Tour Overview
Nature and Cultural Tour in Bulgaria & Romania
10 days/9 nights tour
Sofia – Koprivshtitsa – Starosel – Staro Zhelezare – Karlovo – Plovdiv – Kazanlak – Bozhentsi – Arbanasi – Veliko Tarnovo – Bucharest – Sibiu – Brasov – Bran – Sinaia – Bucharest
Day 1 Arrival in Sofia
You will arrive at Sofia Airport where you will be met and welcomed by a professional English
speaking driver/guide. Transfer for accommodation at the 4* Best Western City hotel (or similar). Free time for refreshments or exploring of the city on your own.
Transfer to a traditional Bulgarian restaurant for a dinner accompanied by a folkloric performance.
After you enjoy dinner you will get the chance to explore the country’s capital nightlife.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 2 Exploring Sofia
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Short panoramic tour around Sofia on which you will visit the most interesting historical sights: the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the St. Sofia Church, the Parliament building and many others located in the historical and cultural centre of the capital.
In the afternoon we will give you a chance to do some shopping in one of Sofia’s many shopping centres. There you will able to find some world famous brands at reasonable prices.
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 3 Sofia – Koprivshtitsa – Starosel
After breakfast, you will head towards Koprivshtitsa – one of the most characteristic Bulgarian towns, still preserving the atmosphere of the Bulgarian National Revival period in the 19th century. Collections of ethnographical treasures, old weapons, National Revival works of art, fine fretwork, household weaves and embroidery, national costumes and typical Bulgarian jewellery have also been preserved. After exploring the city you will have lunch at a local restaurant during which you will also participate in a yoghurt-making lesson. After lunch, you will be able to taste some of the yoghurt you made.
Next, you will head for the village of Starossel. There you will be accommodated at an amazing hotel complex with an outdoor swimming pool with hot mineral water. The complex is located on the outskirts of the village and is built to represent traditional Bulgarian architecture with natural materials like wood, stone and wool. The spa centre will invite you to relax in the hot tub, sauna or steam bath.
The complex was built to surround one of the best wineries in Bulgaria. You will be able to enjoy wine tasting at a spectacular underground hall built to resemble a Thracian Temple.
At dinner, you will be able to try specialities from the Bulgarian cuisine served in the hotel restaurant.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 4 Starosel – Staro Zhelezare – Karlovo – Plovdiv
After breakfast, you will head towards Staro Zhelezare. Life here used to be no different to life in any other village in Bulgaria. People would wake before daybreak to tend to their stock and crops. Now living in the small village has changed. It is now referred to as an open-air picture gallery. The “picture gallery” is the work of Ventsislav Piryankov. People all around know him and his wife Katarzyna, even though they only return here from Poland in the summer. Ventsislav lectures in Poznan and brings students of his here to paint pictures on the whitewashed facades of houses and stone fences. The drawings in Staro Zhelezare convey ideas and messages of their own and are very different from what we have seen elsewhere because they are conceptual. When they do their wall paintings the artists give free rein to their imagination in interpreting real-life individuals and events, turning the impossible into reality. It is a strange thing to see the belfry of the village church here transformed into London’s Big Ben.
In this small village, you will also meet with local people who will demonstrate traditional Bulgarian crafts and will present to you the way of life going back centuries.
In the afternoon your journey will continue with a visit to another charming small town notable for its history – Karlovo. There, at an old tavern which is now an ethnographic museum, you will be greeted with a traditional local speciality – “Banitsa” and coffee made on hot sand.
In the evening you will continue with the ancient city of Plovdiv. There you will be accommodated at the 4* Imperial hotel (or similar).
You will be transferred to a local restaurant for dinner. After the delicious meal, you will get a chance to take part in Plovdiv’s rich nightlife.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 5 Plovdiv – Kazanlak – Bozhentsi
After breakfast, you will explore some of the many cultural and historical landmarks of Plovdiv on an amazing city tour. The highlight of the tour will be the Ancient Theater. On this city tour, you will see for yourselves why Plovdiv was chosen as The European Capital of Culture for 2019.
In the early afternoon, you will set off for Kazanlak – located in the heart of the valley of Roses and Thracian kings. Visit the replica of the Thracian Tomb in Kazalnak, dating back to the 4th C. B.C. It is listed in the world natural and historical heritage of UNESCO.
You will also visit an old Rose Oil Distillery still fully functioning today. Over the years people from all over the world have been eager to come to visit and witness the unique rose and lavender production. They want to experience the magical fragrance of the Rose Valley. At the old distillery, people can observe the traditional ways of distillation dating back hundreds of years ago while at the same time learning about the new trends and production practices. You can also visit a museum and gift shop where you can buy genuine traditional souvenirs at reasonable prices.
After the Rose Valley, you will continue towards the northern part of Bulgaria to the picturesque village of Bozhentsi. An architectural reserve, the village lies in the central part of the Balkan Mountains just north of the Shipka Pass. It is noted for its well-preserved Bulgarian National Revival architecture and history. The village of Bozhentsi was proclaimed an architectural and historical reserve in 1964 and is part of UNESCO’s cultural monuments. There you will be accommodated at the Bozhenski Chiflik guesthouse.
Dinner and overnight in the guesthouse.
Day 6 Bozhentsi – Arbanasi – Veliko Tarnovo
After breakfast you will participate in many activities that will get you even more familiar with the authentic side of Bulgaria. You will visit an ethnographic workshop where you will observe and take part in making bread, processing wool, shooting with a bow and arrows and games from the national cultural heritage. You will then collect water from the village’s water fountain and take it to the restaurant where you will have lunch (eating from the bread you made yourselves and dishes entirely made from eco products).
In the afternoon you will head towards the village of Arbanasi – a village, famous for its ancient, richly decorated churches and magnificent architecture. It used to be a residence of the Bulgarian kings from the Second Bulgarian kingdom.
Next on the agenda is the old capital of Bulgaria – Veliko Tarnovo. There you will be accommodated at the 4* Grand Hotel Yantra.
Dinner at a local restaurant followed by a free evening program.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 7 Veliko Tarnovo – Bucharest
After breakfast, you will tour Veliko Tarnovo. The old part of the city is situated on the three hills – Tsarevets, Trapezitsa, and Sveta Gora rising amidst the meanders of the Yantra. On Tsarevets are the palaces of the Bulgarian emperors and the Patriarchate while Trapezitsa is known for its many churches. During the Middle Ages, the city was among the main European centres of culture. You will enjoy a guided tour through the Tsarevets Fortress and you will also get the chance to buy souvenirs from the old merchant street “Samovodska Charshiya”.
After lunch, you will set off for Bucharest. There you will be accommodated at the 4* Capitol Hotel (or similar). After a few hours of rest, you will enjoy dinner with a folklore performance at a traditional local restaurant. Afterwards, you will get some free time to explore the nightlife of the Romanian capital on your own.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 8 Bucharest – Sibiu
After breakfast, you will go on a short city tour of Bucharest followed by a drive through the Carpathian Mountains via Oltului Valley – the most spectacular river valley in Romania. We will stop at Cozia Monastery – built close to Călimănești by Mircea the Elder in 1388 and housing his tomb, which is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania.
You will make the city tour of Sibiu (the European Cultural Capital in 2007 and the European Region of Gastronomy in 2019) to discover the secrets of this magnificent medieval city. We will visit the main cultural objectives like the Evangelical Church, the Liar’s Bridge, The Small Square with “the eyes of the city”, and the Big Square.
You will be accommodated at the 4* Ramada Hotel in Sibiu.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 9 Sibiu – Brasov – Bran – Sinaia – Bucharest
After breakfast, we will drive back towards Bucharest, via Brasov. We can stop in the Saxon village of Carta, where we can visit the Fortified Church. Our next stop will be the village of Bran, where the world-famous Dracula Castle is located. The castle was built in 1377 to safeguard the trading route between Transylvania and Wallachia, enlarged and restored a few times to become a royal residence in the 1920s under Queen Marie of Romania. Nowadays, Bran Castle is the most visited castle in Romania and is known, all over the world, as Dracula`s Castle. In Brasov we will have a city tour of the middle-aged city inside the Carpathian Arch, visiting the main touristic features: The Council Hall, the Black Church, the 14th century St. Saint Nicholas Church, the Schei quarter, The Rope Street (the narrowest street in Romania). We will make a stop in Sinaia, The Royal Family`s favourite city. The gateway to wild nature is possible here, a mountain resort known also as „The Pearl of the Carpathians “. This place impresses everyone with the beauty of its landscapes, guarding a treasure of Romanian history: The Peles Castle, used as a summer residence for the royal family, this monument represents a symbol of elegance and nobility.
Accommodation in Bucharest at Hotel Capitol 4*.
Day 10 Departure from Bucharest
Breakfast. According to your flight schedule you will be transferred to the Airport Otopeni.
