Activities in Bulgaria
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Free Sofia Tour
This free walking tour led by a local tourism volunteer NGO sets off twice daily from in front of the Palace of Justice (diagonally across the road from McDonalds). Led by friendly, English-speaking volunteers, the two-hour brings you by the city’s main sites, with lots of interesting background presented in a fun and engaging way. The tour is a hit with travellers from backpackers to businesspeople, serves as a great introduction to Sofia and often makes new friends among other travellers and locals in the process.
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Birdwatching Bulgaria
Birdwatching Bulgaria runs numerous birding trips throughout the year, headed by professional, English-speaking guides. For those with minimal time, the one-day trip around Sofia (€80) takes in Vitosha Nature Park and/or Dragoman Marsh, some 35km west of the capital, where possible sightings include ferruginous ducks, sedge warblers and black woodpeckers. More dedicated bird-watchers can book onto longer tours, such as the eight-day Southern Bulgaria tour (€680 per person full board, for a group of two) where you’ll have the chance to spot rarer species including the Squacco heron and Imperial eagle. The company also offers bear-watching tours and specialised excursions…
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Motoroads
Motoroads in Sofia has a good choice of motorcycles for rent from €40 per day (plus €300 security deposit) and organises a series of motorbike trips: a quick three-day riding tour of the Rila, Pirin and Rodopi Mountains costs €460 per person for two, including accommodation, or €270 for a self-guided trip.
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Paintball Bulgaria
Paintballing has become a popular pastime around Sofia. Paintball Bulgaria offers sessions around Mt Vitosha. The price includes equipment and 100 balls. Reservations are essential.
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Snow Shack
Pamporovo is ideal for snowboarding; visit the popular British-run Snow Shack in the Hotel Markony complex for snowboarding gear and/or training courses.
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Leb i Vino
If you've been hunting for a place that allows you to dive into traditional Bulgarian culture, then look no further than Melnik. Run by the husband-and-wife team of Yane Kamenarov and Elena Georgieva-Kamenarova, Leb i Vino ('Bread and Wine') is a cultural organisation that aims to celebrate the musical and cultural heritage of the Pirin region.
Through visiting local villages and interacting with sagacious elders, Yane and Elena have collected the knowledge and artistry of everything from singing and wool dying to instrument making and carpet weavingWhile their primary goal is to keep traditional Pirin culture alive and to transmit it to future generations, they also…
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Maria Luisa Pool
Lying southeast of the city centre, Sofia’s most attractive expanse of greenery is home to the Vasil Levski Stadium, CSKA Stadium and Maria Luisa Pool, as well as bike tracks and tennis courts. It’s laid out with countless statues and flowerbeds, and is a relaxing place to take a leisurely stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The eastern end of the park is dominated by a gigantic communist monument built in 1956 and known as the Mound of Brotherhood, featuring a 42m-high obelisk and socialist-realist icons including a pair of partisan fighters, dramatically gesturing comrades clutching Kalashnikovs, and smiling, stoic workers. It has long been neglected by the…
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Todoroff Wine Cellars
Now one of Bulgaria’s premier wineries, in Brestovitsa, 15km southwest of Plovdiv, this winery was created over the ruins of a neglected communist-era one in 1999 by Ivan Todoroff, lover of the arts and wine. While he wished only to create a small winery sufficient for himself and his friends, word spread and demand grew. Now, while remaining very much a boutique place, Todoroff Wine Cellars is one of Bulgarian wines’ most revered names. It’s especially known for its juicy, red Mavrud, one of two truly representative Bulgarian varieties (along with Melnik wine from the southwest). Todoroff’s ‘Mystery of Thrace’ is a deep red with an intriguing bouquet, combining the…
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Hiking in the Sredna Gora
The Sredna Gora (Central Range) mountains are spread over 6000 sq km from Iskâr Gorge (near Sofia) to the Tundzha Valley (south of Yambol). The highest peak is Mt Bogdan (1603m) near Koprivshtitsa.
The Mountains of Bulgaria by Julian Perry provides a detailed description of the popular two- or three-day hike from Hisar (Hisarya) to Koprivshtitsa (or vice versa).
No dedicated map of the Sredna Gora is available, but most of the mountains and hiking routes are included in the map of Stara Planina that is published by Kartografia. The map of Koprivshtitsa, published by Domino and available in the village, includes a small, but clear, map with five enticing hiking routes…
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Philip Kotev School
The Exhibition Hall of Carpets & Woodcarving, 500m northwest of the bus station, exhibits and sells examples of the famed Kotel style of carpets. The town also has several museums, the best being the History Museum, on the central square, which presents items dating from 19th-century revolutionary times, and Georgi Rakovski’s mammoth mausoleum. The Ethnographic Museum, about 200m west of the Exhibition Hall, is also worth a peek. For a more visceral connection with Bulgarian tradition, you can learn to play the gayda (Balkan bagpipe) and get tuition in other traditional music and dance at the Philip Kotev School, which sometimes holds recitals.
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Mineral Baths
If you seek the Devin spa experience, but don't want to pay at the big hotels, bathe with the locals at the outdoor mineral baths, 4km west of town in a gorgeous wooded setting between steep hills. Boasting a large bath and smaller one for kids, this well-kept facility includes a café and nearby restaurant. There's a sand volleyball court and inexpensive massages are available. In summer, the baths work 24 hours, in winter, according to demand. To go by taxi, ask for Struilitsa Parking (the car park of the baths). The 10-minute trip costs 3 lv.
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Horse Riding Bulgaria
Seeing the open countryside from atop a horse can be a magical experience, and there are several companies around the country offering horse-riding tours in some of the most spectacular areas such as the Balkan range, the Pirin Mountains and the Black Sea coast. One of the most comprehensive companies is Horse Riding Bulgaria, which runs an array of adventures including eight-day treks in the Western Balkan range, based around Koprivshtitsa for €695 per person, and around Strandzha Nature Park for €750.
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Hizha Rilski Ezera
From Hizha Malîovitsa, it’s a seven-hour hike to Hizha Sedemte Ezera, an older hut with simple dormitories. Alternatively, a little further north you’ll find Hizha Rilski Ezera, up at 2150m. The Rila Mountains’ best hizha, it offers dorm beds and rooms with a shared/private bathroom from around 30/35 lv per person, including breakfast and dinner, plus a café. Reservations aren’t necessary, except during August’s grand convocation of the mystical White Brotherhood.
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Chateau Euxinograde
Housed in the former royal palace north of Varna on the Black Sea, this winery was established in 1891 by Prince Battenberg; snatched later by the communists, from 1944 to 1989 it catered to high officials of the party. The 90-hectare Euxinograde complex offers no ordinary wine tour; the stately palace features elaborate period furnishings, botanical gardens with rare plants, and the impressive old wine collections of Prince Ferdinand and Tsar Boris III, which includes astonishing treasures such as a Chateau Margaux from 1904.
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Domaine Boyar
This leading winery emerged soon after the demise of communism, and has become one of Bulgaria’s top exporters to the West. The results of the considerable investments in modern technology and techniques have been numerous awards at international fairs, and a very competitive position among all producers in Eastern and Central Europe. In 2005 it boosted its elite image by becoming the official importer of champagnes drunk in the narrowest of circles – the royal families of Britain, Sweden, Spain and Monaco.
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Damianitza
The leading producer of the famed Melnik wine, Damianitza dates from 1940 but was privatised in 1997 and subsequently modernised. Damianitza has been innovative, fashioning new tastes by combining the local Melnik grape with Cabernet Sauvignon, creating Ruen, and similarly combining Nebbiolo and Syrah varietals to create Rubin, a unique Damianitza wine now regarded as one of Bulgaria’s best. Signature wines include the ReDark and Unicato, hearty, barrel-aged reds full of character.
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Vinprom Rousse Winery
Ruse’s largest winery derives from the former Soviet monopoly. Following a 1998 privatisation it’s modernised admirably, devoting energy and modern methods to developing quality white wines characteristic of the Danubian valley. It’s especially known for the light local red, Gamza, but also produces quality Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Igni Blanc and Welschriesling, among others.
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Bessa Valley Winery
This impressive, foreign-owned winery has attracted international attention for its Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignons, crafted from select, hand-picked grapes aged in French oak barrels. Tasting tours involve also seeing the impressive facilities, which include an enormous rotunda and arched pergola; the limestone cellar walls are flecked with the fossils of ancient sea creatures.
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Jet-Skiing
The narrow curve of sandy beach isn’t the best the Black Sea has to offer, but compared with Sunny Beach it’s mercifully uncrowded (for now). The water is shallow and there are some water sports available, including jet-skiing. The beach is bisected by the snazzy new marina complex, which encompasses a row of upscale restaurants, bars and shops.
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Maleeva Tennis Club
Run by the Maleeva sisters, a trio of ex-pro tennis players, the Maleeva Tennis Club has both outdoor and indoor courts (per hour from 13/28 lv), as well as squash courts (45 minutes from 14 lv). Individual tennis coaching costs 26 lv per hour. Other facilities include a spa and sauna, and a 30-minute massage costs around 18 lv. See the website for a full price list.
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Kokolandia
Kids and adults can enjoy active, outdoorsy fun at Kokolandia, an adventure park inside Borisova Gradina. Divided into three increasingly challenging areas, it offers rope-climbing, tree-top obstacle courses (harnesses provided), rock-climbing walls and a minigolf course. The first zone is suitable for children aged five to 10, while the third is for over-18s only.
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LVK-Vinprom Targovishte
An illustrious microregion for winemaking is Targovishte, near Veliko Târnovo, and its wines have won numerous prizes at international fairs. LVK-Vinprom is the largest area vintner and you can visit the winery and its vineyards bursting with grapes at nearby Kralevo. Targovishte wines, both red and white, sparkle and are good dinner wines.
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Lovico Suhindol
In Suhindol village near Veliko Târnovo, this venerable winery was founded in 1909 and was Bulgaria’s first cooperative. It now produces over 6 million litres of wine and brandy per year. It specialises in the deep purple, slightly spicy Gamza (best after two or three years of ageing), Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Muscat.
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Mountain Adventures in Bulgaria
Mountain Adventures in Bulgaria is a specialist company running guided hiking and trekking excursions that is happy to make tailor-made arrangements if you have any special interests or limited time. Its nine-day hike round the Rila Mountains costs €380 per person including full-board accommodation.
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Cross the Line
Cross the Line offers guided cycling trips and many other activities. Its seven-day Black Sea Coast trip, running from Balchik to Sozopol, costs €499 per person (includes transport and full-board accommodation). Hiking, climbing, canyoning and other outdoor trips are also available.
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