Bus from Sofia to Veliko?

Hi there, you need to go the central bus station, take a taxi from the airport to get there.
Good luck

While it may seem less stressful to book things in advance, in Bulgaria, you may want to just book things when you arrive. Buses and trains from Sofia to VT are rather regular, and that way if your flight is late, you will have no issue just going to the station (the bus station is next to the train station) and hopping on whichever one leaves next.

The train, I believe, lets you book from sofia to VT in advance and print the tickets at home, if you so choose. But the train station is not terribly difficult to navigate if you want to buy in person.

At the airport you are not able to buy the ticket? Sorry am changing the subject.

Thank you all for your replies.
I have now been told that there is a rail link (metro) at terminal 2 which takes you into Sofia itself. Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks.

It recently started going to the airport. You will purchase a ticket for 1 bgn and get on line 1 (red) at the airport, going towards the city. In the city center, at a station called serdika, you will transfer to the blue line going north (towards slivnitsa). I think it is 3 or 4 stops to the train/bus station.

http://www.metrosofia.com/en/schedule 

Is the metro website for more info.

Worth noting, it does not run between midnight and 5 am, so if you have a very early morning flight, it is not a good option. Also, it can get quite crowded during peak hours. (As can all transportation in sofia), so be prepared to get a little squished.

Hi Kojidae,
Thanks for all of the information.
Because my flight doesn't get in to Sofia until 17:15 it looks like I'm a bit stuck. There is a bus which leaves for Veliko at 22:30pm, but because the website is totally in Bulgarian I can't book a ticket (and it looks as though the seats are filling up quickly). I have to be in VT before 10am the following morning, and it's not looking too great! Any suggestions at all???

The etap site has an english version that you can buy online and then pick up at the Sofia bus station office http://www.etapgroup.com/?lang=_en

There is one weird part that is still in Bulgarian... after you select the time of the bus you want, on the page that you put in your name (which is all in english) you have to select either to pay with a debit/credit card or pay with a transit card. Those two options, for some reason are still in Bulgarian, but the first one is debit/credit card. The second is transit card (which I assume only Bulgarians have), so select the first of those two options, then continue with your credit card. They have a bus that leaves around  and another around 1030, I think.

But, there are at least 3 companies that have buses running to VT several times a day... so you have at least 6 possible busses after 7pm, and I am fairly certain one of them will have a free seat if you go to the bus station and buy a ticket. I have been traveling in Bulgaria for five years and I only buy train tickets to the seaside in advance... I have never not gotten a seat on a bus if I showed up at the station an hour before the bus leaves.

Thanks again, Kojidae. The Etap link you sent me - when you book your dates etc, on the right of the screen a diagram comes up with numbers - some in blank boxes, some in red - are these seat number reservations?

From what I can tell, red seats are taken and the white ones are available. Yellow is your selection.

That's what I was hoping for! Thanks Alex!