Rila Monastery and St. Ivan Cave History & Nature Trip from Sofia
Overview
Available languages
8 hours
Mobile ticket
This day tour perfectly combines history, culture, and nature experiences. Enjoy a comfortable ride through the beautiful green countryside as you head toward the majestic Rila Mountains. Discover Bulgaria’s most famous UNESCO site, the Rila Monastery, with a guided or audio-guided tour. Afterward, take a relaxing walk through the woods to reach the Cave of Saint Ivan. You will also have free time to explore the monastery on your own before we drive back to Sofia.
Additional Info
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities
Comfortable walking shoes recommended
Minimum traveler age is 6 years old
Tour with ONLINE (cloud-based) Audio-guide in different languages. INTERNET required to download and use.
What To Expect
Departure at 09:00 from the car parknext to Vasil Levski Monument, in front of the Embassy of Slovakia
Rila Monastery
Transportation from the Meeting point to the Rila Monastery. Estimated time of arrival - 12:00.
Options
ESP Live Guide: Rila & Cave
Guided Tour in Spanish: Experience excellence with Traventuria. Join this tour with a professional Spanish-speaking guide.
ENG Live: Rila, Cave, Boyana
Add -on visit to Boyana church: Includes: English-speaking guide, Rila monastery, St. Ivan's cave, Boyana church (Entrance fee NOT incl.).
Self-Guide: Rila & Cave (App)
Transport only: Audio App ONLY. Explore Rila Monastery & hike to the Cave independently. NOTE: Onboard host speaks Spanish/Italian, not ENG.
ITA Live Guide: Rila & Cave
Guided Tour in Italian: Experience excellence with Traventuria. Join this tour with Italian-speaking guide to Rila monastery & St. Ivan's cave.
ESP Live: Rila, Cave, Boyana
Add -on visit to Boyana church: Includes: Spanish-speaking guide, Rila monastery, St. Ivan's cave, Boyana church (Entrance fee NOT incl.).
ENG Live Guide: Rila & Cave
English-speaking guide: Experience excellence with Traventuria. Join this tour with a professional English-speaking guide.
ITA Live: Rila, Cave, Boyana
Add -on visit to Boyana church: Includes: Italian-speaking guide, Rila monastery, St. Ivan's cave, Boyana church (Entrance fee NOT incl.)
What‘s Included
Visit to Rila Monastery
Professional Tour Guide OR Cloud Audio Guide App (depending entirely on the option you have booked)
Visit to St. Ivan Cave, OR The Bells Monument (depending entirely on the option you have booked)
Parking Fees
Round-trip transport by air-conditioned minibus or coach
Gratuities
Food and Drinks
Rila Monastery Museum (Optional; entrance to the main courtyard/church is free)
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
40 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Brilliant Day Trip
Nicci A,Jun 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Highly recommended. Our tour guide Ludo was great. A really interesting, fun day.
Excellent
MariaGloria R,May 24, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00A very well-organized tour. The guide explained everything to us very well. They have given us enough time to complete all the visits.
Brillant day
Zekiye S,May 21, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Excellent day trip. Rila monastery was incredible. The guide Hristo was great amd knowledgable and shared many good stories.
Highly recommended
Montse S,May 8, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Rila Monastery is spectacular. The cave is not easily accessible. The Vayana guide very nice and has given us many details along the way and in the destination.
Recommend this tour
465qingc,Apr 27, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very good tour and the tour guide Maria was very nice and helpful.
Well Done Tour.
blakepQ5136RU,Apr 26, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A very well done trip that had a few extras thrown in. Our guide, Velislava, was outstanding, showing a good knowledge of the subject matter and the Italian language. The bus driver was excellent and handled the sometime demanding roads with ease and aplomb. The tour provided many opportunities to increase knowledge, try new things, and accomplish goals and growth. Would do again!
Beautiful tour!
Paula P,Apr 10, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Antonio has been an excellent guide! Perfect English and Spanish management, gave us interesting data and was very fluent
Recommended
Annamaria D,Apr 10, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Precision in organization, friendly staff , Rila Monastery must see if you go to Sofia, the museums inside are for a fee if you want to see (between €1.5 and 4.5€) super suggestive and relaxing atmosphere. Honest tour prices.
Very nice day trip
Helge-Nugh,Apr 2, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Very entertaining excursion. On the way there was a lot of information about the country and people. And a coffee break with free toilet (very clean). At the monastery the essential details were explained and you had enough time afterwards to explore for yourself ... and a very delicious grilled trout in the closed restaurant. The trip to the cave should only be made by those who feel fit enough to climb a steep and unpaved path over rocks and roots. Back there was a stop at a winery. The wine tasting is highly recommended. (You can choose 3 wines from the offer. Very good quality.) Just in time for dinner you are back in Sofia. Highly recommended !!! P.S.: The price is a joke. Driver and guide live off the tips. So please don't be stingy.
Monastery and cave in the snow
Emily1g,Mar 28, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Lubo our tour guide was very knowledgable and friendly - lots of history facts on the way and a quick guided tour in the monastery. Be aware that this tour was for Boyana church, monastery and St Ivan’s cave. We had booked monastery and cave, but spent 30 minutes at Boyana for our first stop (you could pay extra to enter church or just walk around the gardens for free). We spent 1.5 hours at the monastery which was enough time to see the church and buy some bread from the bakery. Then we were back on the bus for the hike to the cave. This was 600m walk up steep rocks - but very manageable, even in surprise snowy conditions! This was the highlight in my opinion. Don’t forget to take the opportunity to be reborn by climbing through the chimney of the cave - thanks Lubo!
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