Burgas Airport (BOJ) is about 12 km from Burgas city center and 25 km from Sunny Beach. Bulgaria is one of Europe's most affordable countries, and airport transfers reflect that.
Cost breakdown by transport type
| Option | To Burgas Center | To Sunny Beach | To Nessebar | To Sozopol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus 15 | 0.80 EUR on board | Not direct | Not direct | Not direct |
| Taxi (metered) | Metered | Metered | Metered | Metered |
| Private transfer | Fixed price, quoted at booking | Fixed price, quoted at booking | Fixed price, quoted at booking | Fixed price, quoted at booking |
A note on currency: Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026 and the euro has been the sole legal currency since 1 February 2026. The changeover rate was fixed at 1.95583 BGN = 1 EUR. Older guides quoting lev prices — and telling you to withdraw leva at the airport — are describing a currency that no longer circulates.
What affects the price
Taxi meters in Bulgaria run on a per-kilometer basis with a small base fare. The rate is posted on the window — check it before getting in. Rates are set by each company rather than by a municipal tariff, and they were re-denominated into euro during the changeover, so the window card is the only figure that is reliably current. Night rates are higher than day rates and are shown on the same card.
Traffic between the airport and Sunny Beach can add 10-15 minutes in peak summer, but it rarely affects the metered fare dramatically.
The cheapest option
Bus 15 costs 0.80 EUR for a ticket bought on board, or 0.66 EUR for a 45-minute transfer ticket from a Burgasbus e-wallet (operator tariff, January 2026). It runs roughly every 20-25 minutes at peak times and takes you from the airport terminal to Burgas central bus station in about 25 minutes. From there, you can connect to Sunny Beach or Nessebar, but the total journey time stretches to 60-90 minutes with a transfer and wait.
The most practical option
For resort destinations (Sunny Beach, Nessebar, Sozopol), a pre-booked private transfer is the most practical choice. Prices are fixed, the driver meets you at arrivals, and you go directly to your hotel. Because the vehicle is priced as a whole rather than per seat, the per-person cost falls the more of you there are — which is what makes it competitive for families against a bus that does not go where you are going anyway.
Hidden costs to watch for
Taxi scams at BOJ are not rampant but they exist. The common trick is quoting a flat fare instead of using the meter, aimed at arrivals who have no idea what the ride should cost. The defence is the rate card on the window: read the per-km rate, ask for the meter, and decline politely if the driver will not run it.
Since the euro changeover, be alert to the reverse trick too — a fare quoted as though it were still in leva, or an old lev price presented as a euro one. The two differ by almost a factor of two (1.95583 BGN = 1 EUR), so the mistake is expensive in exactly one direction.
Bottom line
Burgas to city center is genuinely cheap, and Bus 15 at 0.80 EUR is the cheapest way to do it. Resort transfers cost more due to distance but remain affordable by European standards. Pre-booking locks in a price and removes the guesswork.