Description

Tour Name: Highlights of Bulgaria
Tour Distance: 1600 km
Tour Duration: 10 Days 9 Nights
Starting Point: Sofia Days/ Date Brief Itinerary Meals BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER
DAY
Sofia – Melnik, 270 km 4 hours’ drive
The guide will meet you at the airport in Sofia and your Bulgaria holiday will start with a drive and then a visit to the Rila Monastery. The monastery is a unity of spirituality, culture and nature. Declared a National Museum and a National Historical reserve, the Rila Monastery is also included in the List of World Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. It’s one of the symbols of Bulgaria and also a very popular Bulgaria tourist destination. There we will see the church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the grave of Tzar Boris III, the Tower of Hrelyo and the Rila Monastery History Museum. We will enjoy a Bulgarian traditional lunch and the panoramic view and we will leave for Melnik. Melnik itself is a place worth being visited for it is the smallest town in Bulgaria, for its rich history and spectacular landscapes and of course the Sand Pyramids that surround Melnik from all its sides. There we will visit Rupite – is a sacred place, suggested to Baba Vanga (Grandmother Vanga – the famous prophet) by the forces from above. We will visit the ‘St. Petka’ Church, built with Vanga’s will and a place of worship for many people, and her small house where she would meet all the people in need in the last 20 years of her life. You will spend some time in the park where the church and the house are located.
Overnight in Melnik.
NO
YES
YES
1
Drushlyavitsa
Melnik Hotel
Salad, Beans Soup, Trout, Pancake or Fruit
Fixed menu or Open buffet
HOTEL
Melnik Hotel
3*
DAY
Melnik – Trigrad, 170 km 4:00 hours’ drive
After breakfast we will visit the Rozhen Monastery – a natural and historical reserve. Following a lunch in the town of Dospat (a small town in the very south of Bulgaria, close to Dospat dam – the highest dam in the country by altitude and the second largest one in capacity), the journey will take us to two interesting places – two caves, the Devil’s Throat and the Yagodina Cave. According to legend the Devil’s Throat cave is the route where Orpheus, the famous Thracian musician, tried to save his beloved Euridice from Hades in the Underworld. The other cave – Yagodina Cave, compared to the Devil’s Throat cave is much richer in rock formations. You will be led through amazing galleries with stalactites and stalagmites lit by electric lights in different colours. There a guide will give detailed information about the process of their formation and other curious facts.
We head on to Trigrad where the hotel is. Check into the hotel and overnight.
YES
YES
YES
2
Hotel
Dospat Local
Arkan Han
Buffet
Seasonal Salad, Chicken Soup, Local food, Fruit
Fixed menu or Open buffet
HOTEL
Arkan Han
4*
DAY
Trigrad – Kazanlak, 216 km 4:00 hours’ drive
In the morning, there is an optional activity – horseriding (it is extra). The journey will carry on with a 2:30 hours’ drive to Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria. We will have our lunch there and enjoy a visit around the Old Plovdiv, then we will have a short stop at The Statue of Milio – a popular, kind hearted and eccentric person from the near past of Plovdiv. The town of Kazanlak in the Valley of Roses and Thracian Kings will be our last stop for the day. Check into the hotel and overnight in Kazanlak.
YES
YES
YES
3
Hotel
Orient
Orient
Buffet
Salad, Soup, Chichen, Fruit
Soup, Salad, Beaf dish, Dessert
HOTEL
Palace Hotel
3*
DAY
Kazanlak The Valley of Roses and the Valley of the Thracian Kings both symbolize Kazanlak, which is located at the foot of Stara Planina Mountain (Old Mountain), in central Bulgaria. A small, picturesque town of around 70 000 people. There we will visit the Rose museum to find out about the rose oil and its production in the past and now. A short visit to the Communist building at Buzludzha peak, the Shipka Memorial on Stoletov Peak (a memorial to those who died for the Liberation of Bulgaria during the Battles of Shipka Pass in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78) and the Memorial Temple of the Birth of Christ (better known as the Shipka Memorial Church or Shipka Monastery) will introduce you to the history of that small, picturesque town.
We will have lunch at the highest point of Shipka pass, where the Shipka Monument is and we will colour our day in pink visiting the Damascena Ethnographic complex, near Kazanlak. There we will learn about the production of world famous rose oil.
Back to Kazanlak and overnight.
YES
YES
YES
4
Hotel
Local restaurant
Orient
Buffet
Seasonal Salad, Lentil Soup, Meatballs, Dessert
Soup, Salad, Chicken dish, Dessert
HOTEL
Palace Hotel
3*
DAY
Kazanlak – Sozopol, 225 km 2:30 hours’ drive.
In the morning we leave for the artistic city of Sozopol. On the way we will stop at Burgas for a city break. Burgas is the biggest in the Southeastern part of Bulgaria city, and the second biggest on the Bulgarian coast, after Varna. After the break, we carry on to Sozopol – the oldest settlement on the Bulgarian coast. Like almost every place in Bulgaria, this city is rich in history. The archaeological exploration of the site gives a proof of more than six thousand years of cultural tradition. The remains of primitive houses, ceramic pottery, stone and bronze tools serve as evidence of the busy everyday life of the local population. Sozopol was named after and in honour of the God of Apollonius. This was a God of various functions but in ancient Apollonia, particularly, it was respected as a healer. Today, this old name is used for the annually held Festival of Arts in Sozopol. Our lunch will be in a restaurant in Sozopol followed by an interesting tour around the city. Some free time, then check into the hotel and stay overnight.
YES
YES
YES
5
Hotel
Bolero Restaurant
Santa Marian Hotel
Buffet
Soup, Grilled Fish, Dessert
Fixed menu
HOTEL
Santa Marian Hotel
3*
DAY
Burgas – Varna, 165 km 2:30 hours’ drive
Not far away from Sozopol is ‘St. Anastasia’ island. Depending on the weather, in the morning we either visit the island by boat or we just learn its story from the land.
YES
YES
YES
6
Hotel
Local Restaurant Varna
Capitol Hotel
We head on to the city of Varna. On the way we will visit Pomorie. It’s not a very big city on the Southeastern Bulgarian coast and it is an ancient one as well. It is famous for the Salt Museum, the only museum of the kind not only in Bulgaria, but for whole Eastern Europe and highly mineralized and salt-rich healing mud there.
Followed a nice lunch in the famous resort of Sunny Beach, our journey continues to Varna. When we arrive, we will have a city tour around. We will visit the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin.
Check into the hotel in Varna and stay overnight.
Buffet
Seasonal Salad, Grilled Lamb, Dessert
Fixed menu
HOTEL
Capitol Hotel
4*
DAY
Varna We will start the day with a visit to the fabulous natural phenomena, Stone forest, most known with its Bulgarian name of “Pobitite Kamani”, which means “stones beaten into the ground”, a name completely corresponding to the reality.
A short drive away from central Varna will take us to a different place – the Aladzha Monastery, a medieval Orthodox Christian cave monastery complex. Optional for Varna is the visit to Festa Dolphinarium, the only attraction of its kind in Bulgaria. It is situated amidst the greenery of the Seaside Garden of Varna and offers a wonderful view over the sea. It is extra.
Overnight in Varna.
YES
YES
YES
7
Hotel
Local Restaurant Varna
Capitol Hotel
Buffet
Seasonal Salad, Lentil Soup, Meatballs, Dessert
Fixed menu
HOTEL
Capitol Hotel
4*
DAY
Varna – Veliko Tarnovo, 225 km 2:45 hours’ drive
We drive to Veliko Tarnovo in the morning. Veliko Tarnovo is the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. This is the town of many sightseeings and one of the liveliest Bulgaria tourist centres.
The most significant monument of culture in Veliko Tarnovo is the medieval fortress Tzarevetz. When, in the times of the Second Bulgarian State, the town of Veliko Tarnovo was the capital, Tzarevetz used to be main fortress in the country. It wasn’t a closed fortress, though but a real medieval town. The fortress’ centuries-long life witnessed different events. It’s not surprising that it took half a century to restore Tzarevetz. Its restoration started in 1930 and finished in 1981 in honour of the 1300 anniversary from the establishment of the Bulgarian state.
The Old town is also a place worth being visited. In the evening, if it is possible, we can enjoy the audio-visual show called Sound and Light, which reveals the colourful history of the Second Bulgarian State. Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo.
YES
YES
YES
8
Hotel
Ego Restaurant
Grand Yantra Hotel
Buffet
Soup, Salad, Main dish, Fruit
Fixed menu
HOTEL
Grand Yantra Hotel
4*
DAY
Veliko Tarnovo – Sofia, 240 km 3 hours’ drive
We leave in the morning for Sofia. Once we are there, we will have a city tour around. That will include Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian and
YES
YES
YES
9
Hotel
Kashtite
St George Hotel
Bulgarian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878. It is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world; Boyana Church – one of the few complete and perfectly preserved medieval monuments; National History Museum – it contains more than 650,000 exhibits and is one of the largest history museums on the Balkans; The Presidency building and the Council of Ministers building.
Lunch in Sofia.
Overnight in Sofia.
Buffet
Salad, Chicken, Apple Pie
Fixed menu
HOTEL
St George Hotel
3*
DAY
Transfer to airport
YES
YES
NO
10
Hotel
No Service
Buffet
No service
Included Services in the package
– Hotel accommodation and breakfast
– Comfortable transportation
– Lunch and dinner with a small bottle of water
– One bottle of small water daily
– Professional guide
– Tips for the hotels
– Tips for restaurants
– City and tourist tax
– Entrance fees
Not included in the fee
– Drinks taken during meals
– Tips for the guide
– Tips for driver
– Hotel minibar
– Personal spending
PAX
FREE
PP IN DB
SNGL SPLMNT
PP IN TRP
7-10
0
955.00 €
175.00 €
895.00 €
11-16
1
825.00 €
175.00 €
765.00 €
17-26
1
750.00 €
175.00 €
690.00 €
27-34
1
680.00 €
175.00 €
625.00 €
35-45
2
650.00 €
175.00 €
590.00 €