Bansko is roughly 160 kilometres south of Sofia and takes about two and a half hours by car, mostly on the Struma motorway. From the airport, hire cars, a fixed-price taxi (around 150 leva off-peak), or one of several daily shuttle minibuses run by ski operators in winter are the easiest options.
By public transport, Cool Bus and a handful of other companies run direct buses Sofia–Bansko a few times a day, around three hours one way and very cheap. The slow narrow-gauge train from Septemvri terminates at Dobrinishte, six kilometres east of Bansko, and takes most of a day — beautiful, but a journey rather than a transfer. From Plovdiv, bus connections require a change in Velingrad or Razlog. Within Bansko itself, almost everything is walkable; in winter a free shuttle bus runs to the gondola base.