The 15 Best Rila Monastery Tours from Sofia

Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day Tour - The road from Sofia: comfortable, but not quick

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 918 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $25Our pick

Visit Rila Monastery and UNESCO-listed Boyana Church from Sofia in one day, with transport, guiding, mountain scenery, and practical tips.

“The tour guide Vasil was wonderful. Tour was good, and extended by nearly 2 hours. Was not worth the extra £€$ to go up the tower in the monestry ,and the steps are really steep. We went outside the monestry and ordered doughnuts, but the local restaurants/bars would not let you eat them outside, even if you purchased from them. Boyana church was also a nice see. But as we where later here it was really busy, and took longer to enter the church, which you get 10 minutes to see inside, which is enough.”

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From Sofia: Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour

2.Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 866 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $25

Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church day tour, with costs, timing, guides, transport, practical tips, and honest drawbacks.

“I informed the operator that I was going to cancel the trip because of my sons health but he did not even reply even after multiple texts.”

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Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from Sofia

3.Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 280 reviews · 13 hours (approx.) · from $55Top rated

Review of Sofia’s Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery day trip, with hiking tips, costs, timing, transport details, and honest advice.

“The tour was perfect we had enough time to do the both activity I did the big tour which normally took a lot of time”

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7 Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery Tour

4.7 Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 165 reviews · 10 to 11 hours (approx.) · from $72

Review of Sofia’s Rila Lakes and Monastery tour, with hiking advice, costs, weather warnings, timing, guides, and practical booking tips.

“Tour got partly replanned due to bad weather. Guide was very nice but given weather forecast it should have been rescheduled for next day.”

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The Seven Rila Lakes & Rila Monastery

5.The Seven Rila Lakes & Rila Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 109 reviews · 12 hours (approx.) · from $55

Review of Sofia’s Seven Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery tour, with hiking tips, costs, timing, transport details, and honest advice.

“The hike up to the lakes was a challenge but well worth it. The views are spectacular. The hike down was also a challenge as the path is rocky. The monastery is beautiful and our guide was both informative and respectful. A great day out.”

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Private Day Trip to Boyana Church and Rila Monastery

6.Private Day Trip to Boyana Church and Rila Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 108 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $194

Review of Sofia’s private day trip to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, with pricing, itinerary, guide quality, practical tips, and honest drawbacks.

“The monastery is spectacular and the Boyana church was an interesting short stop. Our guide was knowledgeable and very friendly, and our driver was professional and friendly too.”

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Plovdiv and Rila Monastery tour in one day

7.Plovdiv and Rila Monastery tour in one day

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 87 reviews · 10 to 11 hours (approx.) · from $120

See Plovdiv and Rila Monastery from Sofia in one long day, with transfers, English guidance, small groups, and practical tips.

“This was a long day, but it was worth the time and money. Our driver/host Apostolos inew a lot about the country and kept us on track while ensuring we had opportunity to stop for food and bathroom. We very much enjoyed the 2hr walking free tour (tip based) that Apostolos arranged for us( we learned a lot about Plovdiv from our very knowledgeable local tour guide. We had enough time at the Rila Monastery to walked around and admire the architecture and religious wealth. We wished that we had received the audio tour hyperlink from the company that runs the tour one day in advance, as we had planned…”

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Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Shuttle Tour

8.Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Shuttle Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 69 reviews · 8 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $43

Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church tour, with practical advice on guides, timing, transport, costs, dress rules, and value.

“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”

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From Sofia: Rila Monastery and Plovdiv Day Trip

9.Rila Monastery and Plovdiv Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 52 reviews · 12 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $72

Review of Sofia's Rila Monastery and Plovdiv day trip, with practical advice on timing, transport, cost, dress code, and what to expect.

“Excellent day to see Rila Monastery and Bulgaria’s second largest city - Plovdiv. Phillip, our host was clear with his communication and the two locations we visited were really interesting. I would highly recommend.”

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Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Self-Guided Day Trip from Sofia

10.Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Self-Guided Day Trip from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 41 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $37

Visit Boyana Church and Rila Monastery from Sofia on an 8-hour self-guided trip with transport, an audioguide, and free cancellation.

“So worth taking this tour to see the Boyana Church with its fabulous frescoes, and then on to the amazing Rila Monastery. Although the tour was self-guided, our driver Lubo was happy to answer questions and pass on interesting information. A good day out, and I thoroughly recommend.”

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Rila Monastery & Thermae Full-Day Tour from Sofia

11.Rila Monastery & Thermae Full-Day Tour from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 34 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $44

Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery and Kotvata thermal spa tour, with practical advice on timing, costs, transport, dress, and what to expect.

“Fun tour from Sofia, Bulgaria. Loved the tour at Rila Monastery with amazing architectural feats that lasted for many years. Our guide Ivan, was wonderful and very knowledgeable and entertaining along the duration of the trips. A bit disappointed at the Thermae as it was very crowded and pools are divided into different temperatures setting, however, the lockers were full, so you had to bring all your belongings wherever you go along the facility.”

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Rila Monastery and St. Ivan Cave History & Nature Trip from Sofia

12.Rila Monastery and St. Ivan Cave History & Nature Trip from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 25 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $25

Visit Bulgaria’s Rila Monastery and St. Ivan Cave from Sofia, with English guidance, mountain scenery, a forest walk, and free cancellation.

“Nice place to visit, the tour guide was good but the speakers wasn’t working well couldn’t hear anything! The van need to be cleaned have bad smell, and tourists must consider they will be in closed van , and it’s hot weather they need to shower and use good hygiene. The air conditioner was on but not cooling the van at all. But the Rila very much worth to see. Make sure to wear good walking shoes if you ll do the hike.”

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Rila Monastery Afternoon Half Day tour

13.Rila Monastery Afternoon Half Day tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 24 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $60

Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery afternoon tour, including transport, timing, price, guide service, site access, and practical booking advice.

“Noi abbiamo fatto solo il tour del Monastero, ma l'agenzia organizza anche tour di una giornata intera che prevede anche i 7 laghi. Se si sceglie di fare solo il monastero si passa molto tempo in auto (circa 5 ore tra andata e ritorno). La vista al monastero dura un'ora ,ma è davvero molto bello! La guida è stata cordiale e molto disponibile.”

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Rila Monastery and Boiana church private tour

14.Rila Monastery and Boiana church private tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 23 reviews · 6 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $121

Explore Rila Monastery and Boyana Church from Sofia on a private, flexible day tour with comfortable transport, local insight, and mountain views.

“Lots of history with the church. Luckily our guide Vlody could explain in details. Drive up and down was comfortable. Had their special donuts and enjoyed the day.”

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Small Group Tour to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church

15.Small Group Tour to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 22 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $109

Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church tour, with UNESCO sites, mountain scenery, guides, pricing, timing, and practical tips.

“This is the perfect trip for the people who loves wonders, history, nature, forest, mountain, adventure etc.. If you are in Bulgaria, you should must see Rila Monastery. Actually Inside the monastery are the wonders and surprises. Don't forget to visit the original old monastery and the cave 20 minutes upward walk in the mountain. The guide Maria was with an exceptional wonderful personality. We have been to more than 60 (Sixty) countries and we remember very few guides - Maria is in our heart.”

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