Sofia International Airport
This is the main gateway to Bulgaria and handles more than half of the international air traffic to Bulgaria. The flight from the UK takes 2.5 hours. Bulgaria Air and British Airways provide daily flights to London. While low cost airlines do not operate flights to Sofia yet, the round trip is unlikely to cost more than £250. The Czech, Austrian and Hungarian airlines may be a good alternative if you do not mind a short stopover in the respective capital.
Once in Sofia, various means of transportation are available. You can rent a car from the airport should you need flexible transportation arrangements. Four pounds is the highest taxi fare you can expect to pay for the longest one way trip within Sofia, but usually it would be just 1-2 pounds. Regular bus (coach) services can take you anywhere in the country in comfortable environment. The longest one way trip imaginable (Sofia – Varna or so) is about 5.5 hours and costs just 10 pounds. The winter resorts – Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo are 1, 2, and 3 hours drive from Sofia, respectively. In general, transportation services are of good quality and reliability.
Varna International Airport and Bourgas International Airport
The importance of these seaside airports sharply increases during the summer months. They handle significant traffic of incoming tourists from Western Europe and Russia going for their summer vacation. Numerous charter flights operate to and from the airports and can go as low as £80 one way. They cover the main markets of the UK, Germany, Scandinavia and Russia. Out of season demand sharply drops and arranging a direct flight to the seaside becomes more difficult, but still possible, especially to Varna.
Shuttles and regular bus services are readily available between Bourgas and Varna (2 hours) and the resorts in between. Such services are also at your disposal should you want to visit the resorts south of Bourgas or north of Varna. Again, transportation is reliable and one cannot expect to remain stranded.
