Maximize your time in Bulgaria by combining two UNESCO World Heritage Sites into one efficiently coordinated day trip from Sofia. Journey into the peaceful Rila Mountains to explore the sprawling Rila Monastery complex at your own pace, paired with a stop at the historic medieval Boyana Church. ⚠️ BOYANA ENTRY NOTICE: Inside entry is heavily regulated by UNESCO to protect the 13th-century frescoes. Indoor access is ONLY guaranteed if you select an option including Boyana at checkout. Standard transport tiers include an exterior garden visit only. - 2 UNESCO Icons in 1 Day: An efficiently paced route from central Sofia. - Secure your Boyana entry slot by upgrading your tier. - Uncover the secrets of 800-year-old art with your guide. - Enjoy traditional restaurants nearby or bring your own lunch. Note: Local entry fees apply based on your selected booking option
Prices change with the date; the lowest is shown.
In demand: 243 of the next 330 departures are already sold out.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 4.
09:00 departure from the starting point. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.
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.
Rila Monastery is one of Bulgaria’s symbols and a popular tourist destination. The monastery is set deep in the heart of Rila Mountain, between the Rilska and Drushliavitza Rivers, at 1147 metres (3760 feet) above sea level. It is situated 120 kilometres south of Sofia.
Return to the starting point at approximately 17:00
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Excurgo comparison of 602 Viator tours, recalculated daily.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
From Sofia Rila Monastery with Boyana Church or St. Ivan’s Cave lasts about 8 hours. The itinerary has 4 stops.
Prices start at $23 per person for this Sofia experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There are 8 booking options, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, with 11 departures a day between 8:15 AM and 11:00 AM.
Children aged 5–11 pay from $23, adults from $23.
It can: 243 of the next 330 departures are already sold out, so booking ahead is a good idea.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
The meeting point is IMPORTANT: The meeting point is next to the Vasil Levski Monument, in front of the Embassy of Slovakia. Please be there 15 minutes in advance. This tour is not suitable for children under the age of 5. Hotel pickup is not part of this experience.
The experience is available in DE, RU, EN, EN, IT, IT, FR, FR, ES, ES.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 40 participants.
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.6 out of 5 across 1,014 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Traventuria.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Excellent tour with Liubomir. Beautiful Rila Monastery and Boyana fresco’s were outrstanding (UNESCO) .Rila Monastery was an outstanding experience. Beautiful!! The hike up to where St.Ivan the hermit, live and began is community. Hike is very rocky and moderately difficult.
Thanks for the experience – a wonderful tour.
The tour was very interesting and fun. Liubomir was a great guide and made the whole experience fun. I would definitely recommend for everyone this tour.
Beautiful and well-organized experience! Our guide, Velislava, spoke Italian and English perfectly and was a truly pleasant person to spend a day with discovering some gems of Bulgaria. Although we hadn't booked admission to the Boyana Church, we managed to get in because someone had given up their ticket. The Rila Monastery is truly evocative; the only thing is that if you decide to hike to the cave (which I recommend!), you have little time to visit it and admire the structure at your leisure. Just outside the main walls of the monastery there is a small bakery that offers traditional Bulgarian breads and sweets at very affordable prices; it is perfect for a snack or even lunch if you don't feel like sitting in one of the two restaurants there. Greetings from Giulia and Mattia :)
Excellent guide and driver. The bus in good condition and the trip easy.
Excellent guide and beautiful place
Very interesting and complete excursion. The guide shared a lot of information with the group and was attentive to us at all times. It is worth it.
it was amazing! our guide and bus driver were great! I would recommend the tour to my friends and will book another trip again.
It's easy to find the meeting point and the provided information about bus number and number plate. It's said that you should be there at 8:45, but the bus leaves at 9:00, so no rush. We chose the not guided tour (using self audio guided) so we got on a bus with an Italian group. The tour guide doesn't speak English well, which is not a problem for us as we didn't expect anything. However, the information about the pickup time after visiting the Rila Monastery wasn't clearly communicated. So we got to the bus about 8 minutes later than the schedule. The tour guide was clearly annoyed. But if no information is given, we don't know what to do and could only rely on translation about what she communicated with the group using Google Translate to guess that we should be back there at 13:00. We didn't book a visit to Boyana Church, so when the bus arrived there, we wanted to leave for the city on our own. We kindly asked the tour guide, and she annoyingly answered that it was okay. So we left and took public transportation back to Sofia. The experience was quite okay. The monastery was awesome. Don't buy the bread that looks like cinnamon rolls - Lokum Banitsa - if you don't like sweet things, as it's extremely sweet.
I was able to do the complete tour booked on "get your guide": "From Sofia: Rila Monastery and Boyana Church and Saint Ivan Cave" Our guide (in English) Lubomir presented the places well and made the various visits interesting. Thanks again to him. I recommend it!
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Sofia Rila Monastery with Boyana Church or St. Ivan’s Cave | 8 hours | 4.6 (1,014) | $23 | |
 Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day Tour | 8 hours | 4.6 (1,169) | $23 | View |
 Private Day Trip to Boyana Church and Rila Monastery | 8 hours | 4.8 (120) | $229 | View |
 Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Shuttle Tour | 8h 30min | 4.5 (70) | $40 | View |
 Rila Monastery and St. Ivan Cave History & Nature Trip from Sofia | 8 hours | 4.8 (45) | $23 | View |
 Small Group Tour to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church | 7 hours | 4.9 (29) | $103 | View |
 From Sofia: Rila Monastery, St. Ivan Cave & Alpine Picnic Tour | 9 hours | 5.0 (3) | $109 | View |