Highlights of the tour

This adventure will takes you to the one of the famous wine regions in Bulgaria. It is called Bulgarian Napa Valley because of different and numerous wineries close one to each other, vineyards and great views. With this tour you will have the chance to visit the Europe’s oldest city- Plovdiv , famous with  unique history, architectural wonders and delicious cuisine. It is one of the ,,Bulgarians pearls” suitable for all types of travel- cultural, culinary, wine, religious etc. The Sakar and Eastern Rhodopes area will enchant you with Kolarovo village – Malkata Zvezda and Chateau Kolarovo, romantic Bratanov Winery and Villa Bassarea. In addition, close to the Greek border you will taste the wine from Mezek winery, will experience the rich cultural heritage and fascinating nature. This individual or group trip is suitable for everyone, even families with babies and children. We guarantee the food quality, the great accommodation according your wishes (family run hotels in rural areas, 4* or 5* hotels).

Your daily program

Day 1.

Arrival to Sofia. Private transfer to your hotel in the city center. Dinner at typical bulgarian restaurant. Overnight.

Day 2. 

Breakfast. Short walking tour of Sofia and visiting of most important cultural and historical landmarks.  Don’t miss its specific atmosphere- Sofia is oldest, but his vibe is yang, here you can fall in love with her churches, but also to love her vibrant colors and life on all its modern streets.  Transfer to Plovdiv. Check-in to 4-star hotel. Guided walking tour of Plovdiv and Old Town Plovdiv. The ancient part of the three-hill town is an architectural reserve. The Ancient Plovdiv has preserved until nowadays the athmosphere of the Renaissance. The modern town is a trade and culture centre.It is a bunch of museums, churches, banks,hotels, cafes, restaurants, cinemas, shops, bars, bazaars, music clubs, casinos etc. Here rest the ruins of a Roman stadium and remnants of the Roman forum, here could be also seen several mosques and original Turkish baths. The modern centre provides entertainment and rich cultural life. Classical concerts take place at the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra`s concert hall, here in January the Winter festival of Symphony Music is held. In the Fair Camp different international exhibitions and expoes are held all year round.

Wine tasting of selected wines at a local enoteca.

Day 3.

After breakfast, free time in Plovdiv on your own. Lunch in selected restaurant in Plovdiv. Transfer to Bratanovi Winery. The Bratanov’s Small Family Winery is the result of the hard work and dedication of a father and his sons The winery has undertaken its worthy mission to restore the ancestral tradition. On the sunny slopes of South Sakar near the village of Shishmanovo, the family planted 24 hectares of vineyards of the Merlot, Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Ruby, Chardonnay and incense varieties. The area is environmentally friendly, far enough from industrial production. It is opened for its first harvest in 2010, wines are produced in limited quantities and with minimal technological interference. From 2014 the first wines of the “Single Vineyard” series are made from the best grapes of certain plots – Tamianka and Mavrud. The wines are dedicated to professionals, restaurants and boutiques shops with limited bottles.Tasting of local wines. Transfer to your selected accommodation – hotel, rural house, family run hotel, according your wishes. Dinner in the traditional restaurant.

Day 4.

After breakfast, your private transfer will take you to the heart of the Sakar – the village of Kolarovo. The first winery in your trips is Villa Bassarea. The wine cellar is relatively small and does not actually look like a villa. It is also quite new – the first produced series are from vintage 2014. Its capacity is for 70 tons of grapes yearly. They do not have own vineyards but instead buy selected grapes from local wine growers. Everything they buy is from the terroir of South Sakar mountains – one of the best regions to grow grapes in Bulgaria. Particularly, the vineyards are located on south slopes of Sakar mountains, near the villages Izvorovo and Kolarovo in Maritsa river valley.  The first wine to impress you is the Cherry-Cabernet Sauvignon that matures in cherry wood barrels. You can feel the strong taste and aroma that cherry barrels bring to the wine. Besides the delicious Cherry, Villa Bassarea produces several more serious wines. Some of their most popular high-class wines is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but don’t forget to taste ,,reserva” series. The pearl of the crown is the headliner of Villa Bassarea- Saratok: a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Saratok is a high-class wine with its special character.

Next step is Chateau Kolarovo.  The winery has 150 acres of its own, well-maintained vineyards of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petty Verdo and Malbec, as well as 50 decares of 40-year-old Merlot vineyards, part of the most famous Kolarovski massifs-the largest, oldest and most extensive vineyards in Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula. The wines have been rewarded with dozens of medals from prestigious international competitions like Decanter, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, International Wine Contest Bucharest, Mondiales des Vins –  Canada, Berliner Wine Trophy.

Here we will enjoy a tasting of local wines and a hearty lunch with local taste. After lunch, you will see the small but charming Malkata Zvezda where we enjoy a tasting of a selection of wines from the cellar. Return transfer to the hotel and dinner.

Day 5.

Breakfast. Transfer to the village of Mezek located at the foot of the Eastern Rhodopes and not too far from Greece. Visit to the small family-run Mezek winery. 

The winery’s philosophy is to offer wine tasting as a tourist attraction and to produce eco-friendly wine as close to “home” as possible. The fermenters will explain you an old wine technology that has been practiced for millennia. All production processes in the cellar are done manually. The cellar has a tasting room where group and individual tastings are offered for wine connoisseurs. Next, a visit to the nearby Thracian Tomb of Mezek to gain some insight in the culture and traditions of the Thracians. Traditional Bulgarian lunch. Short transfer to the modern winery – Katarzyna Estate . A great advantage of the cellar is that the team works and has many and most of all different qualities and specific areas in their vineyards. This enables a large number of different batches of wines to be used to shape the final products.  Katarzyna Estate owns 7,500 decares of its own vineyards in one of the best vineyards in Bulgaria. The selected varieties Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Tempranio, Carmen, Mavrud, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semiyon, Violet, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Traminer are geared to the climatic features of the region and the type of soil. The most important thing we have found is that consistent and accurate results in the quality of the product are obtained in the correct and precise work in the vineyard.

Transfer back to your hotel. 

Dinner.

Day 6.

Breakfast. Check-out. Transfer to Plovdiv (2.5h). Check-in to 3 or 4-star hotel. Free afternoon and optional visit of Bachkovo Monastery. Free time for shopping and leisure. Wine paired dinner at Enoteca Wine Restaurant.

Bachkovski Monastery is the second largest Bulgarian monastery and one of the three Bulgarian Stavropegial monasteries (the other two are Rilski Monastery and Troyan Monastery) which draws thousands of visitors, Bulgarian and foreign tourists alike.

The monastery was established in 1083 by the Great Domestik of Western Byzantine Garrisons, the Georgian, Grigorii Bakuriani. In the very beginning, the monastery has been developed as a centre of Georgian monkhood and it has preserved its Georgian character until the end of 12th century. Due to its origin, the monastery combines three cultures – Byzantine, Georgian and Bulgarian.

In 1344, the monastery and the surrounding area came under the rule of the Bulgarian king Ivan Alexander. Bulgarian ruler renovated Bachkovski cloister, patronized it and generously made considerable donations to it. A portrait of Ivan Alexander can be still seen in the arcs of the bone-vault’s narthex owing to his renovation of the building.

Spared during the first wave of enslavement when Turnovo Kingdom fell from power in 1393, Bachovski cloister became the prison of the last Bulgarian Patriarch Euthymius who was exiled there and whose relics was kept until the 19th century.

Day 7.

Breakfast. Check-out of hotel. Transfer to Sofia at 10:00. According your airline tickets- transfer to the airport or overnight in Sofia and next day transfer to the airport.

Optional daily tour

The Castle of Ravadinovo

The Castle of Ravadinovo is a spectacular attraction located a couple of kilometers from Sozopol.

The Castle In Love With the Wind in Ravadinovo is a private property. It is the child’s dream made true of Architect Georgi Tumpalov. The construction of the Ravadinovo Castle started in 1996.

It was built in a cross shape with 20,000 tons of stone, specially extracted in Strandzha Mountain. The castle is situated in a park with several thousand exotic trees, plants and flowers and amidst deep lakes with freshwater fish and waterfowl.

The castle provides unique memories and revelations, along with being an excellent photo opportunity, especially if you come in the summer. In the summer the walls and towers are covered in lush green ivy mantle and the flowers in the garden are in full bloom. You can listen to the sounds of parrots talking, peacocks screaming and the water splash in ponds and basins. You can stop by the lake and watch the graceful swans float peacefully across the clear water surface. There is so much to see in the garden – there is a chapel, plentiful fancy fountains, garden statues, antiques, tiny bridges and other amazing treasures.

The Castle of Ravadinovo is a bold combination of various building and decorating styles and materials but it is definitely fun to see what some ancient castles must have looked like when they were newly built. Many visitors perceive The Castle of Ravadinovo as an utterly mystical and romantic place, for others, it is the closest to a Disneyland or fairy tale adventure which they can experience in this part of the Balkans.

The castle of Ravadino is probably the only castle in Europe, constructed by one man only. In 2016 the Bulgarian attraction won the prize for tourist attraction number 1 in the world. Castle Ravadinovo “In Love with the wind” took gold and silver medal in the “Tourist Attraction” category and was declared an architectural wonder of the prestigious international competition “A ‘Design Award” 2016. Its architectural design is unusual, a bit extravagant and exotic.