Athens to Sofia by train
Travel from Athens (Greece) to Sofia (Bulgaria) by train (526km): schedule and information to the train connection. Compare fares and buy your ticket.
To travel by train from Athens in Greece to Sofia in Bulgaria, the main route is from Thessaloniki (Greece) to Sofia (Bulgaria).
Your travel route could be like that.
526 km
How to use the following information: we show you the best routes and where to buy tickets. On longer routes you may need more than one ticket. Book your tickets step by step as explained. If you have questions about the route from Athens to Sofia, please ask in our forum. Of course, sometimes there are as well other travel routes possible.
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections : popular connections travelled by other users
Sofia - Athens / Athens - Burgas / Athens - Plovdiv / Athens - Ruse / Thessaloniki - Sofia / Thessaloniki - Burgas / Thessaloniki - Plovdiv / Thessaloniki - Varna / Larissa - Sofia / Patras - Sofia1 Athens (Greece) - Thessaloniki (Greece) - Sofia (Bulgaria)
The route consist of more than one step. You have to buy several train tickets.
1a Travelling from Athens (Greece) to Thessaloniki (Greece)
To travel by train from Athens to Thessaloniki, use one of the direct IC connections for day travel. There are usually five IC connections per day with a journey time of 4 hours.
The ticket price for a one-way journey starts from EUR 35 in second class.
There is one overnight train available with a journey time of seven hours. Ticket fare starts from EUR 20.
Find the train-schedules and ticket fares via our booking links.
Check times&prices 
The following links could be interesting for you.
train types: Train types you are likely to travel with.
Inter City (IC)
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
T 600 Athens - Alexandroupoli / T 601 Alexandroupoli - Athens
train company:
OSE TRAINOSE
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Thessaloniki - Athens
1b Travelling from Thessaloniki (Greece) to Sofia (Bulgaria)
Travel from Thessaloniki to Sofia by direct day train. The journey time is 8:30 hours. Buy your train ticket for 18 EUR at the train station in Thessaloniki.
The departure time in Thessaloniki is 05:50. The arrival time in Sofia is 14:20. There are always seats available therefore it is no problem to buy the ticket at the day of departure, even very early in the morning at Thessaloniki railway station.
Note (2022/2023): currently the train traffic is interrupted and you have to travel by bus. The bus ticket price is 15-20 EUR. Buy it via the given links or on union-ivkoni.com
No discount with Interrail/Eurail.
Where to buy a ticket from Thessaloniki to Sofia?
Buy the train ticket at a railway station. Note: in some countries you have to pay a service fee at the ticket counter. The ticket can be purchased at a station in the country of departure, also sometimes in other countries.
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Sofia - Thessaloniki
Need a cheap place to sleep? We recommend booking.com
Find a cheap flight! Compare prices on Kiwi.com
Do you have questions about the connection between Athens and Sofia? Does something not work as it should? Just ask in our forum and get competent answers from our rail travel experts.
Eurail: if you want to travel this route by Eurail instead of train tickets, have a look here for reservation fees and further information.
