Bulgaria costs less than you think. Here is what to book with it.
Which Rila Monastery day trip is worth the early start, what a week of ski hire in Bansko actually runs to, whether the Seven Lakes are walkable when you are there. Reviews of every tour you can book in Bulgaria, with the price on the front.
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4A wine bar in Sofia, a snowshoe day above Bansko, karst water at Krushuna, the rocks at Belogradchik.
Four bookings that give a first week in Bulgaria its shape, and what each one costs before you commit.
01The first eveningWine Tasting in Heart of SofiaBulgarian reds and a room full of locals, ten minutes from the yellow cobbles. The cheapest good night out in the capital.
02The winter dayThe Best of Bansko: Magical Snowshoeing Adventure & SPASnowshoes above Bansko, then a soak. The Pirin snow lies from December, and the spa is the point of the afternoon.
03The karst dayTour to Lovech, Devetaki cave & Krushuna waterfallsDevetaki cave, then the terraced pools at Krushuna. Green water, limestone steps, and a drive through the Balkan foothills.
04The far cornerFull-Day Belogradchik Rocks and Belogradchik Fortress from SofiaSandstone towers and a fortress built into them, up on the Serbian border. A long day out of Sofia and the best one going north.
Almost every famous thing in Bulgaria is a day trip from the capital.
Rila Monastery is two hours south, the Seven Lakes sit above it, and Plovdiv is ninety minutes east. Three kinds of day out of Sofia, what each one costs to board, and how much of it is driving.
Sofia for the mountains, Plovdiv for the old town, Bansko and Borovets for the snow.
The capital under Vitosha, a Roman theatre still in use, two ski towns an hour or two apart, and the coast at the far end of the country. Six places to sleep, and the best day out from each.
Bulgaria is where Europe skis when the Alps are priced for someone else.
Bansko and Borovets run from December into April, and the hire shops are the cheapest on the continent. Boots, board, lessons and the lift pass, booked before you land so the queue happens without you.
The Bulgarian days out more travellers take than any other.
Every Bulgarian tour we have reviewed →Monastery runs, walking tours of the capital and a wine room off Vitosha Boulevard. What earns each of them the slot, and what it costs.
1
Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day Tour
Visit Rila Monastery and UNESCO-listed Boyana Church from Sofia in one day, with transport, guiding, mountain scenery, and practical tips.
From · $25
Read our review →
2
Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour
from $25
3
Communist Walking Tour of Sofia
from $22
4
Admission Ticket to the Museum of Illusions in Sofia
from $18
5
Wine Tasting in Heart of Sofia
from $37
6
Sofia Highlights 2 Hour Sightseeing Walking Tour
from $20
7
Group Day Trip from Sofia
from $23
8
Sofia Pub Crawl Tour of The Hidden Unique Bars
from $25
9
Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from Sofia
from $55
What a day out in Bulgaria actually costs.
Every tour on the site sorted by price. The country is cheap enough that the decision is rarely the money, it is the driving time.
Walking tours of Sofia and Plovdiv, museum entry, wine rooms, a week of ski hire in Bansko.
The full-day standards: Rila and the Seven Lakes, Plovdiv by minibus, the cave and waterfall runs.
Private drivers, ski tuition, the long hauls north to Belogradchik and Veliko Tarnovo.
Three things Bulgaria has that nowhere else does.
Painted monasteries exist elsewhere and so do mountain lakes. Not stacked in stripes under Rila, not seven of them on one ridge, and not a fortress wedged inside sandstone towers.
Rila Monastery
The arcades are painted in bands of black, white and red, and the frescoes on the porch run to hundreds of scenes, most of them concerned with the fate of the wicked. Monks have kept the place since the tenth century. It sits in a forested valley at 1,150 metres, so it is cool in August and often under snow in March, and the day trips out of Sofia stop at Boyana Church on the way back.
- 1Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 918 reviews
- 2Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 866 reviews
- 3Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from Sofia★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 280 reviews
The Seven Rila Lakes
Glacial lakes stacked up a valley in the Rila mountains, each with a name given for its shape: the Tear, the Eye, the Kidney. A chairlift from Panichishte saves the first ascent and the loop above it takes four to five hours. Snow lies on the upper lakes into June, and the cloud comes over fast, which is why the guided trips are worth more here than almost anywhere else in the country.
- 1Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from Sofia★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 280 reviews
- 27 Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 165 reviews
- 3The Seven Rila Lakes & Rila Monastery★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 109 reviews
The Belogradchik Rocks
Red sandstone towers up to two hundred metres high, standing in a line along the northwest border. The Romans built a fort between them and used the rocks themselves as walls; the Ottomans finished it. It is three hours from Sofia, which is why almost everyone goes as a long single day, usually paired with the Magura cave nearby.
- 1Full-Day Belogradchik Rocks and Belogradchik Fortress from Sofia★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 75 reviews
- 2Belogradchik Full-day Tour from Sofia★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 30 reviews
- 3Balloon Flight over Belogradchik Rocks + extras★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 22 reviews
Four Bulgarian bookings that do not wait for you.
Most of this country can be sorted the night before over a bottle of Melnik. These four run on lift timetables, snow, and minibuses that leave the capital once.
- 01Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day TourThe shared minibuses leave Sofia in one morning wave and there is no later option. Miss it and the alternative is a taxi over the Rila pass.
- 02Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from SofiaThe chairlift at Panichishte runs to a season and to the weather. Snow can sit on the upper lakes into June, and the guided days are the ones that turn back at the right time.
- 03Ski and Snowboard equipment rental in BanskoHire shops in Bansko and Borovets size and fit you before the first lift. Booking ahead is how you start skiing at nine instead of eleven.
- 04Full-Day Belogradchik Rocks and Belogradchik Fortress from SofiaIt is three hours each way from Sofia, so the trips run as one long departure and only on set days out of season.
Bulgaria has weather, and half the good stuff is indoors anyway.
Rain on the Rila ridge and there is no view, and between the ski season and the hiking season the high trails are neither. The answer is underground or under a roof: limestone caves, a thermal pool, Roman brickwork, and the wine that Thrace has been making for six thousand years.
By place, capital to coast
By kind of day, monastery to mountain to table
Sofia, Rila, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, then the coast.
The newest Bulgarian tour reviews.
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Symbol of the Communism Buzludzha monument and the Rose valley
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Private 2 Hours Sofia Street Art and Graffiti Tour
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Private Sofia Tour with Unique Local Food & Drinks Experience
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