SOFIA 77ºF - 79ºF

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 77ºF - 79ºF - BACHKOVO 77ºF - 79ºF - PLOVDIV 81ºF - 82ºF

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 81ºF - 82ºF - KAZANLAK 81ºF - 84ºF - SHIPKA 77ºF - 81ºF - ETAR 86ºF - 86ºF - ARBANASSI 81ºF - 82ºF - VELIKO TARNOVO 82ºF - 84ºF

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 82ºF - 84ºF - BASARBOVO 84ºF - 84ºF - BUCHAREST 84ºF - 90ºF

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 84ºF - 90ºF - SINAIA 75ºF - 77ºF - BRAN 73ºF - 75ºF - 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 79ºF - 81ºF - SIBIU 68ºF - 68ºF - HUNEDOARA 70ºF - 70ºF - TIMISOARA 79ºF - 82ºF

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 79ºF - 82ºF - BELGRADE 84ºF - 86ºF

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 84ºF - 86ºF - ZVORNIK 79ºF - 81ºF - SARAJEVO 72ºF - 72ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Sarajevo. Dinner included. We begin our beautiful stage towards Bosnia. Brief stop in the city of ZVORNIK, one of the oldest cities in Bosnia, crossed by a river that marks the border with Serbia and will make us remember with sadness the war in Bosnia. Its population has since changed a lot as most of it, Muslim, was expelled while Serb refugees from other regions settled. We are near the village of Srebrenica, known for the massacre. After that we continue to PAPRAÇA, a humble Orthodox monastery established around the sixteenth century and known for its attractive church. We continue our route to 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 or plane. In this case the visits to Zvornik and Papraça are not included.

SARAJEVO 72ºF - 72ºF - MOSTAR 73ºF - 75ºF - MEDJUGORJE 75ºF - 75ºF - KRAVICA 70ºF - 70ºF - DUBROVNIK 77ºF - 77ºF

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.Note: in some departures, accommodation may be in Cavtat, a coastal town near the city of Dubrovnik.

DUBROVNIK 77ºF - 77ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Dubrovnik. Boat trip to Lokrum. 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 include a boat trip to LOKRUM, a small island 15 minutes by boat from Dubrovnik and home to the ruins of a Benedictine monastery of the eleventh century, popular setting of the series "Game of Thrones". You can then enjoy free time, returning to the hotel at the end of the afternoon. Dinner included. Note: in some departures, accommodation may be in Cavtat, a coastal town near the city of Dubrovnik.Note: in the winter months, from November to March, there is no boat service to Lokrum and therefore we cannot visit the island.

DUBROVNIK 77ºF - 77ºF

After breakfast, end of our services.