Highlights of Bulgaria, Bulgaria

HIGHLIGHTS OF BULGARIA

6 days/5 nights tour

Guaranteed departures 2012:

• 20-25 May
• 30 September - 05 October

Friendly itinerary for solo travelers with minimized single supplement!

Highlights:

• Fully escorted affordable tour
• Solo travelers friendly
• Accommodation in tourist class hotels
• Customizable itinerary - possibilities for tour extensions, pre and post tour nights

Most important objects and attractions:

• Bulgaria's capital city Sofia - one of the oldest cities in Europe
• Veliko Tarnovo castle on the top of Tsarevets Hill
• UNESCO listed Thracian Tomb
• Old town of Plovdiv - 19th century houses and Roman ruins, including a Roman amphitheater in use today
• Etara open air museum, preserved ancient crafts methods still used nowadays
• UNESCO listed Rila monastery - the biggest Bulgarian spiritual centre

There are 3 UNESCO objects included in this itinerary:

1. Rila Monastery
2. The Thracian tomb in Kazanlak
3. Boyana Church (optional)

Route map

Day 1 - Welcome to Sofia - a 8500 years old town

Arrival to Sofia. Transfer from the airport with an assistant and accommodation in 3* hotel. Overnight.

Day 2 - The Capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom

After breakfast - meet your tour guide for panoramic tour around the Bulgarian capital (a 8500 years old city!) and visit to the most interesting historical sights: the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the St. Sofia Church, which had given the name of the city, and the historical and cultural center of the capital.

Departure to Veliko Tarnovo - the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Free time for orientation tour around the city. Accommodation and overnight in 3* hotel..

Day 3 - The Valley of the Roses and the Thracian Kings

After breakfast - panoramic tour of Veliko Tarnovo with visit to the historical hill Tsarevets with the Fortress, the Patriarchal church and the Emperor Baldwin's Tower. You will also have a walk along the old Trade Street - "Samovodska charshia".

Departure to Etara - a unique open air museum, recreating the way of life of the Bulgarians in the 19th c. It is a great attraction for tourists, one of the most visited places in the country.

Set off to Kazanlak - the capital of the Rose valley. Visit of the Historical Museum, which houses collection of bronze and gold treasures, and the replica of Thracian Kazanlak Tomb as well, dating back to the 4th C. B.C. It is listed in the world natural and historical heritage of UNESCO.

Accommodation and overnight in 3* hotel in Kazanlak.

Day 4 - The Antique Plovdiv

After breakfast - we continue exploring the Valley of the roses with visit of Skobelevo village. Here is located the Ethnographical Complex "Damascene", which works also as a family run rose oil distillery from more than 20 years. The hosts will show you how the famous Bulgarian rose oil (used in the perfumery) is produced.

Departure to Plovdiv - the city of the seven hills. Visit to the old part of the town, built in IV century B.C. from King Philip of Macedonia, with the some of the museum houses, the Antique Theatre and the Roman Stadium.

In the afternoon - visit to Bachkovo Monastery - the second biggest monastery in Bulgaria. The monastery was built in 11-th c. and is famous with the miraculous icon of Virgin Mary, Mother of God. A number of temples in the area made the region known as the "Rhodopes Holly Mount".

Optional: wine tasting in the boutique wine-cellar "Todoroff", near to the village of Brestovica, where a red wine of high quality is produced.

Departure for Asenovgrad - small and charming town near Plovdiv, center of the Thracian lowlands, famous with the wine producing. Asenovgrad is Protected Designation of Origin of some typical Bulgarian grape varieties. The city is also called the Bulgarian Jerusalem, because in its surroundings there are 9 churches and 41 chapels!

Accommodation and overnight in 4* hotel complex in Asenovgrad.

Day 5 - The treasury of the Rila Monastery

After breakfast - take off to the Rila monastery. Founded in 10th c., it was the biggest Bulgarian medieval spiritual centre with rich collection of icons, wall-paintings, old-printed books - some 15 000 volumes. Guided tour around the monastery. The monastery is a monument in the UNESCO list of world heritage and is situated in the highest mountain on the Balkans - Rila Mountain, with its top peak "Moussala" at2925 m.

In the afternoon - return to Sofia. Accommodation and overnight in 3* hotel.

Optional: Dinner at a typical Bulgarian folk style restaurant. Excellent cuisine, great selection of wines and folklore show.

Day 6

After breakfast - free time. Transfer to the airport and flight back home.

Guaranteed departures for min 2 passengers travelling together

** Maximum group size - 10 passengers
***5% discount for 4 passengers travelling together
****15% discount for 6 passengers travelling together

Tour prices include:

• Accommodation for 5 nights in best availablehotels 4*, 3* on BB (Bed & Breakfast)base.
• A/C vehicle with driver during the whole trip (for groups up to 6 persons, the driver could be also a guide).
• Parking fees and road taxes.
• All entrance fees for the museums, sites and churches.
• Professional English speaking guide throughout (for groups up to 6 persons, the guide could be also a driver).

Tour prices don't include:

• Other meals than mentioned.
• Beverages.
• Flight tickets to Bulgaria
• Porterage in the hotels.

Optional:

• Half board (dinner) supplement - 9 EUR per person per day
• Dinner with folklore show in Sofia - 35 EUR per person
• Wine tasting in wine-cellar "Todoroff" - EUR 15 per person

Possibilities for tour extension

Sofia outskirts tour

In this tour you will see the most remarkable objects in the outskirts of Sofia, in the foot of Vitosha Mounatin. These are Boyana Church and the National Museum of History.

The National Museum of History in Sofia is one of the largest history museums on the Balkans with 650.000 items and the biggest archaeological and historical archive. The museum's collections are its greatest treasure. They consist of materials from Prehistoric ages till nowadays. The National Museum of History was established on 1973. In 2000, the NMH moved to a new location in the residence of the Bulgarian president in Boyana district.

The Boyana Church is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated in the Boyana district, near Sofia. The monument is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The church is one of the most completely and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art. The frescoes in the church, painted in 1259, make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings and initiating the beginning of the European Renaissance.

Tour duration - 4 hours

Prices for a private tour:

1 PAX - 62 EUR
2-4 PAX - 38 EUR per person
5 PAX - 31 EUR per person
6 PAX - 29 EUR per person
7-8 PAX - 27 EUR per person

What included? professional guide; transportation by A/C car/van with driver

Entrance fees for Boyana Church and National Museum of History - 6.5 EUR (combined ticket for both museums)

One day tour to Koprivshtitsa

Koprivshtitsa is a small town situated in a picturesque valley among the mountains in the central part of Bulgaria. Town with special spirit, now turned into a museum where you can feel the unique atmosphere of the Revival Period in Bulgaria. Beautiful 19th century houses, homes of some of the most eminent Bulgarians - the writers Dimcho Debelyanov and Luben Karavelov, the rebels against the Turks - Georgi Benkovski and Todor Kableshkov. Outstanding ethnographic treasures can be seen together with significant historical monuments: specific architecture, original furniture, old weapons, national costumes, traditional crafts, precious jewellery.

Tour duration - 6 hours

Prices for a private tour:

1 PAX - 115 EUR
2-4 PAX - 70 EUR per person
5 PAX - 55 EUR per person
6 PAX - 50 EUR per person
7-8 PAX - 43 EUR per person

What included? professional guide; transportation by A/C car/van with driver;

Entrance fees for three museum-houses - 3 EUR

One day tour to Belogradchik.

In this tour you will see the natural phenomenon Belogradchik Rocks, which has been nominated for one of the New 7 Wonders of the World together with Grand Canyon in USA, Ayers Rock (Urulu) in Australia and other incedible creations of the planet Earth.

Take off from Sofia to the town of Belogradchik ("The White town") with its beautiful rock figure formations. Climbing to the fort near Belogradchik and sightseeing round the picturesque rocks, each with its own name. Nature has been carving the stones for more than 200 million years. Next we will visit the "Belogradchik fortress" - one of the best-preserved castles in Bulgaria and a cultural monument of national importance. The fortress had been built among the unreachable rocks, when the Balkan Peninsula was within the Roman Empire (III century A.D.). The Vidin King Ivan Sratzimir had used it as a mansion during the XIII century. Its present appearance is dated back from 1805-1837, when the Turks rebuilt it.

In the afternoon we will visit the fantastic underground world of Magurata Cave. On the rocks of the cave you can see pre-historical paintings from the 9th-8th c. B.C. They are real masterpieces of the prehistoric art in Southeast Europe. In the cave you can taste some sparkling and still wines, stored inside.

Tour duration - 9.5 hours

Prices for a private tour:

1 PAX - 225 EUR
2-4 PAX - 119 EUR per person
5 PAX - 85 EUR per person
6 PAX - 80 EUR per person
7-8 PAX - 70 EUR per person

What included? professional guide; transportation by A/C car/van with driver;
Entrance fees for Kaleto fortress and Magurata cave - 5 EUR
Lunch in a local guest house with delicious home-made meals - 9 EUR

Pre and Post tour accommodation

Accommodation in 3* hotel in Sofia (Budapest or similar)
65 EUR per double or twin room per night with breakfast included
55 EUR per single room per night with breakfast included