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Rila Monastery & Boyana Church: UNESCO Day Trip
4.6
873 Ratings
Sofia
Embark on a UNESCO World Heritage day trip from Sofia to explore the stunning Rila Monastery and Boyana Church. Choose from guided tours or transport-only options.
Embark on a UNESCO World Heritage day trip from Sofia to explore the stunning Rila Monastery and Boyana Church. Choose from guided tours or transport-only options.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Vasil Levski Monument - Departure is scheduled for 09:00 from the starting location. Please ensure arrival at least 15 minutes prior to departure.
- Boyana Church - Located on the outskirts of Sofia, Boyana Church is a small temple featuring frescoes from three distinct periods: the 11th, 13th, and 19th centuries. The most significant and…
- Vasil Levski Monument - Departure is scheduled for 09:00 from the starting location. Please ensure arrival at least 15 minutes prior to departure.
- Boyana Church - Located on the outskirts of Sofia, Boyana Church is a small temple featuring frescoes from three distinct periods: the 11th, 13th, and 19th centuries. The most significant and captivating frescoes are from 1259. These Renaissance frescoes precede the Italian Renaissance (initiated by Giotto’s works) and break away from strict Christian canon law to depict genuine human emotions, royal figures, and folklore elements.
- Rila Monastery - Rila Monastery is a symbol of Bulgaria and a favored tourist attraction. Nestled deep within the Rila Mountain, it lies between the Rilska and Drushliavitza Rivers, at an elevation of 1147 meters (3760 feet) above sea level. It is located 120 kilometers south of Sofia.
- Vasil Levski Monument - Return to the starting location is expected around 17:00.
What's Included
- Driver/Tour guide in English
- Transport by air-conditioned minibus
- Parking fees
- Driver/Tour guide in English
- Transport by air-conditioned minibus
- Parking fees
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Audio guide in Spanish, Italian, German, Russian or English (approx. 5 euros per person)
- Food and drinks
- Entrance fees
- Entrance fees
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Audio guide in Spanish, Italian, German, Russian or English (approx. 5 euros per person)
- Food and drinks
- Entrance fees
- Entrance fees
Additional Information
Explore two of Bulgaria’s UNESCO World Heritage sites on this day trip from Sofia. Travel by minibus and enjoy the scenic views of rural Bulgaria on the way to the Rila Monastery, nestled in the pine-covered Rila Mountains. Join a guided tour of this medieval marvel, featuring a church adorned with frescoes, and explore its intriguing museum. After some…
Explore two of Bulgaria’s UNESCO World Heritage sites on this day trip from Sofia. Travel by minibus and enjoy the scenic views of rural Bulgaria on the way to the Rila Monastery, nestled in the pine-covered Rila Mountains. Join a guided tour of this medieval marvel, featuring a church adorned with frescoes, and explore its intriguing museum. After some free time to wander, proceed to Boyana Church, located near Sofia, to admire its stunning pre-Renaissance frescoes. Please note that entrance fees are not included.
Important: Starting November 2024, Boyana Church no longer accepts advance reservations, so visits cannot be guaranteed. If entry is unavailable on your scheduled day, you will have the opportunity to visit St. Ivan’s Cave at Rila Monastery as an alternative.
- 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.
- Minimum traveler age is 6 years old
Location
bul. "Yanko Sakazov" 9
bulevard "Yanko Sakazov"
IMPORTANT: The meeting point is next to the Vasil Levski Monument, in front of the Embassy of Slovakia. Please be there 15 minutes in advance. This tour is not suitable for children under the age of 5.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(873 Ratings)
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Zroghif
Mar 4, 2026
Rila Monastery + Boyana Church - A really interesting trip discovering some of the most precious monuments in Bulgaria. Our guide was kind and super friendly — he didn’t just show us around the monuments, he also gave us a glimpse into the history and identity of the Bulgarian people.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Callum_s
Feb 2, 2026
Svet was an awesome tour... - Svet was an awesome tour guide, made everything super engaging. Very knowledgeable about all things Bulgaria and a lot of historical references.
Review provided by Viator
Syed_a
Jan 27, 2026
Rila Day Trip - It was an excellent experience with nice guide and driver . Though it was raining but still we enjoyed a lot
Review provided by Viator
Suterrele
Jan 20, 2026
❤️ Asen, Lubo - Lubo and Asen did marvellous work on 20 January 2026.
Safe driving, enthusiastic, friendly, warm, caring (saw one guest with car motion sickness and repeated caution of icy, slippery condition on hike to cave), highly likeable, cheerful on cold winter day, reliable food recommendation, highly informative, mixed well with many young guests, reassuring pre departure reminders.
Both stops interesting with Lubo’s guidance. Well worth time spent. Lunch at Rila was delicious.
Total time taken about 8 hours on weekday in January.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tan
Dec 31, 2025
Outstanding tour - Martin was our tour guide and he was phenomenal. He was funny, energetic and knowledgeable. One of the best tour guide that i ever had.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mercedes_l
Feb 24, 2026
Excursion to Rila - Almost the guide is great, very nice and friendly, he was all the way giving explanation of everything you saw along the way. Peter the very good driver.
Review provided by Viator
Monica
Feb 14, 2026
Rila Monastery , Boyana Church - We took part in today's visit with guide Zahari Nikolov. We really appreciated his professionalism and his preparation. Great experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Luca_f
Jan 11, 2026
Nice, but nothing unforgettable - Trip out of town to complete the circle and visit the visitable in three days after Sofia and Plovdiv.
Boyana Church is definitely a unique place, but it is not worth the cost of 6€, considering that first of all it is a visit of maximum 10 minutes in groups of 8, so if you are in a large group you could wait in the cold (if you are of these periods) for almost 1 hour and then also that if you are a student you could pay 1.53€ (as in almost all museums in Sofia) but the same you pay 6€ because for “organizational” reasons they decided that the ticket money must be collected by the guide before arrival and then the tickets must be taken all together.
I find it an unfair practice.
Considering that it is not far from Sofia at this point visit it on the day dedicated to Sofia.
The Monastery, beautiful but what it has to offer specifically makes you think how it is possible that you took an 8-hour tour to visit a church 10 minutes maximum and a monastery 1 hour exaggerating.
Overall it can fit, but if I had the opportunity to choose something else in hindsight I would have chosen something else.
Review provided by Viator
Federica_i
Jan 8, 2026
Cute. - We took part in a tour that included a visit to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church.
Unfortunately, the organization has not convinced us completely. The group was much too large: we were about 40 people, which made some phases of the day not pleasant. Once on the bus, the guide informed us that to visit the church of Boyana it was necessary to pay € 6.50 per person. We paid, but it had not been explained to us before that access is only allowed to 8 people at a time.
The result was that we waited outside for over an hour, in the cold, surrounded by a lot of people. The church, once inside, is very small and honestly not worth the price of the ticket, especially considering the waiting time and conditions.
On the contrary, the visit to the Rila Monastery was the best part of the tour: the place is beautiful, suggestive and absolutely worth seeing. It was a positive and interesting experience, which partly lifted the day.
In conclusion, tour with potential, but penalized by poor organization and time management, especially regarding the church of Boyana.
Review provided by Viator
Aj
Mar 7, 2026
Deceptive pricing - Deceptive website. It is not the individual guide's fault, but I paid extra for ticket that was to include Boyana Church. Now I'm informed this will be 6 Euros cash additionally for entrance.
What kind of company makes you pay extra for a Boyana option when you book Rila ticket, and then this doesn't cover cost of admission? I have limited cash and limited patience. I'd expect something like this from a dishonest cab driver, but not from an established company..
Review provided by Tripadvisor
