Need help booking?
Unpublished phone-only deals available
SOF to IST: distance & flight time
Sofia (Sofia Airport) → Istanbul (Istanbul Airport)
291 mi
469 km · 253 nm
1h 14m
estimated nonstop flight time
Same time
time difference · heading east
See live SOF→IST fares Phone-only fares on this route — call free
Flight time details
291 miles nonstop takes roughly 1h 14m gate to gate, flying east. Add 45–90 minutes per connection if there's no nonstop service. Both airports share the same local time, so schedules read exactly as flown.
The two airports
- SOF — Sofia Airport · Sofia, Bulgaria
- IST — Istanbul Airport · Istanbul, Turkey
Distances are great-circle ("as the crow flies") — the same basis airlines use for frequent-flyer miles.
Alternate airports can cut this fare
Flying from or into a nearby airport is the #1 trick our agents use to beat online prices. Call and we'll compare every combination on one call.
Near SOF
- PDV · Plovdiv International Airport85 mi away
- INI · Nis Airport90 mi away
- SKP · Skopje Alexander the Great Airport105 mi away
- CRA · Craiova Airport115 mi away
Near IST
- ISL · Atatürk International Airport21 mi away
- SAW · Sabiha Gökçen International Airport39 mi away
- TEQ · Tekirdağ Çorlu Airport44 mi away
- BTZ · Bursa Airport73 mi away
Frequently asked questions
How far is SOF from IST?
The flight distance from Sofia (SOF) to Istanbul (IST) is 291 miles (469 km, 253 nautical miles), measured along the great-circle route airlines actually fly.
How long is the flight from SOF to IST?
A nonstop flight takes about 1h 14m gate to gate. Actual time varies with winds, routing and season — eastbound transatlantic flights, for example, are usually faster than the return.
What is the cheapest way to fly from SOF to IST?
Compare live fares online, then call CheapoTrav — our agents have unpublished consolidator fares on SOF–IST that never appear on search engines, with no booking fees.