Best of Bulgaria

8-day/7-night  cultural tour for travellers with deeper interests and limited time. Along with Sofia and Plovdiv, you will visit the mediaeval capital Veliko Tarnovo and the open-air etnoghraphic museum Etara.
Highlights: Sofia, Rila monastery, Plovdiv, Etara, Veliko Turnovo

Day 1     SOFIA
Our guide will meet you at the airport and assist for a transfer to your hotel. Check in and time at leisure until the evening, when you will enjoy a dinner at a local tavern with folklore music and traditional Bulgarian cuisine. Accommodation at a 3* modern, downtown hotel.              

Day 2     SOFIA
After breakfast, sightseeing of Sofia, a city with 7000-year long history. Your Sofia highlights include the National History Museum, displaying the gold and silver Thracian treasures, and the Boyana Church, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, one of Bulgaria's most significant historical treasures dating back to the 13th century. Other points of interest during the tour will be the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Rotunda of St George, the St Nicholas Russian Church and the Banya Bashi Mosque.

Day 3     SOFIA – Rila monastery – Borovets - PLOVDIV
After breakfast, drive to Rila Monastery. Tour the largest monastery in the Balkans. With its unrivalled architecture and murals, you’ll understand why this marvel is included in the List of World Cultural Heritage. Following lunch in a local restaurant, the tour proceeds to Plovdiv via Borovets mountain resort. Reach Plovdiv and check in a 3-* downtown hotel in Plovdiv.

Day 4     PLOVDIV
Half day sightseeing tour of Plovdiv, not only Bulgaria’s second largest city, but also one of the oldest in Europe. Your mainly walking tour takes you through the Old City, with stops at the Ethnographic museum and the Roman theatre. In the afternoon drive to a local winery in the vicinity of Plovdiv and enjoy a wine tasting session. Drive back to the hotel in Plovdiv for overnight.

Day 5     PLOVDIV-Rose Valley–Shipka Pass-Tryavna–VELIKO TARNOVO
Following breakfast, enjoy a breathtaking drive through the Valley of Roses and Shipka Pass en route to Tryavna. This charming small town is located in the northern slopes of the Balkan Range, 170km north to Plovdiv. Tryavna still preserves the spirit and talent of the 17th century artists in the field of wood-carving and icon-painting. Walking sightseeing tour of Tryavna, including a visit to the Daskalov’s House (1804): Museum of Woodcarving.
Lunch break in Tryavna. Proceed to Etura. The 18th – 19th century crafts and lifestyle will come to life in front of you as you visit the famous open air ethnographic museum. Next stop is Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria’s old capital city. Picturesquely situated on the three hills circled by the Yantra River, Veliko Tarnovo still preserves the typical 19th century architecture with its houses perched one above the other along the sloping hills! Accommodation in a 3-star  hotel in V.Tarnovo. 

Day 6     VELIKO TARNOVO – Arbanassi – VELIKO TARNOVO
Morning sightseeing tour of Veliko Tarnovo (partly on foot), including stops at the historical Tsarevets Hill with the remains of the Royal Palace, the Patriarchate and the fortress gates. Stroll through the Samovodska Market Place, where you’ll be taken in as pastry cooks, master goldsmiths, potters, and carvers still pursue their crafts as they did in centuries past. Dinner and overnight in Veliko Tarnovo.

Day 7     VELIKO TARNOVO – Lovech - Pleven - SOFIA
Following breakfast, drive to Lovech and Pleven. Walk in the old part of the city of Lovech and see the famous “Covered Bridge”designed and built by the self-taught master-builder Kolyo Ficheto. Pleven became very famous during the War of Liberation (1877-1878), when for over 5 months the Russian and Romanian troops were engaged in epic battles against the besieged forces of Osman Pasha. The fall of Pleven decided the outcome of the war, and the liberation of Bulgaria followed soon after that. Visit the Pleven’s Panorama Museum, representing the most dramatic moments of the battles during the Russo-Turkish war. Proceed to Sofia for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation at a 3-* hotel in Sofia.

Day 8     SOFIA - departure
After breakfast, enjoy a last minute shopping opportunity in Sofia. Transfer to the airport to catch your connecting flight. 

2008 TOUR PRICE IN EUR:

1070 EUR per person for a group of two to three people. Price based on double occupancy.Single supplement is 130 EUR.

730 EUR per person for a party of four people.

RATES INCLUDE:

•          3 overnights at a 3-star hotel in Sofia, hotel Lion, or similar,
•          2 overnight at a 3-star hotel in Plovdiv, hotel Dafi, or similar,
•          2 overnight at a 3-star hotel in V.Tarnovo, Gurko, or Allegro hotels,
•          7 buffet breakfasts,
•          1 lunch, trout menu,
•          3 dinners, incl. 1 dinner with folklore show and wine,
•          wine-tasting session in the region of Plovdiv,
•          transfers upon arrival and departure,
•          transportation by a/c car/van, or minibus, according to above  programme,
•          English- speaking guide throughout the tour,
•          entrance fees according to above programme.

RATES DO NOT INCLUDE:

air fare, - airport tax,- additional meals, - tips for guide, driver, hotel and restaurant staff,- items not specially mentioned above and/or in the itinerary,insurance, porterage.