Visit the fascinating city of Plovdiv on a full-day tour from Sofia, and explore ancient ruins, some of Bulgaria’s most historic landmarks, and the city’s Ethnographic Museum. This full-day Plovdiv trip includes pickup and drop-off at a central location in Sofia, a guided walking tour of Plovdiv, and admission to the museum and the Plovdiv Roman Theatre.

Visit Plovdiv on a day trip from Sofia
Guided walking tour of Plovdiv
Tour the Plovdiv Roman Theatre
Learn about Bulgarian culture at the Ethnographic Museum
Perfect for first-time visitors
Round trip transport from a central location

Operated by:

What's Included

Driver/guide in English
Fuel surcharge
Air-conditioned vehicle

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Food and drinks
Gratuities
Audio guides available in Spanish, Italian and English

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

St Alexander Nevski Square
1000 Old City Center, Sofia, Bulgaria
IMPORTANT: The meeting point is BEHIND Alexander Nevski Cathedral (opposite La Cattedrale restaurant) | GPS coordinates: 42.695601, 23.333790 | Please, be there 15 min. in advance! | This tour is not suitable for children under the age of 5.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Make your way to a central location by the Alexander Nevsky cathedral, then meet a guide and group for the two-hour trip to Plovdiv, the second-largest city in Bulgaria.

Upon arrival in Plovdiv, get your bearings on a 2- to 3-hour guided walking tour that explores the history and culture of the city, which was founded 8,000 years ago. You’ll see traces of the successive Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Bulgarian cultures, and learn about the distinctive architecture of the Old Town.

Throughout the tour, the guide will share stories and insights about Bulgarian culture and history, while leading the way down the cobblestone streets that wind through the heart of the city.

This tour includes admission to the Ethnographic Museum, which explores Bulgarian folk culture, costumes, and lifestyles, as well as the Plovdiv Roman Theatre, among the best-preserved ancient theaters in the world. Following your time in Plovdiv begin the return trip to Sofia, where this tour concludes at the original departure point.

St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral

Your day trip starts at 9:00 am from the parking lot behind the majestic Alexander Nevski Cathedral in central Sofia. You will board a comfy, air-conditioned minibus and head for a 2-hour drive on the motorway to Plovdiv. This is the time that you will learn from your guide more about Bulgarian history, culture, economy and nature.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Plovdiv Old Town

As one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, cosmopolitan Plovdiv is packed with fascinating Thracian, Roman, Slav, Turkish and Bulgarian history. With your guide, enjoy a 2.5-hour walking tour on the cobbled narrow paths in the Old Town of Plovdiv. Explore and learn about all its major highlights including the finest examples of Bulgarian Rennaissance town architecture, the spectacular 2nd-century Ancient Theater, the Roman Stadium, Plovdiv's Ethnographic Museum and much more.

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Minimum age is 6 years
Near public transportation
The Old Town of Plovdiv is with cobbled streets (some of them steep) , please have comfortable walking shoes
During the summer months the weather in Plovdiv can be very hot. We highly recommend sunscreen, hat and sun glasses.

Most travelers can participate
All touch points in our vehicles will be frequently cleaned and disinfected.
Free hand disinfectant will be provided to all our clients.
Our drivers and guides will be wearing masks and gloves during the transfers.
All customers are required to wear face mask during the transfers.
Due to the pandemic, only part of the seat capacity of our vehicles will be used.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

about cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

I highly recommend doing this tour out of Sofia to see a different side of the country and Traventuria as a company generally.

Excellent trip with excellent guide, a little tough in the hills of Plovdiv for elderly people but all in all very interesting

Reviews

4.5

88 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 88 reviews

Great experience! :)

Nicolas_F, Oct 2022

Really nice plan to visit Plovdiv, I tecommend it, the guide was friendly and helpful, and was very well informed

a must!

AmitRamaish_P, Sep 2022

Great quick tour of Plovdiv, nice taster. Guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour very enjoyable.

Great Guide and Tour Company

Fan_Z, Jun 2021

Our guide, Lubo, really made this trip great. He gave great insight into Bulgarian life and was full of knowledge about the city of Plovdiv. I highly recommend doing this tour out of Sofia to see a different side of the country and Traventuria as a company generally.

Response from Host, Jul 2021

Hello, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback with other travelers! We are happy that our guide and team met your expectations! Safe travels, Annie Paykova

Excellent day trip to Plovdiv

Laura_M, Sep 2020

Excellent day trip to Plovdiv from Sofia. Our guide was very knowledgeable and he offered to explain lots of interesting facts about both Bulgaria, Sofia and Plovdiv. Would 100% recommend.

Response from Host, Sep 2020

Dear Laura, It was a pleasure to host you for the tour! Martin is happy to know that you enjoyed your time with us! We will be happy to meet you again! Kind regards, Annie Krumova Traventuria Team

Beautiful plovediv

Andrew_S, Mar 2020

Great trip with a great tour leader. plovediv is well worth a visit would definitely recommend this trip.

Beautiful City, Average Tour

Eial_D, Jul 2019

The tour was a straightforward eight hour tour with a two hour drive each way to Plovdiv from Sophia an four hours to explore Plovdiv (including two hours of guided tour and two hours of free time). Though there is some guiding done on the road (during the departure from Sophia and upon arrival in Plovdiv), for the most part, the guiding is for two hours in Plovdiv. While the guide seemed knowledgeable, I would have greatly appreciated more context - both historical and cultural. Rather than tell us what this or that building is, I would have liked the guide to bring the history to life and to show us the importance of Plovdiv in the region. After all, if a city has been inhabited for 8,000, there must be some good reason for it i.e. don't only focus on what, but also on the why. The more disappointing part was that we only really had two hours with the guide and we kept stopping at shops and galleries which came at the expense of the actual sites. For example, rather than enter the Church of Constantine and Helena, the guide stayed outside with the people who were shopping. On the other hand, there was no lack of time when it came to entering into a restaurant that had part of the Roman wall. In general, we were told that we could return to any of the sites during our free time, but in practice, this was not feasible as it meant walking back uphill and we also needed that "free" time to eat lunch. In short, both time and group management was lacking. In conclusion, Plovdiv is a spectacular city and I am glad that we went there, but I think that the tour itself could be improved.

2 travelers found this review helpful

Seeing Plovdiv

Steve_R, Jul 2019

We went to Plovdiv on the organized tour. Tour guide Martin was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and had lots of patience for these 2 couples who asked a million questions. His English was quite good. The tour was fascinating and the free time at the end was good as we had time to explore. The only negative was that the trip was advertised as having a group of up 15 people on a minivan. We had a full bus of people. Need to watch out for false advertising. Overall, highly recommended, especially Martin.

1 traveler found this review helpful

Great way to see a bit more of Bulgaria

John_K, Nov 2018

We traveled to Plovdiv on a small, comfortable bus. Chris, our tour guide was personable and informative. We toured around the main sites together in an unhurried fashion and then were given ample time to wander around on our own and to have lunch.I enjoyed the day quite a lot and was happy to be able to see another historical city in Bulgaria in such an easy way.

Plovdiv tour

Adriana_Y, Oct 2018

I highly recommend this tour. The guide is knowledgeable, respectful and helpful. We enjoyed every minute of it and would do it again.

Excellent trip

JrgenErik_H, Oct 2018

Excellent trip with excellent guide, a little tough in the hills of Plovdiv for elderly people but all in all very interesting

Nice Tour

tomperiodjenkins, Jul 2018

Everything was very nice except we had to wait an hour for a couple that never returned to the meeting spot. I would recommend.

Nice pace, excellent guide, great artifacts!

Diane_B, Jul 2018

Constantia was a pleasure to spend the day with. She was informative, caring, friendly, and funny. Plovdiv was beautiful and full of history. Lunch with Constantia was a lot of fun!

Beautiful City and Excellent Tour Guide

Diane_B, Jul 2018

Constanta was an excellent tour guide. She gave lots of information, made you feel like she really cared about your experience. Loved her suggestion for lunch. Lots of free time to stroll and explore. Lovely day.

Good trip, guide was very helpful...

pranjal_s, Mar 2018

Good trip, guide was very helpful, funny and knowledgeable. He was a good driver, parking could have been better planned but otherwise it was all well executed.

Nice tour. Plovdiv is worth the...

Tom Bevers B, Nov 2017

Nice tour. Plovdiv is worth the visit if you are in Sofia, and this trip came at a very interesting price. The guide did a good job, unfortunately his English was acceptable but not great, and in the back of the van we could not hear all he said. A bit more free time in Plovdiv would have been nice : the total tour duration was announced as 9 hours, but in the end we were back in Sofia after less than 8. Still : to be recommended !

Excellent tour from pick-up to drop...

John D, Sep 2017

Excellent tour from pick-up to drop off and great value for money.. Our host Todor was very good and was entertaining about his subject. Plovdiv is a must-see trip on a stay in Sofia. The amphitheatre and old town are excellent. Our group was also very entertaining and we had an Australian, an English woman, a Dutch couple, 2 Argentinians, a Belgain, a Taiwanese, 2 Hong Kongers and a Scot. This cosmopolitan group added to the fun day and the group. Highly recommended.

Excellent tour of the oldest city in...

Carol D, Sep 2017

Excellent tour of the oldest city in Bulgaria. But remember to wear sturdy walking shoes as the entire historic center is uneven cobblestone streets

Un robo a mano armada!!!!

RICARDO_B, Aug 2019

No merece la pena ni la ciudad ni la guía que nos tocò. Es mejor perder el tiempo haciendo otra cosa.

Questions?

Product code: 6992P9

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Plovdiv Full Day Tour from Sofia

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