Rila Monastery And Boyana Church Day Trip From Sofia

From
USD
Per Person
Book this tour with
Created with Fabric.js 5.2.4

Tour Information

Key Details

  • Mobile Voucher Accepted
  • Hotel pickup Available
  • Instant Confirmation
  • Lowest Price Guaranteed
  • Duration: 8 Hrs
  • Language:
    English
  • Departure Time :
    9:00 AM
  • Return Details :
    Returns to original departure point
  • Cancellation Policy :
    This activity is non-refundable Tours booked using discount coupon codes will be non refundable.

Overview

Discover two of Bulgarias UNESCO World Heritage gems on this day trip from Sofia. Traveling by minibus, admire rural Bulgaria on route to the Rila Monastery in the pine-carpeted Rila Mountains. Take a guided tour of the medieval treasure with its fresco-coated church, and visit its fascinating museum. Then, after time to explore independently, continue to Boyana Church, near Sofia, to marvel at its spectacular pre-Renaissance frescoes. Entrance fees not included.
The tour offers 3 different options:
1. The guided tour option is with an English-speaking live guide.
2. Tour with an an audio guide in Spanish, Italian, German, Russian or English.
3. Transport only (that option might not be bookable for some dates).

Know More about this tour


09:00 departure from the starting point. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.
Boyana Church is a small temple at the outskirts of Sofia with frescoes dating back to three separate periods: 11th, 13th and 19th century. The most important and fascinating are the frescoes dating from 1259. They are Renaissance frescoes that predate the Italian Renaissance (triggered by the works of Giotto) and brake the strict Christian canon law to present pure human emotions, royal figures and folklore elements.
Rila Monastery is one of Bulgaria’s symbols and a popular tourist destination. The monastery is set deep in the heart of Rila Mountain, between the Rilska and Drushliavitza Rivers, at 1147 metres (3760 feet) above sea level. It is situated 120 kilometres south of Sofia.
Return to the starting point at approximately 17:00

Itinerary:


09:00 departure from the starting point. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.
Boyana Church is a small temple at the outskirts of Sofia with frescoes dating back to three separate periods: 11th, 13th and 19th century. The most important and fascinating are the frescoes dating from 1259. They are Renaissance frescoes that predate the Italian Renaissance (triggered by the works of Giotto) and brake the strict Christian canon law to present pure human emotions, royal figures and folklore elements.
Rila Monastery is one of Bulgaria’s symbols and a popular tourist destination. The monastery is set deep in the heart of Rila Mountain, between the Rilska and Drushliavitza Rivers, at 1147 metres (3760 feet) above sea level. It is situated 120 kilometres south of Sofia.
Return to the starting point at approximately 17:00

Inclusions

  • Driver/Tour guide in English
  • Transport by air-conditioned minibus
  • Parking Fees

Exclusions

  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Admission to Boyana Church (approx. 5 euros per person) and Rila Monastery Museum (approx. 4 euros per person)
  • Audio guide in Spanish, Italian, German, Russian or English (approx. 5 euros per person)
  • Food and drinks

Additional Info

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities

Not wheelchair accessible or stroller friendly

Comfortable walking shoes recommended

Exceptions to the standard program:

Boyana church will NOT be visited on the following days: 1st of January (the tour starts at 11 AM on that day only); The day of Orthodox Easter; 24th and 25th December.

Hand disinfectant will be provided for free throughout the tour.

All touch points in the vehicles will be cleaned frequently.

Minimum traveler age is 5 years old

Traveler Reviews

See all reviews
  • 20-Aug-2023

    To be clear we did not take the day trip as we had our own hire car but the monastery was well worth the visit and we enjoyed the buildings. One needs to be careful about parking if you go independently if you choose Sunday which was packed and despite paid officials to guide the traffic, leaving ended up chaotic. We drove down to a fantastic restaurant next to running water. Food and service was excellent. Even a open play area for children. Just after the restaurants on the road they were selling all kinds of garden gnomes in all shapes and sizes. We bought a Stork gnome as real ones are seen all over the region

  • 15-Aug-2023

    Beware of the exorbitant price of an additional transfer to the otherwise satisfactory Sofia-Rila monastery. Traventuria charges BGN 40 (EUR 20) for the 40-minute journey from Rila monastery to the nearby town of Blagoevgrad, whereas a local bus with Rila Express costs only BGN 3 (13 times less!).

  • 13-Aug-2023

    We have Nice excursion to boyana church and Rila monastery, The guide tour nice person and very kind,

  • 11-Aug-2023

    Absolutely fantastic day out really worth visiting would highly recommend, family friendly also with comfortable bud ride and great tour guide

  • 10-Aug-2023

    We had the best tour guide in the world. Outstanding job! She guided us with exceptionally good knowledge through Boyana Church and then through Rila Monastery. Highly recommended.

  • 01-Aug-2023

    Amazing site, worth the long drive. Our guide was also very nice and gave us plenty of free time. 10/10

  • 30-Jul-2023

    This CityTour one day bus trip covered the St. Alexandra Nevski Cathedral and the Boyana Church. There was also a lunch restaurant stop. The cathedral and church are definitely worth seeing. Both have maintained their integrity in different ways despite wars and occupation. We enjoyed an excellent local guide (Alexa) at the Cathedral. We were considerably overcharged for lunch, though that was quickly corrected and the food, especially the bean soup and trout, was great. The Boyana Church has world heritage frescoes. 0ur tour guide took a little longer than the allotted ten minutes and in retaliation the church attendant used a hand held strobe light to flash those present in the face. I was blinded for a time due to this but our tour guide (Fillip) showed no willingness to listen and respond. The attendant felt OK about doing this. Barring these two incidents the tour was well worth it.

  • 25-Jul-2023

    The guide was nice and the monastery magnificent but the toue was way too crowded and rushed. We only got a short brief, a whole busload of people, and then the guide had to leave with selected few that had opted to hike to the cave. This should have been two different tours. I almost felt as if I would have gotten the same experience by just getting the transport there and read up on wikipedia or from an online guide. It’s not the guide’s fault but the company’s for cramping too many people on the same tour… and even cramping more than one tour into the same bus.

  • 20-Jul-2023

    This was the second guided tour I signed up with Traventuria. I signed up for this tour at 6 pm on the evening prior to the tour. The website has the number of availability on the tour and have immediate confirmation upon payment of the tour online. The instructions on where to meet and the name of the guide etc was sent via email and clear cut. The meeting point was central and the bus was clean. We left even earlier to beat the traffic once everyone was on board. Martin our guide was knowledgeable, informative and enthusiastic with a sense of humour. He managed to arrange our schedule such that we arrive at the Rila Monastery before it gets too busy. Martin also gave us tips for food options (your own packed lunch, monastery donut or the sole restaurant.) I managed to try the trout at the restaurant and made it back in time to the bus and was quite pleased. Martin also had good knowledge of the toilet conditions at the monastery which is very useful. We also made it in good time to the Boyana Church and skipped the queu to get a brisk tour of the church. There is an additional charge of EUR5 for the Boyana Church which I purchased online together with my tour ticket so I didn’t have to purchase on arrival. I enjoyed my experience on this tour and would recommend it.

  • 12-Jul-2023

    Superb places to see, superb guide, absolute value for very modest expense. A must see and, albeit short, optimally timewise, in my view

See all reviews