SOFIA 39ºF - 46ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Transfer to the hotel. City tour of Sofia.Welcome to SOFIA!!!. Upon arrival at the airport, we will transfer you to your hotel. At 15.00hrs approx., we include a tour of the capital of Bulgaria, where we will see the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the Russian Church, the Mosque, its squares and avenues of Stalinist architecture. Free time during the rest of the day.

SOFIA 39ºF - 46ºF - BACHKOVO 45ºF - 45ºF - PLOVDIV 48ºF - 48ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Plovdiv. Dinner included. In the morning we will leave for BACHKOVO MONASTERY, Bulgaria’s second most important monastery, founded in the eleventh century, with its three churches, we feel it as a place full of peace. Continue to PLOVDIV, where we will visit the city, which is one of the oldest in Europe. Here we include tickets to the Roman Amphitheatre, the ancient chemist’s and the Armenian House. Dinner included.

PLOVDIV 48ºF - 48ºF - KAZANLAK 46ºF - 50ºF - SHIPKA 43ºF - 46ºF - ETAR 73ºF - 73ºF - ARBANASSI 46ºF - 50ºF - VELIKO TARNOVO 48ºF - 52ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Balkans mountain. Thracian tomb, Church of Nativity in Arbanasi. Lunch included. Today’s journey takes us through beautiful scenery across the Balkans mountain range. In the valley of the Roses, we will see KAZANLAK, where tickets are included to the replica of the Thracian Tomb (UNESCO Heritage) and we will learn about the production of products derived from the roses. Amidst the mountains, we stop at the Russian church of SHIPKA, which commemorates the war between Russia and Turkey. Visit ETARA with its charming village/ethnographic museum. Lunch included. After this we travel to ARBANASI, an ancient trading city with its fortress-houses, where we visit the Church of the Nativity with entrance included. Travel to VELIKO TARNOVO, Bulgaria’s former capital, with a very picturesque medieval center.Note: In some cases, Arbanasi may be visited on Sunday morning instead of Saturday.

VELIKO TARNOVO 48ºF - 52ºF - BASARBOVO 48ºF - 48ºF - BUCHAREST 48ºF - 48ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Bucharest. Dinner included. We travel to Romania and on our way we will stop to visit the BASARBOVSKI MONASTERY, a place of pilgrimage dug out of the rock. We proceed to cross the border and the river Danube, arriving to BUCHAREST in the early afternoon. Time for lunch, then we will take a panoramic tour of the city with its ancient quarter and the giant Parliament Palace. Leisure time followed by dinner.

BUCHAREST 48ºF - 48ºF - SINAIA 36ºF - 39ºF - BRAN 36ºF - 37ºF - SIGHISOARA

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Dracula’s Castle. Transylvania region. Special dinner in Sighisoara.Today we have a journey with great scenic beauty, travelling to Transylvania across the Carpathian Mountains and through forests. In SINAIA, we will stroll through the gardens of the Peles and Pelisor Castles before going on to the 14th-century BRAN fortress, commonly known as Dracula’s Castle (tickets included). Time for lunch, before continuing to SIGHISOARA, a very beautiful walled medieval city and UNESCO Heritage center. In the evening we will enjoy a very special dinner, in the restaurant of Count Dracula, at the house where Vlad Tepes was born.

SIGHISOARA - BIERTAN 39ºF - 39ºF - SIBIU 41ºF - 41ºF - HUNEDOARA 48ºF - 48ºF - TIMISOARA 45ºF - 54ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: varied landscapes, small picturesque villages on route. In Transylvania there are numerous fortified churches in areas that were inhabited by people of German origin; some of these churches have been declared Heritage of Mankind, and we will see one of them, BIERTAN (tickets included). After this, we continue to SIBIU, an important economic and cultural center, previously the capital of Transylvania, with its bustling narrow streets and squares. Time for a stroll and take lunch. In the afternoon, we visit the impressive Castle of HUNEDOARA (tickets included), which is considered the prettiest castle in Romania. We continue to TIMISOARA, with time to explore its elegant central squares.

TIMISOARA 45ºF - 54ºF - BELGRADE 45ºF - 52ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Belgrade. Museum of Yugoslavia.We set off for SERBIA and the border pass. After a few hours travelling, we will arrive in BELGRADE. Here you can enjoy a panoramic tour of this active capital on the shores of the Danube as it flows into the Sava. We get the chance to admire its busy center, its parliament, and stroll in the Kalemegdan Fortress. A visit to the Museum of Yugoslavia, where Tito´s Mausoleum is located, will also be included. Free afternoon.

BELGRADE 45ºF - 52ºF - CELIJE - SARAJEVO 41ºF - 41ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Sarajevo. Dinner included. The scenery of today is of beautiful forests and mountains. Stop in CELIJE where we will visit this Orthodox monastery, a place of pilgrimage for Serbs, founded in the thirteenth century. We enter BOSNIA. SARAJEVO. Panoramic tour with a local guide of this city of strong Turkish influence, with its mosques, madrasahs and busy bazaars. Dinner included. Note: if the number of travelers is less than 10 people, the route from Belgrade to Sarajevo can be made by regular coach. In this case the visit to Celije is not included.

SARAJEVO 41ºF - 41ºF - MOSTAR 50ºF - 52ºF - MEDJUGORJE 50ºF - 50ºF - KRAVICA 46ºF - 50ºF - DUBROVNIK 59ºF - 59ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Tunnel of Hope in Sarajevo. Beautiful landscapes throughout the route: mountains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes and picturesque villages. Dinner included. Before leaving Sarajevo we visit the Tunnel of Hope that saved the city during the Serbian siege in the war. Later, we continue to another exciting drive of scenic beauty. Amidst deep valleys, we travel to MOSTAR, with its very beautiful historic center and stone bridge separating the Orthodox, Muslim and Catholic communities. After lunch, we stop in MEDJUGORJE, a place that attracts thousands of Catholic Pilgrims. We then travel to CROATIA. Border procedures (which may take a while). We will then arrive into DUBROVNIK at the end of the day. Dinner included.

DUBROVNIK 59ºF - 59ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Dubrovnik. Cable car ride. Dinner included. In the morning we enjoy a panoramic tour of DUBROVNIK with a local guide. We are undoubtedly in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, surrounded by walls, bathed by the Adriatic Sea; its intact historic center is a jewel of world architectural heritage. The tour includes tickets to the Franciscan Monastery with the oldest pharmacy in Europe, and the Cathedral. We also take the cable car to give us a fantastic view of the city and the neighboring islands. You can then enjoy free time, returning to the hotel at the end of the afternoon. Dinner included. Note: Instead of Dubrovnik, accommodation could be provided in Cavtat, a coastal town near the city.

DUBROVNIK 59ºF - 59ºF

After breakfast, end of our services.