Burgas to Sozopol Bus 2026: €3.37, 40-50 Min

If you’re in Burgas and want an easy coastal hop south to the Greek-founded old town, take the intercity bus from Avtogara Yug (South bus station), Sector 5. Two local carriers - Burgasbus and Sozopolbus - share the Burgas-Chernomorets-Sozopol line, and the operator lists both as running daily, not on a reduced weekend pattern. Between them they stack into a departure roughly every half hour, the road is about 35 km and the ride takes about 40 to 50 minutes, and Burgasbus’s published fare is 3.37 euro. That is enough for a full day trip with time on the peninsula and a beach, then a late bus home - or for rolling straight into a hotel if you’re staying over.

One long-haul coach does serve Sozopol, and it isn’t a phantom: Union-Ivkoni runs Plovdiv - Stara Zagora - Burgas - Chernomorets - Sozopol and on down the coast every day, leaving Burgas at 09:40 and reaching Sozopol at 10:40, bookable online from 5.65 euro. The catch for a Burgas day trip is that it starts from Avtogara Zapad, the West station, not the South one - so it’s a good option if you’re already coming from inland, and the wrong platform to wait on if you’re not. Also, don’t board the northbound resort buses toward Sunny Beach and Nessebar by mistake - those leave from a different sector and go the opposite way up the coast (see Burgas to Sunny Beach if that is actually your trip).

Sector 5 is the whole trick

South station sits by the railway terminal in central Burgas. For Sozopol you want Sector 5, not the Sunny Beach / Nessebar bays. Look for bay boards marked Sozopol or Chernomorets; if you’re unsure, ask at the dispatcher window before you stand in the wrong queue with a suitcase.

The line is run by Burgasbus EOOD and Sozopolbus OOD. They publish separate schedules and, importantly, a travel card bought from one carrier is valid only on that carrier’s own departures. You don’t need a card for a one-way tourist ride - you just need to know that “the next Sozopol bus” might be either company, and both are fine.

Coming from Burgas Airport? The terminal at Sarafovo sits north / northeast of the city centre - Sozopol is the south coast, so the airport is not “on the way” to the peninsula. There is no useful direct intercity coach from BOJ to Sozopol; the Burgas-Chernomorets-Sozopol buses start in town at Sector 5. From the airport you either take a city/link bus (often line 15) into Burgas and change at South station, or skip the change with a taxi or pre-booked transfer straight to your Sozopol address.

Timetable shape (operator’s own page, checked 22 August 2026)

Treat the times below as the published pattern, not gospel for your exact day. The South station dispatcher numbers posted at the bay (056/842692 and 0885754058 on the Burgasbus info pages) beat any screenshot.

Burgasbus, daily, from Burgas: 05:00, 06:00*, 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00*, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00*, 19:00, 20:00. Starred times go via Ravadinovo. That 05:00 first run is the one most guides drop, and it’s the one that buys you a whole extra morning.

Burgasbus, daily, from Sozopol: 06:00, 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00, 19:00, 20:00, 21:00. Print that list next to the outbound one, because the return is the half of the day people get wrong: 21:00 is the last Burgasbus of the day, and there is nothing after it on this carrier.

Sozopolbus, daily: it fills the half-hours, leaving Burgas at 06:30, 07:30 and so on through 19:30, then a final 21:30 - there is no 20:30 in that direction. Coming back from Sozopol it runs 06:30 through 19:30 on the half hour and then 20:30, with no 21:30. The Sozopol municipality page flags that late pair with an asterisk as seasonal, so if you are planning around the last bus in shoulder season, confirm it on the board rather than on either website.

Put the two carriers together and the outbound side is dense: 05:00, then something roughly every thirty minutes from 06:00 until 20:00, plus the 21:30 Sozopolbus tail. The return side is dense too, but it stops earlier: every half hour from 06:00 to 21:00, with 20:30 and 21:00 the last two departures of the day. Plan your evening around 20:30 rather than around a vague “into the evening”.

Fare: the number on the Burgasbus tariff

Burgasbus publishes an intercity tariff table in euro and leva. On the January 2026 PDF, Burgas to Sozopol is 3.37 euro (6.59 leva). The same table lists Chernomorets, the mid-route stop, at 2.71 euro (5.30 leva).

Children travel free up to 7 on Burgasbus intercity services, with a zero-value ticket and proof of age. After that the operator contradicts itself: its ticket-price page says ages 7-14 get half price, while its intercity contract of carriage says 7-10. Carry the birth certificate copy either way and expect the desk, not an argument, to settle which line applies on the day.

Sozopolbus does not mirror that PDF on its municipal page, so if you board their coach, ask the fare at the desk or the driver - I will not invent their figure. Through 2026 you may still see leva printed beside euro on older stock or displays; the fixed conversion is 1.95583 leva to one euro.

Buying the ticket: Burgasbus’s own contract of carriage tells intercity passengers to buy at the cash desk of the station they start from, or from the driver or conductor, and to show it as soon as you board. At Avtogara Yug the desk that sells intercity tickets is KASA 12, open Mon-Sun 06:30 to 18:15 (with short breaks around 09:30 and 14:30) - note that Sectors 1 and 2 desks only handle city cards. There’s no seat reservation and no app checkout for this line, so cash is still the reliable plan; don’t assume card readers.

The ride south - and why Chernomorets matters

The bus follows the coastal road toward Chernomorets, then on into Sozopol. Road distance is about 35 km (people round it to “about 30” in conversation; the drive is closer to thirty-five). Outside peak August traffic the bus usually clocks about 40-50 minutes; a car or taxi without local stops is nearer 30-40 minutes.

Hopping off at Chernomorets for a swim, then catching a later bus onward, is a legitimate half-day variation. Just check the return board before you settle on a sunbed - the last buses out of Sozopol are earlier than the last buses into it.

Building a day trip around the buses

Sozopol rewards a day without a car if you respect the clock. A workable pattern:

1. Take a morning bus from Sector 5 (anything from about 08:00 to 10:30 keeps the day open; 05:00 and 06:00 exist for anyone who wants the peninsula to themselves).
2. Walk the old-town peninsula first - wooden Revival houses, harbour views, the Archaeological Museum area - while energy is high and the lanes are cooler.
3. Swim or loaf at Harmani or the central beach on the new-town side in the afternoon.
4. Be at Sozopol’s bus station in time for the 20:30 Sozopolbus or the 21:00 Burgasbus - those are the last two of the day. Eat early enough that the 21:00 is your safety net, not your plan.

Our Sozopol guide covers what to prioritise if you only have five or six hours on the ground. If the day-trip feels too rushed once you’ve seen the harbour at golden hour, overnight instead - where to stay in Sozopol breaks down old town vs new town vs the quieter stretches toward Kavatsi.

Taxi and pre-booked transfer

The bus wins on price. It loses when you land late, travel with kids and two big cases, or need a guaranteed door-to-door pickup after a delayed flight. A taxi from central Burgas to Sozopol typically needs about 30-40 minutes. There is no official flat tourist fare I can responsibly quote as fixed - agree the price or insist on the meter before you load bags, and prefer a marked cab or a known app over anyone touting at the pier.

A pre-booked private transfer fixes the price in advance, meets you with a name board, and goes straight to the hotel. Split among three or four people it often lands close to a taxi quote while removing the haggling, which is why I use it for airport arrivals more than for midday hops from the city centre.

When the bus is enough - and when it isn’t

• Daytime, light bags, any day: Sector 5 bus. About 3.37 euro on Burgasbus, frequent enough that you can miss one and still eat lunch in Sozopol.
• Day trip from a Burgas base: morning out, and back on the 20:30 or 21:00 - confirm the final return before you order a second bottle of wine.
• Overnight in Sozopol: still take the bus unless you’re arriving after 21:30; then transfer or taxi.
• Airport late arrival, family, lots of luggage: pre-booked transfer. The bus remains possible via town, but the change and the walk with bags rarely feel like a win at midnight.
• Exploring Gradina, Ravadinovo castle, or beaches beyond town: a hire car or a transfer with waiting time beats guessing rural connections.

Getting back - and one last mix-up to avoid

Returns leave from Sozopol bus station on the same Burgasbus and Sozopolbus patterns: half-hourly from 06:00, thinning to the 20:30 and 21:00 pair at the end. That is the number to hold in your head all day, because it is earlier than the last bus into Sozopol and it does not care what day of the week it is. If you’re racing a flight out of Burgas Airport, a direct transfer from Sozopol to the terminal is usually cleaner than bus-to-Burgas-then-another-ride - the airport transfer guide maps that end of the trip.

One more compass check: Sozopol is south, Sunny Beach and Nessebar are north. The local buses to both use the same South station and different sectors - though as above, the Union-Ivkoni coach from inland uses the West station instead, so read the ticket, not the habit. Board the wrong one and you’ll have a fine beach day - just not the wooden-house peninsula you meant to visit.