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
(17 Ratings)
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Arezous668
Nov 25, 2024
Great experience. Highly recommend - My sister and I took this tour in Sofia. Lubo, our tour guide was great. The trip was well organised. I booked the trip via phone 2 hours before the trip by calling the number I found in google. Thank you team!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pefluhl
Oct 31, 2024
Great experience and good combination - The monastery is very impressive and definitely worth the trip. Very attentive and friendly travel management. The thermal bath with its various hot pools and saunas are ideal for relaxing. All in all, the tour is highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hawwa_o
Oct 28, 2024
Amazing & Sacred experience at the unforgettable Rila Monastery - The Rila Monastery is a Unesco site and Bulgaria's Crown, and one of the most sacred and beautiful places I've ever visited in my 40+ countries. If you do not go while in Bulgaria you will regret it. The combination of the Monastery with the natural thermal mineral baths afterwards is perfect. The baths feel great after a lot of traveling and walking. I also had the added bonus of going during a warm late Autumn day, and saw all the beautiful fall colors in the mountains during the drive. The guide was knowledgeable and professional, and spoke great English. The only thing I would change is to have 30 minutes more at the Monastery and less at the baths. It is unnecessary to spend a full 3 hours at the bath at the expense of being rushed at the Monastery (1.5 hours only). I also would have opted (and paid) for an hour longer tour that included a visit to the nearby Cave of St Ivan of Rila, if offered. The guide said that he sometimes can go there upon request if there is a smaller group. I also discovered from him that you can make arrangements at the Monastery to spend the night there, in the very austere Monk conditions. You have to arrange that completely separately from this tour though. The admission to Rila is included, but it was 20€ extra for the baths, as described. You can pay the entry at the baths with a credit card -- but you do need to bring local currency for *refundable deposit* for entry key, and optional towel, locker and robe. Around 50lev for everything. (Also bring local currency if you want to buy anything at the Monastery). There are no refeshments provided on the tour, so bring your water bottle and optional packed lunch if you don't want to eat at the Bath restaurant. Remember to also bring a swimsuit, flip-flops, and your shampoo/lotion for the shower afterwards.
Review provided by Viator
Marielaure_v
Oct 27, 2024
Not to be missed - Great day. Can’t miss the monastery and the wonderful restaurant I’ve thermal bath One of the mossy outstanding day in my travels
Review provided by Viator
Lina_k
Oct 24, 2024
Rila monastery and SPA - Rila monastery and a SPA is a wonderful combination. We very enjoyed. Our guide George was very interesting ,profetional and friendly. I really recommend this tour .
Review provided by Viator
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
N1564oualiceh
Oct 22, 2024
Lovely day trip from Sofia - The monastery was absolutely beautiful. The drive to get there also had lovely scenery. We only spent 30/40 minutes there, but that was enough. We then went to a restaurant that served very nice traditional food. The spa was a lovely end to the day. It could do with some refurbishing but was a relaxing spot.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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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