Day Trip from Sofia to
Melnik and Rozhen Monastery

Includes

Licensed tour guide/driver
Private Transportation
All transportation costs along the route, fuel, VAT, and parking fees
Pickup and drop off from your hotel in Sofia

Benefits

Pick-up/ Drop off from your hotel
Friendly English-speaking tour guide/driver
We’re always willing to go the extra mile to make your tour a success

Excludes

Food and Drinks: Meals and beverages are not included in the tour price.
Wine Tasting: The wine tastings are also not included. You can choose between different wine tasting options and pay directly at the winery.
Tips and Gratuities: While optional, tipping is greatly appreciated. Offering a gratuity is a thoughtful way to thank your guide for their expertise and hospitality.
Entrance Fees: Admission to landmarks depends on group size and can be paid on arrival.
Personal Expenses: Any additional personal costs, such as souvenirs or extra snacks, are not covered.

Tour Itinerary

Pick up from any location in Sofia in the morning (8:00-9:00)
Transfer to the Rozhen monastery (2:30 hours)
Explore the monastery complex
Transfer to Melnik ( 30 min)
Visit the Kordopulov’s house
Wine tasting in a traditional winery (Optional)
Transfer back to Sofia (2:30-3 hours)
Drop off at your hotel

Good to Know

Duration of the Tour: The tour typically lasts a full day, including travel time from Sofia to Melnik and Rozhen Monastery. Expect around 9-10 hours in total.
Comfortable Clothing & Footwear: Exploring Melnik’s cobblestone streets and Rozhen Monastery requires walking, so wearing comfortable shoes is essential. Be sure to dress appropriately for the weather.
Choose Your Pace: The tour is flexible and can be tailored to your preferred pace. 
Respectful Clothing: When visiting Rozhen Monastery, it’s important to dress modestly. Please bring a scarf or cover your shoulders and avoid wearing shorts or skirts above the knee, as this site is religious.
Wine Tasting Considerations: The tour includes wine tastings at a traditional winery, where you can choose between 3, 5, or 8 wine varieties to sample. Payment is made directly at the winery.

More about Melnik

The tiniest town, Melnik, is a pearl in southwest Bulgaria. The proximity of Pirin is a guarantee of picturesqueness because the mountain is famed for its stern and grand mountain beauty. The altitude of the locality where Melnik lies is 437 meters. With its transient climate, passing into Mediterranean mildness, it offers comfort, with minimal rains in summer, and maximal precipitations in winter. Fans of mountain chalets have ample choices. Melnik is the starting point for trails to the Pirin chalet and the Malina chalet.

In Melnik, you can find some of the best wines in Bulgaria which have rich taste and aroma. The wineries in the area of Melnik are known far beyond Bulgaria, and this is not accidental, because this wine developed hundreds of years and its secrets were passed from generation to generation. The climate of Melnik is suitable for the cultivation of different varieties of grapes, as one of the unique varieties of the city is “Wide Melnik Vine”.

Melnik is famous not only for its wonderful wine, but among the city’s attractions can be mentioned the Kordopulova house (private museum with wine cellar), the ruins of medieval churches, the wine museum, and many others. More information about the Bulgarian wine capital.

Just a few kilometers away from Melnik is one of the few medieval Bulgarian monasteries that are relatively well preserved – the Rozhen monastery.

Other day trips from Sofia with us:

• Day tour to Rila Monastery
• Day tour to Plovdiv
• Day tour to Buzludzha monument and Kazanlak
• Day tour to Seven Rila Lakes
• Day tour to Veliko Tarnovo and Etar Complex

Details About the Rozhen Monastery

The Rozhen monastery is near Melnik, not far even when going on foot. On the way to the monastery, the curious Melnik Pyramids captivate with their uniqueness. These mounds of sandstone, rising to up to 100 meters, are unlike any other formations. But in Melnik itself, there is plenty to marvel at fascinating old-style houses and opportunities to learn about winemaking, a strong trade there.

Rozhen Monastery, near the smallest Bulgarian town Melnik, was restored carefully in1981. That was an ancient monastery whose murals, icons, and woodcarvings needed a lot of restoration. Now it charms with its architectural, artistic, as well as cultural significance. Near it is the grave of Yane Sndanski, a Bulgarian fighter for freedom who lived there until his death. The Bulgarian film ”Time of Parting” was shot in the monastery. It showed life under Ottoman domination.

The Rozhen monastery is part of the list of the one hundred most precious tourist sites in Bulgaria. The backdrop of Pirin, a stern but beautiful mountain, is magnificent. The village of Rozhen is just a kilometer away. Nearby, besides Melnik, is also the town of Sandanski.

The Rozhen Monastery can be reached from Melnik via an asphalted road that reaches right to its gates, but there is no regular public transport to the monastery.