PlugNest

Sofia to Thessaloniki by electric car

Under four hours of driving, almost all on motorway, with one border and no passport check. Here’s where the chargers are, from today’s data, and what to know before you go.

  • 295 km
  • 3 h 45 min driving
  • 1 border, no passport check
  • 29 fast chargers on the way

The road and its chargers

Sofia: 72 more chargers in and around the city — see them on the map.

  1. Sofia → Dupnitsa

    km 0–70

    Out of Sofia on the Lyulin motorway (A6), then south on the Struma motorway (A3). Just past Pernik, the stops at Studena and Dragichevo are the first fast chargers on the way — useful if you set off without a full battery.

  2. Dupnitsa → Blagoevgrad

    km 70–99

    From Dupnitsa the Struma motorway carries on to Blagoevgrad, with few chargers right by the road until the city.

    No chargers within 3 km of the road on this stretch.

  3. Blagoevgrad → Sandanski

    km 99–158

    After Simitli the motorway ends at Krupnik and the old E79 takes you through the Kresna Gorge: around 20 km of two-lane road, often slow behind lorries, with no fast chargers. The motorway picks up again before Sandanski. A bypass around the town of Kresna is due in 2027; a motorway through the gorge is still years away.

  4. Sandanski → the border

    km 158–180

    The best-served stretch of the trip: Sandanski, Levunovo, Marikostinovo, Chuchuligovo and Kulata all have fast chargers, minutes apart. If you only stop once, this is the easy place to do it.

  5. The border → Serres

    km 180–216

    Over the border, the A25 heads south. There are chargers at the crossing itself, then few until the Serres junction.

  6. Serres → Thessaloniki

    km 216–290

    The last stretch runs south-west past Langadas into Thessaloniki, which has plenty of chargers of its own.

Thessaloniki: 75 more chargers in and around the city — see them on the map.

Border, vignette and tolls

  • The crossing is Kulata–Promachonas, open day and night. Since Bulgaria became a full Schengen member on 1 January 2025 there’s no passport control, though police may carry out random checks near the border. Queues still form on summer weekends.
  • Bulgaria: you need an e-vignette for motorways and main roads, electric cars included. Since 1 August 2026 it costs €6.60 for a weekend, €10 for a week or €19.90 for a month. Buy it at bgtoll.bg before you set off.
  • Greece: there is no vignette. The A25 has two toll stations, Promachonas and Strymoniko, about €2.35 each for a car in 2026.

Facts checked 11 November 2026. Prices and rules change — check before you travel.

Charging networks on this route

  • Fines10
  • Eldrive7
  • Electrip5
  • EcoCharge3
  • Protergia Charge1

Each network takes payment its own way, usually through its app; newer fast chargers also take a bank card at the post.