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KosovoTrip Summary
🗓️ Duration: 5 days/ 4 nights
🛬 Starting point: Sofia, Bulgaria
🛫 Finish point: Sofia, Bulgaria
☀️ Best period: January – December
🇬🇧 Tour language: English
🏢 Cities and villages included: 4 or 7, depending on the itinerary
🏛️ UNESCO heritage sites: 2
🏰 Top attractions: Rila Monastery, Bachkovo Monastery, the Ancient theatre of Philippopolis, Thracian Tomb in Kazanlak, Buzludzha Monument, Tsarevets Fortress, Open Ethnographic Museum Etar, Nessebar Old Town, Balchik Palace
What You’ll See in Bulgaria in 5 Days
From the Rhodope Mountains to the monasteries of Rila and Bachkovo, the ethnographic complex Etar to some of the most incredible ancient towns Bulgaria has to offer – Plovdiv, the European Capital of Culture, Veliko Tarnovo, Nessebar, and more.
You can choose between two pre-defined 5-day itineraries – the first one includes Bulgaria’s old capital Veliko Tarnovo and the Rose Valley, the second one takes you straight to the Black Sea and shows you the beauty, history, and culture of the Bulgarian coast.
We can easily customise this tour around your dates and interests, we can also combine sights from the two itineraries, or add new ones – it’s all up to you!
Tour Itineraries for 5 Days in Bulgaria
Tour Itinerary #1: Essential Bulgaria: Unveiling the Best in a 5-Day Adventure
Sofia – Rila Monastery – Boyana Church – Plovdiv – Bachkovo Monastery – the Rose Valley – Kazanlak, the Thracian Tombs – Shipka Pass and Church – Etar Complex – Veliko Tarnovo – Devetashka Cave – Sofia
| Day | Highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Sofia walking city tour, free time in Sofia | Sofia |
| Day 2 | Day tour to Rila Monastery and Boyana Church | Sofia |
| Day 3 | Transfer to Bachkovo, Plovdiv walking city tour | Plovdiv |
| Day 4 | Explore Thracian tombs in Kazanlak, visit the Etar complex | Veliko Tarnovo |
| Day 5 | Veliko Tarnovo walking city tour, see the Devetashka Cave, transfer back to Sofia |
See the full tour program
DAY 1: SOFIA
→ Airport transfer to your hotel OR pick up from your hotel
→ Walking city tour in the morning (2-3 hours)
Visit the: St. Nedelya square; Nedelya church; St Sofia Monument; St. Petka Church; The old Serdika Ruins; The mineral springs; The council of ministers; The Rotunda “Saint George”; The Presidency; The mosque “Banya Bashi”; The National archaeology museum (not going inside); The National Bank of Bulgaria; Knyaz Alexander Battenberg Square; The King’s palace; The Russian church; St. Sofia Church; The National Theater; The Monument of the “unknown soldier”; The Alexander Nevski Memorial Church; The city garden.
→ Free time in Sofia at the afternoon
Overnight in Sofia
DAY 2: RILA MONASTERY AND BOYANA CHURCH
Depart from Sofia in the morning
→ Transfer to the Rila Monastery (2-2.5 hours)
→ Guided tour of the monastery
Visit the Rila Monastery museum and complex
→ Transfer to Boyana near Sofia (2 hours)
Visit Boyana Church
Overnight in Sofia
DAY 3: BACHKOVO MONASTERY AND PLOVDIV, BULGARIA
→ Depart from Sofia after breakfast
→ Transfer to Bachkovo Monastery (2:30 hours)
Explore the monastery complex of the second big monastery in Bulgaria
→ Free time for lunch in the monastery area
→ Transfer to Plovdiv
→ Walking city tour of Plovdiv
Visit The Old Town (dating from the 19th century); the exterior of the Ethnographic museum; Balabanov house; the Ancient theatre of Philippopolis; the Ancient stadium of Philipopolis; the St. Constantin and Elena church; the Djumaya Mosque and square; the building of the Regional Historical Museum; Saint Ludvik Cathedral; the Agara (Marketplace); the famous main pedestrian street; “The Trap” neighbourhood and Nebet Tepe.
→ Free time in Plovdiv in the afternoon
Overnight in Plovdiv
DAY 4: KAZANLAK AND ETAR COMPLEX
→ Transfer to the Rose Valley and Kazanlak area
Explore the Thracian Tomb in Kazanlak and visit a Rose distillery
→ Transfer to Gabrovo (2 hours)
Visit the Etar ethnographic complex
→ Transfer to Veliko Tarnovo (30 min)
→ Free time in Veliko Tarnovo for dinner
Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo
DAY 5: VELIKO TARNOVO AND DEVETASHKA CAVE
→ Depart after breakfast from your hotel in Veliko Tarnovo
→ City tour of Veliko Tarnovo (1-1,5 hours)
Visit the Tsarevets Fortress and the famous craft street
→ Transfer to Devetahska cave (1.5 hours)
→ Explore the Natural landmark
→ Transfer to Sofia (2.5 hours)
End of the tour
Tour Itinerary #2: Bulgaria Tour Including the Black Sea Coast
Sofia – Veliko Tarnovo – Varna – Balchik and the Black Sea Coast – Nessebar – Sozopol – Plovdiv – Sofia
| Day | Highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Sofia walking city tour, transfer to Veliko Tarnovo | Veliko Tarnovo |
| Day 2 | Visit the Tsarevets fortress, transfer to Varna, walking city tour of Varna | Varna |
| Day 3 | Day trip to Kaliakra Cape and Balchik Palace | Varna |
| Day 4 | Explore the Old Towns of Nessebar and Sozopol | Sozopol |
| Day 5 | Travel to Plovdiv, walking city tour of Plovdiv, transfer back to Sofia |
See the full tour program
DAY 1: SOFIA
→ Walking city tour in the morning (2-3 hours)
Visit the: St. Nedelya square; Nedelya church; St Sofia Monument; St. Petka Church; The old Serdika Ruins; The mineral springs; The council of ministers; The Rotunda “Saint George”; The Presidency; The mosque “Banya Bashi”; The National archaeology museum (not going inside); The National Bank of Bulgaria; Knyaz Alexander Battenberg Square; The King’s palace; The Russian church; St. Sofia Church; The National Theater; The Monument of the “unknown soldier”; The Alexander Nevski Memorial Church; The city garden.
→ Transfer to Veliko Tarnovo after lunch (3 hours)
→ Free time in Veliko Tarnovo for dinner
Overnight in Veliko Tarnovo
DAY 2: VELIKO TARNOVO AND VARNA
→ Visit the Tsarevets fortress and the craft street of Veliko Tarnovo after breakfast
→ Transfer to Varna (3 hours)
→ City tour of Varna and free time
Visit the “The Dormition of the mother of God” Cathedra; The Roman Thermaes, St. Nikolas church The sea garden, The port, The main shopping street.
→ Free time in Varna
Overnight in Varna
DAY 3: BALCHIK AND KALIAKRA CAPE
→ Transfer to the Kaliakra Cape in the morning (1 hour)
→ Explore the beautiful landmark
Visit a local snail farm
→ Free time for lunch
→ Transfer to Balchik (30 min)
→ Visit the Balchik Palace
→ Transfer back to Varna (40min)
Overnight in Varna
DAY 4: NESSEBAR AND SOZOPOL
→ Transfer to Nessebar (1.5 hours)
→ City tour of the old town
Visit the Nessebar Archaelogical museum, the “Hagia Sophia” church, the church of Christ Pantocrator; the church of St Stephen, the church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, the church of St John Aliturgetos.
→ Free time for lunch→ Transfer to Sozopol
→ Short walk in the old town
Overnight in Sozopol Area
DAY 5: PLOVDIV
→ Transfer to Plovdiv (3 hours)
→ Walking Plovdiv city tour (2-3 hours)
Visit The Old town from the 19th century; the Ethnographic museum (outside); Balabanov house; the Ancient theatre of Philippopolis; the Ancient stadium of Philipopolis, The St Constantin and Elena church, The Djumaya mosque and square, The building of the Regional Historical Museum, Saint Ludvik cathedral, Agara (Marketplace), the Main walking street, “The Trap” neighborhood; Nebet tepe)
→ Free time for lunch
→ Transfer to Sofia (2 hours)
END OF THE TOUR
Let’s plan your 5-day road trip across Bulgaria
Explore the must-see sights of Bulgaria and the Black Sea coast.
Send us your details to receive a custom quote.
What You Get During The 5-Day Tour
What Travelers Say about the 5-Day Tour of Bulgaria
We visited Bulgaria to celebrate the birthdays of our dear friends who had grown up there, and there were about 40 of us altogether.
Adriana and her associates facilitated a fabulous 5-day tour of the country, which included time in Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and Thracian Cliffs/Varna on the Black Sea.
We learned a lot about the country and local customs, our tours were well-organized and easy-going, Adriana was great about addressing “one-off” requests, and everything worked as planned!
This was truly a 5-star experience!
More about Sofia
Visitors to Sofia will have plenty to explore in the city and its surroundings, as well as a wealth of historic sites to discover, from modern attractions to ancient landmarks. The National Art Gallery, the most important museums, the mineral springs, and the surrounding mountain hills form a patchwork of attractive features worth touring. The city was named after Saint Sophia; thus, the Day of Sofia is celebrated on September 17, the day commemorating Saint Sophia and her three martyr daughters. The area, like the whole territory of Bulgaria, is dotted with archeological remains from ancient Roman times.
The rich history and the growing attractiveness for people who find abundant education and work opportunities are reflected in its logo: ”It grows but never ages.” The climate of the area is moderate continental and ensures comfort throughout the year. Aficionados eager to attend cultural events will enjoy Sofia’s vast events palette to choose from.
More about Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Turnovo is a symbol of Bulgarian history. It is replete with historical buildings from old periods, and also has several churches and chapels. The officially functioning chapels and churches on its territory are ten, and there is also a monastery. There are several churches that do not function, as they have been declared cultural monuments.
Among them should be mentioned the Saints Holy Martyrs church, the Saint Dimitar of Thessaloniki church, the Saints Peter and Paul church, and the Saint George church. There were a lot of relics of different saints brought to the town in different periods, and there used to be an icon of Saint Dimitar of Thessaloniki, not made by human hands, of the so-called acheiropoieton type. The icon was brought to the town by the tsars Asen and Petar. There was also a piece of the Holy Cross which remained for a century.
More about Rila Monastery
Rila Monastery proudly ranks among the top sights of Bulgaria, which should be visited to form an idea of the wealth of Bulgarian history and the worthy culture. It was declared a national historical reserve in 1976 and has been under the aegis of UNESCO since 1983. The monastery keeps precious manuscripts, old printed books, and ancient documents. The museum is precious for a collection of ancient objects, icons, weapons, coins, etc.
In the fourteenth century, the monastery was renovated by Hrelyo, a local ruler; the medieval tower with a chapel was named after him. The chapel is precious with the fourteenth-century murals on its walls.
The central temple of the monastery complex is the “Nativity of the Holy Virgin” church. It stands in the place of a medieval church, built by Hrelyo, which existed in that place by 1834. The church murals were painted by renowned icon painters of those times.
More about Plovdiv
For aficionados of history and the fascinating period of the Roman Empire, Plovdiv has a host of information and monuments to offer. The Archeological Museum boasts a building almost two centuries old. It houses precious finds from different periods of Plovdiv’s past.
It is a vivid experience to visit the Ethnographic Museum, with over 40,000 exhibits which tell a lot of people’s livelihood, crafts practiced, fabrics woven, furniture made, and many more objects which are complemented by photos.
Those interested in natural sciences can marvel at the exhibits in the Natural Science Museum. In the basement is the largest freshwater aquarium in Bulgaria, showing off over 40 species of decorative fish and also some amphibians.
The Museum of Aviation is in the vicinity of the city, 12 kilometers away. The exhibits there total about 6,800, and the aircraft exhibited are 59. There are two internal and one external exhibitions.
