Romania & bulgaria!

Join us for an amazing experience in unspoiled Old World Europe! Dive into the medieval history in the times of the Bulgarian Empire. Explore the famous Bran Castle—home of Dracula? The many faceted architecture of these two countries will leave you breathless!  This amazing trip includes round-trip airfare, deluxe coach travel and tours, and gracious hospitality in 4-star hotels with city center locations. Call 800-576-4905 now to reserve or online space reservation at Railandsail.com! 

Included in your fully escorted travels:  

· Round-trip flights to from Seattle, SFO, LAX* *Other gateways by request

· 4-star hotels in with breakfast

· All mentioned meals

· All admissions and entrances

· Time for personal discoveries

· Licensed guide of Bulgaria & Romania 

· Experienced USA Tour Manager

· Caring and professional travel arrangements

· Visits and tours including:

▪ Rila Monastery and walking tour of Sofia

▪ Tour of Plovdiv, visit at the Ancient Theatre, Kazanlak  Thracian Tomb

▪ Tsarevets Citadel in Veliko Turnovo

▪ Bran Castle, Transfagarasan mountain road drive, walk ing tour of medieval Sibiu  

▪ Walking tour of medieval Sighisoara with inside visit to  the Clock Tower, Prejmer     fortified Church

▪ Walking tour of medieval Brasov with inside visit at the  Black Church

▪ Peles Castle, Village Museum in Bucharest

▪ Parliament Palace in Bucharest

· PLEASE CONSIDER TRAVEL INSURANCE

· Rail & Sail Insurance quotes: (800) 576-4905 

Day 1 — Thursday Sep 10 — Depart for Europe! Tray tables up! Depart for an amazing travel experience! Enjoy in flight meals and entertainment. (in flight meals)

Day 2 — Friday Sep 11 — Arrive Sophia, Bulgaria Land in Bulgaria, transfer to our hotel for a good night of rest. (welcome dinner)

Day 3 — Sat Sep 12 — Sophia, Bulgaria Our first day is filled with ancient, medieval and recent examples of the local architecture: the 1400 year old St. George Rotunda, famous for its original structure and unique frescoes, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral – one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the World, a symbol of Sofia, the 6th cen. St. Sofia Church that gave the city its name.
The Royal Palace which nowadays hosts the National Art Gallery. In the afternoon we travel to Rila Monastery where we visit the most impressive Bulgarian monastery, founded in 10th century and featuring extraordinary architecture, wall-paintings, and wood carvings.  (breakfast, lunch)

Day 4 – Sunday Sep 13 — Sofia – Plovdiv – Veliko Tarnovo This morning we depart for Plovdiv, ancient settlement founded in 342 BC by Phillip II of Macedonia. Our visit in the Old town will include the Roman Amphitheatre and the Medieval Fortifications. In the afternoon we continue to the town of Kazanlak, an area known as the Valley of the Thracian Kings. Here we visit a replica of one of the oldest Thracian tombs listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Further to Veliko Tarnovo where we remain for this overnight. (breakfast, lunch)

Day 5 — Monday Sep 14 — Veliko Tarnovo – Sinaia—Welcome to Romania! Visit beautiful Veliko Tarnovo, former capital of the second Bulgarian Kingdom (1185-1396). The town is also referred to as the “City of the Kings”. You will be amazed by its stone houses, perched one above the other on the steep banks of the Yantra River. Our walking tour will include the Tsarevets Hill, where the Patriarchal Church and Royal Palaces are located. After lunch we drive north to Russe where we cross the Danube into Romania. Continue to Sinaia, known as the ‘Pearl of the Carpathians’ due to its magnificent mountain scenery. (breakfast)

Day 6 — Tuesday Sep 15 — Sinaia – Bran – Sibiu This morning we travel to Bran where we visit famous Dracula’s Castle. The castle was created by the Saxons in the late 14th century to defend Brasov from invasion by the Turks and its interior displays rich Western European furniture which Queen Marie purchased in the 1920s when the castle was used as a royal residence.
We continue to the charming town of Sibiu that combines styles of the late Renaissance, Gothic, Classical and Transylvanian Baroque architecture. Sibiu has been likened to Nuremberg, but many of the houses are painted sky blue, red, apricot and pea green. Our tours of Sibiu include the evangelical and orthodox cathedrals and the Brukenthal Art Museum. The Gothic Evangelic Cathedral is a massive structure that was completed in 1520 and whose huge imposing tower dominates the surrounding skyline. It boasts Romania’s largest organ, which has around 6000 pipes, and is also home to the tomb of Prince Mihnea the Bad, the son of Vlad, who was murdered just outside the church. (breakfast)

Day 7 – Wed Sep 16 — Sibiu – Sighișoara – Prejmer – Brasov Today we continue with Sighișoara, a beautifully preserved medieval town set in rolling countryside. The city walls encircle cobbled streets lined with 16th century burghers’ houses and churches. The well-preserved medieval citadel is a UNESCO World Heritage list. The most representative building is the gigantic Old Clock Tower, which dates back to the 13th century. Each day a different wooden figure emerges from the belfry on the stroke of midnight, and a drummer strikes every hour. After lunch we continue to Prejmer, the largest and best preserved fortified church in South East Europe and the easternmost settlement of Transylvanian Saxons. The church was built by the Teutonic knights between 1212 and 1213 and was besieged more than 50 times but conquered only once, in 1611. Further to Brasov. (breakfast, lunch)

Day 8 – Thursday Sep 17 — Brasov Spend all day visiting Brasov; legend says that when the Pied Piper of Hamelin enticed the children away from the town and underground they emerged in Transylvania near Brasov’s main square, Piata Sfatului, situated in the heart of the medieval quarter. It is one of the finest Baroque squares in Romania. (breakfast)

Day 9 – Friday Sep 18 — Brasov – Sinaia – Bucharest This morning we stop in Sinaia where we visit Peles Castle, a royal palace set in a large park landscaped in the English fashion. It has over 100 rooms richly decorated in ebony, mother of pearl and leather, and each room is styled on a particular country. There are over 800 stained glass windows in the building whose rooms are full of Renaissance armour and weapons, Murano chandeliers and Persian carpets. Romania’s first cinema was established in one of the castle’s rooms. Continue with Pelişor Palace located few hundred meters away, designed by Marie, boasts beautiful art nouveau designs, Viennese furniture, Lalique vases and Tiffany glassware, and the Golden Room is perhaps one of the palace’s most delightful chambers. Continue to Bucharest. (breakfast)

Day 10 – Saturday Sep 19 — full day in Bucharest  Bucharest is Romania’s cosmopolitan capital and a city well known for its wide Parisian-style boulevards and fine pre-World War I buildings. The Royal Palace, built in the early 19th century and the former seat of the State Council, houses the National Art Museum in its South Wing, including an area dedicated to Romanian Art and an impressive European gallery, boasting works by Rembrandt, El Greco and Breughel. The Palace of Parliament is a colossal building and the third largest building in the world after the Pentagon and the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. The open air Village Museum of vernacular architecture was opened in 1936 by Royal Decree, and the vast park displays numerous houses and other structures from every region of Romania, illustrating the extreme diversity of folk architecture with heavily thatched peasant dwellings, wooden churches, dug-out homes with vegetables growing on the roof, windmills, tall farm barns and a bizarre subterranean house. (Breakfast, farewell dinner)

Day 11 – Sunday Sep 20 — Free morning/departure  After breakfast, we make our way Bucharest International Airport for onward journeys home! (Breakfast, in-flight meals)