Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Shuttle Tour
Recommended by 90% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Sofia, Bulgaria
- 8 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Travel with a small group to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, two UNESCO World Heritage sites. An informative guide points out 19th-century paintings depicting the Bulgarian Renaissance at the country’s largest monastery, set against the beauty of the Rila mountains. In the afternoon, visit Boyana Church to view its medieval frescoes. You’ll travel round-trip by air-conditioned minivan from Sofia’s Alexander Nevski Square.
- Full-day tour of Rila Monastery and Boyana Church
- Visit two of Bulgaria’s UNESCO World Heritage sites
- Admire Bulgarian Renaissance paintings and 13th-century frescoes
- Hear insightful commentary from a professional guide
- Travel round-trip from Sofia by minibus
- Small-group tour ensures a personalized experience
What's Included
- English-speaking driver/guide
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Online audio-guide in Eg, Fr, Sp, It, De, Rus (use with your smartphone & earphones)
- Entrance fee for Boyana church
- Food and drinks
- Live Guide in Spanish, Italian, French - 100 € per booking
- Hotel pickup
- Hotel drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Sofia Center, bul. "Yanko Sakazov" 7, 1527 Sofia, Bulgaria
Vasil Levski Monument (Embassy of Slovakia)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.9:00 am
Itinerary
1
Rila Monastery
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Boyana Church
1 day 6 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 10 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
- Infant seats available
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 69 reviews
SUFEI_T, Oct 2024
Rila Monastery is amazing, is a MUST to pay a visit. The tour guide Lubo is a very good tour guide, provided very sufficient historical knowledge and background , and explained the instructions very detailed. Strongly recommend to pay a v8sit there.
Nic, Aug 2024
Hristo was an amazing guide, so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the history of the monastery and church. We really enjoyed our trip and would definitely recommend it to everyone. Our only issue was finding the bus to begin with! We were in the right place but originally turned away as the provider was listed on our ticket as "V Travel". We went back and asked them to check for our name on the reservation and it was there but the guide wasn't aware that tickets like ours could be with his company. Very glad we went back to ask or we would have missed this amazing experience!
Takaya_K, May 2024
It was raining hard, unfortunately, but we had a great time there. With the help of the explanation of the guide, we understood well the history and how precious the churches are.
AnneR_D, Oct 2023
Excellent tour
Guide was great
Small group as opposed to touristing with the masses
Very comfortable
Delivered on what was advertised and more
Yael_V, Jul 2021
Very interesting visit but a little bit short at the monastery . We had almost no time to visit the museum.
Ludo T, Oct 2019
When I found that tour operator V Travel offered a trip to the Rila Monastery and Boyana Church at only 30 euros a person, I was a bit sceptical. I still went ahead and booked, and I haven't regretted that decision for a minute. Our driver/guide, whose name I unfortunately have forgotten, had taken cultural studies in higher education. Both this English and his commentary were excellent. He knew what to say and what not to. I very much appreciated the links he established between the iconography in the two places. We stopped at a restaurant close to the monastery for coffee and returned there after our visit for lunch. Excellent service and good food. This was one of the best tours I've ever signed up for.
Shelley C, Oct 2017
This is an excellent tour! I cannot say enough great things about the monastery and even the place we stopped for lunch was amazing. The guide was knowledgeable and really gave us some interesting information about the area. This is a must visit if you are in Sofia.
Yangsun C, Aug 2017
Rita monastery is excellent. But traffic is a headache, especially during this hot season.
Megan H, May 2017
The trip was great - Rila Monastery was one of our favourite places that we visited and the journey was comfortable, but unfortunately the tour guide wasn't very clear and often seemed to be struggling to remember what to tell us.
john_V, Feb 2017
Enjoyed the Monastery but not the Church Church entrance fee was 10 lev each and you only get about 5minutes inside and no photographs
Monastery was well worth the trip and loved it
Main reason for not scoring higher was disappointment of Church, our lunch stop wasn't good either language problems maybe? plus ditto on our drop off point which wasn't what we had told our guide
Leyla_G, Oct 2016
It was a great trip with a friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. We had enough time to walk around and visit the museum at Rila. Boyana church was nice as will although I like more those in Arbanassi.
Jessica J, Oct 2016
Outstanding! Adrian, the tour operator, was extremely knowledgeable, personable, and professional. He is a very bright young man. I participated in a very small three person tour. Such small groups could feel uncomfortable, but Adrian kept the conversation flowing so that we never had awkward silences. If you do this tour, request him. You will not be disappointed.
The monastery was beautiful. The exterior is covered with vibrantly colored frescoes that tell different biblical stories from the artist's somewhat twisted perspective. There are Cyrillic messages throughout the frescoes and your tour operator should be able to translate their meanings, if you would like to know. While you're able to take pictures of the exterior, you can't take pictures of the inside of the cathedral. I felt so disappointed that I couldn't take a picture because the interior was stunning. This trip is worth the time.
Gary S, Aug 2016
The guide was very knowledgeable and pleasant. The visit to the Boyana church was not a neccesity in our belief.
Alessandro_P, Dec 2024
Il racconto della storia del monastero di Rila, degli affreschi e la storia raccontata dalla guida. Niente male anche gli aneddoti della guida sulla storia e la cultura bulgara!
Antonio_L, Nov 2024
Bellissima esperienza al santuario di rila, la guida molto brava e molto coinvolgente consigliatissimo
CHIE_S, Aug 2024
ガイドの男性(名前が聞き取れませんでした)がとても詳しく説明してくださったおかげで、勉強になるツアーになりました。聞き取りやすい英語でした。大人数でしたが、丁寧にガイドしてくれました。交通の便が良くないので、ツアーでなければ効率的に訪れることができなかったと思います。
Jess_M, Nov 2023
Éramos cuatro adultos y tres niños pequeños y nos llevaron a todos juntos en una furgoneta de 9 plazas. El guía muy amable
Lourdes_B, Oct 2021
Todo en general excelente, nuestro guía Gorgi no podría hacerlo mejor,buena explicación, buena educación,buena atención en todo momento,buena puntualidad ..
Nicole C, Sep 2019
Nous étions seuls mon conjoint et moi pour faire cette excursion avec notre guide Alex. Très sympathique, il nous a fourni une tonne de renseignements et d'anecdotes sur son pays, la ville de Sofia, le monastère et l'église de Boyana. Il nous a amenés diner dans un très bon restaurant. Le monastère vaut vraiment les 2 heures de routes. L'église de Boyana, compte tenu du temps limité de la visite (10 minutes) vaut moins la peine. Alex a vraiment été super tout au long de la journée avec nous. Je recommande cette excursion à tous ceux qui se rendent àSofia
Alessandra_G, Jun 2019
Wir machten diese Tour am Sonntag, den 3.6.2019 und waren vollkommen begeistert! Die Tour startete auf die Minute genau. Der Shuttle-Bus, in dem die Tour unternommen wurde, war sehr bequem und bot allen Teilnehmenden viel Platz. Am meisten überzeugte uns der Tour-Guide. Er war sehr motiviert, sprach sehr gut Englisch und konnte alles sehr ausführlich erklären und beantworte all unsere Frage. Nachdem wir das Kloster in Rica besucht hatten, machten wir einen Stopp bei einem Restaurant in der Nähe und aßen dort zu Mittag. Essen, Location und Gastgeber überzeugten uns ebenfalls. Ich kann diesen Ausflug nur wärmstens empfehlen! Wir waren ca. 9 Stunden unterwegs, sahen sehr viel und bezahlten pro Person (!) 31€. Das Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis ist wirklich überdurchschnittlich gut! Wenn ich nochmal nach Bulgarien komme (was ich nach diesem Aufenthalt auf jeden Fall vorhabe), werde ich bei Touren immer dieses Unternehmen buchen!
PIETRO_M, Oct 2018
nella mia lunga esperienza di viaggi, data la mia non più giovane età, sono rimasto folgorato dalla bellezza del Monastero di Rila, che consiglio a tutti di visitarlo.
MARIAYOLANDA_S, Mar 2017
En general muy bien, en principio el tour es en inglés con audio guía en español que has de pagar, pero como la mayoría de los viajeros éramos españoles, vino una guía que hablaba español, Martina, que lo hizo muy ameno y explicó muy bien lo relativo al Monasterio de Rila. Quizás hubiese tenido que hacer alguna pequeña explicación del viaje, paisajes, características, porque son dos horas de viaje en autobús y así es más entretenido.
Le añadiría un poco más de tiempo para la comida porque es bastante rápida, pero la excursión vale la pena, ya que el lugar es precioso
From $41.84
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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