Transport&Accommodation

How to get to Bulgaria?

The easiest way to get to Bulgaria is by plane to the capital city, Sofia. You can also use your own vehicle to Sofia and travel on Highway Trakiya (A1) to Plovdiv. The drive from Sofia takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Some European cities have direct bus rides to Plovdiv. Using a train to and in Bulgaria is much slower and not advised because of low maintenance of the railway routes

How to get from Sofia airport to Plovdiv?

Take a bus ride from the Central Bus Station to Plovdiv

The first option is to take a bus ride to Plovdiv, which takes about 2 hours and costs about 7 euros (15 lv). It is common in Bulgaria to buy a ticket on the spot at the bus station, since it is very difficult to calculate the time needed to get to the bus station. You can also book a ticket https://www.karat-s.com/, but we do not recommend it. If you choose to take the bus, you need to travel from the Sofia airport to the Central bus station:
- by metro, which will cost less than 1 euro and you have to travel from Sofia Airport to Serdika (Red line), change to Blue line, direction Obelya and travel from Serdika to Central Bus Station;
- by taxi, which will cost you about 15 euros and will take over 40 minutes. Use only OK SuperTrans.
Once you arrive in Plovdiv, you will need to get a taxi from the bus station to your chosen accommodation. Taxi fares in Plovdiv are very reasonable and any ride will be between 2-4 euros. Here are a few companies that you can use: Zeleni +359 32 9999, Elma Taxi +359 32 6665, Perfect Taxi +359 32 6112, Eco Taxi +359 32 6155.

Take a taxi from the Sofia Airport to Plovdiv

The second way is to take a taxi from the airport, which will drive you directly to your accommodation in Plovdiv and will take around 1h 30 minutes. Taxis are arranged on the spot, at the airport. There is an OK SuperTrans taxi booth (legitimate taxi company, https://www.oktaxi.net/order-a-taxi-in-sofia) at the arrivals exit. If you decide, you can also exit the airport and hire a taxi yourself, just remember to use SuperTrans. The price for getting a taxi from Sofia to Plovdiv costs around 90 euros (185 lv). The taxi can be shared (max 4 persons).

Accommodation info

The accommodation offered to conference participants and guests with preferential prices is the famous 4* Grand Hotel Plovdiv (for booking: reservation1@grandhotelplovdiv.bg), located in the center of town, right over the Maritsa River. In the table below you will find the types of rooms and prices, which include breakfast and free wi-fi. If you are to bring your own vehicle or rent a car, the parking fee is 15.00 levs per day.

If you wish to find your own accommodation you are welcome to use booking.com or your preferable reservation site.