15 Self-Guided Tours in Bulgaria to Plan a Trip Around

Sofia: City Monuments Guided Walking Tour with Audio Guide - Starting at Ivan Vazov National Theater, then easing into the center

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 825 reviews · 2 hours · from $17Our pick

A 2-hour Sofia monuments walk with multilingual audio, temple interiors, and Roman ruins, ending at the Presidential Palace guard change.

“Alex was a very good tour guide, he explained everything and how to operate the audio , this was set to your language. It was great that Alex was from Sofia himself, so we were able to ask him lots of questions. It was easy to keep up with Alex and a nice stroll , we were allocated time in each historical building to look around. We were able to see the presidential changing of the guard. This tour was extremely good value for money , we were able to revisit some of the buildings again to spend more time there and we were able to find them much easier.…”

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Guided, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Self-Guided Tours, Seven Rila Lakes Trips, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews

Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from Sofia

2.Rila Monastery and 7 Rila Lakes Self-Guided Shared Trip from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 280 reviews · 13 hours (approx.) · from $54Top rated

Self-guided Rila Monastery and Seven Rila Lakes day trip from Sofia, with timed transfers, paper maps, and mountain hiking.

“The Hike to the top- no problem timewise to manage and the beautiful momentet. To meet up 7 in morning and then tour guide take 15 minutes explaining your while standing still was a waste of our time. That people are not on time still after all the reminders about departure time beats me!”

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Audio Tours, Guided, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Self-Guided Tours, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

Sofia: Rila Monastery & Boyana Church – Audio guided tour

3.Rila Monastery & Boyana Church – Audio guided tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 91 reviews · 8 hours · from $58

See UNESCO Rila Monastery and Boyana Church on a small-group audio-guided day trip from Sofia, with easy pickup and practical timing.

“Guida e autista molto disponibili e simpatici. Nessun problema, se non il fatto che siamo stati solo 2 ore al monastero di Rila che forse sono un po’ poche per godersi la gita a pieno e senza fretta. Abbiamo avuto delle audio-guide in italiano.”

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Audio Tours, Guided, Self-Guided Tours, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews

From Sofia: Plovdiv with audio guide + free pick-up

4.Plovdiv with audio guide + free pick-up

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 48 reviews · 8 hours · from $53

Day trip from Sofia to Plovdiv with free pickup, small group comfort, and an audio guide in multiple languages covering Roman sights.

“We fully recommend this tour. Our guide Maria was very nice, patient and also very knowledgeable. Nice talk along 2 hours drive to beautiful Plovdiv.”

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1-Day Tours, Guided, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Self-Guided Tours, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews

Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Self-Guided Day Trip from Sofia

5.Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Self-Guided Day Trip from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 41 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $36

A self-guided day trip from Sofia to Boyana Church and Rila Monastery, with an audioguide, organized transport, and time to explore.

“Our guide is excellent. Boyona and Rila are a must sites to visit. We are actually on our way back to Sofia from Rila while writing this. The only downside side (big downside) are the buses! 40 to 50km/hr on our way to Rila (some injection pump issues as they claimed) and a bus with ZERO air conditioner system on our way back to Sofia which is very aggravating! I felt bad for the tour guides being caught between a rock and a hard place. Traventuria should step up with their equipments.”

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Full-Day, Guided, Self-Guided Tours, Seven Rila Lakes Trips, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Sofia: The Seven Rila Lakes Full-Day Self-Guided Tour

6.The Seven Rila Lakes Full-Day Self-Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 33 reviews · 9 - 12 hours · from $115

Sofia to Rila Mountains for a self-guided hike of the Seven Rila Lakes, with Panichishte chairlift and optional monastery add-on.

“The trip was planned so nicely. Our guide Megi was very kind, knowledgeable and giving important informations during the trip. The monetary was very beautiful and peaceful to be in just blended into nature. The lakes were very beautiful, some hike is there but the colour and beauty of the water will just mesmerise you. I would definitely recommend this activity :)”

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Audio Tours, Guided, Nessebar Tours, Self-Guided Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours, Wine Tours, Wine Tours in Nessebar

Nessebar: Audio Guide Tour Nessebar + visit to the Winery

7.Audio Guide Tour Nessebar + visit to the Winery

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 30 reviews · 1 day · from $15

Self-paced audio tour of Old Nessebar with a phone guide and map, then wine tasting at a winery. Walk your pace, rain or shine.

“The audio guide was good and informative but it was a struggle to use. I had to follow our route on google maps and then switch to the narrative in a different tab-sometimes we had to reload the maps so it was a bit of a mess about”

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Audio Tours, Guided, Plovdiv Tours, Self-Guided Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

Plovdiv: Old Town Self-Guided Audio Tour

8.Old Town Self-Guided Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.6 · 24 reviews · 1 day · from $15

Self-guided audio walk in Plovdiv’s Old Town, Roman sights to Armenian Church Museum, circular route, $15 per person, phone needs internet.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t do the walk , the sun was dangerously hot for our party and we couldn’t have managed it. Suggest being allowed to use the audio guides after 5pm when it was cooler .”

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Audio Tours, Guided, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Self-Guided Tours, Tour Reviews

Rila Monastery: Complex Smartphone Audio Guide

9.Rila Monastery: Complex Smartphone Audio Guide

★★★★★★★★★★2.7 · 21 reviews · 1 day · from $5Best value

Explore Rila Monastery with a $5 smartphone audio guide, 15 numbered stops, a route map, and a mekitsa break, self-paced in 1 day.

“je n'ai pas pu visiter ils n'ont pas voulu ma réservation sur internet”

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Guided, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Self-Guided Tours, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

Self Guided Tour Experience in Rila Monastery

10.Self Guided Tour Experience in Rila Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 15 reviews · from $10

Prebook Rila Monastery entry with a conversational audio guide and e-guide, then explore at your own pace from Sofia.

“Hello, I am very dissatisfied with Viator because, contrary to their promises, there was no entrance fee to the Rilak Monastery and the 3.5 minutes of the audio guide for over 20 euros is simply not enough. If you do not refund me a large Read more”

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Guided, Museums, Self-Guided Tours, Tickets, Tour Reviews, Tours, Varna Tours

Self-guided tour in Varna Archaeological Museum + ticket

11.Self-guided tour in Varna Archaeological Museum + ticket

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 14 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $22

Self-guided visit to Varna Archaeological Museum with a pre-booked ticket. See tombstones, tools, and jewelry from 2 to 3 hours.

“We had tickets for September 6 which was Bulgarian National Holiday and all museums were closed for 3 days so did not get to enter the Museum. Please refund our ticket price.”

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Guided, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Self-Guided Tours, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews

From Sofia: Rila Monastery and Plovdiv Self-Guided Trip

12.Rila Monastery and Plovdiv Self-Guided Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 13 reviews · 13 hours · from $104

From Sofia, a self-guided day trip to Rila Monastery and Plovdiv Old Town, with maps, an English host, and comfy transfers.

“Buen viaje, merece la pena, Rila es impresionante y Plovdiv mejor verlo por tu cuenta. En caso de que prefieras algo de guia, Bobby lo cuadra para que llegues antes de que empiece el free tour de Plovdiv asique perfecto.”

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1-Day Tours, Guided, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Self-Guided Tours, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews

Self-guided Day Trip to Rila Monastery

13.Self-guided Day Trip to Rila Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 12 reviews · from $27

Self-guided day trip to Rila Monastery near Sofia with English audio, e-guide, live maps, and admission ticket included.

“Me mintieron en lo que yo contraté. Incumplieron la reserva contratada. El viaje a Rila desde Sofia para 4 personas desde Sofia,tengo mail de confirmacion por parte de la empresa del viaje desde Sofia a Rila) Estoy pendiente de devolucion de la suma pagada 76€ y espero ponerme en contacto con la oficina del consumidor al regresar a España.”

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Guided, Private, Self-Guided Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours, Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi Days

Discover Veliko Tarnovo at Your Pace: Private or Self-guided tour

14.Discover Veliko Tarnovo at Your Pace: Private or Self-guided tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 11 reviews · 2 to 4 hours (approx.) · from $34

Private or self-guided Veliko Tarnovo walk from Tsarevets. Learn local history, visit key sights, 2-4 hours, English.

“The guide was superbly knowledgeable and very personable! The in-depth information during the tour of the fortress and old town was educational and entertaining; exactly what I wanted! You can see several eras clearly in the fortress and the traditional construction in the narrow streets of the old quarter of Veliko Tarnovo are remarkable! I strongly recommend.”

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Burgas Tours, Guided, Self-Guided Tours, Tour Reviews

Self-Guided Sand Festival in Burgas

15.Self-Guided Sand Festival in Burgas

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 9 reviews · from $10

Explore the Burgas Sand Festival at your pace with a downloadable e-guide, visit standout sand sculptures, and plan around entrance tickets and timing.

“We wasn’t able to get there until quite late due to other travelling so lighting wasn’t great, I would suggest going in the day. The level of sculpture is awesome, very detailed for Sand!! Was full of familiar characters from movies and kids cartoRead more”

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