Bulgaria · FULL-DAY
The 15 best full-day tours you can book right now, with what each costs, how long it runs and who it suits. Number one is top for a reason; start there.
Review of a 12-hour Bucharest to Veliko Tarnovo day trip, with Tsarevets Fortress, Arbanasi, border tips, costs, and practical advice.
“A wonderful day discovering Bulgaria despite the bad weather. It was very interesting to learn so much about this country thanks to our marvelous guide Helena.”
Review of Sofia’s Seven Rila Lakes hike, with chairlift details, winter warnings, guide advice, costs, fitness needs, and booking tips.
“I went with the transport only option and there was plenty of time to enjoy the hike. The transport was comfortable and safe, and the guide helped us to get tickets for the chairlift too. Great service!”
Review of Sofia’s Rila Monastery and Boyana Church tour, with practical details on timing, costs, guides, transport, and what to expect.
“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.”
Visit Rila Monastery and Boyana Church from Sofia on an affordable full-day tour with countryside views, local lunch, and an English-speaking guide.
“The monastery was breathtakingly beautiful and an excellent place to take pictures, fully immersed in nature. However our driver wasn’t that good so our stomachs felt every curve (and the road was full of curves). The restaurant we stopped at wasn’t the best, but nothing too bad. Apart from this, I would recommend the tour”
See Plovdiv and Rila Monastery from Sofia in one long day, with free time, local tips, maps, and comfortable shared transport.
“A very well organised and enjoyable trip. Would highly recommend”
See Bulgaria’s Belogradchik Rocks, fortress, and colorful Venetsa Cave on a full-day trip from Sofia with transport and guides included.
“I truly enjoyed every single moment of this trip! Our driver, who was also our guide, provided excellent information about all the places we visited. Everything exceeded my expectations. He also took us to some lovely places for lunch, which I really appreciated. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone — the rock formations, the fortress, and the cave were absolutely beautiful. The entire journey was filled with nice views. Thank you very much again!”
Explore ancient Plovdiv, Roman ruins, and Asen's Fortress on a small-group day trip from Sofia with free time for lunch.
“Georgi has been an excellent guide. The tour is excellent!!! Thanks”
See ancient Plovdiv and historic Koprivshtitsa from Sofia in one scenic day, with guided walks, free time, and excellent value at $47.
“it was an awesome day with our lovely guide Marina. Two beautiful bulgarian cities full of histories and marvels!! Totally recommended!!”
Review of the Plovdiv day tour from Sofia, with Roman ruins, Old Town walks, free time, transport tips, costs, and honest drawbacks.
“A enjoyable day out , with martin the guide being very informative and entertaining. This trip comes recommended”
Review of the Plovdiv and Koprivshtitsa day trip from Sofia, with itinerary, costs, guide quality, walking demands, and practical booking advice.
“Martin, our tour guide, was amazing!! A kind person with lots of knowledge and a great sense of humour. The places we visited were impressive and special. We strongly recommend this day trip 🙂”
Hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes from Sofia with transport, chairlift access, mountain views, and five hours to explore at your own pace.
“What an amazing trip right from start to end. Our driver Simo was just great and very helpful and really enjoyed this trip with him. The pick up was very smooth and right on time. The van used for trip was very comfortable throughout even though it was quite hot outside. We reached near the cable car ticket counter around 9am and we were asked to meet back around 2:30pm which was quite good of time to do the hike and be back. The ticket collection was very quick as it had no queue at all. Just remember to bring in cash for it. I really enjoyed the whole trip…”
Cross into Serbia from Sofia for Roman ruins, Skull Tower, a Nazi camp, Nis Fortress, local food, and Balkan countryside views.
“This is a don't miss excursion. We visited the Red Cross Concentration Camp, the birthplace of Emperor Constantine, as well as Old Town. We rode in nine passenger van and had an amazing experience.”
Review of Sofia’s Belogradchik Rocks day trip, with fortress climbs, scenic drives, optional cave visit, practical costs, and honest advice.
“The travel lasts ~3h but it's well worth it. The fortress itself offers a lot. Even though the weather was not at its best the views were spectacular. The guide showed as some hidden extra places and was best photographer. We also had some time for lunch and other viewpoints to the rocks. Then the cave was one of the best I've seen with some narrow spots. There the guide also showed us one more place in the cave. Great trip, I really recommend it with that company/guide.”
Hike Bulgaria’s Seven Rila Lakes from Sofia, then relax in Sapareva Banya’s hot springs on this guided mountain day trip.
“This tour was great, our guide was great, took us to see 5 of the seven lakes as there was too much snow to see the 6th and 7th. We saw incredible views. Only issue we had is that it was way more expensive than the tour description said. For the chair lifts it was 25lev return and for the spa it was 40lev. The description says that it would be 15lev for the spa this is a drastic difference and we probably would not have gone with this tour if we had known. The tour operators should update the description. We were not pleased by the miscommunication. Some people…”
Explore Varna, Pobiti Kamani, Roman mosaics, and a local lunch on a practical small-group Bulgaria tour from the Black Sea Coast.
“Wunderbar geführte Tour um Kultur und Bräuche Bulgariens zu erleben. Ein Erlebnis für groß und klein”
Every kind of day out, and the best of each.
