This guide will show you how to travel from Belgrade to Sofia. The distance between two cities is 393 km so it is easily manageable by bus or a car. However, here are all the options.

By Car

If you are traveling by car and perhaps touring the Balkan countries, this is one of the quickest ways to access Sofia. If it’s summer the waiting time on the border could be prolonged as many people are going to a holiday to the Bulgarian Coast or Turkey. The journey lasts around 4 hours and 30 minutes.

By Plane

Air Serbia operates a flight between the two cities, however this is mostly a business line and the tickets are expensive for the budget savvy travelers. Check out Air Serbia’s website for more detailed info.

By Bus

If you are looking on how to travel from Belgrade to Sofia by bus I’ll list 3 companies who operate on this route.This is one of the cheapest and quickest options and most travelers opt for this transportation method.

Nis Express

They have daily service, two times a day. The bus departures Belgrade at 00:45 and 12:30. The price of the return ticket is 40 EUR and if you are a student 32 EUR. You need to show a student card.  This is like 150 EUR (sometimes even more) cheaper than a plane.

The only downside is that you need to change a bus in Nis. Once you arrive there you have to proceed to the info counter and show your passport and ticket for the next bus that goes to Sofia.

Florentia

This bus leaves once a day at 03:30. It’s a direct line with no stops in between. You can check the prices online and even book the ticket.

Lasta + Karat S

This line runs only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the departure at 14:30 from Belgrade.

By train

Trains in Serbia and the Balkans in general can be unreliable and very slow. The one way ticket from Belgrade to Sofia is 20 EUR and the journey lasts 9 hours and 40 minutes. However, the train is often late. If you travel with a company you could get a sleeper car but I don’t recommend traveling alone on a night train if you are a solo female traveler. You can check the timetable here.

You can check out the official websites and see which option is the best for you!