Arrival scenario
Late-Night Arrival in Sofia
Which airport-to-city options remain viable after normal hours: the metro's real cutoff, the night bus, 24-hour taxi access, and when a pre-booked transfer removes the guesswork.
Sofia Airport to City Centre covers metro, bus, and taxi in general. None of that advice fully applies once your flight lands outside normal daytime hours.
The metro has a real cutoff, not a vague "late trains run less often" caveat. Knowing exactly where that line sits, and what actually covers the gap after it, is the whole point of this page.
- Metro cutoff
- Roughly 11:30pm-midnight
- Night bus
- N4, hourly through the night
- Taxi
- Available around the clock
After this, the M4 metro isn't a realistic option for that night.
The real overnight public-transport option, launched mid-2025.
The official airport channel, worth confirming on-site.
The hard cutoff
The Metro Has a Hard Cutoff
The M4 metro's own operator states weekday service runs 5:26am to 11:49pm, and weekend and public-holiday service runs 5:27am to roughly 11:33pm. If your flight lands after around 11:30pm on a weekday, or earlier on a weekend, the metro isn't a realistic option for that night, not a slower one. Confirm current hours before you fly, since they can change.
After the metro stops
What Actually Runs After the Metro Stops
Bus 84, serving both terminals at roughly 12-minute intervals after a 2025 consolidation with the former line 184, is a daytime option, not specifically an overnight one. It's worth knowing about for early-morning or evening arrivals that still fall within normal service hours.
The N4 night bus, launched in mid-2025, is the real overnight option. It serves both terminals, runs roughly hourly through the night, and connects toward the city centre and onward to the Druzhba II and Gotse Delchev districts, with a transfer point to the wider night-bus network at Knyaz Alexander I Battenberg Square in the centre. No official source gives an exact overnight start and end time for the route, so treat "runs through the night" as the reliable fact and check the current schedule for your specific arrival time.
The reliable fallbacks
Taxi and Pre-Booked Transfer, the Reliable Fallbacks
Yellow!, the airport's official contracted taxi partner, is generally described as available around the clock at both terminals. That claim isn't independently confirmed against the airport's own page here, so treat it as generally true and confirm the current process at the terminal rather than assuming a specific wait time.
Sofia Airport Transfers already covers the pre-booked private transfer format in full, including a confirmed, bookable option. That page states directly that a landing time outside typical metro or bus hours is exactly the kind of situation the format fits best, since it removes the guesswork entirely rather than requiring you to compare live schedules after a long flight.
The actual decision
The Actual Decision Rule
Compare your expected landing time against the metro's current last-train time first. If you're comfortably before it, the metro still applies. If you're close to it or past it, check the N4 night bus's current schedule rather than assuming it will fit. If your arrival time is genuinely uncertain, because of a delay or a very late landing, the official taxi channel or a pre-booked transfer removes that uncertainty entirely rather than leaving you to improvise after landing.
Where to go next
Where to Go for the Full Comparison and Booking
For the general metro-versus-taxi comparison this page specializes for late arrivals, see Sofia Airport to City Centre. For the pre-booked transfer format and its live booking option, see Sofia Airport Transfers. For public-transport products and payment beyond the airport, see Sofia Public Transport.
Before you travel
What's Worth Confirming Yourself
Current metro hours, the N4 night bus schedule, and the taxi process at your specific arrival terminal are all worth confirming yourself before you rely on them.
This guide is built from research, not firsthand visits. Hello Sofia hasn't personally landed late at Sofia Airport, ridden the N4 night bus, or used the taxi rank after hours, so treat it as a starting point rather than a review.
Staying accurate
How We Keep This Late-Arrival Guide Accurate
Metro hours, the N4 night bus schedule, and taxi availability can all change, so we've flagged all three as facts to recheck regularly rather than leave to go stale.
Return to Sofia Airport to City Centre, or start from First Time in Sofia.