7 Rila Lakes och Rila Monastery Tour

Cancelled our tour at 10:30pm the night before! We were really looking forward to the adventure, it was our last day in Bulgaria and too late to book with other companies!

apostolos is the best in town!

Fantastic tour covering Rila Monastery and the Seven Rila Lakes. Our tour was in a comfortable car with just 5 people in the group. The ride to and from Rila was smooth. Our driver and guide Apostolos was very friendly, kind and super flexible which made the tour very enjoyable. We had plenty of time to admire each attraction and never felt rushed. We were able to make coffee and bathroom stops along the way as well. As for the attractions, Rila Monastery is amazing and so are the Seven Rila Lakes. The tour operator shared detailed information ahead of time so that we could be prepared for the hike to the Rila Lakes. Overall, this is an absolute must do tour if you are visiting Sofia. Arrived safely in Sofia before 6 PM which left me plenty of time to explore other things in the evening.

Our guide, Apostolos, was wonderful! He spoke English very well and helped us make souvenir purchases. He also shared lots of interesting information about the country. He suggested we go to the Rila Spa (hot springs) instead and I wish we had listened. The Seven Rila Lake trails are not very passable this time of year. There were bridges washed outs and a lot of water rushing down the mountain. We did hike for an hour, but could not get to any great views. I would try this again in September.

Unfortunately the trip did not go as I hoped. Because after seeing the monastery of Rila, we did not go to see the 7 lakes but we were forced to go to the SPA. I was very disappointed.

The monastery visit was good. However, we didn't get to the lakes as the snow was still very thick, the shops were all closed so this wasn't the best time to run this tour in Apr. The 4x4 left us and other tourists mid way up the snow trail asking us to hike without proper instructions, notice of gear. The ski lifts were closed for maintenance works during weekdays. Upon further checking online, we understood that the ski lifts and shops were usually closed during weekdays given lower traffic. In this case, they should not advertise or allow tourists up when the sky lifts and shops are closed as it is very dangerous.

Great experience traveling to the monetary and the mountain. We traveled in April and so the lakes were unable to be seen because they were frozen over. The ski lift was also down so we hiked the whole way up to the chalet. Beautiful views- but no one gave us any idea of how long of a hike it would be or how long it would take- and had to meet the jeeps to pick us up at a specific time.

The Monastery was amazing, and I would highly recommend visiting it. The driver did a good job of getting us there before the large tour busses arrived, but other than that I was very disappointed with the tour. I have never left a bad review for a tour before, but I was very unhappy with this experience. There was very little information given by the guide, and what little he did speak I could not hear because he spoke so softly. It was stuffy in the van, and I was in the back, so I asked for some air. He barely cracked the window, and it did very little to help. It was miserable. We were quoted 16 euros for the lift, but when we arrived were told it was 20 euros for a Jeep that only took us partway up. The Jeep got stuck for about 45 minutes, and when it was finally free, drove about 100 more meters and stopped. We could have hiked the rest of the way in far less time than we sat in the Jeep waiting for it to pull free. This left us with the remainder of the way to hike up a steep incline. It took me about 45 minutes, and I am an avid hiker. Only four in our group even had time to make it to the second lake before we had to turn around. Many of the places were closed because it was Monday, and were not informed before the trip. Overall, I would not recommend this tour.

It was great!! I liked it very, very! I am happy about your offer! Everything was organized great, comfortable and superb! It was possible to see everything, to see everything. Perfect offer. Our tour guide Apostolos was amazing !!! Thank him for comfort and interesting storys!! 🌎🗻🌍😇🥰😍

The travel started from Sofia like agreed at the location and time. There was a dedicated bus for our trip to Rila monastery and up to the mountain. We got an hour to explore at Rila monastery after which we began our journey to mountain. This journey is like almost 2 hours. By the time we reached the base of mountain it was like 1 pm. The tour guide told us we will be leaving by 4pm back and asked us to come back before that time. The only problem here is that one cannot explore all seven lakes on mountain. First of all, in winter or spring, like in beginning of April or late March, the snow fall can be quite hectic and as told by the guide it can take 2 hours minimum to just go and come back to 1st lake from the lift point. This information is not shared anywhere, except it's advertised as one can see all seven lakes. Maybe in summer time, one could go and see at least one lake in the allocated 3 hours on top of mountain. Other than that the guide, transportation arrangements were good and we had no problem of that kind.