2026 HIGHLIGHTS OF ROMANIA & BULGARIA

A TEN-DAY DISCOVERY AND ADVENTURE TOUR.

INCLUDING BUCHAREST & THE PAINTED MONASTERIES OF BUCOVINA,

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK SITES,

SIGHISOARA AND THE TRANSYLVANIAN CASTLES

ALONG WITH BULGARIA'S COUNTRYSIDE AND MAIN CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS.

Itinerary: Bucharest City Tour - Bucovina Frescoed Monasteries - The Borgo Pass - Art Nouveau in Targu Mures - Gypsy Family Visit - Transylvanian Highlights & Sibiu - Home Hosted Dinner - Bran & Peles Castles

Bulgaria: Ruse - Roman Ruins at Nicopolis Ad Istrum - Veliko Tarnovo - Valley of the Roses - Rila Monastery - Sofia City Tour

Day 1:

Arrival to Bucharest

Afternoon arrival Bucharest – the capital of Romania and the largest city between Berlin and Athens. Your English speaking tour guide will meet you at the Coanda International Airport with a name sign reding COMPASS TRAVEL. Transfer to Bucharest with a short orientation tour on the way to your downtown hotel. Check in and time at leisure in the city.

T Accommodation in Bucharest at Hotel Berthelot **** (centrally located boutique hotel)

Day 2:

Bucharest City Tour with Parliament Visit – Piatra Neamt via the Moldavian Countryside

Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. As of the second half of the 19 century Bucharest was known as “The Little Paris of the East” because of its many Parisian aspects in the city layout, architecture and nevertheless, lifestyle. Today you will drive on the grand avenues such as Magheru, Kiseleff and Victory. Stop in the Revolution Square and learn about the December 1989 Romanian Revolution. Then visit the Palace of the Parliament (the second largest building in the world) The tour will also include Cotroceni Quarter and a view of Ceausescus' former private residence. Lunch on your own. Leave Bucharest on the way north to Piatra Neamt in Moldova. Arrive in the early evening. Short orientation tour.

B Accommodation in Piatra Neamt at Grand Hotel Ceahlaul *** (or similar)

Day 3:

Piatra Neamt – Bucovina Monasteries Tour & Traditional Bucovina Lunch - Choice of Tours - Campulung

Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. Bucovina monasteries are gems of medieval Moldavian architecture and artistry. Each of them has a predominant color. Start your day with Voronet, the most famous out of all, known as the Sistine Chapel of the East. Voronet features one the best Last Judgment fresco in this part of the World. Receive a complete explanation of the fresco. Visit the an egg painting museum followed by a traditional Bucovina lunch. Next is Moldovita Monastery is where the UNESCO Golden Apple Award given to the painted churches back in 1975, is kept. Drive to the nearby Sucevita Monastery, which is the largest of all, looking more like a mighty fortress than a monastery. The Ladder of John of Sinai is considered one of the best of the frescoes of Sucevita. In the village of Marginea visit the black pottery workshop - they use a technique called "oxygen reduction”, there is the same technique in Mexico only.

CHOICE OF AFTEROON VISITS:

1. Visit the Salt Mines at Cacica, founded in 1798 OR

2. Visit the Bucovina Folk Customs Museum. The drive to the nearby town of Campulung for overnight.

B L Accommodation in Campulung Moldovenesc at Hotel Genia ***

Day 4:

Campulung – The Borgo Pass – Art Nouveau in Targu Mures – Exclusive Gypsy Home Visit - Sighisoara Guided Walk

Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. Continue your Romania and Bulgaria private trip with a departure to Bistrita over the picturesque Borgo Pass of the Eastern Carpathians with a stop over at Castle Dracula Hotel. This is where Bram Stoker placed the “residence” of his imaginary character: Count Dracula. You then pass through Bistrita heading south to Targu Mures, one of the important Central Transylvanian mid size cities and known for its wonderful Art Nouveau architecture such as the 1913 Palace of Culture. On the way to Sighisoara make enjoy a unqiue opportunity to meet a Gypsy family in their own home, for an authentic cultural interchange. Sighisoara – this is the only still inhabited medieval citadel in Europe. It was developed by the German settlers as of late 12th century. It stands on a network of tunnels and catacombs and, according to one version of the myth; this is where the Pied Piper brought the children of Hamelin after their ungrateful parents refused to pay him his due. Tour the two squares of the Citadel (Upper Town), the Scholars’ Staircase, the Ducklings’ Square, the Tinsmiths’ Tower, the House with Antler, the Tower with Clock (climb up for a great view), the Torture Chamber and the Weapon Museum. Sighisoara is the place where the Vlad the Third, The Impaler (Dracula) was born in 1431. The Birthplace is today a restaurant and one of the main tourist attractions. Dinner on own.

B Accommodation in the Upper Town of Sighisoara

at The House with Antler ***

Day 5:

Sighisoara – Biertan (UNESCO Site) – Sibiu Tour & Time at Leisure

Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. Drive to the impressive fortifiication of Biertan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a visit of the former Seat of the Lutheran Bishops between 1516 and 1867. Your tour continues to Sibiu: the chief city of the Transylvanian Saxons still surrounded by defense walls and guild towers. Visit the colorful open air fruit & vegetable market of Sibiu followed by a leisurely walking tour of Sibiu, the chief city of the Transylvanian Germans. Aside from the lovely Great & Lesser Squares, the landmarks of Sibiu is the Bruckenthal Palace assembled by Baron Bruckenthal, the Governor of Transylvania at the beginning of the 19th century. The Evangelical Cathedral was completed in its actual shape in 1520. View the Passage of Stairs linking the Upper town to the Lower town, the 1859 Liar's Bridge and the old medieval merchant houses. Enjoy the remainder of the evening in the old town of Sibiu.

B Accommodation in Sibiu at Hotel MyContinental *** (or similar)

Day 6:

Sibiu ASTRA Museum Horse & Carriage Tour - Fagaras - Brasov & Evening at Leisure

Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. Morning tour by horse and carriage of the open air ASTRA Museum, a collection of vernacular houses from all over Transylvania dispalyed in a park. Continue to Brasov via Fagaras (view of Fortress). Brasov (Kronstadt) also was developed by the Saxon colonists as of the late 12th century and the Old Town is a true gem of well preserved medieval architecture. The walking tour of Brasov includes the famous 14th century Black Church with its 4,000 pipe organ and over one hundred Anatolian prayer rugs, the Council Square and the Weavers’ Bastion - a unique structure. Continue to the old Romanian Quarter known as Schei for a tour of the First School in Romanian, then view the narrowest street in South – Central Europe. Hotel check in and time at leisure in the lovely pedestrian area of Old Brasov with its many restaurants and outdoor cafes.

B Accommodation in Brasov at Hotel Bella Muzica ***

Day 7:

Bran Castle - Sinaia Resort & Peles Castle – Ruse, Bulgaria

Hot and cold reakfast at hotel. Take a morning guided tour of the famous Bran Castle also known as Dracula Castle. It was built in 1377 to safeguard the trading route between Transylvania and Wallachia, then enlarged and restored in the 1920 by Queen Marie of Romania. A guided tour of the castle is included. Enjoy cheese sampling on the premises. Named after St. Catherine Monastery on Mount Sinai, Sinaia became the unofficial capital of the Kingdom of Romania towards the end of the 19th century. Once the famous Orient Express train use to regularly call here. Tour Peles Castle the royal residence of King Charles I of Romania and known as one of the most beautiful summer royal residences in Europe. Continue back south to the border with Bulgaria. Take an orientation tour of the center of Ruse with its classical architecture before your hotel check in. Enjoy the evening in the lively pedestrian area of Ruse.

B Accommdaotion in Ruse at Hotel Dunav Plaza ****

Day 8:

Nicopolis Ad Istrum - Veliko Tarnovo – Kazanlak Thracian Tomb – Plovdiv Walking Tour

veliko A la carte breakfast at hotel. This morning your Bulgarian guide will meet you at the hotel. Continues with a drive to the Roman Ruins of Nicopolis Ad Istrum, built in the early 2nd century AD by Emperor Trajan. Veliko Tarnovo, the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Walk on the picturesque Samovodene Street, then take a look at the Tsarevets Fortress is one of the largest and most well preserved of the Northen Balkans. We will then journey south, through the heart of rural Bulgaria today en route to Plovdiv, the country’s second largest city. As we wind through picturesque Rose Valley, we make a stop in the town of Kazanlak at the world famous Thracian Tomb, you get an up-close view of the wonderfully preserved Hellenistic frescoes dating back to the 4th century BC. Old Plovdiv on Trimonzium hill is the centre of Bulgarian national revival architecture at its height and is full of charm and artistic character. Hotel check in. Evening at leisure in the centre of Plovdiv.

B Accommodation in Plovdiv at Hotel Odeon ***

Day 9:

Plovdiv – Rila Monastery – Sofia

Hot and cold buffet breakfast at hotel. Enjoy a tour including a visit to the Old Town, the 2,000 years old Roman Amphiteathre, the Byzantine and medieval fortifications, the 15th century mosque. Walk along the narrow cobbled streets and admire the silence and tranquility of this historic town, visit workshops of local artisans to learn about Bulgarian crafts, especially pottery.You’ll enjoy a scenic ride through beautiful Mesta Pass on the way to Rila Monastery, Bulgaria's most famous tourist site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in the 10th century by St. Ivan Rilsky, the monastery was at the center of Bulgarian culture and Orthodox belief for centuries. It is the largest in the Balkans and included in the List of World Cultural Heritage. Our tour of the monastery includes a visit to the church which is of particular artistic value, for it was adorned by the foremost 19-century masters of the Samokov, Bansko and Debar schools of painting and woodcarving. Continue to Sofia with arrival in the late afternoon. Orientation tour en route to your hotel. Check in and evening at leisure.

B Accommodation in Sofia at Hotel Saint George ****

Day 10:

Sofia Half-Day City Tour & Airport Transfer for Departure

Hot & cold buffet breakfast. In the morning take a comprehensive sightseeing tour of Sofia, a vibrant city with a seven thousand year long history. The Sofia highlights include the National History Museum, displaying the gold and silver Thracian Treasures, and the Boyana Church, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, one of Bulgaria's most significant historical treasures dating back to the 13th century. Other points of interest during the tour will be the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Rotunda of St George and the Banya Bashi Mosque as well as a view of the Great Synagogue. Transfer to Sofia International Airport for your return flight.

Tour Price & Discounts: PLEASE CLICK HERE

Included Features:

9 nights at three and four star hotels, all centrally located
fully insured sedan / minivan with climate control, for the entire distance
fuel & parking fees
all sightseeing tours & cultural connections
three informal talks on: Vlad the Impaler - Dracula, Ceausescu and His Times, The Gypsies and Their Journey (all by tour guide)
11 meals: 9 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 1 home-hosted dinner
professional English speaking tour guides (driving) to accompany you throughout
an egg painting demonstration in Bucovina
exclusive visit of a Gypsy family in their own home (and interaction)
cheese sampling in Bran
Bucharest and Sofia city tours (including the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest)
private airport transfers on arrival and departure
porterage (except for Customs Areas)
maps of Romania and Bulgaria.

You'll Visit 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

Romania: Sibiu's Historical Center, Bucovina Exterior Frescoed Monasteries, Historic Center of Sighisoara, Saxon Villages of South Transylvania

Bulgaria: Roman Ruins of Nicopolis, Kazanlak Thracian Tomb, Rila Monastery, Boyana Church.

Not Included:

admission fees at sites and museums
credit card fee of 2.5%
gratuities of any kind.