Rila Monastery & Blagoevgrad tour from Skopje
- 12 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
We will be able to visit one of the most beautiful Orthodox monasteries in the Balkans. Rila Monastery is a remarkable structure in the middle of nature. Situated in the center of the Rila mountain, the monastery is a hidden gem. We will also visit the city of Blagoevgrad, a student city that features a pedestrian downtown with preserved 19th-century architecture and numerous restaurants, cafés, coffee shops, and boutiques.
Inclusions
What's included
- Experienced English-speaking guide/driver for the tour
- Pick-up and drop off from your hotel or any other preferred location in Skopje
- All transfers with a comfortable A/C car or minivan
What's not
- Food and drinks
- Entrance fees
- Personal expenses
Itinerary
The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876 - 946 AD), and houses around 60 monks. Founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and Southern Europe.
We will be able to witness beautiful sceneries that offer the Rila mountain, and take some photos on the way.
We will have some free time for lunch or a coffee break in the city center and have a chance to shop in the city malls and boutiques. We could visit the Church Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, Located in Varosha settlement in Blagoevgrad. This church reminds you of the Rila monastery building. And this is no accident because, at the place where the temple in Varosha (the old town) is today, there was a convent of the Rila Monastery.
Somewhere in the city, we can make a lunch or a coffee break. Blagoevgrad is best known for being a student town with two big universities. One of them is the South-west university Neofit Rilski.
And the other one is the American University of Bulgaria, founded in 1991.
After our city tour, we will get back in our comfortable vehicle, and drive back to Skopje.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Skopje
- Pickup
- Pickup is offered, or you can meet at the starting point.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Experience Balkan
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- In this tour we are crossing the border with Bulgaria. You MUST confirm and obtain any visa requirements prior to border crossing. All visa requirements are the sole responsibility of the traveler
- The tour operates in various weather conditions, please dress accordingly
How it compares in Skopje
- Its from-price is 33% above the median of the 66 day trips we list in Skopje.
- It is longer than most of them.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Skopje
Skopje is the capital of North Macedonia, a Balkan city on the Vardar River with an Ottoman bazaar, a stone bridge and many statues.
Skopje straddles the Vardar River in a wide valley, its two halves joined by the fifteenth-century Stone Bridge. On the north bank the Old Bazaar is a web of lanes lined with workshops, cafés and mosques, with the Kale fortress above it. On the south bank, Macedonia Square is dominated by a giant statue of a horseman, popularly taken for Alexander the Great, amid the monuments, bridges and neoclassical façades added in the early 2010s. An earthquake in 1963 destroyed much of the city.
Top-ranked sights in Skopje: Skopje Kale Fortress (Skopsko Kale), Memorial House of Mother Teresa (Spomen Kuka na Majka Tereza), Skopje Old Bazaar.
Special offers in Skopje
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
