Rila Monastery Full-Day Tour: Discover Bulgaria's Mineral Springs and Famous Orthodox Monastery

The curing properties of Bulgaria’s therapeutic springs, located near the Balkans’ only Gaiser, reachable within a day from Sofia, with water that is heated by the Earth’s core, springing out to 103 above ground. The Rila Monastery stands as the biggest and most renowned Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria.

Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Rila Monastery - Rila Monastery -The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. Founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria’s most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and is a must-visit tourist…
What's Included
  • English speaking driver or guide
  • Audio Guides
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks, unless specified
  • All fees and/or taxes
Additional Information
  • Knees and shoulders need to be covered during the Monastery visit
  • Entrance fees for thermal complex not included and varies between 10 and 20 € per person
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • Not recommended for people with health/hearth problems due to warm water
Location
Serdika Meeting Point - V Travel Day Tours
bulevard "Knyaginya Maria Luiza"
9:00 Departure from Serdika Meeeting Point (2, Maria Luiza boulevard across McDonalds on the main street next to the Mosque). Please show up at least 5 minutes earlier and look for a V Travel branded vehicle (car, minivan, van, minibus).
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.8
(15 Ratings)
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Surfer_w
Sep 26, 2024
Wonderful day out - Lovely monastery and warm pools. Our guide provided information about the monastery and its history. The thermal spa was really good lots of different pools on different levels with varying temperatures. It was 30 lev per person and extra for towels and locker.
Review provided by Viator
Melinda_l
Jul 23, 2024
Best of both worlds - Rila Monastery was unforgettable! And the pools were such a nice reprieve from walking- plenty of time to enjoy and relax. What a wonderful combination. Our guide/driver didn’t speak English and drive aggressively but it was nice that there were just three of us on the tour. Great value.
Review provided by Viator
Eliise_m
Jul 8, 2024
Perfect one-day trip near Sofia - The trip to the monastery and spa was very well-planned and there were 2 stops near the monastery before and after the tour. Our guide Georgi was really friendly, welcoming and gave a really informative and interesting tour in the Rila Monastery. The tour was also possible with audio guide in different languages. Really loved the little bakery near the monastery, definitely recommend to try the mekitsi. The spa was also very nice and relaxing, keep in mind to bring your own slippers and the ticket to the spa is only in cash. The group of 10, who we were travelling with, was really fun and friendly.
Review provided by Viator
Minerva_s
Jul 29, 2023
A complete day - Wonderful monastery , rich in history . Memorable place in the mountains . Nice time in thermal waterpiol. Guided by Georgi , verry good guide , who made our day perfect.
Review provided by Viator
Meganhq1286qj
Jul 15, 2023
Great day trip - Definitely recommend this day trip. Our tour guide Ivan was brilliant and made the day great. First stop on our tour was the Rila Monastery. Ivan pointed us in the direction of all the different bits we could see whilst here and gave us some information about the monastery before leaving us to explore. It's worth knowing that because this is a working monastery you need to be dressed appropriately. Shoulders must be covered and if wearing shorts/skirt/dress your knees must be covered. I wore shorts but brought a pair of leggings to wear on this part of the trip. After this we stopped off for some lunch at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant. My friend and I just had a drink but the location of this place is lovely. The other couple on the trip said the food was lovely too. After this, we went on to see the Geyser and to the thermal spa pools. Again, Ivan was really informative about the area and it's geography. When we got to the pools it was busy and they had stopped letting people in. We had to wait a little while but this wasn't a problem and Ivan was kind enough to allow us more time there to allow for the delay, meaning we didn't miss out at all. There's changing and shower facilities plus bars serving drinks, food and cocktails. You'll need money for entry, for any snacks/drinks and as a deposit for lockers/towels/robes. It was really nice to spend some downtime hear and enjoyed all the different temperatures of the pools. Big thanks to Ivan for making it a great day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B2875rjpieterv
May 17, 2023
Best tour we ever had - The tour was really nice and our tour guide was the best tour guide we ever had. We didn't know the price of the Thermal baths was not included in the price of the tour, so we had to buy these tickets for an extra 40 lev (€20) per person.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maria
Jul 18, 2018
I highly recommend this - We have booked this tour and I can say that we were left speechless with all the beauty of the place. However luckily we were with Alex and he was more than helpful. He is very knowledgeable about the History and the place itself and different villages. Alex explained everything into detail and he was also acting as a translator for us as the villagers do not speak in English. Unfortunately Magdalena wasn’t available however Alex went out of his way to make the most of our tour and took us to different locations and local restaurant. We asked him to choose food from the menu for us and we weren’t disappointed at all. I would highly recommend to ask for Alex when booking for a tour as he’s so good at what he does and he takes his job so seriously that he goes out of his way to accommodate the tourist. Also, the company should consider to also add tours to the villages rather than touristic areas only and most of the beauty of the place is found there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Keith_c
Apr 4, 2017
Although this tour may not appeal to... - <p>Although this tour may not appeal to everyone, we found it to be informative and very interesting. We firstly visited the Krakra fortress remains and our guide, who was very interested in archaeology, was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the history of the same. We then visited a very authentic coal mining museum in Pernik, which gave us an idea of the underground working conditions of the miners....once again, our guide was excellent on this subject. Finally, we had an authentic Bulgarian lunch in a remote village, at a house belonging to Magdalena. She was very hospitable and provided large amounts of delicious food. All in all, we found this trip to be good value for money....it is ideal for travellers who are interested in the culture/history of a country.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Pipg2013
Sep 17, 2023
Great trip - well worthwhile - We had a great day out entertained by our guide Philip who was most knowledgeable about Bulgarian history and he also Had a great sense of humour. Philip - don’t forget the philosophy of St John who got to know himself in the cave.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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