Best Day Trips from Sofia, Bulgaria
Are you looking for the best trips from Sofia, Bulgaria? You’re in the right place!
I just spent over a week in Sofia, and I’m highlighting some of the best day trips you can take. Bulgaria’s cosmopolitan capital is a great destination on its own, and you can easily spend several days here. But there are also some excellent day trips you can take from Sofia to explore more of Bulgaria.
In my opinion, Bulgaria is such an underrated destination. I really enjoyed my time here! There aren’t too many places in Europe that I would consider real “hidden gems” anymore, but Bulgaria is one of them.
Bulgaria is a pretty affordable country to travel around, and there are many tour operators that offer day trips to these destinations for a good price. Some of these destinations can also be visited by public transportation (train or bus.) I’ve included details on the best ways to get to each of these places below.
Whether you’re interested in visiting historic cities, seeing unique monasteries, exploring ancient fortresses, or being out in nature, these are some of the best day trips to take from Sofia, Bulgaria.
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Best Day Trips from Sofia, Bulgaria:
- Rila Monastery and Boyana Church tour
- Plovdiv day trip from Sofia
- Seven Rila Lakes hiking tour (seasonal)
Rila Monastery
The number one day trip I’d recommend from Sofia is Rila Monastery. This ancient monastery dates back more than 1,000 years, but it was rebuilt in the 19th century in the Bulgarian Revival style. It has always been an intellectual and cultural hub in Bulgaria, and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Rila Monastery is located about two hours from Sofia. There’s a shuttle bus that goes to the monastery daily, but the bus is actually more expensive than just booking a guided tour. This is the exact guided tour that I did, and it was great! It includes transportation from Sofia by bus, along with a guide.
You’ll have three hours at the monastery, including a one-hour tour from the guide. This day trip also includes a stop at Boyana Church, which is another UNESCO World Heritage Site outside Sofia.
I’ve written more about visiting Rila Monastery from Sofia if you want to get more details!
Seven Rila Lakes
Seven Rila Lakes is another incredible day trip from Sofia. This is the one for you if you love nature and hiking, because you’ll be walking up to the most iconic viewpoint in Bulgaria, overlooking seven lakes. The starting point for this hike is located about one hour and 45 minutes from Sofia.
Although it shares a name with Rila Monastery, the Seven Rila Lakes are actually not too close to the monastery (it’s about an hour and 45 minutes away.) However, some tours combine the two.
If you’re just interested in doing the hike, a tour like this one includes transportation from Sofia, as well as the option for a guide during the hike. For the hike, you’ll first take a 20-minute chairlift to the starting point, and then you’re in for approximately four hours of hiking round-trip to see the lakes.
It’s a fairly strenuous hike, but the views are incredible! I didn’t do this myself, because I visited in April and it was still snowy, so the lakes weren’t visible. But this is perfect for summer or fall! If you want to combine a hike to the Seven Rila Lakes with a visit to Rila Monastery as well, this tour offers that option.
Plovdiv
Another great place you can visit on a day trip from Sofia is Plovdiv. This historic city is located two hours from Sofia. It’s the second-largest city in Bulgaria after the capital. But Sofia has a population of over 1.2 million people, and Plovdiv has just 330,000 people, so it actually feels quite a bit smaller.
I love second cities like this. Plovdiv is famous for its history, including being the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe. It’s also notable for its Roman ruins, including a well-preserved Roman amphitheater. Plovdiv was also named a European Capital of Culture, so it’s known for its cultural scene.
This city is a great place to try traditional Bulgarian food, visit museums like the Regional Ethnographic Museum, admire the historic architecture, and take in the views from the Nebet Tepe hilltop.
One of the best ways to see Plovdiv is on a tour like this one that I did. It’s very affordable (I paid $25) and includes transportation from Sofia and a guide. We had a 2.5-hour guided tour of the city, and then had an additional 2.5 hours to explore the city independently, before getting on the bus back to Sofia.
If you’d prefer to visit Plovdiv on your own without a guided tour, there is a train that runs from Sofia to Plovdiv every day. It takes a little over 2.5 hours, and tickets are around €5 each way.
Koprivshtitsa
Koprivshtitsa is known as an “open-air museum” because of this town’s amazing 19th-century Bulgarian Revival architecture. If you like discovering charming small towns, this is the place to go.
It’s located two hours from Sofia if you drive, and about 2.5 hours by train. If you take the train, note that the Koprivshtitsa train station is about 15 minutes outside of the town, but there is a shuttle bus that waits for each arriving train that will take you there. Train tickets are around €5 each way.
There’s not strictly a lot to “do” in Koprivshtitsa. The best way to spend your time here is just wandering around admiring the historic architecture, and maybe stopping to enjoy a traditional Bulgarian lunch.
If you want to combine a visit to Koprivshtitsa with another destination, this full-day tour also includes time in Plovdiv for several hours, before continuing on to Koprivshtitsa for a couple of hours.
Veliko Tarnovo
Another cool place to visit from Sofia is Veliko Tarnovo. This city was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire during the medieval age, and is nicknamed the “City of the Tsars.” It’s known for its unique architecture, including the medieval Tsarevets Fortress, as well as 19th-century Bulgarian Revival houses.
I really love Veliko Tarnovo and think it’s worth visiting, but this is one of the more ambitious day trips on the list. Veliko Tarnovo is three hours from Sofia, so you’ll be in for a longer travel day. There are no direct trains from Sofia to Veliko Tarnovo, but there are affordable buses if you’d prefer to go independently.
Another option is taking a tour. This guided tour includes transportation from Sofia, plenty of time to explore Veliko Tarnovo, and a stop in the nearby town of Arbanasi, known for its beautiful architecture.
Belogradchik
Finally, one more unique day trip from Sofia is Belogradchik. This is another long day, because Belogradchik is located about three hours from Sofia, close to the northern border with Serbia. However, it’s worth the effort to get to this unique destination, known for its rock formations and fortress.
The naturally occurring, towering rock formations of Belogradchik are the perfect imposing backdrop for the ancient fortress of Belogradchik, which dates back to the Roman era and is over 2,000 years old.
The rock formations and the fortress are definitely the main attractions here, but the nearby Venetsa Cave is also worth a visit to see the impressive stalactites and stalagmites. This guided tour from Sofia is a good option if you’d like to visit both places (I recommend a tour because there’s no public transit here.)
Top Day Trips from Sofia, Bulgaria
This guide showed you the best day trips from Sofia, Bulgaria.
My top pick if you only have time for one day trip would be Rila Monastery. If you have a second day that you can spend on a day trip, then my next suggestion would be Plovdiv. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you could combine the Seven Rila Lakes and Koprivshtitsa onto these day trips as well.
Whatever you choose, have fun exploring more of Bulgaria!
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