Bulgaria · TOURS
Bulgaria is cheap enough that a wrong booking costs you a day rather than a fortune — but the day still matters. These 15 tours & days out are the ones that repay it.
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!”
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…”
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 day trip to UNESCO Rila Monastery plus optional hike to St. Ivan Rilski Cave, with guided stops, audio support, and lunch time.
“I enjoyed the tour a lot. Our guide Hristo was amazing. Many thanks him for all information he provided, for perfect atmosphere he created.”
Full-day Sofia trip to UNESCO Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, with a scenic mountain drive, trout lunch stop, and frescoes.
“Made suŕe I saw the sights and provide lots of interesting information. You can tell she enjoys her job and loves to share the history of Bulgaria. Would recommend as I would not have been able to see on my own as much as I saw today.”
A 2-hour English walking tour through Sofia’s top landmarks, from St. Alexander Nevsky to ancient Serdica, with mineral water included.
“This tour was a fantastic way to discover Sofia’s most important landmarks. What made it really special was our guide, Nikola — knowledgeable, friendly, and someone who made me feel completely at ease from the start. He shared fascinating insights into Bulgaria’s history and took the time to answer all my questions thoroughly. It felt more like exploring the city with a local friend than a typical tour. Highly recommended!”
A small-group day trip from Sofia to Skopje, with pickup, two English-speaking guides, key sights, and free time for lunch and exploring.
“We had a wonderful day! Our driver was excellent and the tour leader, Lena, was both interesting and informative. It is worth mentioning that it was a very long day. Drive time one way was four hours with only one stop. The van became rather uncomfortable after a while. It was worth the discomfort in order to see such an interesting part of the world but may not be for everyone.”
Pick the kind of day. We have ranked the options.
