Rose Festival
Rose festival in Kazanlak + Sofia, Plovdiv, Rila Monastery & Istanbul
Route: Sofia, Plovdiv, Kazanlak, Istanbul
12 days / 11 Nights
Transport: Coach
Price from: 1195 €


 
JOIN-IN GROUP TOUR WITH GUARANTEED DEPARTURES

The program includes 11 nights on HB basis – 3 nights in Sofia, 3 nights in Pavel Bania, 2 nights in Plovdiv and 3 nights in Istanbul; transfer with an air-conditioned minivan, minibus or coach; professional guide throughout the entire trip.

PROGRAM

DAY 1 - 28.05.2020 (THURSDAY): Arrival at Sofia airport. Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight stay in Sofia.

DAY 2 - 29.05.2020 (FRIDAY): Breakfast. Sightseeing tour of Sofia – St. Nedelya Cathedral, St. George Rotunda, Banya Bashi Mosque, Sofia synagogue – the largest synagogue on the Balkan peninsula, the Presidency and the seat of the Government, Ivan Vazov National Theater, the former Royal Palace, Russian Church of St. Nicolas, St. Sophia Church, St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, National Assembly Square with the monument of the Russian tsar Alexander II named “Tsar Liberator”, Sofia University and National Library. Time at leisure. Dinner. Overnight stay in Sofia.

DAY 3 - 30.05.2020 (SATURDAY): Breakfast. Visit to the National Museum of History and the Boyana Church. In the Museum a visitor will be able to see the most impressive Thracian treasures, found on the territory of modern day Bulgaria: the Panagyurishte and Rogosen gold treasures, the treasures from Borovo, Kralevo, Letnica, as well as multiple gold burial artefacts, found in different Thracian burial complexes, most famous of which are those found in the Mogilan burial chamber near Vratsa. Here a visitor can also see finest gold objects found in the Neolithic necropolis of Varna (around the 4th millenium B.C.). That exhibition shows the greatest moments In Bulgarian history. The Boyana Church is included in the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage and has preserved frescoes of an unknown artist, which date back to the year 1259. The frescoes impress with the spirituality and expressiveness of their images, created 7 years before the birth of Giotto di Bondone, considered to be the first Renaissance artist. Departure to Pavel Bania – a SPA resort situated in the Rose valley, 24 km from Kazanlak. Arrival. Dinner. Overnight stay in Pavel Bania.

DAY 4 - 31.05.2020 (SUNDAY): 07h00 - breakfast. 07h30 – Visit to the rose fields to assist to the rose picking. All tourists will be welcomed by young girls wearing typical national costumes and live folklore music. The girls will then accompany tourists into the rose gardens showing them personally how the rose buds are picked. For that purpose each one of them is caring a wicker basket. Baskets will be distributed among tourists too so they can pick some rose buds by themselves. 15-20 min free time in the gardens is provided for that purpose. The whole tour will end-up with a short folklore program (about 15 – 20 min). Departure for Kazanlak to assist to the Carnival parade of the Rose festival 2015. Traditional lunch. In the afternoon - visit to the rose-distillery. A specialist will introduce visitors to the old way to extract oil from roses, the modern way of extracting oil in the rose-distillery. In the evening – return to Pavel Bania. Dinner and overnight stay in Pavel Bania.

DAY 5 - 01.06.2020 (MONDAY): Breakfast. Return to Kazanlak – the capital of the Rose Valley. Visit to Iskra Museum of History (the most recently discovered gold, silver and bronze findings from the Thracian mounds are on display in the new treasury). Visit to the Art gallery. Kazanlak is place of birth of many famous Bulgarian artists like Dechko Uzunov, Nenko Balkanski, Ivan Milev, Chudomir etc. The local Art museum is one of the oldest and richest in the country and is home to extremely valuable collection of icons from XVIII – XIX centuries, as well as a remarkable collection of paintings and sculptures from Stancho Lisichev, Tsanko Lavrenov, Vladimir Dimitrov – the Master, Dechko Uzunov, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, Ivan Lazarov, Dimitar Kazakov – Neron, Toma Trifonski, Anton Antonov etc.Visit to the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak. The tomb is part of a great Thracian necropolis that dates back to the 4th century BC. It has been part of the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage since 1979. Visit to a dairy farm in the vicinity of Kazanlak where tourists
will be initiated into the secret of making Bulgarian yoghurt.
Many people love yoghurt but only few of them know that it was the Thracians who discovered the process of making yoghurt out of milk. And that is not accidental, on the contrary, well known fact is that the bacterium that transforms milk into yoghurt is called Lactobacillus Bulgaricus and it exists only in Bulgaria. Our tourists will have the possibility to become familiar with the knowhow of making yoghurt – a skill inherited from the Thracians. Apart from learning how to prepare yoghurt tourists will learn how to prepare banitza (sheets of pastry with feta cheese filling which is a traditional dish for all regions in Bulgaria). Lunch (banitza, yoghurt and other products of the farm).In the evening – return to Pavel Bania. Dinner and overnight stay in Pavel Bania.

DAY 6 - 02.06.2020 (TUESDAY): Breakfast. Departure to Plovdiv (ancient Philippopolis) – the most important city of southern Bulgaria and of great historic and artistic interest with some of the best Classical remains, churches, mosques and Bulgarian National Revival buildings in the country. Arrival. Sightseeing tour of Plovdiv – a tour of the old town which consists of one of the most spectacular ensembles of town houses from the period of the Bulgarian National Revival (middle of the 18th century until the end of the 19th century). Visit to the Saints Constantine and Helena Church, Roman Theatre. Visit of the Ethnographic Museum offering a wide range of objects from furniture and jewellery to traditional handicrafts and housed in an exceptional house built in 1847 by the Greek merchant Argir Koyumdjiuglu. Visit of the Archeological museum, preserving one of the biggest treasures from the Thracian period – The Panagyurishte gold treasure (end of IV – beginning of III century B.C.), who is actually a set of 9 golden vessels for serving wine, beautifully decorated and weighing more than 6 kg. Visit of the museum of Zlatyu Boyadzhiev – one of the most eminent Bulgarian postwar painters. Accommodation at the hotel in Plovdiv. Dinner. Overnight stay in Plovdiv.

DAY 7 - 03.06.2020 (WEDNESDAY): Breakfast. Departure to the village of Alexandrovo (situated near the city of Haskovo, 95 km from Plovdiv). A visit of the Thracian tomb of Alexandrovo. It dates from 4th century B.C and is one of the brightest monuments of the Thracian culture. It reveals very wellpreserved wall paintings, which depict 23 human figures and provide new data about the Thracian religious rituals, cults, imagination, lifestyle and clothing and reveals us once again the high artistic skills of Thracian painters. Continue our road to Istanbul. On the road – visit of Edirne - the Selimiye Mosque, Turkey’s prettiest mosque, completed from 1568 until 1574. It is considered to be the masterpiece of Mimar Sinan – turkey’s most famous architect. Arrival in Istanbul, accomodation in the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Istanbul.

DAY 8 - 04.06.2020 (THURSDAY): Breakfast. Sightseeing tour of Istanbul’s historical center, former Constantinople: visit to the Blue Mosque, the only mosque in the world with six minarets; the Hippodrome square with an Egyptian obelisk; the Column of Constantine, the Serpent Column and the Fountain of Kaiser Wilhelm II. A visit to St Sophia Church, the royal church of the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople. It was built in just 5 years, from 532 to 537, by emperor Justinian, who wanted to build the biggest and greatest temple in the world. St Sophia Church is considered to be the brightest example of byzantine architecture and because of its size and the engineering successes surrounding it, it is considered to be one of the grandest buildings of the Antiquity. 1000 years after its completion St Sophia Church remains the biggest temple in the world and even today is the world’s fourth largest temple. In 1453 St Sophia Church is turned into a mosque by the ottoman conquerors. Dinner and overnight stay in Istanbul.

DAY 9 - 05.06.2020 (FRIDAY): Breakfast. Panoramic tour of Istanbul – the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus, a tour of the Asian part of the city. Visit of Dolmabahce Palace, official residence of the sultans since its completion from 1853 until 1922). Time at leisure. Dinner at a restaurant offering evening entertainment program with oriental dances. Overnight stay in Istanbul.

DAY 10 - 06.06.2020 (SATURDAY): Breakfast. Free time in Istanbul for shopping or just walking around. Possibility to organize a cruise on the Bosphorus with additional payment. 13h00 – departure to Plovdiv. In the evening – arrival, accommodation in the hotel, dinner and overnight stay in Plovdiv.

DAY 11 - 07.06.2020 (SUNDAY): Breakfast. Departure to Sofia via Rila Monastery – the biggest monastery in Bulgaria, founded in the 10th century by the monk and hermit St. John of Rila, patron and protector of Bulgaria. The monastery served as the center for cultural and spiritual life of the Bulgarian people, during the centuries of foreign enslavement. The tour includes a visit to the monastery, the main church and the monastery museum. Departure for Sofia. Arrival. Accommodation at the hotel. Dinner.

DAY 12 - 08.06.2020 (MONDAY): Breakfast. Transfer to Sofia airport. Departure.

Price per person in double room on HB basis:
Group 30/35 pax – 1195 EUR
Group 36/40 pax – 1133 EUR
Group 41/45 pax – 1082 EUR
Group 46/50 pax – 1077 EUR

Single supplement, price per 3rd adult in dbl room, CHD prices – on request

Price includes:
  • 11 nights (3 nights in Sofia – Bulgaria, 3 nights in Pavel Bania – Bulgaria, 2 nights in Plovdiv - Bulgaria, 3 nights in Istanbul - Turkey) on HB basis in 3 or 4 star hotels, including dinner in a restaurant offering evening entertainment program with oriental dances in Istanbul;
  • All entrance fees for museums, listed in the program (National Museum of History and Boyana Church in Sofia; Iskra Museum of History and Thracian Tomb in Kazanlak; Saints Constantine and Helena Church, Roman Theater and Regional Ethnographic Museum in Plovdiv; Rila Monastery Museum; St Sofia church and Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul);
  • Half day program in the rose fields with official lunch and visit of the Carnival parade of the Rose festival;
  • Visit of a dairy farm;
  • All transfers and transport with a luxurious coach (air-conditioning, video, mini-bar);
  • English speaking guide throughout the entire trip;

The price is valid for a join-in group tour of 10 participants. On the above mentioned dates you can join an existing group and take advantage of prices and services of group travel.

Rual Travel can provide prices on request for groups of more or less than 10 persons. For any inquiries please contact us on the following e-mail - rual@incomingbulgaria.com