CHARMING BULGARIA
Destinations to visit with this tour: Apriltsi - Drianovo Monastery - Dryanovo - Sofia - Troyan Monastery
1 Day ARRIVAL IN SOFIA
Arrival in Sofia. Transfer and city tour of Sofia including St. Nedelya Sq, St George Rotunda (4th c.), the Presidential Office Building, the National Theatre, Russian Church St. Nicolas, the St. Alexander Nevski Memorial Cathedral, St. Sofia Church (6th c). Transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.
2 Day SOFIA - TROYAN - APRILTSI -CHIFLIK (200 km.)
Breakfast. Morning departure to Troyan. Visit the Troyan Monastery - the third largest monastery in Bulgaria. Continue to the Troyan Monastery popular mainly for the creative work of Zahari Zograph who painted both its exterior and interior (a rare practice at that time) of the main church built in 1835. Tour of the complex. Continue to Apriltsi, a town located close to the town of Troyan. Due to its favourable location in a valley at the foot of Botev Peak in the Balkan Mountains, Apriltsi is a newly developing tourist resort in the region. The town was founded by the merging of four large mountain villages: Novo Selo, Zla Reka, Vidima and Ostrets, which are today the town's neighbourhoods. Due to this, it has a rather rural appearance with some 19th-century Bulgarian houses preserved. Departure for Chiflik. The village has 200 houses and 500 inhabitants. It is a unique resort with potentials for ecological, country and balneological tourism. The mineral water with temperature 50 degrees flows into small swimming pools in the resorts. Dinner and overnight in Chiflik.
3 Day CHIFLIK-VELIKO TARNOVO - KOSTENCOVTSI (150 km.)
Breakfast. Morning departure to Veliko Tarnovo. Tour of Veliko Tarnovo town with visit to the medieval fortress of Tsarevets; the Old Marketplace, Samovodska Tcharshia. Continue to Kostencovtsi. The village is situated on the slopes of the Balkan Mountain Range above Gabrovo city and reveals beautiful panoramic views of big shadow trees and green meadows, chequered with tiny flowers all over. The village is really small, just a row of beautiful old styled houses, rich in wooden details and iron decorations. The houses have nice gardens, chirruping hens, turkey cocks and white- bearded goats walking proudly inside the yards. Dinner and overnight in traditional Bulgarian houses.
4 Day KOSTENCOVTSI -ARBANASSI-KOSTENCOVTSI (100 km.)
Breakfast. Departure to Arbanassi. The old settlement of Arbanassi is situated on a high plateau with a view to the hills of Tzarevetz and Trapezitza, four kilometers from Veliko Turnovo. It's distinguished for its impressive houses and churches with rich interior decoration, wood-carving, and mural paintings created in XVI - XVII century. Visit to the Nativity Church and Konstantsaliev's House. Continue on to The Transfiguration monastery which was erected on an extremely picturesque place, about 10 km away from the ancient fortress of Tsarevets. In the afternoon, visit the Dryanovo Monastery of St. Archangel Michael situated in the picturesque valley of Dryanovska River. The monastery was founded in the l2th century and in close proximity to the summer residence of the Bulgarian rulers from the Assen dynasty in the place of Tzurkvishteto. Dinner and overnight in traditional Bulgarian houses in Kostencovtsi.
5 Day KOSTENCOVTSI- ETARA - KAZANLAK-KOPRIVSHTITSA (150 km.)
Breakfast. Departure to Etar - open air museum of authentic traditional crafts, created to preserve the appearance and the spirit of the old time Bulgarian mountain villages and the manufacturing traditions of this region for the future generations. Visit the Sokolovski Monastery. Continue through Shipka Mountain Pass, which provides admirable mountain views. Visit the Memorial Church of Shipka town, erected after Bulgaria's Liberation from Ottoman rule, as a gesture of gratitude to both Russian and Bulgarian soldiers who died in the fierce battles there. Visit the ancient Thracian Tomb (UNESCO site) in Kazanlak. Overnight and dinner in Koprivshtitsa.
6 Day KOPRIVSHTITSA-SOFIA (100 km.)
Breakfast. City tour of Koprivshtitza. Tour the town famous for its numerous museums, old stone bridges and walls, wooden yard gates, more than 120-year-old buildings and courtyards in their original colours. Departure to Sofia.Dinner and overnight .
7 Day SOFIA
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport. Departure.
Max
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Professional
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Free
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|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer | Arrival Transfer Airport – Centre of Sofia, sharing, one way only | Roundtrip Transfer Airport – Hotel - Airport, no assistance only driver; | Roundtrip Transfer Airport – Hotel - Airport, with English-speaking assistance; |
| Guide | English-speaking local guides | English-speaking escort guide throughout, excluding the transfers | English-speaking escort guide throughout; |
| Transport | Air-conditioned vehicles; For parties up to 5 persons – the guide is also a driver; | Modern air-conditioned vehicles; For parties up to 5 persons – the guide is also a driver; | Modern air-conditioned vehicles; For parties up to 5 persons – the guide is also a driver; |
| Hotels | 2-3* hotels, with private bathroom; breakfast included; regardless the location, all hotels are conveniently located next to public transport stations with good connections to the city centre. | 3* hotels, buffet breakfast included; the hotels are located in the central area of the town; | 4* o 5* hotels, buffet breakfast included; top central location; porterage service included |
| Entrance | Not included. | Included. | Included. |
| Meals | Breakfast | Breakfast | Half board – lunch or dinner according the clients preferences |
