A Private, Historical and Cultural Tour of Bulgaria
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A Private, Historical and Cultural Tour of Bulgaria Itinerary at a glance: Day 1 Sofia Arrival Day 2 Sofia Day 3 Rila Day Trip Day 4 Sofia - Plovdiv Day 5 Plovdiv Day 6 Kazanlak Day Trip Day 7 Plovdiv - Black Sea Day 8 Sozopol & Burgas Day 9 Black Sea - Veliko Turnovo Day 10 Veliko Turnovo Day 11 Veliko Turnovo Day 12 Veliko Turnovo – Bucharest / Departure Why Exeter International? At Exeter International we have been creating memories and crafting our trademark extraordinary journeys to Central Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, and Central Asia for 23 years. Our specialty is to distill the best of the best in iconic places that are on so many people’s travel must-do list. We are not a call center of nameless, faceless people. We do not try to be everything to everyone. We are a small team of specialists. We are all committed to providing the best travel experiences to our destinations. Each member of our team has travelled extensively throughout our destinations, giving them insider knowledge lacking in many other tour operators. Our Extraordinary Experiences are different, unusual, and often closed to the general public. We can offer special insider access that takes you beyond the typical tourist sites. We know how important it is to remain authentic and increasingly going beyond the well-known sites is what is important to our guests—discovering the little known museum or street market that adds to their experience. We do this through our local knowledge, cultivating our extensive contacts and regularly visiting each destination to enable us to share the most up-to-date insider information with you, our valued partner. The most important part of your trip will be your guides. Guides come in many quality levels, especially in the region. We have worked with a core group of the best of the best for over 20 years. We know them like family and if they weren't the best, they wouldn't work for us. Simply stated, a guide can make or break your experience. You should have 100% confidence in who is introducing you to your guide and the level of guiding that you are going to get throughout the countries you will be visiting. The best does indeed cost more and we pay our guides at the very top of the market, with pride. You'll also want to know what kind of vehicle your tour will include. We use luxury late-model vehicles, often Mercedes, Audi, BMW, or Volkswagen, depending on the size of the vehicle you need. You'll want to see things that may or may not be open to the public and go in early or after hours before the crowds whenever possible. We also make every effort to skip lines whenever possible. Avoiding long museum lines is one of our top priorities and we work hard to minimize the wait time to get into the most popular sights in each city, maximizing your time in each destination. You'll want impeccable planning and someone to bounce ideas off of before your trip and speak English as well as you do while planning your trip so there are no cultural misunderstandings when you arrive. You'll also want someone to talk to if your trip is not perfect when you get home. These are all ways that we distinguish ourselves from all other companies. A lot goes into our travel program design. We arrange the program so that it is flawless and effortless for our travelers from the time they set foot in the first city until they leave us. The expertise to set up an itinerary like this comes after years of investing in staff on both sides of the Atlantic, and this too is a value that is incorporated into our traveler's trips with us. DAY 1 Sofia Arrival Arrival in Sofia. The cost of the flight is not included in your program. You will be met by your private driver for the transfer to your deluxe and centrally located hotel. You will check in and have the rest of your afternoon at leisure. Exeter Services Arrival Transfer Only Hotel Sense DAY 2 Sofia This morning at 10AM, your guide and driver will meet you in the hotel lobby to take you to the National History Museum, which is located in a former presidential residence in the outskirts of Sofia. Your guide will take you into the museum and through several of its magnificent collections, including the Thracian gold treasures and other artifacts, jewelry dating back to the First Bulgarian kingdom, and exquisite pieces of religious art, which have survived the period of the Ottoman domination. Later today, your guide and driver will take you back to Sofia’s center to continue your exploration of the Bulgarian capital. He will point out the famous Rotunda Sveti Georgi (St. George), which was built in the 4th Century as a Roman temple. Later, it was consecutively used as both a church and a mosque, and recent restoration works have revealed magnificent medieval frescoes. The rotunda is considered to be the oldest preserved building in Sofia. If you are interested, you may also visit Sofia’s magnificent Great Synagogue, which was built by an Austrian architect in the Byzantine-Moorish style in 1909 and is the third-largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, after the ones in Budapest and Amsterdam. It seats 1,200 and the interiors feature ornate decorations, arches, and a huge chandelier hanging from the dome. The synagogue’s grand opening was a lavish occasion attended by Bulgaria political elite and the Tsar himself who cut a ribbon if front of the Ark. The synagogue was damaged and its library destroyed during the bombings in the Second World War. During the Communist regime, the building remained empty and neglected for decades before being fully renovated in the 1990s and rededicated in 1996. A Jewish Museum was established in 1992 on the second floor which exhibits historical and Holocaust artifacts and documents. Continuing with your tour, you will also see Sofia’s signature gold onion-domed landmark, the Alexander Nevski Memorial Cathedral, built as a tribute to the Russians who liberated Bulgaria from the Turks at the turn of the 19th Century. The St. Sofia Church stands just across from the Alexander Nevski Church and is in rather modest contrast to the cathedral’s Russian flamboyance. The current building dates as far back as the 6th Century, but excavations have revealed that it stands on the remains of an even older church. The Ottomans who used it as a mosque added minarets to the church in the 16th Century. This graceful monument has inspired the city of Sofia’s coat of arms. As time allows, you will the head to the outskirts of Sofia, where you will stop at the small Boyana Church. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rich collection of medieval murals, some dating back to the mid-13th Century and considered to be among the finest examples of religious art. The east wing of the two-storey church was originally constructed in the late 10th or early 11th Century. Later, the central wing was added in the 13th Century during the period of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. The whole building was finally finished with a further expansion to the west in the middle of the 19th Century. The church is famous mainly for its frescoes from the 13th Century, which form a second layer over the paintings from earlier centuries and represent one of the most complete and well- preserved monuments of Eastern European mediaeval art, including a total of 89 scenes with 240 human images are depicted on the walls of the church. Exeter Services Guide (8 Hours); Vehicle & Driver (4 Hours) Hotel Sense DAY 3 Rila Day Trip Today, your guide and driver will take you to the majestic Rila Monastery. It is believed that the monastery was founded by the hermit St. John of Rila (Ivan Rilski), whose name it bears, in the 10th Century. The hermit lived in a cave not far from the monastery's location, while the complex was built by his students, who came to the mountains to receive their education. Ever since its creation, the Rila Monastery was supported with large donations by the Bulgarian rulers, gradually turning the monastery into a cultural and spiritual center throughout the centuries under Ottoman authority. The monastery museum houses a rich collection of valuable ancient manuscripts, coins, and weapons. After visiting the museum’s historic treasures, you will visit the main church. In the afternoon, you will be transferred back to Sofia. Upon arrival, you will enjoy the remainder of the evening at leisure. Exeter Services Guide, Vehicle & Driver (8 Hours) Hotel Sense DAY 4 Sofia - Plovdiv Today, after check out, you will continue east to Plovdiv - the second largest city in Bulgaria after the capital Sofia. After your arrival in Plovdiv, you will check in at your small and charming hotel located in the historic Old Town. After some time to drop off your luggage, your guide will take you on an overview tour of the city. Exeter Services Guide, Vehicle & Driver (8 Hours) Hotel Hebros DAY 5 Plovdiv This morning, your guide will take on an overview tour of Plovdiv’s Old Town. The first settlement on this place was founded by the Thracians, and was later conquered by Philip of Macedonia – the father of Alexander the Great, who named it after himself – Philipopolis (the town of Philip). The Romans came here around the turn of the first millennia and further fortified the city, also building streets, towers and aqueducts.