Septemvri Travel Guide

The Sofia to Plovdiv trains only stop here briefly to pick up or drop off passengers but for those connecting with the narrow gauge line there's usually a brief stopover. To cater for such passengers there's three little kiosks competing with each other for the scant trade.

And so if you are travelling on to say Bansko (about five hours away) this makes for a cheap place to grab a bite of lunch and a snack for the journey.

Favorite Dish: For me lunch consisted of a generously-filled salami sandwich (90 c) washed down with a cup of machine espresso (30 c). Another well-stacked sandwich, this time a sort of luncheon meat, (another 90 c) and a 2 litre bottle of Ariana beer (2 leva) comprised my take-away for the journey. The sandwiches were meaty in a good chewy bread, the machine espresso surprisingly good and the beer cold and alcoholic - lunch and a picnic for 4.10 leva which is about 2 quid in English money!

1 more image

It IS possible to get to Septemvri by bus but since it is on the main line ralway line between Sofia and Plovdiv, and you'll probably be visiting to get the train anyway, then there doesn't seem a lot of point in looking at those options.

From Sofia there are 17 departures daily with a journey time of 1.5 - 2 hours and a fare ranging from about 5.20 to 7.50 leva, depending on the train.

From Plodiv the journey takes 40 minutes to 1 hour, 3.30 to 4.30 leva.

And of course if you are heading up the narrow gauge line then you can buy a through ticket from wherever you are starting from - a sample fare from Sofia to Bansko is 9.50 leva for about a 7 hour journey and from Plovdiv 9.90 leva for just under 6 hours.