There are 11 ways to get from Sofia to Essen by plane, bus, train, night train, 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 to Düsseldorf International Airport
best- Fly from Sofia Airport (SOF) to Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS)plane SOF - DUS
6h 57m€76–249Fly to Dortmund Airport
cheapest- Fly from Sofia Airport (SOF) to Dortmund Airport (DTM)plane SOF - DTM
6h 43m€48–306Bus, train via Bratislava
- Take the bus from Sofia to Bratislavabus
- Take the train from Bratislava Hlavna Stanica to Wien Hbftrain 46 / ...
- Take the train from Wien Hbf to Essen Hbftrain Ice
24h 27m€109–318Train, night train
- Take the train from Sofia Sever to Gorna Oryahovitsatrain
- Take the night train from Gorna Oryahovitsa to Bucharestnighttrain
- Take the night train from Bucuresti Nord to Wien Hbfnighttrain
- Take the train from Wien Hbf to Essen Hbftrain Ice
36h 31m€163–357Drive 1,917 km
- Drive from Sofia to Essencar 1,917 km
17h 5m€271–391Fly to Cologne Bonn Airport, train
- Fly from Sofia Airport (SOF) to Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN)plane SOF - CGN
- Take the train from Köln Messe/Deutz Bf to Essen Hbftrain
6h 38m€53–276Fly to Frankfurt, train
- Fly from Sofia Airport (SOF) to Frankfurt (FRA)plane SOF - FRA
- Take the train from Frankfurt to Essen Hbftrain
7h 10m€106–311Fly to Eindhoven Airport, train
- Fly from Sofia Airport (SOF) to Eindhoven Airport (EIN)plane SOF - EIN
- Take the train from Eindhoven to Venlotrain
- Take the train from Viersen Bahnhof to Essen Hbftrain
8h 9m€70–341Bus
- Take the bus from Sofia Serdica Bus Stop to Dortmund Central Bus Stationbus Union Ivkoni - Unibus 3631
30h 58m€84–164Bus, train
- Take the bus from Sofia Serdica Bus Station to Kassel Grüner Waldwegbus Citylines 9
- Take the train from Kassel-Wilhelmshoehe to Essen Hbftrain Re
33h 13m€128–221Drive, car train
- Drive from Sofia to Villach Hbfcar
- Take the car train from Villach Hbf to Düsseldorf Hbfcartrain
16h 43m€269–1,245
Sofia to Essen by bus and train
Questions & Answers
The cheapest way to get from Sofia to Essen is to bus which costs €80 - €170 and takes 30h 58m.
The fastest way to get from Sofia to Essen is to fly and train which takes 6h 38m and costs €50 - €280.
No, there is no direct train from Sofia to Essen. However, there are services departing from Sofia Sever and arriving at Essen Hbf via Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bucuresti Nord and Wien Hbf. The journey, including transfers, takes approximately 36h 31m.
The distance between Sofia and Essen is 1624 km. The road distance is 1917 km.
The best way to get from Sofia to Essen without a car is to bus and train via Bratislava which takes 24h 27m and costs €100 - €320.
It takes approximately 6h 57m to get from Sofia to Essen, including transfers.
Sofia to Essen train services, operated by Bulgarian Railways (BDZh), depart from Sofia Sever station.
The best way to get from Sofia to Essen is to fly which takes 6h 57m and costs €75 - €250. Alternatively, you can bus, which costs €80 - €170 and takes 30h 58m.
Essen is 1h behind Sofia. It is currently 9:57 AM in Sofia and 8:57 AM in Essen.
Sofia to Essen train services, operated by Bulgarian Railways (BDZh), arrive at Gorna Oryahovitsa station.
What companies run services between Sofia, Bulgaria and Essen, Germany?
Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, and two other airlines fly from Sofia Airport (SOF) to Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS) every 4 hours. Alternatively, Union Ivkoni operates a bus from Sofia Serdica Bus Stop to Dortmund Central Bus Station once a week. Tickets cost €75–110 and the journey takes 30h 30m.
- Website
- lufthansa.com
Flights from Sofia Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 18m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €65–330
Flights from Sofia Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 42m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €80–330
Flights from Sofia Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 37m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €85–350
Flights from Sofia Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 35m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €70–280
Flights from Sofia Airport to Frankfurt via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 5h 5m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €70–280
- Website
- austrian.com
Flights from Sofia Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Vienna
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 40m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €75–330
Flights from Sofia Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport via Vienna
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 15m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €80–350
Flights from Sofia Airport to Frankfurt via Vienna
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 36m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €65–280
- Website
- ryanair.com
Flights from Sofia Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 25m
- When
- Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €28–200
Flights from Sofia Airport to Eindhoven Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 35m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €35–290
- Website
- wizzair.com
Flights from Sofia Airport to Dortmund Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 50m
- When
- Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €40–250
Flights from Sofia Airport to Eindhoven Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 45m
- When
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €40–220
- Website
- lufthansa-city.com
Flights from Sofia Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 7h 10m
- When
- Thursday
- Estimated price
- €65–330
- Website
- air.bg
Flights from Sofia Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 40m
- When
- Monday and Friday
- Estimated price
- €90–190
- Phone
- +421 24 48 58 188
- info@slovakrail.sk
- Website
- zssk.sk
Train from Bratislava Hlavna Stanica to Wien Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 56 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €3–6
- Website
- https://www.zssk.sk/en/
Train from Bratislava Hlavna Stanica to Wien Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 18m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €15–23
- Website
- https://www.oebb.at/en/reiseplanung-services/im-zug/unsere-zuege/railjet
- *
- €15–23
- Phone
- +43 5 1717
- Website
- oebb.at
Train from Bratislava Hlavna Stanica to Wien Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 47 min
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €20–27
- Website
- https://www.oebb.at/en/reiseplanung-services/im-zug/unsere-zuege/eurocity-intercity
- Website
- https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en/ticket
- Phone
- +49 30 311 682904
- Website
- bahn.de
Train from Wien Hbf to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 9h 45m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- €70–240
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Köln Messe/Deutz Bf to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 50 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €13–55
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Frankfurt to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 47m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €30–90
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Viersen Bahnhof to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 9m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- €24–27
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Kassel-Wilhelmshoehe to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 36m
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- €45–90
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
- Phone
- +35929311111
- onlineticket@bdz.bg
- Website
- bdz.bg
Train from Sofia Sever to Gorna Oryahovitsa
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 38m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- €7–13
- Website
- https://www.bdz.bg/en
- 2nd Class
- €7–11
- 1st Class
- €10–13
Night train from Gorna Oryahovitsa to Bucharest
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 15m
- Frequency
- Twice a week
- Estimated price
- €5–10
- Website
- https://www.bdz.bg/en
- 2nd Class
- €5–9
- 1st Class
- €8–10
- Phone
- 0219521
- petitii@cfrcalatori.ro
- Website
- cfrcalatori.ro
Night train from Bucuresti Nord to Wien Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 17h 53m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €80–95
- Website
- https://www.cfrcalatori.ro/en/
- Phone
- +31 30 751 5155
- Website
- ns.nl
Train from Eindhoven to Venlo
- Ave. Duration
- 39 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €9–27
- Website
- https://www.ns.nl/en
- 2nd Class
- €9–15
- 1st Class
- €16–27
- Phone
- +49 30 2970
- Website
- bahn.de
Train from Viersen Bahnhof to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 44 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €12–17
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
- Phone
- 0221 13 999 444
- Website
- nationalexpress.de
Train from Kassel-Wilhelmshoehe to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 42m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €40–60
- Schedules at
- nationalexpress.de
- Phone
- +49 (0) 221 800 20 820
- info@urlaubs-express.de
- Website
- urlaubs-express.de
Car train from Villach Hbf to Düsseldorf Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 6h 39m
- Frequency
- Twice a week
- Estimated price
- €100–1,000
- Website
- https://urlaubs-express.de/?lang=en
- Car Single Bed
- €270–550
- Car Compartment
- €550–1,000
- Phone
- 07001 8282
- booking@union-ivkoni.com
- Website
- union-ivkoni.com
Bus from Sofia to Bratislava
- Ave. Duration
- 12h 15m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- €35–55
- Website
- https://union-ivkoni.com/en
Bus from Sofia Serdica Bus Stop to Dortmund Central Bus Station
- Ave. Duration
- 30h 30m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- €75–110
- Website
- https://union-ivkoni.com/en
- Phone
- +359 0885700870
- support@citylines.eu
- Website
- citylines.eu
Bus from Sofia Serdica Bus Station to Kassel Grüner Waldweg
- Ave. Duration
- 29h 45m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- €100–140
- Website
- https://citylines.eu/
- Phone
- +359-887-208-506
- racic_bg@yahoo.com
- Website
- racicbg.com
Bus from Sofia Serdica Bus Station to Kassel Grüner Waldweg
- Ave. Duration
- 28h 40m
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Estimated price
- €85–110
- Website
- https://www.racicbg.com/bg/
Want to know more about travelling around Germany
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More Questions & Answers
Yes, the driving distance between Sofia to Essen is 1917 km. It takes approximately 17h 5m to drive from Sofia to Essen.
There are 2348+ hotels available in Essen.

























































