• The package prices are valid before June 01st and after Sept 01st ( because of the seaside season )
• Accommodation 3* hotels
• Deluxe transport
• Tour guide in English
• All entrances
• Meals as per the program
• 1 wine tasting in Melnik
• 1 tasting of rose products in Kazanluk

Day 1

Arrival Sofia and transfer to your hotel. A short tour of Sofia, giving an overall view.

Day 2

Departure to the medieval capital city of Bulgaria Veliko Turnovo. En route visit Koprivshtitsa museum town, Beklemeto mountain pass ( crossing the Balkan range ), Troyan Monastery ( the 3rd largest in Bulgaria ) and Oreshaka exhibit of peoples’ arts and crafts. Evening arrival in Veliko Turnovo – the Mediaeval capital city of Bulgaria. Check in at the hotel.

Day 3

Full day in the region of Veliko Turnovo – visit Tsarevets Royal Hill and Baldwin tower ( the leader of the 4th Crusade ), Samovodska charshia street of crafts – authentic 18th century market street with small workshops of local masers of crafts, working on the spot and selling the pieces they produce right in front of the eyes of tourists, using original traditional technologies passed from generation to generation ( carpets, pottery, copper, leather, icons, etc ). Afternoon to Arbanassi museum village and Nicopois ad Istrum Roman city remains. Return to Veliko Turnovo and overnight.

Day 4

Departure from Veliko Turnovo to the Black Sea coast . En route – stops in Shumen and the small town of Devnia ( the Old Roman city of Marcianopolis ) to visit the Mosaics museum. Via Aladja Rock monastery ( 14th c ) to the small picturesque town of Balchik .

Day 5

Balchik – tour of the small summer palace complex, built by the Romanian queen Maria and visit the Botanical garden of Balchik (The gardens are the "residence" of 3000 or so plant species of which cacti alone are over 250, and thus Europe's second most important collection ). Afternoon to Kaliakra cape and the fortress. Return to Balchik. Overnight at the same hotel.
Kaliakra cape stretches 2 km deep into the sea and consists of 60-70m-high limestone rocks, the inaccessibility of which has been the main reason for the construction of an ancient fortress named Tirisis there. The fortress was successively used by Tracians, Romans, Byzantines and Bulgarians. According to legends, the fortress was guarding the treasuries of Lyzimah, successor of Alexander the Great. Today there are quite many remains of those ancient settlements, which can be seen exhibited in a small museum. One can also read there a legend telling the story of several Bulgarian girls who chose to jump from the high cape into the sea but not to be captured and converted to Islam by the Turks.

Day 6

Departure from Balchik to Varna . Tour of the biggest Bulgarian Black sea city. Proceed to Nessebur museum town. Tour in the Old Nessebur - UNESCO site. Overnight in the region of Nessebur.
According to Strabo, the town was named Messambria ( later altered to the Slavonic Nessebur ), after the legendary founder – a Thracian by the name of Melsa and the Thracian name for city “bria”. It exists since the 2nd millennium BC, the Hellenic colony on this site was founded in 510 BC by Dorian settlers. Having captured Messambria in 72 – 71 BC, the Romans preserved the city intact, leaving there a permanent garrison. During the Roman epoch, new temples dedicated to Demeter, Asclepiad, Hecate, Isis, etc. were erected. On the northern shore of the peninsula rose the Temple of Zeus. At the big local theatre, drama, music performances and poetry readings were arranged. Since the 4th c AD, Messambria maintained close links with Constantinople, during the 7th c it became one of the “special” locations where out of favour politicians and courtiers were exiled from Constantinople.

Day 7

Morning departure to visit another museum town – Sozopol.
Sozopol was founded by the Thracian tribes of Nipsei and Skirimian. In the 7th c BC Greek colonists settled there and called the town Apollonia, after the God of Arts. The town fell under Roman domination in the 1st c BC and was severely ruined by the legions of Marcus Lucul. They sent to Rome the statue of Apollo – one of the wonders in Antiquity – 13 meters high, weighting 13 tons as an example o9f the arts of this particular Roman province. The Romans quickly restored the ruins and built new temples. As early as the 6th c AD, Apollonia minted coins of its own.
Proceed to the town of Kazanluk - the centre of the Valley of Roses ( once 75% of the world rose attar was produced here ), known as well as the Valley of the Thracian kings.

Day 8

Morning visit of Kazanluk Thracian tomb ( UNSCO site, copy ), tasting of Rose products and Shipka memorial Church. Proceed to Stara Zagora and visit the Neolitic dwellings museum ( the oldest preserved in Europe ). Departure to departure to Plovdiv – the 2nd largest Bulgarian city, once capital city of Philip the 2nd of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great.

Day 9

Tour of the Old Plovdiv architectural reserve: the Roman stadium, the Amphitheatre, Hindlian House, St. Constantine and Helena Church, the Ethnographic museum. Second overnight in Plovdiv. Possible afternoon visit of a boutique wine cellar in Brestovitsa village: supplement 14 euro per person

Day 10

From Plovdiv to Bachkovo Monastery ( the second largest in Bulgaria, built in the 11th c and connected with the 3rd crusade history and legends ) and entering the magic Rhodope mountains ( the homeland of the first singer from the antiquity – Orpheus ) to Shiroka Luka museum village. Tour and overnight.

Day 11

Day dedicated to nature and villages: from Shiroka Luka , via mountain roads and unspoilt landscapes to Kovachevitsa and Leshten museum villages. Evening arrival in Melnik - the smallest Bulgarian town, declared museum. Tasting of red wines in a typical cellar, belonging to the largest residential house on the Balkans – Kordopulov House.

Day 12

Morning drive from Melnik to Rojen Monastery – one of the oldest in Bulgaria. Proceed to Rila Monastery ( UNESCO site, the largest monastery in Bulgaria, located in Rila Mountain – National park). Arrival in Borovets mountain resort . Check in and dinner at the hotel

Day 13

From Borovets to Sofia . Continue with the tour. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight.

Day 14

Departure transfer.

NB: ALL RATES ARE NET. The rates are not valid during the following periods: 1/ for accommodation in Plovdiv: 12 – 17 May incl and 29 Sept – 04 Oct incl 2/ for accommodation in Kazanluk – during the Annual Festival of roses: 06 – 08 June incl 3/ for ac