hello, i am flying to Bulgaria next Monday for 7 days, and would love to mix some hikes/nature, old towns/antiques, and if possible a weekend stay in a nice beach town. i am landing and taking off from Sofia, and i may rent a car...
all help and ideas would be much appreciated!! thank you

We spent time in Bulgaria last September. Started in Plovdiv and lucked onto an opera (Verdi) held same night in the roman ruins, under the rising moon - just magical. Beautiful old town - see the ethnographic museum built in an old merchant's house while in Plovdiv. Leave Plovdiv, head for Kazanlak Thracian Tomb. Continue to Veliko Tarnovo - visit the Tsarevets Fortress and the Samovodene. Drive over the Shipka pass. Climb up to the Ivanovo rock church-amazing; see the Shipka russian church - magnificent; read up on battle at Plevna - unimaginable.
Also visit the village of Arbanassi.
Not sure about the distance to Varna and beaches but Bulgaria has incredible history and was held "under the yoke of the ottomans" for centuries - that still rankles the Bulgarians. Both a slav and christian mixed country. Excellent food too.

Hi. We hiked in Bulgaria - the Rhodope mountains. Some lovely villages but very basic. Plovdiv is a very nice City. It is a very cheap country.

We spent 4 nights in Sophia attending a wedding last year I would want to spend a couple of days there - and as you are flying out of there probably at the end of your trip.

so far as the rest of the trip goes, according to Googlemaps it's less than a 2 hour drive to Plovdiv and another three or so to Varna - but you might like to think about flying to Varna from Sophia and driving back so as to maximise your time in each place.

I agree that it's pretty cheap and should be a lot of fun. I would learn a few words before you go - I don't think that anyone will expect you to know Bulgarian and knowing the odd word will probably make you a lot of friends.

BTW, we enjoyed the "free" tour of Sophia a lot. Of course it's not really free as you are encouraged to pay what you thought it was worth at the end, and they probably make more than they would have done if they took a fee up front. Nevertheless, it was very informative and well worth the €20 we paid for it.

Definitely Veliko Tarnovo. Also the Riga Monastery. I don't think the Black Sea resorts are worth the trek.

On my suggestion, I thought at Bulgaria you have to stay in Nessebar villages which is getting rank in top attraction of Bulgaria. It would be great time there so you can really very comfortable. On the second place is the Old Nessebar which is quite an amazing place in Bulgaria.

Not aure why you have revived an old thread to post this unless you work for the Bulgarian tourist office, but I have been to Nessebar, and it is not an amazing place. It is a tourist trap.

Of course such places as Sofia, Plovdiv, Koprivshtitsa, Veliko Tarnovo and Nessebar are worth seen!
Koprivshtitsa and Nessebar are my favorites, they are really unique!

You might want to take a look at my trip report; click on my name to find it. We spent two weeks in Bulgaria. If your time is limited, I would suggest Plovdiv over Sofia.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...850902394/show