Burgas Airport: Bus 15 from €1, Taxi & Sunny Beach 2026

If you’re heading into Burgas itself, the cheapest way out of the airport is city bus 15, which runs from a stop right outside the terminal into the centre and on to the South bus station for 0.80 euro. If you’re going to a coast resort instead, there’s no direct airport bus: take a taxi (about 15 euro to the city, 15 minutes) or, for Sunny Beach, Nessebar or Sozopol, a metered cab or a pre-booked transfer straight to your hotel. That’s the choice in a nutshell.

Burgas (airport code BOJ) sits at Sarafovo, about 10 km northeast of the city, and it’s Bulgaria’s busy summer-charter gateway to the southern coast: most flights are packages and charters from the UK, Germany, Poland and Scandinavia in summer, and it goes quiet in winter. The one thing worth knowing before you book a resort transfer is that the airport sits on the near, northern side of the city - so Sunny Beach and Nessebar are closer than the map suggests, while Sozopol to the south means crossing town.

Bus 15 into Burgas: the cheap way

If your base is Burgas, bus 15 is all you need. It leaves from the stop in front of the terminal and runs through the city to the South bus station (Avtogara Yug), the same hub the intercity coaches use, so it drops you either in the centre or at the station for an onward journey. A ticket is 0.80 euro (1.56 leva) bought from the driver, or a little less on the city’s transport app or card, which gives you 45 minutes of transfers. The ride takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic.

The timetable is generous for a coastal airport. On weekdays and Saturdays the first bus runs about 05:10 and the last around 23:00; on Sundays and holidays it starts later, near 05:55, finishing at the same time. Through the day it comes every 15 to 20 minutes at peak, stretching to around 30 minutes late in the evening. One quirk to watch: some late departures run as “15A” and skip the loop into the airport itself, stopping instead at the nearby roundabout, so check the number on the front before you rely on it for a night arrival.

The catch is luggage. Bus 15 is a normal city bus, so it is fine with a backpack or a cabin case, but you can be charged extra for a big suitcase, and in July it can be full. If you’re travelling heavy or with a group, the maths tips towards a taxi or transfer quickly - the fare saving on the bus is small once you are wrestling two suitcases through a crowded aisle.

Taxi from the airport

For a door-to-door ride into the city, a taxi to central Burgas costs about 15 euro (30 leva) and takes only around 15 minutes - the airport is close, so even the metered fare stays low. BOJ is a compact single terminal, so the rank is a few steps from arrivals and you rarely wait long in season. The rule here’s the same as at every Bulgarian airport: use the official taxi desk in arrivals or a clearly marked, metered cab, and ignore the drivers who approach you inside the hall. Those touts are the one reliable way to overpay at BOJ; the metered fare is cheap and the trip is short. A metered app like TaxiMe does the same job from your phone and shows the fare as you go.

Getting to the resorts: Sunny Beach, Nessebar, Sozopol

This is where people trip up: there’s no direct bus from the airport to the resorts. Bus 15 only runs into Burgas. To reach the coast on public transport you would ride bus 15 to the South bus station and change onto an intercity coast bus - doable, and cheap, but a real faff with suitcases and a connection to make, with the summer risk of not squeezing onto a full coach. Allow a good ninety minutes to two hours for the two rides and the wait between them. If you are a light-packing backpacker watching every euro it’s a genuine option, and the total comes to only a few euro; for most arrivals with beach luggage, though, a taxi or a booked transfer straight to the hotel is the sane choice - especially if your hotel is off the resort’s main street, where the intercity coach doesn’t go. If the intercity bus is what you want, our full Burgas to Sunny Beach guide covers the coast service, the fares and where to board.

The distances are short, which keeps transfer prices reasonable:

• Sunny Beach is about 27 to 30 km away, roughly 30 to 35 minutes by road. A taxi or fixed transfer runs from around 30 euro one way - and because the airport sits on the northern edge of Burgas, you’re already pointed the right way up the coast. Once there, our Sunny Beach guide takes over.
• Nessebar, the UNESCO old town, is on the same road a little before Sunny Beach, about 35 km; see our Nessebar guide.
• Sozopol, the wooden-house old town to the south, is farther at about 43 to 45 km, roughly 45 minutes, because you cross to the other side of the city; our Sozopol guide has the detail.

One thing worth checking before you book anything: if you’re on a package or charter, a coach or transfer to your hotel is often already included, with a rep meeting the flight. Dig out the paperwork before you pay for a separate car - you may not need one.

Private transfer: door to door

For a late arrival, a family, or two or more people splitting the cost to a resort, a pre-booked private transfer is usually the least stressful option and often the best value. You agree the price before you fly, a driver waits at arrivals with your name, and you go straight to the hotel door with the bags in the boot - no ticket app, no taxi queue, no changing buses at the South station. Split between a few people to Sunny Beach or Sozopol it frequently lands close to a metered taxi while removing every bit of guesswork, and it’s the option I would book arriving on a late charter with children in tow.

So which should you take?

• Staying in Burgas, light bags: bus 15, about 1 euro, 20 to 30 minutes into the centre or the South station.
• Staying in Burgas, heavy bags or late arrival: an official taxi, about 15 euro and 15 minutes.
• Heading to Sunny Beach, Nessebar or Sozopol: a taxi or pre-booked transfer to the door - there’s no direct airport bus, and a transfer is easiest with luggage.
• On a package or charter: check whether a transfer is already included before booking your own.

Getting back to the airport

The trip reverses cleanly. Bus 15 runs from the South bus station back out to the airport across the same daytime span, so from central Burgas it’s the cheap way to a daytime flight - just leave a buffer, since it can be 20 to 30 minutes plus the wait, and remember the last bus is around 23:00. From a resort you cannot get to the airport directly by public transport either, so book a taxi or transfer the night before for an early departure rather than gambling on a bus change in Burgas.

Still deciding where to fly? Our guide to which airport to fly into for Bulgaria weighs Burgas against Varna and Sofia, and once you’re on the ground the Burgas city guide and the wider getting around Bulgaria guide pick up from arrivals.