Boyana Church in Sofia: The 13 Best Ways In

1.Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Full-Day Tour

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

Visit Bulgaria’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church from Sofia on an affordable full-day tour with transport, history, and mountain views.

“Very poorly organized. For some reason, a few of us got put in an Italian tour and the guide Karolina, although knowing perfectly how to speak English, didn't explain to us about basic logistics of ticket purchasing and later told us: "you are not in a guided tour so I shouldn't be even talking to you in English at all". Incredible. The monastery was beautiful but the stop was too long and we were all freezing.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.From Sofia: Rila Monastery & Boyana Church Day Tour

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

Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church tour, with practical advice on timing, guides, extra costs, transport, and value.

“We enjoyed our trip to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church. Our guide Lubo was very nice and friendly. He was super enthusiastic and eager to teach us about Bulgaria. Both Rila Monastery and Boyana Church were really beautiful. The visit to Boyana Church was a bit short and rushed- we were split into 3 groups and each group had only 10 minutes inside to look around. We were at the Rila Monastery for 3 hours and 2.5 hours of that was free time, which felt like a bit too much time there in the pouring rain. We ended up booking the combination ticket at the museum, which was a good…”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Private Day Trip to Boyana Church and Rila Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 108 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $193Top rated

Visit Boyana Church and Rila Monastery from Sofia with a private guide, mountain scenery, medieval frescoes, and door-to-door transport.

“The monastery is spectacular and the Boyana church was an interesting short stop. Our guide was knowledgeable and very friendly, and our driver was professional and friendly too.”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Shuttle Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 69 reviews · 8 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $42

Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church shuttle, with guide tips, timing, costs, dress rules, and honest advice on value.

“It was a great trip with a friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. We had enough time to walk around and visit the museum at Rila. Boyana church was nice as will although I like more those in Arbanassi.”

Check availability →Read our full review

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

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

Visit Boyana Church and Rila Monastery from Sofia on an affordable self-guided day trip with transport, parking, and an online audioguide.

“Worth to do a guided daytrip to Rila Monastery and Boyana church by an enthusiastic guide. It's a lovely place to visit.”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Mt. Vitosha and Boyana Waterfall Hiking Tour from Sofia

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 36 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $131

Hike Vitosha from Sofia to Black Peak, visit Boyana Waterfall, and enjoy mountain views with hotel pickup and an English-speaking guide.

“It was wonderful. My guide was extremely knowledgable about both the mountain and Bulgarian history. The hike was challenging and hugely rewarding. The scenery was stunning. I highly recommend it.”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Small Group Tour to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 22 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $108

Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church tour, with practical advice on guides, mountain roads, timing, price, and what to expect.

“Great tour! Just the 3 of us! It was nice to get out if the city & see the countryside. Rila is amazing & picturesque.”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Day tour to Rila monastery, hiking to the cave of St. John and Boyana church

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 15 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $114

Review of Sofia's Rila Monastery and Boyana Church tour, with St. John's Cave, Stob Pyramids, wine tasting, transport, and practical tips.

“Great day out with Nadya, who took us to the monastery, wine tasting and the Boyana church in her car. Sadly as we were only a party of 2, we didn’t get to do the normal wine tasting, but we were given two bottles of wine instead. Hearing about the size of the tasting (three full glasses), I’m great full it didn’t happen - in that heat, I’d have passed out. Nadya was great, and I’d highly recommend going on this trip if visiting Sofia - beautiful scenery on the drive, and fab to get out of the city. We’re not religious, but enjoyed the architecture and information about the…”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.From Sofia: Rila monastery & Boyana church and free pick up

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 14 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $54

Visit Bulgaria’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church from Sofia with hotel pickup, a small group, audio guide, and free time to explore.

“I waited outside The address given for 30 minutes and nobody showed up. I’m sure the monastery is nice, but I wouldn’t know because I'm still in Sofia”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Private Sofia Half Day Tour with Boyana Church and National History Museum

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 12 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $126

Explore Sofia’s Roman ruins, Boyana Church frescoes, and Bulgaria’s past at the National History Museum on a private half-day tour.

“Excellent guide, showed us parts of Sofia we would have missed. He was very knowledgeable about Sofia and Bulgaria history, and very educated in his explanations. Boyana and the National History Museum were impressive and worthwhile Only negative was the small, uncomfortable car.”

Check availability →Read our full review

11.Luxury Day Trip to Boyana Church and Rila Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 7 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $308

Visit Sofia’s churches, Vitosha, Boyana and Rila Monastery, then relax in Sapareva Banya’s mineral pools on a comfortable full-day trip.

“I had an amazing day! I booked the tour a few days before and everything went smooth. We met at the beautiful cathedral and even got to go inside. Luckily it was sunday and se could witness a service in the cathedral. Also visited Boyana Church and went up Vitosha mountain, where we had a great view on Sofia and saw lots of snow!”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Day Trip in Italian

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · from $28

Visit Boyana Church and Rila Monastery from Sofia with an Italian-speaking guide, mountain scenery, medieval art, and free time to explore.

“Il Monastero di Rila è stata una interessante sorpresa e Zahari che parla un ottimo italiano, ci ha guidato in questa esplorazione del mondo Ortodosso in modo professionale e coinvolgente”

Check availability →Read our full review

13.Rila Monastery and Boyana Church Eco Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · from $138

Visit Rila Monastery and Boyana Church from Sofia in a private electric van with guide Svet, free time, frescoes, and mountain scenery.

“Wow. One of the most amazing places we have ever visited. Started being collected in a very nice electric van with an amazing tour guide Svet. Unbelievable knowledge of history of the two locations.Added to helpful local and national knowRead more”

Check availability →Read our full review