Bulgaria · SOFIA TOURS
Sofia is a small capital with an enormous catchment: Rila, Plovdiv, the caves, Belogradchik and the Rose Valley all fit inside a single day from here. These 15 are the ones worth the early start, with prices, pickup points and how long you are really in the coach.
Sofia day tour to UNESCO Boyana Church frescoes and Rila Monastery museums with mountain views and a comfortable coach ride.
“Amazing tour, definitely worth it. The guide was awesome — his sense of humor made the whole experience even better!”
Sofia day tour to UNESCO Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, with guided history, mountain photo stops, and timed fresco visits.
“We did the tour in the winter so it was very cold but beautiful (it was snowing). Make sure you wrap up warm if you are going in winter as there is a lot of time outside and it is very cold at the monastery. The amount of time spent at each location was good. At the monastery we walked down to the cemetery which was not too far but a lovely walk and where there was another smaller fresco. Boyana was less interesting to us as we did not go inside and the garden was covered in snow so not much to see. We did the tour at a…”
Day trip from Sofia to Plovdiv: Roman Theatre, Revival houses, Europe’s longest pedestrian street, with guided or self-guided time.
“I took this tour and absolutely loved it! Everything was very well organized, the places we visited were amazing, and the pace was just right. But the best part was the guide — she spoke perfect Spanish, explained everything with so much passion, and made the whole experience both fun and educational. Thank you for such a wonderful day and for sharing so much love for Bulgaria’s history and culture!”
Round-trip shuttle from Sofia to Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery, with 6 hours hiking time and 75 minutes to explore the 10th-century site.
“Wonderful landscape with a sympathic guide and a careful driver. Recommend it for sure”
Walk Sofia’s communist past in 3 hours for $21, with an English guide and key landmarks from Party HQ to Soviet monuments.
“Great tour a lot of historical details and monuments. Vasiliki Vasko is a great tour guide.”
Full-day guided trek from Sofia to Rila National Park for the Seven Rila Lakes, with optional Rila Monastery and chairlift.
“It was an outstanding experience. our guide, Ivo, was very knowledgeable and engaging; he was very prepared too. Some guests did not have proper attire for the Monastery, so he gave them scarves to cover their shoulders and knees. Also, some people did not have rain gear, and it rained in the mountains, she he gave them some rain gear. Overall, it was very well worth it, the views are spectacular.”
Full-day trip from Sofia to Rila Monastery and UNESCO Boyana Church, with guided art history, free time to explore, and easy logistics.
“This was a great day trip. Our guide was very informative and nice. Of course this is a large tour and we were in a bus, so when we went to the Boyana church, since only 10 people are allowed at a time inside, there was a lot of waiting in the cold until everyone got to enter. The places were beautiful though, it was just a long trip, we spent more time traveling than at the places of interest, but as a day trip from Sofia I would still recommend this as the places are a must see and it’s a great alternative from having to plan and drive…”
Private Sofia escape rooms at Teorema Rooms, with TNT Bank Robbery and Atlantis Quest. English, about 75 min, book ahead for quick entry.
“Amazing experience. Had a fun and interesting time in TNT room. It was the higlight of our Trip. Maya is super host. 5/5.”
A 4-hour Sofia pub crawl with hidden bars, free beer and rakia shots, plus club entry. Great for meeting people.
“We had a really nice time. Didn't know what to expert, but it was a great evening. Jan was our guide. He was friendly and nice. Told los of interesting things about Sofia. The bars and the club we went, were so different from each other. We had a blast.”
A one-day Sofia tour to UNESCO Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, with guided context, photo time, and easy bus comfort plus optional audio.
“This was worth every penny of the fee we were picked up and left on time from the centre of Sophia. Our tour guide had great English and was very knowledgeable and had some really interesting facts about the history of Bulgaria and Sophia. We stopped off at the Boya church which was well worth the extra for Les to pay to get into again our tour guide took us through and gave us an excellent summary of the history of the church which has the most amazing frescoes inside we had a beautiful hour and a half drive up the mountain and the further up we got the more…”
Small-group Plovdiv day trip from Sofia with guided Old Town walk, Ancient Theatre and Stadium, panoramic photo stops, and Kapana lunch time.
“Overall tour was good and informative; there is opportunity to make a shorter walking tour with less buffer stories and allow an extra hour of free time to explore the city.”
A 2-hour Sofia walking tour with headphones and a live guide, hitting 20+ monuments, including church interiors and the presidential guard change.
“This is an interesting tour, audio guide is set in different languages, we did in a good pace and we had time to take pictures. We visited around 20 buildings/statues in Sofia and at the end of the tour we could see the changing of the presidential guard. It's a good value for money.”
From Sofia, hike the 7 Rila Lakes and ride the chairlift, then visit Rila Monastery in one full-day 12-hour trip.
“Really beautiful scenery and enjoyed the chair lift up to the mountains!”
3-hour English walking tour in Sofia, seeing Soviet-era landmarks and Cold War stories, ending by a Berlin Wall piece. $21.77.
“Really really good. The guide, Stefan, was knowledgeable and entertaining. We enjoyed it, and it's a pleasure to see passion.”
Sofia wine and cheese tasting at Tempus Vini. Taste 5 Bulgarian grape varieties with craft cheeses, guided by Kalin. 1 hour, $21.
“Our host was very knowledgeable and it was an interesting way to meet people too and to socialize.”
Pick the kind of day. We have ranked the options.
