Ескурзии Почивки Круизи

 

The Itinerary: Sofia, Rila Monastery, Petrich, Melnik, Devin, Shiroka Laka, Plovdiv, Valley of Kings and Roses, Kazanluk, Ethara, Veliko Turnovo, Troyan Monastery, Koprivshtica, Sofia

 

 

Arrival, Meet and  Greet at Sofia International Airport.

Exclusive Transfer from Airport to the hotel in the centre of Sofia.

Non-alcoholic Welcome Cocktail will be served upon arrival at the hotel.

Dinner in a traditional Bulgarian restaurant with folklore program

Overnight

 

Breakfast at the hotel and meeting with our English speaking escort.

Sightseeing tour of Sofia - the capital of Bulgaria, where you can find the mixed atmosphere of the ancient and the modern city with a millennium history and numerous cultural and historic monuments from different periods.

Walking via the centre of Sofia and visiting the Alexander Nevski Cathedral – the biggest church in the Balkan Peninsula, The Russian church of St. Nicolas, The church of St. Sophia , The Rotond St. George, the Archaeological Museum.

Transfer to Vitosha mountain where you can see the beautiful nature and overlook of Sofia.

Lunch in a restaurant on the Vitosha Mountain with charming panoramic view of Sofia.

Visiting Boyana Chuch and some of the Bulgarian treasures in the National Museum of History.

Back to the hotel and time at disposal for getting ready for dinner

Dinner in a typical Bulgarian restaurant

Optional Activities

- Cultural Night - opera, theatre or concert
- Sofia by Night - night tour of Sofia (included a drink in chosen bar)
- Disco night - night in some of the most popular discos in Sofia
- Casino night - for the tourist that prefer to see the local casino life
Overnight

 

St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral  is one of the finest pieces of 20th century architecture in Sofia. The interior is just as splendid in materials and craftsmanship: Italian marble, Brazilian onyx, African alabaster, frescoes and woodcarvings by the best Bulgarian and Russian artists.
The underground crypthas an impressive collection of icons. The exposition opened in 1964 and features icons from across Bulgaria that are among the 9th to 18th century masterpieces in the Balkans. Several icons from the 12th to 14th century match the best works of Constantinople studios of the age. Actually, Bulgarian icons have countless fans across the world and have always fascinated people, evoking profound respect and admiration.

Boyana Church is included in UNESCO list of World Heritage and is considered herald of European Renaissance. Most interesting are the frescoes (1259) which art experts today rate them as a peak of realistic art of those times. These genuine masterpieces of 13th century painting, created 200 years before the European Renaissance mark a remarkable peak in Eastern Christian Art. The portraits of the founder of the church - patron Kaloian and his wife Desislava and of prince Konstantin and his wife Irina are the supreme peak of the skill of the artist. The church is built in three stages – 11^th, 13^th and 19^th centuries. This site is one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art.

 

Breakfast at the hotel and meeting with our escort.

Departure towards the Rila Monastery - a part of the UNESCO list. This sacred place is the religious and spiritual center of Bulgaria. In this extremely powerful place, combined wit the purifying landscapes, you will be able to feel closer to God.

Lunch in a mehana near Rila Monastery with fresh trout.

Departure to Petrich.

Visiting the town of the very famous Bulgarian prophet Baba Vanga – Petrich and Rupite.

Departure towards the enchanting museum town of Melnik. Here you will view the amazing natural phenomenon – the sand pyramids, a real heaven for the human imagination. The visit to Melnik is followed by the Rojenski Monastery, built in the 1600, with the shape of a keep, the reason for which will be revealed once you reach it.

Accommodation in one of the new boutique hotel in the centre of the town of Melnik.

Visiting a very popular wine cellar, degustation of different kinds of local and Bulgarian wines, dinner.

Overnight

Rupite is a small mountainous protected area best known as the place where the Bulgarian prophet Baba Vanga (1911-1996) lived and was buried. In 1992 by her will the Church of St Petka was constructed at this site and has since then become a place of worship for many people. The icons were created by the noted artist Svetlin Rusev and were not generally approved by the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church for being too realistic and not conforming to the canons. Right next to the church there are thermal springs. The water is good for healing cardiovascular problems, bone and joint weakness, which makes it a famous SPA centre as well. Nearby is also the house of Vanga. It is also interesting to note that the area is in fact the crater of an extinct volcano, its appearance being shaped by the volcanic hill of Kozhuh. In the southwestern approuches of the hill, excavations have revealed remains of an anciant town Petra build more than 5000 years ago.

Rila Monastery is the biggest monastery in Bulgaria, one of the most remarkable monuments on the Balkan Peninsula. The monastery was founded in the l0th century by the Bulgarian monk St. John of Rila and was rebuilt in the l3th -l4th century. Since 1983 it is included in the list of monuments of the world culture and natural heritage compiled at UNESCO.
The pyramids of Melnik are rocky formations (earth pyramids) in the south-westen peripheral slopes of the Pirin mountain. They are located in the surroundings of the town of Melnik. These magnificent natural sculptures are outlined in various forms and shapes, looking like haystacks, Egyptian pyramids, Gothic temples, minarets, ancient towers and loop-holes, giant obelisks, rising jumpers with incredible resemblance to colossal stone mushrooms.

Rojenski Monastery - one of the few medieval Bulgarian monasteries well preserved until today. According to sources from Mount Athos, it was built in 890. A couple of new buildings were constructed in the monastery at the time of Despot Slav. It was devastated by fire in the 17th century, but restored during the next century with the financial help of rich Bulgarians from the whole country. The reconstruction began in 1715 and was fully finished in 1732. The monastery reached its apogee in the 19th century, when it was a regional centre of Orthodox Christianity. 

Melnik is the smallest and one of the most fascinating towns-museums in Bulgaria - a blend of unique nature - the cliffs clustered around the houses on the hills, history, culture and wine. The silent white houses, one upon the other, with beautiful bay-windows and silent yards, buried in greenery and tranquility of an aged glory and prosperity arise nothing but admiration. Melnik is not only history and architecture – it is wine too. Original cellars are excavated in the sand pyramids, which surround the town on all sides, and there the famous Melnik wine ripens, matures and is preserved. Nowhere else you can find this technology for this original delicious, dark-red, matured wine.

 

 

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure towards famous nature phenomenon Devil's throat cave and Yagodina cave.

Lunch in a very cozy restaurant with typical Bulgarian delicious meals.

Accommodation in a luxury SPA hotel in Devin.

Visiting the village of Shiroka Laka.

 

  

Breakfast is followed by departure towards Plovdiv, where along the way you will see the most beautiful mountain in Bulgaria, the Rodopi mountain, also known as the place where the famous musician Orpheus lived and you will learn the legend of the famous musician, whose music enchanted even the gods and his beloved one Evridika.

Visiting the Bachkovo monastery

Lunch in a restaurant along the river.

After that you will depart to the town of Plovdiv, not only the second biggest town in Bulgaria, but also a personal favorite of Fillip, the father of Alexander the Great. You will visit the famous Old Town and the ancient Roman amphitheatre. In the evening you will visit the unique show program in one of the most famous wine cellar – Todoroff in the village of Brestovitsa, where while trying out from different high class wines, you will understand a lot of interesting facts about the Bulgarian wine and its god – Dionysus. In the evening you will be accommodated in a hotel.

 

The Bachkovo monastery is the second largest Bulgarian monastery. On all sides, the monastery is surrounded by the hills of the Rhodopi mountain, which together with its size and ancient spirit make is one of the most visited monasteries in Bulgaria. There you can find everything that grows or is being manufactured in the Rhodopi mountain – rare herbs, home-made jams of wild fruit, yogurt and white cheese made of sheep or buffalo’s milk, woolen carpets, etc.

 

Breakfast is followed by departure towards the “Valley of Kings and Roses”, where you will visit the Thracian tomb of Kazanluk, included in the UNESCO list. There you will see the story of an ancient king saying goodbye to his wife on the edge of death.

Here you will also be able to understand the secret of the Rose Oil.

Lunch is followed by a visit to the golden church in Shipka, after which you will visit the

ethnographic complex of Ethara and the legendary Sokolski Monastery. In the afternoon you

will depart towards Veliko Turnovo, There you will visit to some of the well known

monuments in Veliko Turnovo, the town with the most vivid historical past in Bulgaria.

Accommodation, free time and dinner. After that you will visit Tsarevets and the castles of

the Old Bulgarian rulers.

Here you can delight in an unique attraction - audio-visual show "Tsarevgrad Turnov – Sound and Light ". You can only find similar shows at few other around the world..
Through the power of music and spectacular illumination, this programme aims to create an unforgettable and emotional image of the Tsarevets Hill and Castle treasuring up the history, grandeur and glory of the ancient capital city of Turnovgrad which has become synonymous with the Bulgarian spirit and national pride.
The music, which has been composed specially for the occasion, is a leading element helping to follow the historical events and describe their invisible images. 

 

 

Breakfast is followed by departure towards the Troyan Monastery.

The Troyan Monastery, is known above all for the creative work of Zahari Zograph who painted both the exterior and the interior (a rare practice for the time) of the main church. It is a fine example of the impact of the popular conception of the world and the influence of housing architecture on religious construction. Here, Zahari Zograph repeated the social and moral in religious painting (the compositions Doomsday and the Wheel of Life), left his second self-portrait signed with amazing self confidence in spite of the Ottoman bondage, and painted the figures of Bulgarian and Russian saints. Besides, he painted a completely secular group portrait of the monastic brotherhood in the refectory - something highly unusual for the time. Having lunch in the restaurant of Troyan Plaza Hotel and taste the wonders of Bulgarian cuisine

Departure towards the legendary museum town of Koprivshtica, where while observing the outstanding architecture of all of the houses and structures, you will dive into the most romantic part of the Bulgarian history. In the afternoon you will depart from Koprivshtica towards the town of Sofia, where you will be accommodated in a hotel. There you will have free time for rest relaxation and shopping. Dinner will take place in one of the best restaurants in Sofia.

Optional Activities

- Cultural Night - opera, theatre or concert
- Sofia by Night - night tour of Sofia (included a drink in chosen bar)

Breakfast and exclusive тransfer from the hotel to the Sofia International Airport.

 

Hotels category  in Sofia, Devin, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo	In EURO per person in double room	In EURO per person in single room
5* hotels	950	1190
4* hotels	640	810
3* hotels	470	620