Bulgaria Rose Festival Karlovo Tour
4 day/3 night tour 30 May -02 June 2025
1 day: Sofia
May 30,2025. Welcome to Sofia. Our guide will meet you and assist for a transfer to hotel. Check in. After a short break for refreshment at hotel - sightseeing tour of Sofia, a city with 7000-year long history. You will visit the impressive Alexander Nevski memorial Cathedral. Tour proceeds with panoramic sightseeing of the University, the National Assembly, the Banya Bashi Mosque, the Rotunda of St. George, Roman ruins, National Palace of Culture. Evening at leisure to overcome the jet lag.
Accommodation in Sofia at Hotel Niky, 3*, or similar as centrally located.
2 day: Sofia -Rose Festival in Karlovo - Kazanlak (240 km)
May 31,2025.Early morning departure (07:00) to the Rose Valley. The Rose Valley includes Karlovo and Kazanlak fields, as well as some parts of the Nova Zagora fields. The Total area is about 3,300 square kilometres.
At 09:00 you will find yourself at harvest peak, you will participate in a rose picking in the rose fields. You will learn and see how roses are handpicked and harvested. You will also enjoy the old rose picking folklore traditions, then proceed to the main square of Karlovo.Here you will discover an open market with local producers of food and biocosmetics. Attend the street parade and Rose Festival celebrations with the newly elected Queen Rose. Once the celebrations in the main square are over, you will attend a rose oil distillation demonstration at the local History Museum. Visit the “Old Karlovo” complex with beautiful old houses, turned into art workshops and galleries of old and modern arts and crafts.
Day 2:Bulgaria Rose Festival 2025 Karlovo Tour
In the afternoon - drive on to Kazanlak. En route, stop over to visit the oldest and fully functioning rose oil distillery in Bulgaria, in the village of Tarnicheni. Built 115 years ago, it is still functioning. It produces one of the highest quality rose oil in Bulgaria. Here, the industry standards were set by the Bulgarian producers centuries ago. Meet local producers for a short discussion on quality of the rose oils and learn the specifics of the rose-oil production process. Reach Kazanlak, the main city in the Rose Valley in the evening.
B, D Accommodation in a 3* hotel in Kazanlak or Stara Zagora.
3 day: Kazanlak & the Rose Valley - PLOVDIV (220 km)
June 01,2025. Breakfast at hotel. Spend the morning in Kazanlak, the main city in the Rose Valley. Start with a visit to the Rose Museum. Proceed with one more distillery visit for a professional appointment, meeting with rose-oil producers and distillery owners. You will learn interesting facts about the cultivation of Rosa Damascena, the rose distillation process. So you will understand why the Bulgarian attar of roses is so valuable. You will know how the rose oil is used and what is the effect of the rose products on human’s body.
Following a lunch break, drive to Plovdiv (1,5 hrs. drive). Bulgaria’s second ranking town, Plovdiv is a worthy rival to Sofia. It is one of the oldest and most colourful towns in Bulgaria. No one can tell exactly when the foundation stone was laid here, although it must have been over 5000 years ago. You will enjoy an afternoon sightseeing tour, including a visit to the Old Town, the 2000yrs old Roman Theatre; the Byzantine and mediaeval fortifications, the 15th century mosque. Free evening to delve into the charming atmosphere of the Old town. Discover the secrets of Kapana neighbourhood with its creative industries venues, small gourmet restaurants, bars and art shops.
B, Accommodation in Plovdiv at a 3* hotel in the Old Town
4 day: Plovdiv - Sofia airport (150 km)
June 02,2025. Following breakfast, proceed with the walking sightseeing tour of Plovdiv. Walk along the narrow cobbled streets and admire the silence and tranquility of this historic town. In the afternoon - departure to Sofia, a 2-hrs drop-off transfer to Sofia airport, where tour ends.
Hello Iskra,
Just a short note to say “Thank you” for organising such a wonderful itinerary and tour for end of May 2023!
We appreciated the personal touch of you coming to the hotel to greet us on our arrival in Bulgaria, and checking that everything was to our satisfaction.
We very much enjoyed the history and cultural lessons from our guide Lubo, who was the perfect choice of driver/guide. He has an unquenchable love of Bulgarian history, culture, way of life and customs which he told us about while he drove us to, and at, the various destinations. He was able to answer almost all of our questions, any that he was unable to answer, he took the time to ask the people concerned and then fed back to us. Lubo also kept an eye out for us, making sure that we were safe and within his field of vision when we wondered off to explore. In short – Lubo makes an excellent ambassador for any company.
We found the tour to be very well thought out and planned, the pace of the tour was just right, and the hotels to be of good quality. We also appreciated the VIP seating at the street parade in Karlovo.
The highlights of the tour were: the visit to the Enio Bonchev distillery and museum; the rose field festival at Karlovo; Bachkovo Monastery; tour of Plovdiv; along with visits to the various monasteries; cathedrals; churches; mosque – we managed to fit in so much in so short a time – which we would not have been able to had we not had a guided tour!
We look forward to booking with you again next time we visit Bulgaria.
Cordial regards,
Alan and Jooles