Sofia to Plovdiv by coach [and back]

Sofia to Plovdiv-

You can fly direct from the UK to Plovdiv but the flights are generally from Luton or Stansted which is not ideal for us so we opted to get a coach from Sofia to Plovdiv. It’s cheap, comfortable and the service is efficient. We used the checkmybus website to book our return journeys and printed off our ‘tickets’. You need to be aware that these are not actually tickets for the journey despite what you are led to believe. Once you get to the coach station you will need to head to the correct booth [look for the logo that matches your paperwork] and present your not ticket to be exchanged for a real one, which is just a small printed affair which you should show to the driver although no one looked at ours!

We walked to the Central Bus Station in Sofia which took us about 20 minutes from Lion Bridge. The bus station is modern, large and shiny. There are shops and ticket booths inside and you board the coach from behind the terminal building.

We arrived at Plovdiv Bus Station South after the coach had to squeeze through some very narrow cobbled streets. This station was not quite so shiny as the one in Sofia as it’s just in front of a large warehouse in a state of decay.

For more info on Plovdiv click HERE.

Right next to the station in Plovdiv is the restaurant Megdana which had great reviews so we popped in and thought it looked lovely so booked a table for dinner for the next evening. [See my Eating and Drinking section for more info]. We then walked to our hotel [Hotel Ego] in the city centre which took just over half an hour.

Plovdiv to Sofia-

Our return coach to Sofia a few days later was from Sever Bus Station on the other side of town. So do check your ticket and make sure you are heading to the correct station! We walked over the bridge from our hotel to the terminal which again took only about half an hour. Sever Bus Station is also a bit unglamorous and the main terminal building does not even have any indication on it of its purpose. [see photo above]. The coach left on time though and we were back in Sofia in time for lunch.