Rila Monastery Tour: Explore Bulgarian Countryside
5.0
21 Ratings
Rila

Explore the picturesque Bulgarian countryside on a full-day tour from Sofia. Visit the famous Rila Monastery, hike to St. Ivan Rilski Cave, and marvel at the Stob Pyramids.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Rila Monastery - The Rila Monastery, one of Bulgaria’s most famous UNESCO Word Heritage sites
  • Stob’s Pyramids - Hike to the Stob’s Pyramids nature phenomenon
What's Included
  • Hotel pick up and drop off
  • Guided tour of Rila Monastery
  • Licensed mountain guide throughout the tour
  • All local taxes
  • All transfers
What's Not Included
  • Entrance fees in Rila Monastery museums (approx. 5 € if you are interested in visiting any of the museums, the monastery and church itself are free of charge)
  • Lunch and beverages (allow 5€ - 6€ for lunch pack or 10€ - 13€ for 3 course lunch in a restaurant)
  • Travel insurance
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Embark on a day-long journey from Sofia to three of Bulgaria’s most noteworthy sites! Start your day exploring the Rila Monastery, an acclaimed UNESCO World Heritage site that no visitor to Bulgaria should miss. Lose yourself amidst the age-old forests of the Rila Mountains, while making your way to the cave where St. Ivan Rilski (St. John of Rila), the…

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Location
Rila Monastery
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(21 Ratings)
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Freedom60487971295
Jun 14, 2024
Great hikes to the mountains - We had a wonderful experience with Kiril. Our 7 days were well organised, full of beautiful hikes and views. Kiril was great as a guide, full of knowledge and very attentive to our needs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Francoist944
Jan 2, 2023
Awesome full tour worth the time and the visits - We had a great time during this tour. Marin our guide was very nice, thoughtful and super knowledgeable. Nothing was rushed and we had the time to fully enjoy each site. I highly recommend the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachluketravels
Nov 28, 2022
Amazing! - Fantastic day! Marin our tour guide was very lovely and informative. He answered all our questions and spoke very good English. He even took us for an extra stop to see the mountains and snow. Lunch was lovely in one of the local restaurants. Thoroughly recommend this trip.
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Aaron
Oct 11, 2022
Fantastic experience! - The whole experience was excellent! Our guide messaged in advance with details of when to meet so we could get in touch with any issues. The whole tour was incredibly well organised and Georgi was very knowledgeable, answering both my questions about the sites we visited and about Bulgaria in general. Next time I’m in Bulgaria I wouldn’t hesitate to book another tour :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Danseali
Oct 6, 2022
A brilliant tour of Bulgaria's past with an experienced and engaging guide! - We had an excellent day exploring different parts of Bulgaria on this fascinating tour. Georgi was brilliant, an engaging guide and so knowledgeable and enthusiastic, as he not only told us about the history of the sites we visited, but also how they fit into the socio-economic past of Bulgaria. Georgi ensured excellent communication from the day before to confirm plans and throughout was happy to answer any and all questions we had. He arrived in good time for pick up and dropped us off directly back at our hotel lobby. The small group size was brilliant too as it almost felt like a private tour! 100% recommend this tour, and would definitely do it again if we come back to Bulgaria!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julianamarielas
Sep 19, 2022
Fantastic! - We had a lovely time on our tour of Rila Monastery, the Pyramids and St Ivan's cave! our guide was so funny, knowledgeable and was super helpful! We think is impossible be bored with George as a guide. We highly recommend this tour guided by George.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B918azkatied
Sep 18, 2022
Super fun, interesting and memorable experience - We had such an amazing time on our tour of Rila Monastery and exploring St Ivan's cave today! Our tour guide Georgi was so knowledgeable and lots of fun and also helped us learn some Bulgarian on the way which was super helpful! Also highly recommend the doughnuts at the monastery (mekitsi) 👌
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sabrinagosney6
May 30, 2022
Best trip of my holiday! A must have! - Can't recommend this tour enough. I had this tour with George and ended up being a solo one. He was so knowledgeable, patient with me on the big slopes and thoughtful, making sure I tired Bulgarian food and even going out of his way to recommend where I should eat and visit after the tour. This tour visits 3 places and I would urge you to visit all 3 rather than just the Monastery. Great tour company and people. 5 stars!
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Arodespinosa
Aug 10, 2021
Thanks Kiril! - We did their tour through Stob, and Rila with Kiril. He was awesome, he bought us delicious local yoghourt on our way, toured very kindly through the different places and he took us to a local restaurant away from the rest of the tourist where you can eat fresh trout from the adjacent river. He had with us a kind of hospitality you can’t find easily in Bulgary. Thanks for everything Kiril!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Didoadam
Feb 23, 2020
best tours guide i saw i Europe - very friedly also very actif kiril show us the montagne with a way he let me fill that the day pass in one hour i would like go back again to sofia hope to see you again kirill the best guid tour i saw i n all my life i was traveling and kerill its special
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