There are 11 ways to get from Essen to Sofia by plane, train, bus, car, or car train
Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2Rio's travel planner.
Fly from Düsseldorf International Airport
best- Fly from Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS) to Sofia Airport (SOF)plane DUS - SOF
7h 20m$83–304Fly from Dortmund Airport
cheapest- Fly from Dortmund Airport (DTM) to Sofia Airport (SOF)plane DTM - SOF
6h 54m$40–460Train, bus via Würzburg
- Take the train from Essen Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bftrain 41 / ...
- Take the train from Köln Messe/Deutz Bf to Würzburg Hbftrain 41 / ...
- Take the bus from Wurzburg Bismarckstrasse Bus Stop to Sofia Serdica Bus Stationbus
27h 15m$168–231Drive 1,918.8 km
- Drive from Essen to Sofiacar 1,918.8 km
17h 2m$316–457Train to Cologne Bonn Airport, fly
- Take the train from Essen Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bftrain
- Fly from Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) to Sofia Airport (SOF)plane CGN - SOF
6h 22m$58–279Train to Frankfurt, fly
- Take the train from Essen Hbf to Frankfurttrain
- Fly from Frankfurt (FRA) to Sofia Airport (SOF)plane FRA - SOF
6h 54m$147–293Train, train to Eindhoven Airport, fly
- Take the train from Essen Hbf to Viersen Bahnhoftrain
- Take the train from Venlo to Eindhoventrain
- Fly from Eindhoven Airport (EIN) to Sofia Airport (SOF)plane EIN - SOF
8h 31m$78–385Bus via Halle (Saale)
- Take the bus from Essen central train station to Hallebus 1304 / ...
- Take the bus from Halle Central Bus Station to Sofia Serdica Bus Stationbus Racic Eurobus
28h 15m$119–168Train, bus
- Take the train from Essen Hbf to Kassel-Wilhelmshoehetrain Re
- Take the bus from Kassel Grüner Waldweg to Sofia Serdica Bus Stationbus Citylines 17
30h 42m$147–226Bus
- Take the bus from Essen Hbf to Niš, Autobuska Stanicabus
- Take the bus from Niš, Autobuska Stanica to Sofiya, Avtogara Serdikabus
35h 45m$142–250Car train, drive
- Take the car train from Düsseldorf Hbf to Villach Hbfcartrain
- Drive from Villach Hbf to Sofiacar
15h 50m$305–1,488
Essen to Sofia by train and bus
Questions & Answers
The cheapest way to get from Essen to Sofia is to bus via Halle (Saale) which costs $110 - $170 and takes 28h 15m.
The fastest way to get from Essen to Sofia is to train and fly which takes 6h 22m and costs $55 - $280.
No, there is no direct bus from Essen station to Sofia station. However, there are services departing from Essen central train station and arriving at Sofia Serdica Bus Station via Halle Central Bus Station. The journey, including transfers, takes approximately 28h 15m.
The distance between Essen and Sofia is 1630 km. The road distance is 1918.8 km.
The best way to get from Essen to Sofia without a car is to train and bus via Würzburg which takes 27h 15m and costs $160 - $240.
It takes approximately 7h 20m to get from Essen to Sofia, including transfers.
Essen to Sofia bus services, operated by FlixBus, depart from Essen central train station.
The best way to get from Essen to Sofia is to fly which takes 7h 20m and costs $80 - $310. Alternatively, you can bus via Halle (Saale), which costs $110 - $170 and takes 28h 15m.
Essen to Sofia bus services, operated by FlixBus, arrive at Halle station.
Sofia is 1h ahead of Essen. It is currently 5:24 PM in Essen and 6:24 PM in Sofia.
What companies run services between Essen, Germany and Sofia, Bulgaria?
Lufthansa, Air Serbia, and Austrian Airlines fly from Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS) to Sofia Airport (SOF) every 4 hours. Alternatively, you can take a bus from Essen central train station to Sofia Serdica Bus Station via Halle and Halle Central Bus Station in around 28h 15m.
- Website
- lufthansa.com
Flights from Düsseldorf International Airport to Sofia Airport via Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 58m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $100–420
Flights from Düsseldorf International Airport to Sofia Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 10m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- $100–420
Flights from Cologne Bonn Airport to Sofia Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 57m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $100–410
Flights from Frankfurt to Sofia Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 15m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- $75–270
Flights from Frankfurt to Sofia Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 6m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- $75–270
- Website
- austrian.com
Flights from Düsseldorf International Airport to Sofia Airport via Vienna
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 45m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- $100–400
Flights from Cologne Bonn Airport to Sofia Airport via Vienna
- Ave. Duration
- 4h
- When
- Monday to Saturday
- Estimated price
- $100–390
Flights from Frankfurt to Sofia Airport via Vienna
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 22m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- $90–360
- Website
- ryanair.com
Flights from Cologne Bonn Airport to Sofia Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 25m
- When
- Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $35–220
Flights from Cologne Bonn Airport to Sofia Airport via Vienna
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 2m
- When
- Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $35–220
Flights from Eindhoven Airport to Sofia Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 35m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $50–320
- Website
- air.bg
Flights from Düsseldorf International Airport to Sofia Airport via Belgrade
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 17m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $70–170
Flights from Frankfurt to Sofia Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 20m
- When
- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
- Estimated price
- $100–190
- Website
- airserbia.com
Flights from Düsseldorf International Airport to Sofia Airport via Belgrade
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 17m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $70–170
- Website
- wizzair.com
Flights from Dortmund Airport to Sofia Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 30m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $30–330
Flights from Eindhoven Airport to Sofia Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 40m
- When
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- $35–240
- Phone
- +49 30 311 682904
- Website
- bahn.de
Train from Essen Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 49 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- $32–36
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Köln Messe/Deutz Bf to Würzburg Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 18m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- $60–75
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Essen Hbf to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 46m
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- $55–65
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Essen Hbf to Viersen Bahnhof
- Ave. Duration
- 37 min
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- $28–32
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Essen Hbf to Kassel-Wilhelmshoehe
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 35m
- Frequency
- 3 times a day
- Estimated price
- $55–65
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
- Phone
- 0221 13 999 444
- Website
- nationalexpress.de
Train from Essen Hbf to Köln Messe/Deutz Bf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 20m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- $17–26
- Schedules at
- nationalexpress.de
Train from Essen Hbf to Kassel-Wilhelmshoehe
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 42m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- $45–70
- Schedules at
- nationalexpress.de
- Phone
- +49 30 2970
- Website
- bahn.de
Train from Essen Hbf to Viersen Bahnhof
- Ave. Duration
- 41 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- $13–20
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
- Phone
- +31 30 751 5155
- Website
- ns.nl
Train from Venlo to Eindhoven
- Ave. Duration
- 38 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- $11–35
- Website
- https://www.ns.nl/en
- 2nd Class
- $11–17
- 1st Class
- $19–35
- Phone
- +49 (0) 221 800 20 820
- info@urlaubs-express.de
- Website
- urlaubs-express.de
Car train from Düsseldorf Hbf to Villach Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 53m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- $110–1,200
- Website
- https://urlaubs-express.de/?lang=en
- Car Single Bed
- $320–650
- Car Compartment
- $600–1,200
- Phone
- +359-887-208-506
- racic_bg@yahoo.com
- Website
- racicbg.com
Bus from Wurzburg Bismarckstrasse Bus Stop to Sofia Serdica Bus Station
- Ave. Duration
- 22h 30m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- $90–120
- Website
- https://www.racicbg.com/bg/
Bus from Halle Central Bus Station to Sofia Serdica Bus Station
- Ave. Duration
- 22h 15m
- Frequency
- 3 times a week
- Estimated price
- $90–120
- Website
- https://www.racicbg.com/bg/
Bus from Kassel Grüner Waldweg to Sofia Serdica Bus Station
- Ave. Duration
- 27h 30m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- $100–130
- Website
- https://www.racicbg.com/bg/
Rome2Rio's guide to FlixBus
Contact Details
- Phone
- +49 30 300 137 300
- service@flixbus.com
- Website
- flixbus.fr
Bus from Essen central train station to Halle
- Ave. Duration
- 5h
- Frequency
- 3 times a day
- Estimated price
- $28–50
- Website
- https://www.flixbus.co.uk
- Phone
- +359 0885700870
- support@citylines.eu
- Website
- citylines.eu
Bus from Kassel Grüner Waldweg to Sofia Serdica Bus Station
- Ave. Duration
- 27h
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- $120–160
- Website
- https://citylines.eu/
- Phone
- +381 800 334 334
- iuc@lasta.rs
- Website
- lasta.rs
Bus from Essen Hbf to Niš, Autobuska Stanica
- Phone
- +381 18 255 177
- Website
- nis-ekspres.rs
Bus from Niš, Autobuska Stanica to Sofiya, Avtogara Serdika
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 40m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- $13–23
- Schedules at
- nis-ekspres.rs
- Phone
- 02 952 50 04
- matpu96@abv.bg
- Website
- matpu.com
Bus from Niš, Autobuska Stanica to Sofiya, Avtogara Serdika
- Ave. Duration
- 4h
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- $22–28
- Schedules at
- matpu.com
Want to know more about travelling around Bulgaria
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More Questions & Answers
Yes, the driving distance between Essen to Sofia is 1919 km. It takes approximately 17h 2m to drive from Essen to Sofia.
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