Book this tour                                   What is included

1-day trip to Rila Monastery with guide and lunch

After breakfast, at around 9 o'clock, our guide will meet you at the Reception desk of your hotel in Sofia for a pleasant and comfortable 2 hours drive to the Rila Monastery. On the way you will learn the history and mystery behind this famous place. After arriving at the monastery, you will be able to enter and walk around inside to feel the ancient atmosphere. Climbing up the narrow wooden stairs inside the Hreljo tower (not guaranteed as frequent renovations take place) is a really unforgettable experience. The Monastery's museum is recently renovated and well worth a visit too (included in the price).

In the Monastery you will also have the chance to visit: The Church "Birth of the Holly Virgin", the coffin of Tsar Boris III, The Monastery Kitchen /called Magernitsa/, Hrelyo's defence tower, Transfiguration Chapel, The Museum. All entrance fees are included in the tour price.

At lunchtime or after the tour inside the Rila Monastery, we will arrange a tasty meal at one of the local restaurants - close to the monastery. Fresh trout, from the wild Rilska River that runs by the Rila Monastery, is one of our best lunch options. But before that you will have the chance to buy locally produced wines, honey, wood-carved items and other souvenirs sold in the small shops around the monastery. Another option is to have the lunch in an old house in the small town of Rila serving dishes of old local recipies. This option is subject to availability, booked in advance and cost 10 EUR per person additionally.

TIMING
We will leave the sight at around 13:00 hours to go to the nearby restaurant for lunch. After lunch we'll drive back to Sofia and arrive at the hotel at around 17:00 h.

END OF SERVICES.

Modify this trip to best suits your personal preferences

This is not a guaranteed departure tour!
This Rila Monastery tour is a private tour and is only organized upon your request. Availability may vary day to day, so please enquire as soon as you can.
If more participants enquire for a certain date we will advise you if you wish to be a part of a larger group tour and thus pay the lower price.

If there is something inconvenient to you in this trip as described, we will be happy to modify it, so that the program best suits your personal preferences.


What do you have to do:

1. Visit our towns and villages section
2. Choose the places you are interested in
3. Decide on the duration of your vacation and the number of days you are willing to spend in each place
4. Decide on the budget you are willing to spend
5. Write to us or use the Request Form, giving us all the information above
6. We promise to give you the most suitable itinerary and rate according to your desires within 24 hours

---

TESTIMONIALS:

"Hello,
Please see my answer below and thank you for your kind hospitality when I went Sofia. In spite of last minutes booking, Orient Travel could organize the trip and keep the time. I am happy with your service. I really enjoyed Bulgarian food and taste was good. The guide provide enough explanation and knowledge. The vehicle was air conditioned, clean, very comfortable.
It is still difficult to get travel information in Bulgaria (even English) comparing with other European countries. Fortunately I found your company through internet but if more advertisement, more people can go to Bulgaria easily.
Yes, next time, I would like to go to Black sea side in Bulgaria. I am not sure which beach is most beautiful for swimming."

Best Regards,
Yumiko Hamazaki
Tokyo, Japan
Aug. 2008

---

"Dear George,
Thank you for your mail. We had a great time with you and Ms. Antoinette. We are satisfied with your sevices, and also with your country. Our satisfaction is much much over our expectation. We found really "unique" in your country. We want to visit your country in detail in future.

My mother liked Cold Yogurt Soup very much.
She will try to cook that in this summer!

I hope to see you again."

Yours sincerely,
Ms. Nanako Hamamoto
Yokohama, Japan
May. 2007

---

"Dear Mr. Tonchev,
Thanks for your kind email. We REALLY enjoyed the tour.
We see NO problem on the tour. Our guide and driver are trustable and both of them had enough knowledge about the area. They took us to the special area (a nice hiking place...) in stead of museum which was unfortunately closed. Foods are great. Very local foods at the nice atmosphere. Much better than normal "western style" restaurant. Only complain about the traffic jam but it is not your fault, of course...

Totally, we are satisfied and we can highly recommend your tour to our friends.

Thank you again for providing us with such a wonderful time.
We hope we can come back to Bulgaria again in near future."

Regards,
Takehiko and Reiko
Tokyo, Japan
Sep. 2007

---

"George,
Your services far exceeded my expectations and I will recommend you vigorously to all.

How was the booking process and the initial information supplied prior to tour?
I was initially very apprehensive about booking online (see below). However I just received my latest credit card bill and all is as promised. I'm not sure what you could have said to allay my concerns -- maybe some reference to your membership in international tourism organizations or alliances?

How was the food?
Food was WONDERFUL (incidentally so much better than what I ate in Istanbul, which I expected to be great. But there I was only in the Sultanahmet/main tourist area, so perhaps that explains it). The service in the restaurant following the Rila Monastery tour was slow, but the crackling fire cozy and food was delicious: wonderfully fresh produce and trout. Of course the company was also very good.
Granted my expectations were not high; Bulgaria is not the nation that springs to mind when tourists think of good food, but I am still raving to friends about the Shopska salad and those delicious tomatoes...

Was the guide good enough?
George Tonchev was an excellent guide. He expressed interest in why I chose to visit Bulgaria, and offered much information about the ethnic and cultural history of its peoples, particularly in the context of the long dominance of Ottoman Empire. He is very warm and obviously passionate about his country and his work. It was a pleasure to meet him and I would recommend his services strongly.

Antoinette was also very fine, knowledgeable and easy to talk to. I'd certainly recommend her and would be happy to use her services again.

Nikolai was rather by-the-book, could rattle off dates but less agile or interested in putting things in larger cultural context. He also fielded at least 4 phone calls while I was with him. One or two quick calls isn't a problem; but they started to drag on a bit... On the other hand, he DID talk me out of using the bathrooms in the indoor market near the synagogue (which I used later in the day and found truly appalling) in favor of the luxe WCs in the nearby Sheraton Hotel. But I would not request his services again.

Did you like the vehicle used? And how about the driver?
Vehicle was fine. Driver was excellent, and I appreciate that he was not trying to do 2 things at once (ie, drive and give a history of the region).

Share with us...
Here's my overall comment:
As a solo traveler from the US, I was initially extremely anxious about booking tourism services over the Internet with an agency that had not been recommended to me personally. Those concerns turned out to be for naught.
Orient Travel and George Tonchev exceeded my expectations fully. Tonchev's love for his country and the work of introducing it to others was obvious and infectious. He had much knowledge ready to share about the ethnic and cultural history of Bulgaria's peoples over the centuries. He is friendly and curious about his visitors and their interests.

Tonchev also went above and beyond the call of duty in helping me to secure my luggage at the gloomy Sofia train station for the day, prior to my overnight journey to Istanbul, and gently suggested that perhaps train travel was not the most efficient or pleasant way to get around Eastern Europe (he was right, in spades. But some things you just have to do...).

The 'Orient/Balkan Express' left me no alternative but to laugh helpless at myself and the situation: train 2 hours late, Sofia station interior so cold I could see my breath, sleeper car rusted and ancient on the outside, fetid and stained inside, conductor pacing the hallways smoking all night, 1 1/2 hours at 4am at Turkish border, but, but ---- the view of sun on the sea of marmara friday morning, with the old walls of the city along the rails, and fishermen waving at us, was throughly thrilling and almost -- almost -- worth it.

My only regret is that I didn't allow Orient Travel to book my hotel in Sofia (I could have saved quite a bit of money), and that I was too apprehensive -- again, of online booking -- to try to find Tonchev's counterpart on the next leg of my travel, in Turkey (where I'm sure my visit could have been greatly enhanced by a knowledgeable guide).

I recommend Tonchev and Orient Travel strongly to any visitors to Bulgaria. It will greatly enhance your appreciation of an oft-overlooked destination in Europe, and spur your interest in learning more.
In addition, my experience with Orient Travel has given me confidence use online booking for future international travel."

Bonnie Pfister, Journalist
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA
Nov. 2007

---