Not only bus from Skopje to Sofia, but in general it’s not always the easiest thing to find bus schedules in the Balkan area, especially online. Just stick to those traditional ways and you’ll be fine!
Scroll to the end for North Macedonia tips in Finnish!
Skrollaa loppuun suomenkielisiin vinkkipostauksiin!
The best thing to do is to go to the station and simply ask.
If you want to leave right now, they’ll tell you when the next bus is departing, and if you’re planning to leave a bit later just ask them to write down the schedule of departures.
Or take a pic of the timetables on the wall.
– But ask if those are still working at the moment.
The good thing is that those schedules easily remain for years.
Which doesn’t mean that your vehicle would be on time. Public transportation is often running late on their schedules, but that’s life! Reserve time and take it easy.
Schedules for a Bus from Skopje to Sofia
Here are some schedules for the departures from Skopje (North Macedonia) to Sofia (Bulgaria) in July 2016.
Those might be exactly the same today, but if not, you’ll get an idea of frequency anyway.
- 07.00 (7 am)
- 08.30 (8.30 am)
- 15.00 (3 pm)
- 17.30 (5.30 pm)
- 00.00 (12 pm/midnight)
You might try your luck on the web also, as recently the government of North Macedonia has actually announced the annual time schedules and also listed them on their official websites.
This one is for the departures from the Skopje bus station.
Buses to Sofia leave from the bus station next to the Skopje railway station.
The trip takes approximately 5 hours depending on the traffic at border control.
Read also:
Tips for My Finnish-Speaking Readers
- Kipsijalkaisten tanssijoiden ja kitsch-patsaiden kaupunki Skopje
- Patikointi Matka-kanjonissa
- Patikointivinkkejä pahimmille vihamiehille
Paluuviite: Bussilla Skopjesta Sofiaan ja airbussilla kotimatkalle | Please Be Seated for Takeoff
Where can i buy the ticket to go by bus
You can buy the ticket at the station just before getting on to a bus. No need to book in advance.
Hi guys,
I’m planning to travel from Skopje to Sofia. I can leave no sooner than 10:00 PM at night and I have to reach Sofia before 4 AM on the next day. (Because of the flight from Sofia)
Going by the bus schedules I have found on the internet so far, it seems fairly difficult. Is there any other alternative? Please suggest. Appreciate any advise.
Hi Tejas!
There is only one bus leaving after 10pm, that 0.00 one. The problem is, that it takes around five hours and Bulgaria is one hour ahead of Macedonia, which means you would arrive at 6am.
Only thing came up to my mind is taking a taxi. It will cost you maybe five times more than a bus. I would say maybe 200 lv, around 100€, but I’m not absolutely sure. You need to bargain this with the driver.
The taxi would save you at least an hour, the drive should be around 3,5 hours, but you have to add time for the border crossing, it can be really slow.
But if you are leaving exactly 10pm, you have five hours to get to Sofia on time, so you should be able to make it, all thought it is bit thight and give you extra heart bouncing queuing at the border.
One more hint: there is no direct train service between these two capitals and you have to travel via Thessaloniki, in Greece, which will give you travel time of 15+ hours.
That border crossing can seemingly last forever. I’ve done it four times and it left me wondering what the border guards can possibly be doing for so long!
So true! I was wondering exactly the same. There was no one else at the border crossing expect our bus with less than dozen passengers and it took about 45 min to get our passports checked! Luckily the road and bus itself are best ones around Balkan, so driving time is only about 4 smooth hours.
And welcome to read my blog, you were really fast, because I just launched it! I need to hurry up with new posts to keep you interested 😉