Full Day Trip to Bulgaria from Bucharest: Explore Medieval Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanasi Village

Embark on a full-day trip from Bucharest to Bulgaria and discover the medieval wonders of Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanasi Village. Visit the unique St. Dimitrie Basarabov Monastery and explore the impressive hilltop capital of Veliko Tarnovo.

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Bucharest - The activity will start in downtown Bucharest.

  • Piaka Unirii - Pass by and admire the Unirii Square one of the largest public squares in Europe.

  • Palace of Parliament - Pass by and admire the Palace of Parliament - the world’s largest, heaviest and most expensive administrative building

  • University’s Square - Pass by and admire the University Square, a symbolic place laden with history.

  • Tsarevets - Veliko Tarnovo is home to the magnificent Tsaravets Fortress, the strongest Bulgarian fortification from the Middle Ages. Once home to royalty this ancient stronghold is now a striking tourist attraction standing proudly atop Tsaravets Hill.

Once you have explored Veliko Tarnovo and enjoyed lunch, the tour will continue to its final stop; Arbanasi Village. Nestled on a high plateau between the settlements of Veliko Tarnovo and Gorna Oryahovitsa, Arbanasi Village provides spectacular views and incredible examples of medieval architecture dating back several centuries. This tour is truly one for the enthusiastic history buff and anybody that appreciates beautiful buildings, stunning scenery, and the opportunity to discover a little more about Bulgaria.

  • Ruse - The tour will continue to the city of Ruse, one of Bulgaria’s most elegant cities, boasts a touch of Central European grandeur rarely found elsewhere in the country. It’s a city adorned with imposing belle époque architecture and meticulously maintained leafy squares, as if a small chunk of Vienna that has drifted down the Danube.
  • Freedom Square - Our guide will showcase the main highlights of Ruse Old Town, after which you’ll have the opportunity to explore the city at your own pace.
  • Bucharest - We will end our activity in downtown Bucharest.
What's Included
  • Air-conditioned vehicle transportation
  • Central hotel pick-up in Bucharest
  • Expert tour guidance
What's Not Included
  • Entrance tickets
  • Optional Gratuities
Additional Information

In only a few hours this tour takes you from Bucharest to the foothills of the Balkan Mountains where the impressive medieval settlement of Veliko Tarnovo is located. The tour will start with a visit to the remarkable medieval capital of Veliko Tarnovo, built high on the surrounding hilltops, full of medieval charm. Once you have explored Veliko Tarnovo and enjoyed lunch, the tour will continue to the city of Ruse, one of Bulgaria’s most elegant cities, boasts a touch of Central European grandeur rarely found elsewhere in the country. It’s a city embellished with grand belle époque buildings and carefully tended green squares, reminiscent of a petite piece of Vienna that has gracefully made its way down the Danube. While exploring Romania, be sure not to overlook the incredible chance to explore Bulgaria, another enchanting destination easily accessible through guided day trips from Bucharest!

  • This activity requires a minimum of 4 participants. If this number not be reached, we’ll get in touch with you to offer alternatives.
  • Please, make sure you owe all the necessary documents and permissions for crossing the border.
  • The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of the day and traffic conditions
  • Children under 4 years-old cannot join shared tours. Please contact us for a private tour offer
  • Please note that if pick-up is not available from your accommodation you may be asked to go to a convenient meeting point
Location
Bucharest
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(214 Ratings)
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165suganyar
Aug 25, 2024
Excellent - Excellent trip day trip to Bulgaria. Our tour guide Nasi was so knowledgeable. Gave lot of interesting history and background of Bulgaria. great trip but it was a long day. Highly recommend. We were lucky to have such a friendly tour guide which made a lot of difference to the whole trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gregory_p
Jul 29, 2024
Great day trip - We had a great time on this trip. The guide was informative and interesting, and the sites we visited were great. The day is long but worth it.
Review provided by Viator
Finkje
Jul 27, 2024
Day trip with Gray Line from Bucharest to Bulgaria - Hello We had a great trip to Bulgaria. In particular, our driver/guide from Gray Line, Serban Riga, was very informative and pleasant. This is a trip that can be recommended to everyone of all ages.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Magnus_g
Aug 29, 2024
An enjoyable experience - This was a really interesting trip. Our tour guide Ioana was fantastic and engaging and she had a good sense of humour. The sights were beautiful and it was nice to explore them. I would say that there was a lot of time travelling the van and spent crossing the border but this was expected. Bear that in mind and you should really enjoy the experience.
Review provided by Viator
Tobias_w
Aug 13, 2024
Beautiful Tsarevets, but a a bit "fragmented" tour with little time on each site. - The city of Tsarevets and fortress is really beautiful. The tour should focus around this to give people time to enjuoy. The city of Ruse and Arbanasi village is really just a waste of time, and due to the extra stops gave the whole trip a bit "rushed" feeling (in and out of the bus with lots of stops and little time on each site...
Review provided by Viator
Indira_g
Aug 25, 2024
Won’t recommend - Insane traffic to go there took 3.5hrs Stops were ok Guide good Transportation - not good no AC for the most part of the ride
Review provided by Viator
Laura_z
Jul 26, 2024
Easy way to see a bit of Bulgaria - It's an east way to visit Bulgaria for a day. Unfortunately, the bridge we had to traverse had a section with only one way traffic so it took forever to get into the country, which extended our time to get home by about 2 hours. I was not impressed with the older man who was our guide. The driver was great - he drove carefully.
Review provided by Viator
Tia_a
Sep 3, 2024
Boring and unsafe - I feel a new iterinary should be created for this trip. It's boring, uninteresting and it has a lot of dangerous surfaces and broken steps. The steps broke below me and caused me to fall. I was not going to continue to walk on uneven cobble surfaces. The uneven surfaces, dangerous steps should be communicated by the guide and to be careful. I know anything can happen but one goes into this expecting safety if they are careful. A lot of elderly people take these tours and I don't think it is safe for walking. It was a waste of money and time to be honest. I'm 30 and fit.
Review provided by Viator
R4262sldiogom
Aug 20, 2024
Driving/riding more than visiting - The guide was great and very knowledgeable about the points of interest we stopped at. However, the whole plan and schedule of the trip doesn't make any sense... Way too much time riding on the bus, very little time to visit wherever we stopped. Delays at the border or waiting for someone at the bus make this a very tedious trip too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kiana_n
Jul 29, 2024
Do not Recommend - The number of passengers supposed to be 15, but it was much more. Sonia was our guide for this tour. She is very aggressive and unkind. For any questions that was not directly related to the destination, she was yelling and saying I'm not working there, check yourself on the internet! OK but she could at least say it respectfully. This job requires more kindness and consideration. We seperated from the tour in mid of the day.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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