Itinerary

Day 1. Arrival at Sofia Airport. Pick up the rented car and drive to your centrally located hotel. Overnight.
Day 2. The day starts with sightseeing on foot of the capital Sofia comprising visits to some of the most interesting sites in the town incl. St. Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral, St Sofia Church, Sofia's oldest building - St George Rotunda (from the 3rd C), the Parliament and the Council of Ministry, the ruins of the ancient city of Serdika (dating from the 5th-6thC) etc. Around noon you board the car and head northeast towards Syeva Dupka Cave (with 3 marvelous halls inside, considered to be the most beautiful one in Bulgaria) and Glozhene Monastery (housing an icon of St. George, more than 1000 years old). Overnight stay will be arranged in the Teteven.
Day 3. Passing along the longest village in Bulgaria (Ribaritsa, 12km long) you will reach Troyan Monastery and the nearby Pottery and Craft Exhibition “Oreshaka“. The next run will bring you to "Etura"- an open-air ethnographic museum, where master craftsmen fashion beautiful gold, silver, copper, leather and wooden articles right before your eyes from early morning until late at the night. The beautiful Sokolski Monastery is also nearby. The next suggested stops include the town of Tryavna (with preserved old town square, which has been proclaimed as a Monument of Architecture) and Dryanovo Monastery (surrounded by limestone rocks, rising high on all sides of the gorge as unapproachable forest walls). Overnight stay is arranged in the town of Veliko Tyrnovo – former Bulgarian capital, situated along the historical hills of Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora on the two banks of Yantra River.
Day 4. In the morning you will be able to make a tour in Tsarevets fortress and then visit Preobrazhenski Monastery founded in 10-th century on the site of a Roman fort. In the afternoon you can have a walk in the museum village of Arbanassi, famous for its massive houses that resemble minor fortresses on the outside, with high, solid walls and heavy gates and secret hiding-places, but which are spacious and comfortable, richly decorated and furnished on the inside. Overnight in Veliko Tyrnovo.
Day 5. The high ridges of the Balkan Mountains will be crossed today through Shipka Pass, famous for the bone-vault monument of Russian soldiers and Bulgarian volunteers who fell in fierce battles to defend the peak in 1877. Following the foots of the mountain from its southern side you will reach the museum town of Koprivshtitsa – unique settlement, which has preserved in compactness over 250 patterns of the Revival Period architecture, many of them turned into museums nowadays. Time permitting in the afternoon you can visit also the Thracian Tomb of Starosel – an enormous temple of what is believed to be a Thracian ruler, possibly Sitakes I – the first king of the combined Thracian empire. Later on you reach Plovdiv – the second biggest Bulgarian city, where you stay for the night.
Day 6. Plovdiv is one of the oldest European towns, contemporary to Troya and Mikena. It has been existing as a settlement about 8000 years ago, and became a town 3000 years ago during the Troyan war. In the historic quarter of the city you will see beautifully decorated period houses, the ancient fortress-wall, the Roman forum and stadium and magnificent churches. The Old city of Plovdiv with its museums, historical sites, ancient houses and paved streets is a nice play for sightseeing. Around noon you will leave Plovdiv and continue on southwards to Rodopi Mountains, where you will pass through the second biggest Bulgarian Monastery (Bachkovo Monastery) and the architectural reserve Shiroka Lyka, where you can stay and stroll for a while. Overnight in the town of Devin – famous SPA resort in the heart of Rodopi Mountains.
Day 7. Morning drive will bring you in Buynovsko Gorge and Yagodina Cave. The cave is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Bulgaria. After a cave tour inside (taking some 45min at a temperature of 6C) you can drive further to another gorge – the famous Trigrad Gorge with its 250m high vertical cliffs. You can visit here another sinister cave – The Devil’s Throat Cave, housing one of the highest underground waterfalls in Europe. It is time to continue on to Sofia and check in for a last overnight in the centre of the city.
Day 8. Drive to Sofia Airport. Drop off the car and departure.