Complete guide to Bulgaria

From our agency in Sofia, we see Bulgaria as a pivotal country between the Balkans and the Black Sea, where you can travel in just a few hours from a 14th-century monastery to a 2,900-metre peak, then to a fine sandy beach. The country fits into a compact format, around 110,000 km², yet concentrates rare diversity: the Balkan range cuts across the territory from east to west, the Rila and Pirin massifs reach over 2,900 m in the south-west, the Rhodopes unfold their stone villages towards the Greek border, and the coast from Varna to Sozopol stretches along the Black Sea for 378 km.

Our English-speaking team guides travellers around four main regions: Sofia and Rila for Orthodox heritage and high mountains, the Valley of Roses and central Balkan for Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and museum-villages, the Rhodopes for Pomak culture and Trigrad Gorge, and finally the coast for Nessebar and the Ropotamo delta. Bulgaria boasts ten UNESCO sites, including Rila Monastery and the Thracian necropolis of Kazanlak, and maintains simple market-driven cuisine: shopska salad, grilled kebapche, local yoghurt, Melnik wines at 8 to 12 euros per bottle at the vineyard.

For a first trip, allow 10 to 14 days to cover Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and a massif of your choice. Beyond that, add the coast or the deep Rhodopes.