Top 15 Tours & Days Out in Bulgaria

From Sofia: Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour - Sofia to Boyana Church: Quick Ride, Real Focus

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 5,107 reviews · 8 - 9 hours · from $23Our pick

Sofia to UNESCO Boyana Church and Rila Monastery in one day, with pre-Renaissance frescoes, museums, mountain views, and coach comfort.

“We had a fantastic experience with our guide, Hkristo. He was very well informed and explained everything clearly and in an engaging way. He was also extremely attentive and patient, making sure everyone was comfortable and had their questions answered. The trip was excellent value for money and a great way to explore UNESCO World Heritage sites in Bulgaria. Highly recommended!”

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Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Sofia: Must-See Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour

2.Must-See Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 3,322 reviews · 9 - 10 hours · from $23

Hit Rila Monastery and Boyana Church with a guide, audio on board, and mountain scenery in one 9-10 hour Sofia day trip.

“The day tour was amazing thanks to our guide Maria 😊 Learned a lot and had a wonderful day, it is absolutely worth it. Thanks again!”

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Guided, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Sofia: Guided Day Tour of Plovdiv’s Must-See Sights

3.Guided Day Tour of Plovdiv’s Must-See Sights

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 1,688 reviews · 510 minutes - 10 hours · from $23

10-hour Sofia to Plovdiv day trip with Roman ruins, Revival houses, and free time on Europe’s longest pedestrian street.

“The drive to Plovdiv and back was very enjoyable thanks to our driver Simon. The visit of the old city was great! Our guide Sonjia explained to us everything. She seemed to know the city in every detail. Overall a very enjoyable experience”

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Buzludzha & Socialist Landmarks, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours, Walking Tours, Walking Tours in Sofia

Sofia: Communist Walking Tour

4.Communist Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 1,106 reviews · 3 hours · from $21

Walk Sofia’s communist-era story in 3 hours, from Cold War politics and Soviet symbols to memorials and a Berlin Wall fragment.

“Full of interesting facts, both historic and relating to current day Bulgaria. Covers lots of ground. Guide’s English was very good.”

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Full-Day, Hiking & Trekking, Hiking Trips in Sofia, Seven Rila Lakes Trips, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Sofia: The Seven Rila Lakes Full-Day Hiking Tour

5.The Seven Rila Lakes Full-Day Hiking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 923 reviews · 10 - 12 hours · from $47

From Sofia, ride up to Rila National Park and hike the Seven Rila Lakes, with a chairlift option and a real mountain guide.

“The lakes are absolutely stunning in Autumn - the trip is well worth it if you’re in Sofia for a few days. We had a great guide and recommend the guided tour - you get more out of the experience understanding the landscape/what you’re looking at.”

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Full-Day, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day Tour

6.Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 918 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $24

Full-day trip from Sofia to Rila Monastery and UNESCO Boyana Church. Guided fresco stories, timed church entry, easy pickup.

“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…”

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Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Sofia: Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour

7.Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 866 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $24

Sofia day tour to UNESCO Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, with scenic mountain drive, timed stops, and optional audio guide.

“Visiting the Rila Monastery, the Cave and Boyana Church on a snowy day was just perfect. To me, it was very Christmassy which was the highlight of my visit to Bulgaria.”

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Guided, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Sofia: Small Group Guided Tour of Plovdiv’s Highlights

8.Small Group Guided Tour of Plovdiv’s Highlights

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 857 reviews · 510 minutes - 11 hours · from $23

Old Plovdiv on a small-group day trip from Sofia. Roman Theatre, Revival houses, and Kapana lunch time for photos and shopping.

“The tour was fantastic. Plovdiv and Koprivshtitsa was more beautiful than expected. The weather was perfect most of the day and Simeon Sokolov seemed to be a very knowledgeable guide. I booked a self guided tour so I had few contacts with him but when I did, he was really helpful. He also speaks multiple languages really well. When we were returning to Sofia with the bus we encountered a heavy storm in the mountains but our driver took us home safely like a pro. This was my second tour with Traventuria. I am very pleased with both experiences.”

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Audio Tours, City Tours, City Tours in Sofia, Guided, Self-Guided Tours, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours, Walking Tours, Walking Tours in Sofia

Sofia: City Monuments Guided Walking Tour with Audio Guide

9.City Monuments Guided Walking Tour with Audio Guide

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 825 reviews · 2 hours · from $17Best value

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

From Sofia: The Seven Rila Lakes & Rila Monastery Day Tour

10.The Seven Rila Lakes & Rila Monastery Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 699 reviews · 12 hours · from $53

Sofia to the Seven Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery day tour by coach, with a chairlift hike, expert guides, and mountain views.

“When I booked the tour, I knew it would be a wonderful experience, but my expectations were exceeded. Our guide Ivaylo and our driver Sergei were exceptional, enhancing the experience with their knowledge and friendliness. I highly recommend this experience.”

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Buzludzha & Socialist Landmarks, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours, Walking Tours, Walking Tours in Sofia

Communist Walking Tour of Sofia

11.Communist Walking Tour of Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 690 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $21Top rated

Walk Sofia’s Cold War sites on a 3-hour English tour for $21.77, from Soviet-era landmarks to the NDK Berlin Wall piece.

“Nikki, our tour guide was terrific. Great insights of the communist era in Sofia. Only suggestion is for the tour to be earlier in the winter since it was very dark the last hour of the tour, and we couldn’t see much at the end. Would highly recommend the tour.”

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Bulgarian Cave Trips, Cave Trips in Sofia, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Sofia: Rila Monastery & Optional St. Ivan Cave Day Tour

12.Rila Monastery & Optional St. Ivan Cave Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 647 reviews · 8 - 11 hours · from $23

UNESCO Rila Monastery and optional St. Ivan Rilski cave hike from Sofia. Guided culture and forest walking for about $23.

“Our tour guide (Marten) really made our entire trip to Sofia”

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Full-Day, Rila Monastery & Boyana Church, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Sofia: Full-Day Tour to Rila Monastery with Options

13.Full-Day Tour to Rila Monastery with Options

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 479 reviews · 8h 30m · from $41

One-day Sofia tour to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, two UNESCO sites with an English guide and a grilled trout lunch stop.

“the whole experience has been amazing. not only for the destination itself (strongly suggetted), but also for the organization and the helpfulness and kindness of the guide. we booked for a cold morning of january, so there were just two of us. the guide picked us up at our hostel in perfect timing with a car, so it was most of a private tour. the guy explained everything with precision, providing us interesting details about the history of the two monasteries. he was - as I said - very helpful and nice. I would suggest the travel agency and the tour to a fried.”

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2-Hour Experiences, Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours, Walking Tours, Walking Tours in Sofia

Sofia Highlights 2 Hour Sightseeing Walking Tour

14.Sofia Highlights 2 Hour Sightseeing Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 442 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $19

Walk Sofia’s top sights in 2 hours with an English guide, mostly free admissions, and a finish at Vitosha Boulevard.

“Nice visit around the place with historical and small détails. The guide was nice and there were not much people (in fact I was alone with the guide 😅...).”

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Sofia Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

Day tour to Skopje, North Macedonia – Small Group

15.Day tour to Skopje, North Macedonia – Small Group

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 431 reviews · 12 hours (approx.) · from $95

Day trip from Sofia to Skopje with pickup, dual guides, Old Bazaar, Stone Bridge, Mother Teresa, and 2 hours to lunch on your own.

“This is definitely a great trip. Only downside is the long ride there. Leaves you only a couple hours in Skopje but well worth it if you are looking to cross countries off your list. The driver was great and provided a lot of insight about the history of the region.”

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