Bulgaria Grand Tour in 12 days (including Black Sea)

Your 12 Days in Bulgaria

Day 1

On our first day we will pick you up from your hotel or accommodation in Sofia and we will make our first stop in Boyana Church to see this 13th century church art masterpiece under UNESCO protection since 1979. Then we will head straight south to our next UNESCO site - Rila Monastery. After a 2 hour visit you can try the local specialty fresh grilled trout. From Rila mountain we will move over to Pirin mountain, where we will meet and experience Bulgarian hospitality in a local house. Our hosts will show you traditional activities and will let you try home-made food, wine and rakia (brandy). Overnight in Bansko.

Day 2:

Today we have a two hours drive to the smallest town in Bulgaria - Melnik. Its charming houses, huge wine cellars and welcoming taverns will make you fall in love with our most famous wine region. We will also pay a visit to the wonderful Rozhen Monastery before we get to try the wine that even Sir Winston Churchill used to order from Melnik. Overnight in Melnik.

Day 3:

Today we will make our way through the Rodopi Mountains to the area of Trigrad, where we can enjoy stunning natural beauties such as Trigrad gorge, Devil's Throat and Jagodinska cave. The area offers many opportunities for horse riding, hiking and walking around, so you choose how to spend your time in this virgin and unspoiled corner of the Rodope mountains. On the way we can stop at Leshten and Kovatchevitsa if you wish to experience a travel back in time to a place where the clocks have stopped ticking sometime in the late 1800s. Overnight in Trigrad.

Day 4:

This morning we can spend either in Trigrad area if you wish to take some walking trails, visit another cave or go horse riding. Another option is stop for a walk in Pamporovo or Shiroka Laka, a nice little village with old houses and bridges. From Trigrad we will make our way to Plovdiv via Pamporovo and Bachkovo Monastery. The road is scenic and not too long along the river Caia. In Plovdiv we will stay for 2 nights in a beautiful Renaissance Hotel and we will relax and walk around this second largest city in Bulgaria. Overnight in Plovdiv.

Day 5:

Today we will spend the whole day in Plovdiv. We will have enough time to leisurely explore the old town with its beautiful Baroque-style houses (original or rebuilt from the 1800s), its Antique Roman theater and its friendly pedestrian center. Overnight in Plovdiv.

Day 6:

Today it's time to head east to the Black Sea. On our way to UNESCO protected historical semi-island of Nessebar, we will make a short detour from the main road and visit Perperikon - a holy town from 5000 years B.C., equal in historical value to the discovery of Troya and Mikena! A marvelous temple, shrine, palace, necropolis, crypt from 18th-12th century BC can be observed in an amazing condition. We will arrive in Nessebar in the late afternoon where we usually stay in the heart of the old town. Overnight in Nessebar.

Day 7:

The town is one of the oldest towns in Europe and the most abundant with medieval architectural monuments in Bulgaria. It inherits an ancient Thracian settlement established 2000 years BC. Nessebar holds nearly 60 houses from the Revival period in Bulgaria (18th-19th century) and more than 40 churches. Adjacent Sunny Beach will fascinate you with its 8 kilometer long fine sand beach and blue water. In the afternoon we will head north to Varna, the sea capital of Bulgaria. Its beautiful center, sea garden will give us enough attractions for the rest of the day and the evening. Overnight in Varna.

Day 8:

This 8th day we will dedicated to our Black Sea north coast - Balcik and Kavarna and its beautiful rocks. We will first visit the Palace in Balcik and its gardens, built by the Romanian Queen Marie in 1937, then have lunch in a restaurant called The Shell Farm, where we can have some fresh clams and other sea fruits and fish. Then we will go to Kaliakra Cape where dolphins and cormorants might be seen. If the weather is warm, we can stop at Golden Sands beach for some sunbathing. In the afternoon we go back to Varna. Free time. Overnight in Varna.

Day 9:

Today we will start going back west and we will see the stone forest near Varna, then visit Madara Horseman (UNESCO) and Sveshtari UNESCO Thracian tomb before we get to Danube coast city of Ruse. In the first half of 19th century Ruse was an important Danube port and its name was Kucuk Paris or The Small Paris for its beautiful buildings and central part. Overnight in Ruse.

Day 10:

We bid farewell to the Danube river and head to Veliko Tarnovo, the Medieval capital of Bulgaria, but we will first stop at Basarbovo Monastery, Ivanovo rock monasteries (UNESCO) and Nikopolis. We can have lunch before we visit Arbanassi village for a visit of the the Nativity of Christ church with its beautiful frescoes from 1632 and one of the oldest preserved iconostasis from wood. The mural paintings include the life of St. John the Baptist, patron of the church, and the wheel of life with the 12 zodiac signs. Then we will go for a well deserved time off in our hotel with a great view over the monument of Assen Dynasty of Kings. Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo hotel.

Day 11:

Voted one of the favorite towns in Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo and its Tsarevets fortress will remain unforgettable for you. We will take a good walk up to the top of Tzarevetz hill and then some way down to the Assen neighborhood and the church of St. Forty Martyrs. Then we will continue our stroll to the old town and enjoy your free time in the afternoon for buying souvenirs or continue your walk over Gurko street all the way to the monument of Assen dynasty.

Some evenings at night there is a unique sound and light show performance over the fortress and if we get lucky, we can watch it. Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo hotel.

Day 12:

On this last day of our great Bulgaria tour we will get back to Sofia. In the morning after a nice breakfast and a short drive we will visit Etara open air museum near Gabrovo (subject to season) where you can experience real traditional crafts such as pottery, hammer-smith, icon painting, cutlery, woodcarving, cow-bells making from 19th century in a nice riverside park. We will visit an amazing Thracian tombs near Kazanlak (UNESCO). Koprivshtitsa historic town is our last stop for a visit. It is among the most visited towns in Bulgaria, it has many stories to tell and many beautiful houses to offer you great photos!

Feel free to request any amendments to the suggested tour and to better fit it to your personal wishes by filling our CUSTOM TOUR REQUEST FORM or by sending us an e-mail at: info@vtravel.bg.