RILA MONASTERY AND BOYANA CHURCH EVERY DAY TOUR

• Join the original and best-selling day tour from Sofia
• Discover the two most visited Bulgarian UNESCO sites
• Uncover the fascinating history of Boyana Church and Rila Monastery with a guide
• Travel with a modern air-conditioned minibus
• Experience and admire the awesome beauty of Rila National Park

09:00: The trip starts from the parking behind Alexander Nevski Cathedral (you will receive a detailed map after you complete the booking process).

09:30: A planned visit to the Boyana Church (It can be rescheduled for the afternoon).

10:15: Departure for a 2-hour journey through beautiful countryside to the Rila Monastery.

12:15: Estimated time of arrival at the Monastery.

12:15 – 13:15: Guided visit to the Monastery

13:15 – 14:45: Free time for lunch or further explorations of the area on your own.

14:45-15:00: Departure from Rila Monastery and head back to Sofia.

16:30-17:30: Approximate time of arrival at Alexandar Nevski Cathedral parking.

35 Euro per adult; 30 Euro per child (6-12 years old).

Group Discounts:

• For group discounts contact us via email.

Prices include:

• English speaking live guide
• All transportation and parking costs

Prices do not include:

• Food and beverages
• Entrance fees
• Gratuities

• Hotel pick-up/drop-off costs an additional 15 euros per reservation (not per person) and is prepaid during the reservation process.
• Audio guide with headphones (English, Spanish, German, Russian and Italian) – 5 euro per device.
• ONLINE, cloud-based, audio guides in EN, IT, ES, FR, DE, and RU (! INTERNET connection required to download and listen).

Rila Monastery’s Dress Code: The monastery is functioning as an Orthodox temple. A strict dress code is imposed and should be respected. Men and women should be wearing clothes covering their shoulders. Women should not wear short shorts or skirts.

Clothes: The monastery complex is more than 1000 meters above sea level in the mountains. The weather conditions can change within minutes. We advise you to bring warm clothes even during the summer.

Shoes: We advise you to wear comfortable walking shoes as the inner yard of the Rila Monastery is cobbled. Walking around the monastic complex (optional) also requires comfortable walking shoes.

Photos:

Boyana Church
Taking photos in the inner yard is allowed, but it is strictly forbidden to take photos inside the church.
The time spent inside the Boyana church is limited to a maximum of 10 minutes, as a preservation measurement for the UNESCO World Heritage site’s fragile frescos.

Rila Monastery
Taking photos in the courtyard and of the frescoes on the outer fresco gallery of the main church of Rila Monastery is allowed.
Taking photos inside the main church, the residential parts and the museum is NOT permitted.

Admission tickets:
The entry ticket for the Boyana Church is 10 leva (approx. 5.5 euro). It can be pre-booked from our side.
Entering the Rila Monastery is free! However, there is a small fee (8 leva/approx. 4 euro) for going into the museum (optional).

Cash or Card: Kindly note that payment by credit/debit card is possible only at the Boyana Church. There is a cash machine at the Rila Monastery, but most of the time it is not working. The restaurants around the monastery are not accepting debit/credit cards. For your personal expenses, we recommend bringing leva in cash with you.

Food: There are two restaurants near the monastery serving local delicacies (e.g. grilled trout, bean soup, sheep yoghurt with honey). In peak season they can be rather slow on the servings. There are also some fast food options. The most famous is the monastery’s bakery offering made-on-the-spot mekitsi – Bulgarian doughnuts.
If you wish to spend more of your free time exploring the monastery and its surroundings than you should consider bringing a lunch pack with you.

If you’d like to travel on a private tour with an English-speaking driver, you may go book this tour from HERE

You can also read more about the Monastery from HERE.