A great day! - We had a great time. Apostolos was our guide and kept us entertained during the drives with humor and a nice playlist. Rila monastery was beautiful with the view of all the mountains in the background. The lift was open so we could go up to see the lakes. There was about 1m of snow when we reached the top. Be prepared when taking this tour in winter, nevertheless it was lovely.

Nice experience and friendly driver - Tour was amazing. We had snowfall the night before and the mountains were beautiful. Due to heavy snow we were not able to trek and see the lakes but we enjoyed the Mountain View’s. The driver was very good and friendly

Choose the right time of year - The seven lakes because of the snow I did not see them, but the monastery was sublime. Note of merit to our guide Apostolos, empathetic and helpful.

Really nice day out :) - The trip was great overall. Firstly, our driver Apóstolos was a very nice and friendly guy, with a good sense of humour. Rila monastery was beautiful, we liked it a lot although maybe a little longer would have been nice (we had 50 minutes). Even so, we did walk around, take pictures and have a quick mekitsa at the coffee shop. We were lucky with the weather and were able to get the chair lift up to the rila lakes. It was a very pretty landscape and we enjoyed sitting on the terrace at the bar in the sun having a drink. The lakes were frozen at this time of year, but worth walking up to. Make sure to take adequate footwear, because you have to walk through the snow. We would definitely recommend this trip :) George and Paula

Wonderful trip - Sharp on time, well organised , great Greek driver + guide whose English is great! Car in neat condition. Loved and enjoyed. Strong recommendation!

Could be a good day out. - Did both as a day excursion. Monastery is free to visit. it's OK Had bad weather for a hike to 7 Rila Lakes so voting it down.

Beauty, but Beeare - When booking in spring beware. Dress warmly: hats, gloves, scarves. If you intend to tour the lakes wear appropriate hiking gear. The first attraction, the Rila Monastery, was breathtaking in every possible way. What a Bulgarian treasure. The setting in the Rila Mountains magnifies the beauty of this inspirational and iconic destination. The church frescos cover every inch of surface and are transporting. The Seven Rila Lakes went unseen due to snowy conditions for a casual hiker. If you want to see them, be prepared with hiking boots. Would have loved to make the trek but trip information was inadequate. The bus to the chair lift also was a considerable, uphill distance from bus parking. For those with health, mobility concerns, please take note. To reach the lake elevation, you take an exhilarating 25 minutes chair lift ride. And though we didn’t see a lake, we enjoyed another 25 minutes gliding down from the mountain. But do take note, you may only get half a day trip value if conditions aren’t right. Viatour should clarify its tour description.

Disappointed - So on the hike in march, the place is covered in snow. The markings aren't clear at all for the paths. It's extremely difficult to make it anywhere, I think more than half the group never saw any lakes. I saw two by complete fluke. I feel like it would be much better in summer without the snow. It might be helpful if the tour guide came up the ski lift and at least pointed in directions of the paths

Unsafe experience, horrible weather - I never write reviews but people need to be aware of this going into this trip. The monastery part was fine. BUT then we went to the seven rila lakes. They dropped us off and initially we were promised lifts up to the mountain (where the lakes are) but they “found out there” that the lifts weren’t working so we had a local drive us up a certain point. The roads were NOT safe to drive and it was a bumpy ride but we were already in it by then. Because the driver couldn’t go all the way up we later had to hike the rest of the way up. Plot twist was there was SO MUCH snow and the tour guides definitely knew about it but didn’t let us know so none of us had a proper attire to hike in the snow. Our shoes weren’t suitable for it, our fits weren’t suitable for it and when we first got there in addition to the snow it was also raining. No one of the trip guides came up with us so we were in it alone, and I’ll just say it, I’ve never felt as UNSAFE AND IN DANGER on a trip as I did in this one. We were practically left on a mountain in the middle of nowhere with clothes not suitable for the snow and didn’t even get to see the lakes, which was the whole point of the trip. The lakes were invisible, even though we walked the entire trail because we were already there. I understand that weather conditions change, but on a day like yesterday this trip SHOULD HAVE BEEN CANCELED or they should’ve at least mentioned that no one would be able to see the lakes and that we should come with snow shoes. Horrible circumstances and it was the tour organizer’s responsibility to inform us of this prior to the trip because it’s not hard to know this in advance if you’re doing this for a business. The people in our group could’ve had health issues preventing them from hiking under such extreme circumstances and it’s blatantly irresponsible for the trip organizers to put us through this.

DO NOT HIRE THIS EXCURSION ON DATES THAT DO NOT TOUCH - Very bad experience and I will explain myself well so that people can read it and have a real and reference message to hire this excursion. First of all thank the driver and guide for his kindness, attention and because he did great, he is not to blame for anything. We could not see the 7 lakes because the storm despite being sunny could not climb the lakes. We went there, which is almost 2 hours drive and in the chairlift we were told we could not climb because of danger of storm. We were warned the previous afternoon by whatsapp that this could happen and that failing that, we would be taken to a spa. Worst of all, both the “hypothetical climb to the 7 lakes” and the SPA you have to pay for. I honestly paid 50 euros for 4 hours drive to see only the Rila Monastery, which by the way a very nice monastery and worth going to. Honestly, I felt conned and explained why. Although they know that in December, January and February they almost certainly won’t be able to climb the 7 lakes they continue to sell this excursion. If you look at most companies you would be they do not sell this excursion these months since they know that almost certainly they will not be able to climb. Well, they do, they keep selling the PACK when they know it won't be possible to raise it. Do not hire this pack, inform yourself well when it can be uploaded and which dates are the best. I strongly recommend that this company stop selling this tour on dates that they know will not be able to climb. That would be serious and professional.