Bansko is situated in the south-west of Bulgaria. You can fly to Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, and then it's about a 2,5 hours ride by car or bus. Or if you fly to Thessaloniki, Greece, it is about 4hrs trip.
Image captured from OpenStreetMap
Image captured from OpenStreetMap
Getting to Sofia is a no brainer but getting down to Bansko might seem a bit of a challenge. It is not, trust us! It's easy, even if you don't know the language and cannot read the Cyrillic alphabet.
The cheapest way to get to Bansko from Sofia airport is by metro and bus. Follow our step-by-step guide if you're a first timer:
From Sofia airport to Bansko - An illustrated guide
The metro system in Sofia is perfectly sufficient to get you to/from the airpot into town or to the central train/bus station (if you are not traveling with too many bags). Metro trains from the airport run every 10min. A ride is 1,6 BGN. Google maps knows about the metro train system; use it for JIT trip planning. More general information about the metro can be found here:
There are no timetables for the stations. Trains leave often, just hop on.
Should you arrive at Terminal 1 take the shuttle bus to Terminal 2 where the metro station is located.
A bus ride to Bansko is 16 BGN. There's a timetable at the Bansko (Банско) bus station:
Bansko Bus Titmetable, Bansko Bus Station
Picture taken July 2019
Picture take July 2019
Please note that not only Sofia central station (София - централна автогара) is a relevant destination but also Ovcha Kupel (София - Овча Купел).