How to Get to Rila Monastery

Rila Monastery is one of the most iconic places in Bulgaria and one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country. Travelers often book group tours through their hotel, but I recommend you travel here by yourself if you’re looking to save money. Here’s how to get to Rila Monastery and what to expect.

There is a 1 daily bus at 10:20 from the West bus station (Ovcha Kupel). The bus arrives at 1:00 and departs again for Sofia at 3:00. The bus costs 22 Bulgaria Lira one way.

Halfway to Rila you’ll make a stop for about an hour or so in a small town. There is nothing to do here but walk around. I ended up chatting with some kids who were excited to practice their English.

Around 1, you’ll arrive at Rila Monastery. The van will park right in front of the entrance and wait for you there.

You will have more than enough time to see the entire monastery in two hours. To be honest, I wasn’t too impressed and lost interest quickly. However, if you continue walking behind the monastery, you can find a nice little trail to follow to kill some time.

The trail behind the monastery is pretty empty. I was a bit surprised to find no other tourists decided to walk back here.

If you keep walking, you’ll eventually run into a camp site, followed by some colorful houses.

You could probably spend an hour walking along the trail and exploring this random site because two hours at Rila is way too much time. Just remember to be on the bus by 3 because the bus driver will leave without you.