Day 1: Bucharest

Arrival at Bucharest Coanda International Airport. Meet and greet by your English speaking guide. Brief presentation of Bucharest and of the tour on route to your hotel. Check in. Free time. In the evening enjoy a traditional Romanian festive folklore dinner show with at Pescarus Restaurant on the shore of Herastrau Lake.

Day 2:   Bucharest - Cozia - Sibiu

Hot buffet breakfast at hotel. Morning city tour of Bucharest including the Revolution Square, the People's House - the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon , the Metropolitan Church, the former Princely Court, the Village Museum - one of the world's most interesting open air museums with century old original peasant households from different parts of Romania. Afternoon departure for Sibiu. On route short visit to the 14th century Cozia monastery built by Prince Mircea the Old, the grandfather of Vlad Dracula. Drive along the Olt river Canyon. Cross the mountains into Transylvania. Overnight in Sibiu's famous Romans’ Emperor Hotel, first built at the end of the 18th century. Dinner at Crama Sibiul Vechi, the best restaurant in town for traditional Transylvanian dishes.

Day 3 Sibiu - Biertan - Sighisoara - Bistrita

Hot buffet breakfast at hotel. Start your day with a walking tour of Sibiu, the chief city of the Transylvanian Germans. Visit the old surrounding defense walls and the remaining towers each belonging to a certain guild. One of the landmarks of Sibiu is Bruckenthal Museum assembled by baron Bruckenthal, governor of Transylvania at the beginning of the 19th century. The Evangelical Cathedral was completed in its actual shape in 1520, but inside, there is a exquisite fresco of the Crucifixion on the north wall of the choir dating from 1445. Visit the Passage of Stairs linking the Upper town to the Lower town, the 1859 Liar's Bridge and the Byzantine style Orthodox Cathedral. At about 11 am departure to Biertan, driving through typical Transylvanian German villages. Biertan is a village set high on a hill within two and a half rings of walls linked by a covered staircase. It was completed as late as 1516 recently restored and added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Drive another 10 miles to the splendid town of Sighisoara, one of the most well preserved medieval towns in Europe and still inhabited. Walking tour including: Dracula (Prince Vlad the Impaler) birthplace house, the Tower with Clock (climb up for a great view! ), the Weapon Museum and Torture Chamber. Cross the Transylvanian Plateau to Bistrita where the main character Jonathan Harker stayed overnight at the Golden Crown Hotel before leaving for Dracula's Castle in the Borgo Pass. All these places in the book, they actually exist, even the hotel. Short tour of Bistrita.

Day 4  Bistrita - Borgo Pass- Voronet Monastery - Campulung

A la carte breakfast. Drive thru the scenic Borgo Pass on the way to Bucovina. Stop for pictures and souvenirs at Castle Dracula Hotel. Bukovina 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. Next is Moldovita. Get explanation of the outer frescoes. Moldovita Monastery is where the UNESCO Golden Apple Award given to the painted churches back in 1975, is kept. On the south facade of Moldovita is The Siege of Constantinople belonging to the 24 episodes of the Hymn to the Holy Virgin. Traditional lunch in the picturesque village of Sucevita. Drive to the nearby Sucevita, 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, rarely present in medieval Romanian art. 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! In the afternoon arrive to the picturesque town of Campulung. On an exclusively organized basis, meet with a famous local egg painter for an interactive demonstration of this local craft.. Dinner on your own.

Day 5 :Campulung Moldovenesc-Bicaz Gorges-Brasov

After breakfast drive back south along the Bicaz Lake - one of the most scenic roads in the country - only to get to Bicaz Gorges where the surroundings are dramatic. Stopover for pictures and souvenir shopping. Continue your trip through two of the counties where around 85% percent of the population is ethnic Hungarian (very interesting are the by-lingual road singes). You are back to Transylvania. Visit one of the most well known German fortified churches - Harman. Inside the fortified outer walls, wooden staircases lead to the rows of meal-rooms where each family stored a loaf from every baking and other essential supply for use in times of siege. The village is got a 13th century church. Arrive to Brasov, in the past the largest Transylvanian Saxon’s town. Short orientation tour and hotel check in. Dinner on your own.

Day 6: Brasov-Bran-Sinaia

Hot buffet breakfast. Morning city tour of Brasov. Visit the 14th century Black Church with its 4000 pipe organ, the old Romanian district and the narrowest street in the world. The attraction of the day is the well known Bran Castle also known as Dracula Castle. The castle was built in 1377 to safeguard the trading route between Transylvania and Wallachia, enlarged and restored a few times since then. A guided visit of the castle is included. Drive through Predeal, Romania’s highest town. Late afternoon arrival to Sinaia mountain resort. 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. Orientation tour of the resort including the famous Casino, inspired by the one in Monte Carlo. Once the famous Orient Express train use to regularly call here and it still does once a year on its way from Paris to Constantinople. Farewell Dinner at Palace Restaurant.

Day 7: Sinaia-Bucharest - Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Hot buffet breakfast. Visit one of the most important tourist attractions of Romania: Peles Castle in Sinaia, the royal residence of King Charles I of Romania and the most beautiful summer royal residence in Europe. This castle alone is worth your entire trip to Romania. Drive to Rousse, cross the Danube River into Bulgaria and enjoy a walking tour of Rousse, the largest river port in Bulgaria and one of the cities with years-long European cultural traditions.  Rousse has been even referred to as "Little Vienna" in the past, for its Neoclassicism style of buildings. Stunning and brilliant Austrian style architecture abounds, particularly around the city's main square which features the Statue of Liberty, erected in honor of the Russian Liberators (1878).

Next stop is Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria’s mediaeval capital city. Picturesquely situated on the three hills circled by the Yantra River, Veliko Tarnovo still preserves the typical 19th century architecture with its houses perched one above the other along the sloping hills!

Day 8: Veliko Tarnovo /Arbanassi –Veliko Tarnovo

Hot buffet breakfast at hotel. Morning sightseeing tour of Veliko Tarnovo (partly on foot), including stops at the historical Tsarevets Hill with the remains of the Royal Palace, the Patriarchate and the fortress gates. Stroll through the Samovodska Market Place, where you’ll be taken in as pastry cooks, master goldsmiths, potters, and carvers still pursue their crafts as they did in centuries past. Visit Arbanassi museum village with the 17th c. Church of the Nativity, one of the most richly decorated churches in Bulgaria. Next stop is at Konstantsaliev’s house, a great example of 18th c. unique local architecture.  Drive back to Veliko Tarnovo .Dinner on your own.

Day 9: Veliko Tarnovo – Kazanlak

Following breakfast, proceed to Etara. The 18th – 19th century crafts and lifestyle will come to life in front of you as you visit the famous open-air ethnographic museum. Drive up the mountains to Shipka Pass. En route visit Tryavna. This charming small town is located in the northern slopes of the Balkan Range. Tryavna still preserves the spirit and talent of the 17th century artists in the field of woodcarving and icon painting. Walking sightseeing tour of Tryavna, including a visit to the Daskalov’s House (1804): Museum of Woodcarving.

Reach Kazanlak, the main city of the famous Rose Valley, in the afternoon. Short sightseeing tour, including a visit to the Rose Museum. During the last decade the Rose Valley became known as the Valley of the Thracian Kings. Visit the Thracian beehive tomb (replica), a unique monument of the Thracian Culture, included on UNESCO's List of World Heritage. The region around Kazanlak is dotted with dozens of Thracian burial mounds. Here, in summer 2004 Prof. Kitov and a team of fellow archaeologists unearthed an ancient gold funeral mask that they say is as important a discovery as the treasures of Agamemnon and Tutankhamen.

Day 10: Kazanlak -  Plovdiv

Hot buffet breakfast at hotel. Drive South to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city and one of the oldest in Europe. Your mainly walking tour takes you through the Old Town, with stops at the Roman Theatre (one of the largest amphitheaters in Europe) and one of the old houses, now turned into a museum. Late afternoon drive to Brestovitza, to a local winery near Plovdiv, and enjoy a Bulgarian wine tasting.  Return to Plovdiv for overnight. Dinner on your own.

Day 11 Plovdiv – Rila monastery – Sofia

After breakfast, drive to Rila Monastery through the Western Rhodope mountains and Predela pass, where the 3 mountains meet: Rila, Pirin and the Rhodopes. En route visit Bansko museum village and one of the fastest growing ski resorts in Europe. Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant. Proceed to Rila monastery: a marvel, included in UNESCO’s List of World Cultural Heritage. It reflects the entire history of the Bulgarian state and people, defending their spiritual and cultural life. The monastery’s unique architecture, magnificent paintings and murals, and exquisite carved-wood interiors match the breathtaking mountain views.

Drive to Sofia for overnight.

Day 12  Sofia City Tour

Following breakfast, enjoy a sightseeing tour of Sofia, a city with 7000-year long history (approximately two and half hours). Your 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, the St Nicholas Russian Church and the Banya Bashi Mosque as well as a view of the Great Synagogue. Explore the city’s lovely parks and boulevards on your own this afternoon. Farewell Dinner in a local restaurant with Bulgarian folklore show and wine.

Day:13 Sofia – home flight

After breakfast, enjoy a last minute shopping opportunity in Sofia. Transfer to the airport, where tour ends. B, T