Rila Monastery with Optional Boyana Church Day Trip from Sofia

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From EUR 20

4.60
825 reviews

Overview

Available languages

German
Russian
English
Italian
French
Spanish

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

1

St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral

09:00 departure from the starting point. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.

15 minutesAdmission Not Applicable
2

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.

45 minutesAdmission Not Included

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

4.60

825 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

616
139
40
7
23
  • Bad response

    Parthasarathy R,

    May 21, 2025

    - Viator

    1.00

    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.

  • Great tour to some of Bulgaria’s must-see sites

    Annie L,

    May 18, 2025

    - Viator

    4.00

    We 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

    5.00

    Church 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

    5.00

    Excellent 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

    5.00

    We 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.