Altours private Bulgaria tour

My husband, Leo, and I were going to take a cruise out of Istanbul, Turkey, and decided to also visit a nearby country first. Our choice was Bulgaria, which is small, uncrowded and loaded with antiquities and history. We arrived on Aug. 18, 2013, and spent the next eight days touring from Sofia in the west to the Black Sea coast and back.

Our tour was arranged by Altours (3 Galabetz Str., 1505 Sofia, Bulgaria; phone +359 2 9441405), a very small company directed by Alexandra Dimitrova. I found it on the Internet about three months before our trip. 

With the utmost personal and caring nature, Alexandra made sure everything was to our satisfaction. All of the hotels we stayed in were centrally located and rated 4-star. We often had a suite.

We were picked up at the Sofia airport and taken to our hotel (Best Western PLUS City Hotel Sofia). Later we had dinner there with Alexandra and her husband. 

The next day we met our driver, Kotse (Constantine), and our guide, Boris. We cannot say enough good things about them. They were extremely helpful and sensitive to my husband’s needs, as he is disabled, using a walker or a cane. Boris is extremely knowledgeable, and his English is excellent. 

We toured Sofia, including the Boyana Church, the National Museum of History, Roman fortress walls and a hundred-year-old Sephardic synagogue. 

Leaving Sofia, we visited the Rila Monastery (one of Bulgaria’s eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all of which we visited) and continued to Plovdiv (Trimontium Princess Hotel). A synagogue there was closed, but Boris knew somebody to phone, so we were able to get in.

On day four we toured Plovdiv, mostly by car, and saw the most amazing Roman ruins — an amphitheater and stadium — then went to the Bachkovo Monastery. The murals and icons were lovely. Patriarchs Cyril and Stefan are buried there and, for saving all of Bulgaria’s Jews in 1943, are honored by the Jewish community in a ceremony there every March 9.

We stopped for a wine tasting at the boutique wine cellar of the Todoroff Wine & Spa Hotel (1 General Gurko Str., Brestovitsa, Plovdiv Municipality; phone 03142 2166). They specialize in red wines and Mavrud, a wine made by the ancient Thracians and still produced. Lunch there on a lovely patio was delicious.

We continued to Kazanlak (Palas Hotel), famous for its roses, with many rose-oil products created there: soaps, body and face creams, jam, etc. This is also where a Thracian tomb has been unearthed dating from the fourth to third centuries BC. It is truly amazing.

On day five we visited Nessebar on our way to Varna, both of which are on the Black Sea. We spent two nights in Varna at the Panorama, which is a little outside of town but close to the beach.

The most crowded place we visited, Varna was my least favorite but worthwhile, since we visited the Archaeological Museum, home to the oldest treasure of gold artifacts in the world (over 6,000 years old). The artifacts show that people in this region were working in gold before the Mesopotamians and Egyptians were.

Not far from our hotel, we found a delightful restaurant in a “ship” constructed on the beach: Mr. Babá (South Beach, Varna; phone +359 52 614 629) — delicious seafood.

The more northerly route back to Sofia took us by way of Veliko Tarnovo (Yantra Grand Hotel). Along the way, we saw the Rammed Stones and Madara Horseman, then went to Pliska, where Boris gave us history lessons on the First and Second Bulgarian empires and present-day Bulgaria.

Our last full day of sightseeing included the Royal Palace, the Medieval Fortress and a delightful wax museum in Veliko Tarnovo plus a visit to nearby Arbanassi village, a trade-and-craftsmen center.

Back in Sofia that evening, Alexandra and her husband took us out for a lovely Bulgarian meal.

The trip cost us €1,320 (near $1,810) per person, including eight nights in 4-star hotels, transfers, private car with driver and guide, wine tasting with lunch, two dinners and all entrance fees. We felt it was extremely well arranged and very worthwhile. We could not have been more pleased.

HELEN WOLKOW

Glenwood, IL