Europe, taking a taxi from the airport to the city center is a high expense, rather an abuse, however at Sofia airport the price is reasonable, therefore do not complicate yourself with other means of transport, the taxi is the fastest and most comfortable. They will charge you between 7 and 9 € for the journey (in local currency), that even the center is only about 20 minutes, if there is no accident or unforeseen. Yes, do not even think about paying attention to the people who offer “official taxi” in the airport hall itself because their prices will be nothing “officers”. What you should do is go to a counter of the taxi company “O.K. Taxi” which is the only one that has a license to operate at the airport. There is a counter of them in both T1 and T2. You will have to ask for a taxi indicating how many people you are and the address or name of the hotel you want to go to., if you are lucky he will speak some english, but the normal thing is that no and you have to write the name of the hotel on a piece of paper or understand each other as you can… You don't pay anything there, Only the person at the counter will give you a paper with the number of the taxi that is waiting for you outside, then you can go abroad, There will be a line of taxis from this company and you look for the number that you have received, the driver is usually standing outside because he is told by the station that you are going, You tell him the name of the hotel to confirm that he knows it and everyone inside, you pay at the end in cash because credit cards will not accept. Being the airport sometimes they accept euros, but as a favor and the rounding they will always tell you in their favor, but very in your favor. So it is better to change currency before, then I will explain how within the airport itself. Of course the taxi drivers only speak 2 Languages: Bulgarian fast Bulgarian slow, according to how many coffees have been taken before or during the journey… no english at all.

Sofia Airport Metro Station

2) Sofia metro. Are you adventurous?, Do you want to start living experiences for yourself from the first moment?…, I am also like you, then take the Sofia Metro instead of a taxi (although the experience of a Bulgarian taxi is not wasted either…). First you should know that the airport's Metro station is in the Terminal 2, you have to go outside and on the left walk to the building that gives entrance to the Metro.

Shuttle bus Sofia airport

If you have arrived at the Terminal 1 you will have to take a bus that runs between T1 and T2 between 07:00 and the 19:00 hours, passing each 30 minutes approximately. Look for the stop sign that indicates Bus Shuttle T1-T2, there is only 2 stops, that of T1 and that of T2, so no loss, you climb, You do not have to ask for a ticket because it is free and as soon as you get to the next stop, that's yours because there is no other, you have to get off.

To access the Metro you will have to buy a simple ticket or a credit card. 10 trips, you can buy both from an automatic machine (choose english language before) or at the counter where a person attends, but that of speaking English I already warned you that nothing at all… Just like the taxi, cash payment in local currency, no euros, but if the conduit accepts the euros, you are warned that he will make the conversion that he wants and you will lose out for sure… After going through the subway access control, then there is an elevator and you go down to the platform. Inside the station you can see the map of the Sofia metro lines, But since it will be in the Cyrillic alphabet, I recommend that you study it before traveling and know which stop or transfer is the one that interests you the most.. Here below I leave you a map of the Sofia Metro and its schedules. Arriving at the destination station, most of those in the center have an escalator or elevator (look for him because sometimes he's in a corner), although almost always you will touch a flight of stairs loaded with the suitcase, even if it's only the last one out on the street…

Sofia Metro map

Sofia Metro timetable

3) Private driver. There are some hotels (Very few), the airlines themselves and other companies that offer the transfer from the airport to the hotel, but you will have to ask (and pay it) in advance, and it will be twice or three times as expensive as a taxi. For example, the companies Ryanair and Wizzair offer this service for 9 € / person, that is, if you are 2 persons, cost 18 €, in front of 7-8 € for a taxi.

4) Rental car. At the airport itself you will find counters of several rental companies, In the terminal 2 there is more offer than in the Terminal 1 that there are only a couple of them, In any case, half of the name will not sound familiar to you because they are local companies and in general those that have a counter at the airport are much more expensive than the rest that do not spend to have a presence there, but of course, to have the best prices you have to know them and book in advance, booking there is expensive. So if you want a rental vehicle for your stay, please, get in touch with us and we will do that for you, Upon arrival, a person from the car rental company will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall with your name on a sign to accompany you to the rental car.….

5) Urban buses. There are a couple of lines that go from Sofia airport to the center but their schedules are irregular and as asking the driver is not feasible you will not know where you have to get off, therefore we do not recommend it for the Spanish tourist. By the way, apart from your ticket, you have to pay another for each suitcase that exceeds 60х40х40 cm..

Note for night hours: All these options are possible during the day, if your flight is from a low cost company, they usually arrive at dawn, then you will have to discard the subway and city buses. The taxi at night (of 22:00 a 6:00 h) it will be a little more expensive, but very little: 2 oh 3 € more than during the day.

Currency exchange.

Now the subject of “currency exchange”. In Bulgaria the official currency is “Lev” which is changed by about half of 1 Euro. In Spain they cannot be easily obtained “levas”, therefore you have to change the euros there. We recommend that you change at the Sofia airport itself, We know that the fairest change is made in the bank offices of any bank that you find in the city but think about the following: travelers usually spend a few days in the country, Therefore, it is not worth spending too much time going to a bank, wait for the queue, understand you with the receptionist and then with the cashier (others who won't speak English either) to be able to finally change the euros.

One of the airport bank offices, with ATM.

At Sofia airport there are also offices of a couple of Bulgarian banks, both in Terminal 1 as in Terminal 2 (open until 16:30 h. aprox), the change is a little less favorable than the bank offices in the center of Sofia, but at least the airport bank employees are used to changing and they will understand you better, think we are talking about pennies of difference, people spend a lot of time thinking about where to change the euros when in the end the difference between some sites and others is 1-2 € (depending on the amount you are going to change, but it is for you to understand me, who then spend it on a beer and don't think about it so much…). When you get to the baggage claim area you will find an exchange office that is a franchise (open all week from 10:00 a 24:00 h), there it is even less advantageous than in the bank office in the airport hall, but think about this, there, only the travelers who accompany you on the flight will see you change, Anyone who has exchanged money and who carries it in your pocket will see you at the airport hall office, There are usually no robberies at the airport itself because there is a lot of security and police surveillance but being cautious is never too much, especially if then you only go on the Metro or by Taxi, you are only going to save 1-2 € changing outside, it's up to you.

Note for night hours: If you arrive at dawn the banks will be closed, they open from 8:30 a 16:30 h, by the way that Saturdays and Sundays also close, Therefore, your only option will be the exchange office at the airport itself, which will be open or withdraw cash from the ATMs of the bank offices., obviously the commission to withdraw from the ATM is high, therefore at this time also: The best thing is to change at the exchange office of the airport itself or get just enough from the ATM to pay for the taxi and the next day go to a bank to change what we really plan to spend.

Other services at Sofia airport.

Other services what it offers and “Does not offer” Sofia airport: For the waits, it is appreciated that there is free and free Wi-Fi. If you want to eat something there are not many options, in the airport hall there is a snack place and a cafeteria, just enough for a snack, same in Terminal 1 that in the 2 although with more reasonable prices than in most European airports. What none of the terminals offers is luggage storage, I don't know if they have ruled it out for security reasons…, But if you have to leave something in storage for a few days, the only option is to leave it at the Sofia train station, that there is, of course you have to waste time going there… I only inform you.

Souvenir shop inside the terminal

Cafeteria in Sofia Airport T2

For the day of return to Spain, Sofia airport stores are located after check-in and passport control, in both terminals there is a good wine shop, a souvenir shop for tourists, perfume store, fashion and other various products and cafeteria (In my opinion, this cafeteria inside is better for eating than the one in the terminal hall). In the terminal 2 there are more stores than the 1. There is a pharmacy in the hall of the Terminal 2.

For general aspects of the trip to Bulgaria you can also consult our article: “More practical facts about Bulgaria“. And for more questions that we have not reflected in this article, here is the official website of the Sofia airport.

If this article has been helpful to you, leave us a comment below to know your opinion please and in any case you already know that you can count on our services for tourist packages in Bulgaria such as hotel reservation plus rental car or local tourist guide from Spanish speaking. Contact by sending an email to: info@senderismoeuropa.com