Von Sofia : Rila Kloster und Melnik Kleingruppentour

I did this lovely tour with guide Radi and driver Niki and really enjoyed it. Both places are absolutely beautiful and the tour was really well organised and run. Radi is an absolutely superb guide and a really nice guy - friendly, happy to chat and tell you about life in Bulgaria, and very knowledgeable. When I asked about food and produce in Bulgaria, he was able to explain a lot of things I didn't know. He made sure we got a good amount of free time in both places and pointed out useful things like water fountains with fresh, cold water (it was a hot day) and where the best toilets were. A great day. I definitely recommend this company.

Great tour, great driver, great guide. That was interesting and fun 😉. Our guide Martin made us some challenges, so we all were involved and after all informed, really good job 👍🏻.

This is my third Viator excursion and it was excellent as were the others. My small group driver Radi with Traventuria spoke excellent English, good personality, lots of interesting information. Rila Monastery and the autumn colors along the highway were outstanding! Must see.

The guide spoke very good English, was very nice and answered all our questions about the monasteries and Bulgaria. Melnik was absolutely adorable but wish we had more time there. The monastery was nice for free. The museum was interesting for €3 - the best part of it was the underground wine cave. We thought there was going to be more wine tasting than just 2 small sips in there. The town was the best part and we did not have any free time there and did not have lunch there. There were so many really cute restaurants that we (only 3 of us on the this tour) would have liked to have eaten at but instead we went to a restaurant (trout farm) 2 hours away by Rila Monastery with 5 big tour buses there - it was obviously a tour restaurant with no ambience. We were told the fried trout was the specialty and the best. We all got it and it did not even have salt, pepper or any seasoning - it was boring. The restaurant also said the credit card machine was not working and we had to pay in cash. Tour description says: “In Melnik we will make a degustation of local cuisine specialties and aromatic brands of wine, that will add extra flavor to the trip.” Which let us to believe we would be eating in Melnik and tasting more than one white and one red wine. The tour of Rila was very nice and informative. The museum was mediocre but it was only 3€. We were told to be at the pick up point at 6:45am. The 3 of us were there at 6:30am and the driver/guide showed up at 6:59am. It was over a 2 hour drive from the pick up point to the first stop at the Melnik monastery - so note that will be the first restroom available. Lunch was at 2pm; so bring snacks or power/protein bars for the morning. It would have been nice to pull over a couple of times for a few minutes to take pictures of the lovely vineyards or the beautiful pyramid mountains. Arrived back in Sofia at drop off point at 7pm.

Beautiful trip in Melnik town and Rila monastery. The guide was very well prepared and ready to make suggestion that helped us improving our trip. it was a wordeful day!

We were there 10 minutes before the agreed meeting point and our guide Lubo was already waiting for us. We first went to Melnek and learned a lot of interesting facts along the way. Every question was answered so the journey passed as if in flight. Melnek is a beautiful little well-kept town nestled in a dreamlike landscape. In the afternoon we visit the Rila Monastery which is also indescribably beautiful and a must for every Bulgarian visitor. We had an unforgettable beautiful day and would also like to thank Lubo again for his friendly, helpful nature us his many information. Can highly recommend this trip with these guides.

Melnik is a hidden gem, a must see. Try also the local wines, exceptional! Rila Monastery is a unique experience, especially with explanations from a trained guide like Martin. The tour is very fascinating, you will see places that will remain in your heart. I recommend both Traventuria and Martin, you will not be disappointed with this long but well-run tour.

My tour with Traventuria unfortunately goes in the 'one of my less favourite tours' categories... It wasn't a complete disaster by any means, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it unfortunately. Starting with booking - the website is a bit of a mess. On the tour page it stated that entrance fees were included, but then when you go to book it asks if you would like to pay for your entrance fees up-front. As it transpires, entrance fees are 'not' included on the tour, and so this should be updated on the tour page to avoid confusion. This wasn't the only source of confusion though - as literally only a few lines apart, it says that the meeting time is 7:00am...then a few lines down it talks of meeting at 8:00am. This really isn't good and I shouldn't have to email the company to find out exactly what the correct information is. I also tried to book a hotel pick-up, which again the tour page says you can do for an extra charge. Then when booking, of course, there was no ability to choose this option. I emailed the company to ask if I could arrange this, and received no response. So instead I had to walk the streets of Sofia as a solo-female in the dark at 6:30am, trying to find the meeting place by avoiding poorly lit alleyways and groups of men in the shadows. I know it sounds dramatic and I was probably perfectly safe - but I didn't feel it, and I was not happy with the company for having not offered the service they claimed they offered. I was eventually running a bit late in the end for the start of the tour, because I had had to avoid certain dark parks and alleyways on my route to the starting point, but the guide called me and was friendly enough on my arrival. Now, the admin aside, for the tour itself. I will start by saying that I could see it was a difficult group - one person in particular seemed pretty challenging for the guide, and even myself at times. However unfortunately, I felt this impacted on the guides attitude towards the group as a whole throughout the day. I tried my best to keep things upbeat, but you could see that slowly the guide became slightly less engaged, more defensive and less involved as the day wore on. By the end of the day, we had a roughly 1.5hr or so trip back to Sofia in complete silence. Most questions asked were given very curt answers and not really encouraged. I stopped asking after awhile as I was sort of made to feel like a bit of a nuisance, which was a shame, as I am a keen travellers, have a travel blog and run an online community for female travellers, so I simply try to find out as much information about a place as I can from guides and people with the information. This was the first time I had ever encountered a guide who didn't really seem that interested to share that information as such. For the sites themselves, I did really enjoy Melnik - although again I was disappointed that we did not get the panoramic view of the village and the mountains which is shown on the website. I specifically asked the guide if we did, and they responded yes, but then we did not. Perhaps it was lost in translation a bit, and from the angle in hindsight perhaps it was a drone shot, but it was still disappointing to be told something yet again that was not delivered. The lunch stop was lovely and I really enjoyed it, however it would have been nice if the guide had sat with us for lunch so we had a better opportunity to speak to them, instead of just leaving us to it. Rila Monastery was also of course beautiful and the guide was always obliging to take photographs, and I appreciated being there later in the day. All in all - my experience with Traventuria was ok, but by no means great, especially when compared to other tour companies. The conflicting information on the website needs to be sorted out, the services offered actually need to be delivered, and (even though I fully appreciate how hard it may have been), the guide should try not to let one difficult person ruin their enthusiasm for the tour for the rest of the group. I would find it difficult to recommend Traventuria on my blog/to my group/to friends etc, at least until they have worked through some of the issues mentioned above.

I would definitely recommend Traventuria if you go by how their staff operate from the first enquiry (Yuliana and Velina-you are right about Martin) till the trip ends (Martin). I’ve opted for the hotel pick up and Martin arrived on the dot. Friendly but professional and put me at ease from the start of the trip till the end. Almost like having a travel companion for the day who has local knowledge. Thank you Martin 🙂. I just have to echo Ellen B from Camas, Washington about the trip because she described it very well. My highlights, of course, the guide, the swallows who made their nests at the entrance to the Merchant place in Melnik, the sundial at the summer garden, the poppies that grew on the wall of winter garden, the gentlemen at the cellar door, a quick stop at the monastery in Melnik, the homemade cherry wine in the plastic bottle at the road side little souvenir place, the waterfall on the way to Rila Monastery (like a white ribbon through the lush green forest), the stream that run alongside the road, the stork that made its nest on top of the electric pole, the little bird that swim in the water next to the place with the grill trout (it was fresh and yummy), the bones of the Saints in the book cover (I’m not quite sure what to think of that), Rila Monastery but I find it too busy with the tourists (however, I cannot really complain since I’m one of them 😂) and the monk’s room which houses the monk and his novice (imagine only having a total of 1 hour out of 24 hours and only 15min at a time to yourself) and ending the tour 11 hours later back at my hotel. Pretty impressive time management skill while making sure that the client does not feel rushed at any point. Once again thank you Yuliana, Velina and last but not least Martin.

My guide, Martin, met me promptly at the Alexnder Nevski cathedral, setting the tone for the day. We left Sofia and the valley floor and started for the hills and mountains. After a brief coffee break we reached the small city of Melnik nestled in the hills and canyons. It was interesting to glimpse everyday life, at least for the wealthy, during the tour of a merchant's home complete with secret tunnels and huge wine cellar. Martin shares the fascinating history well so I left with a good understanding of the significance. Before departing for the Rila Monastery, we wondered around the small shops. After about another hour, we dined on fresh fish next to a rushing river before arriving at the monastery. At first glance, the monastery walls look like many others. And, then, you step inside. It's incredible - the structures, the frescoes and museum. Martin effectively explains the history making the stories come to life. Once we were through with the tour we drove safely back to Sofia. It's an excellent trip and Martin is very good guide.