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Rila Monastery, Bulgaria

Posted by (Martinez, CA, USA) on

I have posted this question in the Bulgaria forum but have no response. It's possible that no one has tried to do this on their own. Giving it one last try here in the general forum. If no one has been able to do this on their own, we'll probably just wait until we arrive and try to reserve at that time or just try our luck and stay outside the monastery if we're unable to get a room.

We're trying to reserve in advance for October 7 for one night in the Monastery. Though they have a chat page, it's not working. The email address they provide also doesn't work. I've checked on Tripadvisor and it seems others have this issue. The advice I've gotten on TA is to have someone from Bulgaria call and reserve for us. We plan to travel from Plovdiv and spend the night in the Monastery and drive to Sofia in the morning. At this point we have our lodging reservations but have left this night open. Option 1: We could add an extra night in Sofia and drive from Plovdiv to Sofia, then day trip to Rila Monastery the next day but it seems like a lot of extra driving. We prefer not to drive in Sofia and planned to turn the car in when we arrive there. Option 2: Have someone call and try to reserve for us once we arrive in Bulgaria. Option 3: If Option 2 doesn't work we can just drive there from Plovdiv and stay in a nearby inn if we can't stay in the Monastery.

Has anyone had any recent experience in trying to reserve a room in the Monastery? Is it just too soon? Does it make sense to drive from Plovdiv? We think Options 2 and 3 would work.

We'd appreciate any advice. Thanks, in advance.

Posted by
16895 posts

I also think that options 2 and 3 are pretty safe bets, though I have not gone through the process myself.

I note that Rick Steves' Tours are not running at that time, so at least you won't have any competition from us. I also don't believe that our group's use of 16 rooms would fill the place. (Tour accommodations are booked by our Bulgarian guides, not from this office. If I talk to one this week, I may learn more.)

Posted by
1538 posts

Thanks, Laura. We used to travel without reservations decades ago but now like the security of knowing where we're staying. In this case though, I've read that there are many inns in the area so I feel fairly certain we can find a place to stay if the Monastery is full.
Thanks again for your advice.

Posted by
5 posts

We are planning on visiting the Monastery in September. If I remember correctly there are hotels and restaurants around the same area. Perhaps you could try and work through one of them, especially the restaurants as you could also make a reservation to eat at one of them.

Posted by
1538 posts

Thanks, we'll keep those options in mind for when we arrive.

Posted by
1540 posts

We did a day trip from Sofia to the Monastery. It was a short ride (about an hour) on a nice bus - with plenty of time to see the Monastery on our own, the various rooms and lots of info.
I heard they do offer overnight stays - but don't have any info on that.

The whole trip/tour there and back to Sofia was about 1/2 day.
BUT I see that you will have a car and be able to drive there and stay as long as you like. An overnight would be very interesting.

Posted by
1538 posts

Thanks, James. We'll look into this option but since we'll have a car we'll probably just visit the monastery on our own. This visit comes after 16 nights in Romania and 8 nights in Bulgaria before getting to Rila. From there we'll spend 3 nights in Sofia before coming home, so we have our itinerary pretty firmed up.
Thanks, again.

Posted by
682 posts

I haven’t booked a room in Rila Monastery, but I have spent a night there on the RS Bulgaria tour. I loved seeing the Monastery; it was just wonderful! But, the night we spent there was one of the most miserable of our lives. It was late September and there was no heat in the room. There were two small cots for us to sleep in, so we couldn’t even share body warmth. We slept in our clothes and froze all night. It was way too cold for showers in the morning. And, to add to the misery, the toilet leaked a considerable amount of water out on the floor each time we flushed it. We were so relieved to get out of there! One of the rules we were given for our room was that no fires could be built. Seemed strange at the time, but, later we understood, as we would have cheerfully chopped up one of our beds to build a fire had it been allowed.

You might want to check on heat to be sure that it’s on in October. And, keep in mind that the rooms are very spartan.

Just to be clear, the Bulgaria tour was fantastic. This was just one bad night.

Posted by
1538 posts

Nancy, thanks for a morning laugh!

Kaeleku, thanks for the advice and the offer. At this point we have decided to try our luck at the monastery. We will probably arrive mid afternoon as we'll be driving from Plovdiv and will have only the one night. We plan to leave mid morning to drive to Sofia so no time for exploring other than the monastery. Also, I failed to mention that we're in our 70s so crawling through the cave is out. Please, don't judge our souls :)!
Thanks again for all the helpful and interesting advice.

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