Taking taxis in Bulgaria: what to watch for, and the alternatives

Anyone living in or visiting Bulgaria eventually faces the same question: how do I get from the airport, or across the city, safely and without hassle? Around Sofia in particular, online forums carry a lot of stories about problems with taxis — and just as many tips on avoiding them. One of the largest Facebook groups for foreigners in Bulgaria, "Foreigners in Sofia & Friends", discussed exactly this recently. Here are the useful conclusions.

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Watch out at the airport

The recurring complaint: tourists and new arrivals get overcharged by drivers at the airport. Lorenzo Piovesan writes:

"Since Yellow Taxi replaced OK at Sofia Airport, taxi drivers keep trying to cheat in a way or another, every single time I take a cab from the airport ... Either they try to keep a large change [...] or they purposefully try to take the wrong and much longer way."

Kubrad Strahilov puts it more bluntly:

"Never take a taxi from a stand no matter the company, the moment they see you're a foreigner they'll try and scam you."

Hence the community's single most repeated piece of advice: do not simply get into the nearest taxi. Order it through an app first.

The taxi apps people actually use

Apps show the fare in advance and let you pay by card, which removes both arguments — about change and about routes.

Recommended:

• TaxiMe (Google Play & Apple)
• Yellow! (Google Play & Apple)
• Volt Taxi — still fairly new (Google Play & Apple)

Apps familiar elsewhere in Europe — Freenow, Uber — are not really available in Bulgaria. We use TaxiMe and Yellow! ourselves; we have no first-hand experience with Volt yet, though the dark green cars are increasingly visible around town.

Dragomir Ivanov makes the case for Volt:

"The price is little higher [...] but the cars are clean and you can add your debit card to the app, so don't need to pay in cash."

Cyril Mazur agrees:

"Volt is my favourite :-) better book in advance tho."

Others, such as Alek Milanov, stay with Yellow — with a caveat:

"Use the Yellow Taxi app where you can also opt in to pay via credit card through the app - they don't like it but it's an option and I suggest you use it."

Ana Oliveira adds:

"I've done this before after arriving in the country and it's hard for the driver to overcharge you or choose crazy routes, as long as you choose card as payment."

Public transport as an alternative

From Sofia airport, the metro is worth considering. It costs a fraction of any taxi and the line into the centre is well connected.

Maria Popov writes:

"The metro is a good option. The public transit is great to use once you get the hang of it — the Moovit app has been great for us to get around the city."

• Moovit (Google Play & Apple)

Paul Fuzz Fereday recommends the same:

"We use the metro as it's cheaper. Catch the shuttle bus from terminal 1 to 2 to catch it."

Car sharing with an EU licence

Another option, if you hold an EU driving licence. Altug Akgun suggests:

"Use Spark if u have an EU license."

• Spark (Google Play & Apple)

In short

Taxis in Bulgaria are a practical and often genuinely cheap option — if you use them correctly:

• Never take a taxi from a rank, least of all at the airport
• Use an app: TaxiMe, Yellow! or Volt Taxi
• Pay by card in the app, so there is nothing to argue about
• Consider the metro or car sharing instead

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The apps at a glance

• TaxiMe
• Yellow!
• Volt Taxi
• Moovit
• Spark

If you travel in Bulgaria regularly or have a trip coming up, install these before you arrive rather than in the arrivals hall.

More on daily life here: our blog and the living in Bulgaria page.

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Screenshots from the Facebook group: