Rila Monastery Shuttle Bus

Price

15

Duration

Tour Type

Overview

Daily Shuttle: Sofia ⇄ Rila Monastery

📍 From Alexander Nevsky Cathedral | 🗓 365 Days a Year |

🗓 DAILY DEPARTURE TIMES:
Sofia → Rila Monastery
🕘 09:00 AM – Every day
🕖 07:00 AM – Mondays only (until Sep 29)
Rila Monastery → Sofia
🕓 03:00 PM – Every day
🕔 05:00 PM – Daily, except Mondays (until Sep 29)

⏱ Approx. Travel time: 2h 30min per direction
📍 Pickup: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in front of La Catterdale restaurant

🔔 Prices may vary. Additional departures may be available.
✅ Please check your selected date for the latest schedule.
🚦 Subject to road conditions. Be on time at the pickup point.

🔔 Important: Each ticket is ONE-WAY ONLY – online price per direction: from 30 BGN/15 EUR

💳 Pay easily with Google Pay, Apple Pay, Visa, Mastercard, or AMEX

If you need a round trip, please book:
1️⃣ One ticket from Sofia to Rila Monastery
2️⃣ A separate ticket from Rila Monastery to Sofia
🎯 Book only what you need – full flexibility!

🚌 SIMPLE, DIRECT, RELIABLE TRANSPORT
Looking for an easy way to reach Rila Monastery from Sofia without the hassle of renting a car or navigating public buses?

We offer a daily, year‑round shuttle service from the center of Sofia directly to Rila Monastery — and back. No tour, no guide — just clean, comfortable, and affordable transport.

🔍 Prefer a guided experience at Rila Monastery?
Enhance your visit and dive deeper into Bulgaria’s heritage — book a guided tour that also includes Boyana Church here, expertly led and informative.

🚗 Want to explore more of Bulgaria with a private driver?
No guides, no groups — just you, your travel partner, and a professional driver.

Click here to see our private day tours from Sofia:

Included/Excluded

  • One-way or round-trip transportation with modern, air-conditioned minibus (depending on the ticket purchased)
  • Transport in a modern air-conditioned bus
  • Free Wi-Fi in the bus
  • All road tolls and parking fees
  • Professional driver
  • Tour guide
  • Audio guide
  • Food & drinks
  • Gratuities

Tour Plan

Important info

  • Dress Code:
    The Rila Monastery is located at 1150 m (3770 ft) above sea level. Please dress according to the season and the weather forecast. Don’t forget to bring an umbrella.
    There is a strict DRESS CODE at the Monastery: shoulders and knees MUST be coveredHigh heels are NOT allowed!

  • Cash or Card:
    Payment by credit or debit card is possible for the History Museum of Rila Monastery.
    However, payment by card is NOT accepted at most dining places in the area.
    We strongly recommend bringing Bulgarian leva in cash, especially for personal expenses during the tour.
    Please note: There are no ATMs along the route or at the Monastery area.

  • Food:
    Bring your own snacks and a bottle of water! Dining options near the Monastery are limited, and service can be slow, especially during peak hours.

  • Restrooms:
    Please be aware that the restrooms at the Rila Monastery are paid and accept only Bulgarian coins.
    We kindly ask you to prepare some small change in advance.
    Unfortunately, this is beyond our control and is a policy set by the Rila Monastery administration.

Why choose Traventuria?

At Traventuria we pride ourselves on creating unforgettable travel experiences. With expert local guides, carefully curated itineraries, and a digitally optimized booking process, we ensure that your journey is smooth from start to finish. As the original creators of the renowned tour to the Rila Monastery, we guarantee a unique and enriching adventure. Trust us to take you into the heart of the destinations you dream of exploring.

You might also like

4.8
Based on 2004 reviews
powered by Google
Pierpaolo Di Raimondo
04:55 16 Jun 25
Beautiful experience! The monastery and the cave were a pleasant surprise. Our guide (Kamen) was professional and prepared: he spoke fluent Italian.
They combined (for numbers, I assume) two excursions into one but it didn't impact the program that much.
At the monastery there are 4 museums: for museum lovers there wouldn't have been time to visit them all... perhaps staying an hour more would have allowed us to optimize the time to see the museums or to take a walk: the monastery and the surrounding areas are worth it.
If possible, avoid Sundays because of the crowds.
Congratulations!
Layssa De oliveira
20:34 15 Jun 25
Magnificent experience
Claude Averoux
18:00 15 Jun 25
It was a great day, even though I didn't understand everything given my level of English.
I really enjoyed the trip to the cave, even though it was rather tiring, but a good amount of tiredness...
Elena Buza
16:42 15 Jun 25
Great experience, professional guide Antonio, saw three places, Boyana Church, Dragalevitsi and Rila Monastery with enough time for self-exploration
Abhilash Mishra
16:38 15 Jun 25
Nice Tour. Rila monastery is awesome and must visit when in Bulgaria. Antonio was our Guide for the day and he made it very interesting and provided all the Details.
Juan Fernández
13:18 15 Jun 25
saeed khodor
10:06 15 Jun 25
Well the site is great, but what made it so great was the tour guide Hristo Manov and the bus driver ofcourse peter, hristo is very informative and great company. The best thing is that we agreed that bacteria needed to make yougart is not bulgarian 😀
Gianluca Doubravsky
06:00 15 Jun 25
Zuzana Karpinská
20:37 14 Jun 25
Excelent servce.our guide Hristo Manov was knowleable,spiritual and fun . Our driver was skilfull in an uneasy terain. I higly recomend this company.
B G
18:20 14 Jun 25
We slept in and missed the bus to Rila, and the company were willing to let us meet another tour at the nearby Boyana church, and then go to Rila. Thank you so much for your understanding and flexibility. Thanks also to Hristo for his energy and friendly vibe! Well done

Brilliant reasons

Why Choose Us

Competitive pricing

We make engaging and memorable experiences, always with attention to the costs.

Bulgaria specialist

We offer you our years travel experience, deep knowledge and strong love of Bulgaria.

Fast booking

Choose your tour and book with a few clicks. You are set for an exciting day trip!

Professional guides

Knowlegable guides capable of providing superb experiences by delivering the soul of the sights.

Login

Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in

Address

184 Mayfield St. Hopewell
Junction, NY 12533

Phone

Email