Airplane: the national Bulgarian airline is Air Bulgaria (FB). It was founded in 2002 andfliesfrom Sofia Airport. Other airlines that offer direct flights to and from Bulgaria are, for example, the Russian Aeroflot (SU) from Moscow, Air France (AF) from Paris, and Alitalia (AZ) fromRome, Austrian Airlines (OS) from Vienna and British Airways (BA) from London Heathrow Airport. Czech Airlines (OK) also offers direct flights starting in Prague, easyJet (EZY) from London Gatwick, German Lufthansa (LH) from Frankfurt and Munich, LOT Polish Airlines (LO) from Warsaw, Malev Hungarian Airlines (MA) from Budapest, the Greek Olympic Airlines (OA) from Athens and the Turkish Airlines (TK) from Ankara.
All airlines have their Bulgarian branches in Sofia. Visit computerdo for East Europe Tourism.
Airports: the main international airport in Bulgaria is Sofia airport. However, some airlines also fly to Varna and, especially in summer, to Burgas. The Plovdiv Airport is only used for occasional charter flights, such as to bring tourists to the ski areas.
Rail: the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZh) operates all international train connections.
The Trans-Balkan Express runs between Bucharest in Romania and Thessaloniki in Greece. On its journey through Bulgaria, the express stops in Ruse, Pleven, Sofia, Blagoevgrad and Sandanski. The travel time from Sofia to Thessaloniki is around 15 hours. From June to September there is another train connection between Sofia and Thessaloniki every day. The travel time is about ten hours.
Most visitors from Romania travel to Bulgaria by train. The Bulgaria Express runs between Sofia and Moscow. Stopovers are in Bucharest and Kiev. In the summer months there is also a train connection between the Bulgarian city of Burgas and Bucharest and between Varna and Bucharest, each with a journey to Prague. There is also a train connection between Sofia and Saratov in Russia in the summer months. It leads through Pleven, Gorna, Oryakhovitsa and Bucharest.
The Bosfor trains between Turkey (Istanbul) and Romania (Bucharest) cross Bulgaria and run all year round. The Balkan Express connects Sofia and Belgrade (Serbia) with each other and then continues to Istanbul. The train journey from Sofia to Istanbul takes around 17 hours.
Automobile: The Bulgarian authorities levy a compulsory eco-tax for entry with private vehicles. When traveling with your own car, it should be noted that foreign vehicles are a main target for thieves. Hence, it is recommended to rent a car in Bulgaria.
From Bulgaria you can get to Romania via various border crossings. The most important are at Ruse and Vidin. The border crossings to Greece can be found, for example, at Kutala and Promahonas as well as Svilengrad and Ormenion. You can cross the border to Macedonia at Gyueshevo and Deve Bair, at Zlatarevo and Delcevo and at Stanke Lisichkovo and Novo Selo. The most important border crossings to Serbia are at Kalotina and Dimitrovgrad, at Vrasa Chuka and Zajc and at Strezimirovtsi and Klisura. In the Turkey leads for example via the border crossing Malko Tarnovo and Derekoy. Bus:
Buses go from Bulgaria to all of Europe. From Sofia, for example, there are regular bus connections to Berlin, Paris, Rome and London. There are very good bus connections, especially between German cities and Sofia. International buses also run from Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas and Haskovo.
Travelers must cross the border or customs on foot and present their passport. This can lead to delays in entry. Travelers who need a visa to Bulgaria should note that the cost of obtaining entry visas is not included in the ticket price.
The two main bus stops for traveling to and from Greece are Sofia and Plovdiv. There are buses to Athens and Thessaloniki from both cities. The travel time from Sofia to Athens is between twelve and 14 hours, to Thessaloniki around eight to nine hours. The journey from Plovdiv to these cities takes around 22 and 14 hours respectively.
Buses to Macedonia start from Sofia, Blagoevgrad and Kyustendil. From Sofia you can get to Skopje (driving time about six hours) and Ohrid (nine hours). The buses from Kyustendil also go to Skopje (journey time five hours). There is a daily bus connection to Bitola from Blagoevgrad. The journey takes about eight hours. Minibuses run several times a day
between Sofia and Bucharest (Romania).
There are also regular bus services between Sofia and the Serbian Belgrade. The journey time is around eight hours.
Several companies offer bus connections between Turkey and Bulgaria. For example, there are lines between Istanbul and Sofia (travel time around 18 hours) or Burgas (seven hours) and Varna (ten hours). A drive from Plovdiv and Haskovo to Istanbul also takes around ten hours.
