BULGARIA
Bulgaria's best days out.
The 10 best tours in Bulgaria. What each one involves, who runs it, and what you will pay.
Day trip from Sofia to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, with guided history, UNESCO frescoes, and time for lunch and photos.
“Vasil was a great guide-explained heaps about the monastery and gave good instructions for the meet up points.”
UNESCO Rila Monastery and Boyana Church in one day from Sofia, with an English guide, air-conditioned transport, and flexible free time.
“We visited 3 sites. The Boyana church is so small but the wall paintings inside is incredible! Lucky we decided to pay to enter. Rila monastery is really worth the visits. Our tour guide Lubo is very informative. Highly recommend this tour for anyone in Sofia.”
Communist Walking Tour of Sofia: a 3-hour English walk past Soviet-era monuments, NDK, and a Berlin Wall piece, guided for $21.77.
“My daughter and I really enjoyed this tour. Yoan was our tour guide; he was friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. We took the tour the day after we arrived in Sofia so we knew very little about the place. The tour was a very good starting point to try to understand some of the incredible history…”
Walk Sofia’s top sights in 2 hours, from Alexander Nevsky Cathedral to Serdica ruins, with free entries and mineral water tasting for $19.35.
“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 😅...).”
Small-group day trip from Sofia to Skopje with pickup, two English guides, Old Bazaar, Stone Bridge, Mother Teresa, free lunch time.
“Nice day learning the history of Bulgaria and North Macedonia. The drive was very comfortable with stunning views. Daniel our guide was excellent. Adrian at the office very helpful as well.”
Sofia pub crawl to locals’ bars with free rakia, beer or wine, weekend club entry, and a 4–5 hour guided route.
“Guide was really nice and knowledgeable, even on a Sunday there was 6 if us and it was quite fun to get to know everyone! Would definitely recommend”
Plovdiv day trip from Sofia with a small group, guided Old Town walk, optional Roman sights, and real free time to wander.
“Extremely interesting visit to Plovdiv, a very nice city. The meeting point it was very easy to find. The driver was extremely careful and the guide, Hristo, explained very well the history of Plovdiv and the visit.”
Sofia day trip to Devetaki Cave, Krushuna Waterfalls, and Lovech’s covered bridge and medieval fortress, with hotel pickup.
“To start with guide Laura has made us feel so comfortable right from picking up from hotel and all the way dropping back. she is absolutely brilliant, well knowledgeable and knows her stuff. Water falls, even though not that big, gave a pleasant feel and enjoyed nice walk around that area. Caves were magnificent and…”
Day trip from Sofia to Rila Monastery and the Seven Rila Lakes, with scenic mountain roads, chairlift hiking, and weather backups.
“"Everything has been wonderful, and the scenery is truly spectacular. However, the tour guide provided inaccurate information — he mentioned that the 7 Lakes hike would take about 2.5 hours, but in reality, it takes at least 4 hours for the average person to complete. Additionally, the lift was under maintenance. Although a jeep was…”
Small-group day trip from Sofia to Plovdiv’s Roman sites, Asen’s Fortress views, and Bachkovo Monastery, with hotel pickup and a pro guide.
“The whole day was wonderful, if you like history and culture then go to Plovdiv, the guide was helpful and informative, and the whole city is just stunning! As was the fort and the monastery!”
