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Rila Monastery and Boyana Church: A UNESCO Sites Shuttle Day Tour Experience
4.7
621 Ratings
Sofia
Embark on a captivating 8-hour day tour to the Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Explore ancient frescoes, learn their history, and enjoy free time in the picturesque mountains.
Embark on a captivating 8-hour day tour to the Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Explore ancient frescoes, learn their history, and enjoy free time in the picturesque mountains.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral - The meeting point for the tour is Behild Alexander Nevsky Cathedral at 8:45. The departure is at 9am. Please be on time!
- St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral - The meeting point for the tour is Behild Alexander Nevsky Cathedral at 8:45. The departure is at 9am. Please be on time!
What's Included
- Trip to Boyana Church and Rila Monastery
- Transportation by comfortable bus/minibus
- Parking fees
- English-speaking guide or driver (depending on option)
- Trip to Boyana Church and Rila Monastery
- Transportation by comfortable bus/minibus
- Parking fees
- English-speaking guide or driver (depending on option)
What's Not Included
- Boyana church entrance ticket - approx. 6 euro per person (12 lev)
- Rila Monastery museum + monk room entrance ticket - approx. 4 euro per person (8 lev)
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Hotel pick up and drop off
- Boyana church entrance ticket - approx. 6 euro per person (12 lev)
- Rila Monastery museum + monk room entrance ticket - approx. 4 euro per person (8 lev)
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Hotel pick up and drop off
Additional Information
Experience a day amidst the mountains touring 2 UNESCO heritage sites - Rila Monastery and Boyana Church. This full-day tour of 8 hours, conducted in English, is organized for a group led by a professional guide. Your time at the monastery will include a 40-minute guided tour and you will be given 2.5 hours of free time for photography, visiting museums…
Experience a day amidst the mountains touring 2 UNESCO heritage sites - Rila Monastery and Boyana Church. This full-day tour of 8 hours, conducted in English, is organized for a group led by a professional guide. Your time at the monastery will include a 40-minute guided tour and you will be given 2.5 hours of free time for photography, visiting museums and shops, and for your lunch. Despite the brief visit to Boyana Church, it is undeniably worthwhile as you get to see centuries-old (800 years old) wall-paintings and understand their historical significance from your guide.
For women, it’s mandatory to have their knees and shoulders covered within the monastery!
On summer weekends, the restaurants might be bustling, so bringing your own meal from Sofia is suggested for additional free time at the monastery.
*The Boyana Church remains closed on January 1st, Orthodox Easter Sunday, and December 24th and 25th, hence on these days, the tour is restricted only to Rila Monastery.
- Women should have their knees and shoulders covered in the Monastery.
- There are not many dining options around the monastery, so in the period April – October we recommend you to bring your own food. In the period November – March we organize a stop at a nearby restaurant, since the weather is colder and it is not comfortable to eat outside.
- Bring cash with you (preferably local currency) – the shops and the restaurants in the area of the monastery accept mostly cash payments so it is important to have some money with you.
- Please warn us if you have a 0-2 years old baby when you make the reservation so that we can prepare a special seat for them
- The visits within the Boyana Church itself are limited to 10 minutes per every group of 8 to 10 people. If you’d like to enter inside, you may also need to queue.
- On certain days, such as around holidays in Bulgaria, or when in groups over 100 people, delays are possible and the estimated tour finish time in Sofia could change as far as 18:30.
Location
Rila Monastery Trip from Sofia
ulitsa "Oborishte"
The meeting point for the tour is BEHIND Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, near to cafe La Cathedrale. Ask for travel agency City Tour. Please be there at 8:45am.
The van/bus departs at 9am and will not wait for you if you are late.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(621 Ratings)
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618edm
Nov 7, 2024
Wonderful Day - This was a wonderful day. The weather was beautiful, the mountains were stunning and both the monastery and church were something to behold. I totally recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rowena_l
Nov 3, 2024
Great tour - Excellent tour and tour guide. Bus left on time, guide was very knowledgeable about Rila Monastery and everything ran smoothly. Would highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Marielaure_v
Oct 26, 2024
Excellent day with great... - Excellent day with great guide and driver and wonderful people.
Rila monastery is magnificent. And the hot spring bath in the afternoon was very healthy
Review provided by Viator
N3128jqmarinaa
Oct 21, 2024
Interesting tour and a great guide! - Really enjoyed our guide Simeon! He was very knowledgeable and kept the tour interesting with many facts not just about the main stops, but also villages and other details along the way. Great job!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Orlando_i
Oct 19, 2024
First time and happy user - My first time using Viator and I can say it was a success. I used the service mostly for transportation to the sites but still was exposed and governed by the instructions of the two guides: Simeon for the English group and Maria for the Spanish group. It was interesting to see them flawlessly manage each group and convey the appropriate information in accurate and timely basis. They both made the experience fun and educational. From what I could tell everyone came out pleased. I will highly recommend this service to independent travelers everywhere and I look forward to participating in new adventures with them. Hopefully under the orchestration of Simeon and Maria
Review provided by Viator
Victoria_k
Oct 18, 2024
Beautiful historic and scenic tour! - This was a great tour if you are wanting to get out the city centre and learn about ancient churches and monasteries. The trip was well organized with a convenient pick up location. The drive up is very scenic. Our tour guide Simeon was also very knowledgeable during the tour and we learned a lot of history. I recommend the tour!
Review provided by Viator
Notmyrealname57
Oct 20, 2024
Day trip away from city centre - Comfortable coach journey but takes 2 hours there and 2 hours back so a long day. Monestary is a must see though. Slightly disappointed with Boyana Church - a long wait to gain entrance and then limited to 8 minutes inside. Take a packed lunch and snacks with you as food options are very limited.
Guide was very good - knowledgeable and friendly.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Travel806105
Oct 22, 2024
Based on other reviews I expected more - Let me start my saying that the Monastery is a must see, although much of it has been reconstructed over the years.
The tour we booked catered from both English & Spanish speakers, meaning the tour is essentially transport only until you get to your destination. The first stop, about 1.5 hours in, is to enable you to use the facilities and or purchase some food (not expensive) as Rila Monastery only provides very basic facilities and food options.
The monastery itself is a must see. Our guide Stanislava (English Speaking) took us on a 45 minute tour and then we had just shy of 1.5 hours to wander around by ourselves. I would say that is just about right. The facilities are indeed basic but food wise you can purchase a few Bulgarian bread treats from the old bake house.
After this you come back into Sofia (about a 2 hr drive) to go to the Boyana Church. Unfortunately only 10 people are allowed in at a time, limited to 8 minutes so with 50 people on the coach this takes a while. Whilst this is not the fault of the tour, rules are rules it really needs to be looked at.
Overall this is really transport with a tour guide at destination only, as although a guide is on the coach with you, due to the mixed languages spoken there is minimal interaction, it would have been nice to be told something about the country, area, life etc.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Howard_s
Oct 20, 2024
Scenic Journey - The Rila Monastery is a picturesque campus high in the hills. It was nice interacting with the others in the trip. However, it was chaotic at Boyana since reservations were not adhered to and the people waiting to get in grew impatient. We ended up getting back to Sofia over an hour later.
Review provided by Viator
Melanie
Oct 18, 2024
A good tour - The monastery is beautiful and definitely worth a visit. The Boyana Church is small but worth the extra fee to enter as its very unique. The check in process to get on the bus was a bit chaotic in the morning. We waited in line to check in with Maria, then was told to see the English guide and then he told us to go back to Maria. There needs to be a little bit more organisation involved throughout the day. We were asked in the second church if we went up the bell tower at the monastery and no one in the group had - it would have been nice to actually know about it prior. We also did the self guided version which we think was worth it for the tour price.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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