A very great 2-day-trip is Veliko Tarnovo/Shipka.

Part 1:

Start at 6:00 am from Sunny Beach. First we drove in the direktion of the Balkan mountains. Cross them from south to north on the "Pass of the Republic".



Lavender



"Kingscandles" at the bottom of the Balkan Mountains.

After crossing the Balkan mountains we visited Arbanassi, the village of the artists.





Historical rooms in Arbanssi

Then we drove to Veliko Tarnovo, the capital of the 2nd Kingdom.

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The castle



The Bishop-Church



The Jantra-River

Then we drove to the Drjanovo-Monastery.

On the way to the Monastery:



The monument for the heroes ofe the rebellion in April/May 1876 against the Turkish opression.



The entry of the monastery.



The National Hero Vasil Levski was there in May 1871. 1873 he was murdered by the Turks.



Here were preserved the mortal remains of the Bulgarians, who died during the rebellion.

After this visit we drove to our hotel in a little village in the Balkan Mountains.

Part 2 will follow tomorrow.

I am certain those photos will inspire others to explore a little further afield!

Veliko Tarnovo/Shipka Part 2

After breakfast our first stop was Bozenzi, an ancient village.





Then followed Gabrovo:







After Gabrovo we were in etara, another ancient village.





And now the highlights of the second day of our trip:

The Shipka-Pass and the Memorialchurch in Shipka

On the Sipka-Pass there was the most important battle of the war between Russia and Turkey 1877/78. The result of this war: Bulgaria get freedom after 482 years opression from Turkey. In this battle resisted only 5'000 russian and bulgarian soldiers more than 30'000 turkish soldiers.

The monument for this decisive battle:



The Memorialchurch in Shipka:



The End:

Driving back to Sunny Beach

Magic Bulgarienfan. You really live up to your name.

Peter

Thank you Peter! Bulgaria is a wonderful country. And there is so much more I have to see.

Bulgarienfan

we booked this trip for our last day before heading home because we thought it would be fantastic. i have to admit in my opinion it was disappointing. we got picked up by 1 of a fleet of 12 jeeps and took a 2 hr trip up the side of a mountain. there were 6 of us in the back of the jeep and we were bumped from pillow to post ( which i could handle because it was an off road adventure). Our jeep broke half way and we had to travel at 10mph for ten minutes until they decided it definitly wouldnt make it and then waited a further ten minutes for a replacement!!! We finally arrived battered and bruised to a waste bit of ground in the back of beyond for our off road experience and we discovered 2 horses led by men dressed in cow boy suits and some quad bikes. we were allowed to drive the quad bikes in first gear round in a circle 10 yards behind the 10 people in front....once round the circuit only! we got to sit on the horses and were led at walking pace round three trees...once round the circuit!!! there was two guns whice you aimed at plastc bottles and a portaloo!!! i had imagined riding horses (even at a trot) un-aided but not unattended across the beach and through the sand the same with the quad bikes. one each for a couple of hours not one to share for twenty minutes !!!!!!!!! then we went to look at some views and were told some history (which i enjoyed) For dinner we sat outside in some place in the hills, swarmed with flies and the food was cold and horrid (i mean freezing cold) . then home time. Not how it was described in the brochure and not worth the money or the waste of a day. children might like it but we were adults and so were the all the other people we went with.

thanks for doing the report on the trip. What a pity it was your last day. ( useful to have the negatives about trips as well as the positives- it helps members)

For those who like water I would recommend either of the waterparks in Sunny Beach. This year (2006) it's 26Lev for an adult and child above 1.35m (16Lev under) and free for children under 0.9m I think. We paid 104Lev for the four of us (£37) as my girls are a bit tall for their age but had a great time on both occasions.
Both are on the main bypass but the second park which is further out just past the Nessebar junction was the best, with some great slides and a nice deep pool. Also they operate an electronic cash system where you put your money on a watch strap and use it to pay for drinks, food etc. Any you don't use gets re-credited when you leave. Both parks are clean and well-run.
I believe the larger one nearer the resort has a frequent free minibus pick-up from various locations.

i found it was a good day out at the dolphian show in varna.
we went with the holiday rep i recomend that you make your own way there by taxi there is a lot to do but all they want to do is see the show and go .but it is cheaper to get a taxi and tickets yourself.

anyone with any up to date info on trips from GS?
am going in June 07.

Here's a list of excursions run by Balkan Holidays from Golden Sands correct as of Sept 2006

Varna sightseeing £8
Dolphin show £11

These 2 above can be done much cheaper on your own.

Glipse of Varna area £20
Jeep safari £30
Jeep safari & yacht £34
Lazy day cruise £18
Pirates adventure £17
Fishing £18
Nessebur £13
The Danube £29
Discover Bulgaria £25
Balchik & Kaliakra £16
Country & people £26

The prices quoted are all for adults, kids prices are just above half adult cost.

Hope this helps,

Patka

I went to Golden Sands a few years ago and found plenty of overnight trips to Istanbul, can anyone help with advise of similar trips from Sunny Beach and any experiences would be appreciated

hi lov hols
welcome to HT. We have some info here but maybe someone else can advise too.

Hi

Anybody know what trips First Choice run? Advice on which are better done by taxi would be great. We had contemplated hiring a car but after good advice from HT members have decided against it. I do think perhaps as it's our first time in Bulgaria, we may take the easy option and go with the tour operator for any that aren't reasonably local. We are staying Albena by the way.

Thanks

Pam

P>S any top tips on family friendly trips would be lovely

First Choice will run most or all of the ones above as Golden Sands and the prices should be somewhere around the same or slightly higher as those I quoted from last September.

Patka

on this site are various photographs, could anyone tell me where the kast photo is, ut does not say but it look like some sort of church