Discover Bulgaria – 7 Days Escorted Tour

PRICE 895 EUR PER PERSON
FOR A GROUP OF MINIMUM 10 PEOPLE

Price includes:

  • 6 nights’ hotel accommodation
  • HB basis /breakfast & dinner/
  • 5 Lunch
  • Chief Experience Officer (CEO) throughout.
  • Entrance for the museums
  • Transport
  •  Return chairlift tickets from Panichishte to The Seven Rila Lakes and back
  • All state and local taxes
  • VAT
  • Small group experience – 10 to 15 Max

Note:

To be guaranteed the escorted tour is necessary a prepayment – 50% of total amount 2 / weeks/14 days/ before arrival date /non refundable/. The rest 50% of total amount payable 5 days before arriving.

Release date – 14 days / 2 weeks/ before arrival date.

Required a sufficient number of interested – minimum 10.

Making new friends, walking away in the medieval fortress Tsarevets, connecting with the culture in charming old type village during the visit of  Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex, discovering the rich and varied countryside of the Balkans, exploring an Thracian Tomb on a guided tour.

From pastoral countryside to forbidding forests and magnificent mountain ranges, experience the romance of the east on your way from Sofia to Plovdiv. In one well-packed week, explore the Bulgarian capital – Sofia, Plovdiv – the second-largest city in Bulgaria, some of the biggest monasteries and the Seven Lakes. With an intriguing combination of cultural colour and outdoor activities, you’ll come away with a real feel for this lesser-explored corner of Europe.

 

FULL ITINERARY

 

Day 1 Sofia – Arrive at any time to this capital city. Transfer from the airport to the hotel. Check into our hotel and free time to enjoy the city. Dinner /in case of later check-in dinner package/.

 

Day 2 Sofia – Breakfast. Exploring the city. Visit to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, The Rotunda of St George (Sveti Georgi), Saint Sofia Church, Ethnographic Institute with Museum, National Institute of Archaeology with Museum. Walking away to Vitosha Str.

Sofia is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Bulgaria alongside coastal and mountain resorts. Among its highlights is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, one of the symbols of Bulgaria, constructed in the late 19th century. There are also a number of museums to explore focusing on art, history and archaeology.

 

Day 3 Veliko Tarnovo – Arbanasi

Breakfast. Check- out from the hotel. Departure to Veliko Tarnovo. Walking tour in the centre of the city and visit to the medieval fortress Tsarevets. Check-in to the hotel. Lunch. Excursion to the villiage Arbanasi. Dinner.

Veliko Turnovo is situated in the Balkan mountains near the centre of Bulgaria. Veliko Turnovo, capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1393), is laced with history and offers wonderful scenery, historical and cultural interest, art, craft and traditions. Veliko Turnovo is one place you should not miss, nowhere is the majesty of medieval Bulgaria more apparent.

Undoubtedly, Tsarevets Fortress is the highlight of Veliko Turnovo, and one of the major attractions in Bulgaria, part of the Tsarevets Museum-reserve.

Arbanasi is known for the rich history and large number of historical monuments, such as 17th and 18th century churches and examples of Bulgarian National Revival architecture, which have turned it into a popular tourist destination.

 

Day 4 Dryanovo monastery – Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex – Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak

Breakfast. Check- out from the hotel. Departure to Plovdiv. Visit to the Dryanovo monastery. Exploring Etar Architectural-Ethnographic  Complex and Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak. Lunch. Check-in to the hotel. Dinner.

Dryanovo monastery was founded in the 12th century, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. Twice burnt down and pillaged during the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, the monastery was restored at it present place in 1845.

This Architectural and Ethnographical Open Air Museum is situated on both banks of a clear mountain stream, a tributary of the Yantra River, at the foot of the Balkan Range. It opened in September 1964 aiming to show a genuine Bulgarian mountain town during the Revival period from the late 19th century. Etara covers an area of 7 ha and features 50 different exhibits.

The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is part of a large Thracian necropolis. It comprises a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing a Thracian couple at a ritual funeral feast. The monument dates back to the 4th century BCE and has been on the UNESCO protected World Heritage Site list since 1979.

 

Day 5 Plovdiv

Breakfast. City tour – visited places: the old town centre and its famous gateway entrance, the Ancient Roman Amphitheatre, the church “Saint Constantine and Saint Helena”, the Holy Mother of God Church, Balabanova house- museum, the Ancient Stadium, the Djumaya Mosque. Lunch. Excursion to Bachkovo monastery. Dinner.

Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, and one of the oldest cities in Europe. The old town represent a good collection of Bulgarian revival buildings in use as museums, hotels, and restaurants etc. and is worth a visit if you have chance.

The Bachkovo monastery, one of the biggest (second after the Rila monastery) and most beautiful Bulgarian monasteries, is an important monument of Christian architecture . It was build in 1083.

 

Day 6 The Seven Rila Lakes

Breakfast. Check- out from the hotel. Departure to Panichishte /small mountain resort near by The 7 Lakes/. Accommodation in the local hotel. Take the chairlift from Panichishte to the first lake – The Lower Lake. The whole- day hike into the Rila mountain. Lunch package. Return to the hotel. Dinner.

The Seven Rila Lakes are a group of lakes of glacial origin, situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains, between 2,100 and 2,500 metres elevation above sea level. They are the most visited group of lakes in Bulgaria.

Take your chance to explore the Blue Pearls of the Rila Mountains, the Seven Rila Lakes.

Day 7 Sofia

Breakfast. Transfer to Sofia airport upon the time-schedule of the flight.