Rila Monastery with Optional Boyana Church Day Trip from Sofia
Overview
Available languages
8 hours
Mobile ticket
Discover two of Bulgaria’s 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.
Important: As of November 2024, Boyana Church now does not take reservations in advance, so we can not guarantee all visits. If entry is unavailable on your booked day, you will be able to visit St. Ivan's Cave at Rila Monastery as an alternative.
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
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Driver/Tour guide in English
Transport by air-conditioned minibus
Parking Fees
Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Audio guide in Spanish, Italian, German, Russian or English (approx. 5 euros per person)
Food and drinks
Rila Monastery Museum
Boyana Church
What To Expect
St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral
09:00 departure from the starting point. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.
Boyana Church
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.
Options
Rila mon. and Melnik 11 hours
Melnik and Rila monastery: Join this 11 hr-tour to Rila monastery and Melnik with w/ EN guide. Starting time 08:00 am. Boyana church -NOT included.
Classic tour incl. Dragalevtsi
English guided: Enjoy the classic tour to the Rila monastery & Boyana church. Visit the beautiful Dragalevtsi monastery extra
English-guided (NO Boyana)
Guided in EN (No Boyana ch.): Join this English-guided tour to the Rila monastery with Traventuria's expert team. Boyana church is NOT included.
Online audio incl. Dragalevtsi
Audioguided tour: Enjoy the classic tour to the Rila monastery & Boyana church. Visit the beautiful Dragalevtsi monastery extra.
Online audio tour (NO Boyana)
Audioguided tour, No Boyana: Live guide, Boyana -NOT included. Includes an online audioguide. Accompanying tour conductor will speak different language.
Italian-guided classic tour
English-guided classic tour
Guided in English with Boyana: Join the classic English-guided tour to Rila monastery&Boyana church with a professional English-speaking guide.
Spanish-guided (NO Boyana)
Guided in ES (No Boyana ch.) : Visita guiada en español al Monasterio de Rila. NO incluye la iglesia de Boyana.
Online audio tour with Boyana
Audioguided tour with Boyana: Live guide, Boyana - included. Includes an online audioguide. Accompanying tour conductor will speak different language.
Italian-guided (NO Boyana)
Guided in IT (No Boyana ch.): Visita guidata in italiano al monastero di Rila. NON include la chiesa di Boyana.
Spanish-guided classic tour
Reviews
825 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Bad response
Parthasarathy R,
May 21, 2025
- Viator
1.00I 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.
Great tour to some of Bulgaria’s must-see sites
Annie L,
May 18, 2025
- Viator
4.00We enjoyed our trip to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church. Our guide Lubo was very nice and friendly. He was super enthusiastic and eager to teach us about Bulgaria. Both Rila Monastery and Boyana Church were really beautiful. The visit to Boyana Church was a bit short and rushed- we were split into 3 groups and each group had only 10 minutes inside to look around. We were at the Rila Monastery for 3 hours and 2.5 hours of that was free time, which felt like a bit too much time there in the pouring rain. We ended up booking the combination ticket at the museum, which was a good use of time but otherwise we would probably have been a bit bored. However if the weather had been good maybe we would have enjoyed taking the hike to the cave or taking a nice walk around the grounds.
Church of Boyana is in...
rahel s,
May 13, 2025
- Viator
5.00Church of boyana is to be discovered. As for the monastery, it is grand. The guide was perfect. Very kind, clear explanations, precise. Excursion really nice.
Must visit while in Sofia
Wen P,
Apr 30, 2025
- Viator
5.00Excellent tour leader. Lubo is very knowledgeable and courteous. Rila Monastery is great place to visit. We enjoyed the trip
We visited 3 sites. The...
TaNee G,
Apr 15, 2025
- Viator
5.00We visited 3 sites. The Boyana church is so small but the wall paintings inside is incredible! Lucky we decided to pay to enter. Rila monastery is really worth the visits. Our tour guide Lubo is very informative. Highly recommend this tour for anyone in Sofia.
Related Experiences
Operated by Traventuria