Beauties of the Eastern Balkans
DAY 1 | ARRIVAL IN BELGRADE
Airport transfer at the arrival time of the flight to be confirmed.
Fast track and porter service included for a smooth arrival.
12h30 – 14h30 Welcome lunch
14h30 – 17h30 Walking tour of downtown Belgrade
The word that best describes Belgrade is "surprising". This city that had long been under the radar of travelers worldwide, enchants everyone who visits it for its history, its gastronomy, the beauty of the meeting of the Sava and Danube rivers seen from the medieval fortress, but mostly for its positive energy and the hospitality of the people who inhabit it. The former capital and largest city of the former Yugoslavia, the current capital of Serbia is one of the oldest cities in Europe and holds a series of secrets that can only be revealed to those who visit it. Come and get ready for one of the most authentic trips of your life!
On this tour we visit the main attractions of the center of Belgrade: the Republic Square, the pedestrian street Knez Mihailova and the fortress of Belgrade.
18h00 Hotel check-in and free time.
DAY 2 | BELGRADE
08h00 – 09h00 Breakfast at the hotel
09h00 – 14h00 Belgrade panorama tour in old-timer Yugoslav cars
Belgrade offers a whole new concept of old-timer car - one of which they are proud of since the times when the city was the capital of Yugoslavia. That's because it was during the Yugoslavian times that the Yugo, the Zastava 101 and the Zastava 705 were produced. Some of those cars won many international races, some of them were top-sellers even in the USA, some of them just made their way to the hearts of the people like no other car before. After the drive around the city, this tour includes a craft beer tasting in a local brewery.
14h00 – 15h30 Free time for lunch
15h00 – 16h00 Transfer to heliodrom for helicopter tour
16h00 – 16h30 Panoramic helicopter flight over Belgrade
Get to know Belgrade from the air on an exciting helicopter ride! Fly in modernly equipped helicopters over the Serbian capital and add a new dimension to your trip. The standard flight is 30-minutes long, but it is possible to organize shorter and longer flights. The helicopters have a maximum capacity of 3 passengers besides the pilot per flight.
16h30 – 17h30 Transfer back to hotel
17h30 Free time. Guide and driver at the client’s disposal for dinner transfer.
DAY 3 | NOVI SAD AND
SREMSKI KARLOVCI
08h00 – 09h00 Breakfast at the hotel and check out;
09h00 – 10h30 Transfer to Novi Sad;
10h30 – 13h00 Novi Sad and Petrovaradin fortress walking tour;
Quiet and surrounded by a fertile plain, the Fruska Gora mountain and the Danube river, the capital city of Vojvodina is a pearl between the cities of Serbia. It is also known as the "Serbian Athens“, because of its cultural importance. There you will see a multiethnic population and great examples of Austro-Hungarian architecture. It was elected European Youth Capital for 2019 and European Capital of Culture for 2022. The Petrovaradin Fortress is home to the largest music festival in southeastern Europe - EXIT, which has earned a global reputation for its diversity and cutting edge music.
13h00 – 13h30 Transfer to Sremski Karlovci;
Sremski Karlovci is a charming Serbian wine destination where in a wine tasting we will try the Bermet - a herbal dessert wine that is Karlovci's trademark. The Viennese Court released Karlovci winemakers from compulsory military service because of the quality of their wines. Bermet was also included in the Titanic ship wine list. We will have the chance to taste wine and honey in a beekeeping and wine cellar ran by a local family for many generations.
13h30 – 14h30 Wine and honey tasting at local winery;
14h30 – 16h00 Time for lunch in local restaurant by the Danube;
16h00 – 19h30 Transfer to Timisoara (the trip is 2h30 long, but Romania is in a different time zone)
19h30 Arrival in Timisoara, check-in at the hotel, and free time.
DAY 4 | TIMISOARA AND SIBIU
08h00 – 09h00 Breakfast at the hotel and check out;
09h00 – 11h00 Time to explore Timisoara
The city of Timisoara is in the Banat region, lying on the Begej River and the seat of the Tamiš district. Timisoara is the third-largest city in Romania and is also known as the cultural, educational, and commercial center of western Romania. Timisoara is also the largest cultural and historical center for Serbs in Romania. The city is also known as "Little Vienna".
11h00 – 14h00 Travel to Sibiu
14h00 – 16h00 Free time for lunch
16h00 – 18h00 Time to explore Sibiu
Sibiu was the largest and richest of the seven walled citadels built in the 12th century by German colonists known as Transylvanian Saxons. The wealth accumulated by their alliances paid for the construction of impressive buildings and the necessary fortifications to protect them. The Old Town of Sibiu retains the grandeur of its earlier days when the rich and powerful dominated regional trade. Like Sighisoara and Brasov, he has a clearly Germanic feeling. The sections of the medieval wall still guard the historic area, where the narrow streets pass through 17th-century buildings with steep roofs before opening into vast squares dominated by the church, such as Praça Grande and Praça Pequena.
18h00 Check-in at the hotel and free time.
DAY 5 | BRAN AND BRASOV
08h00 – 09h00 Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
09h00 – 12h00 Travel to Bran Castle
12h00 – 15h00 Time to explore the castle and have lunch
Bran Castle, located in the vicinity of the city of Brasov, is a national monument and historical landmark of Romania. The fortress is located on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia, nestled in the forest at the foot of the Carpathians. Known as the "Dracula's Castle", it is promoted as the residence of the character who gives name to Dracula by Bram Stoker. Currently, the castle houses a museum open to the public, displaying pieces of art and furniture collected by Queen Maria. Besides the interior of the castle, at the bottom of the hill is a small open-air museum park, which displays traditional peasant structures from Romania, such as huts and barns, representing the whole country.
15h00 – 16h00 Travel to Brašov
Surrounded by the peaks of the Southern Carpathians and resplendent with Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historic attractions, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania. The center of Brasov was founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1211 in an ancient Dacian site and inhabited by the Saxons as one of the seven walled citadels. Brasov exudes a distinctly medieval atmosphere and has been used as a backdrop in many films of the recent period.
16h00 Arrival in Brasov, check-in at the hotel, and free time.
DAY 6 | SINAIA
08h00 – 09h00 Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
09h00 – 11h00 Time to explore Brasov
11h00 – 12h00 Travel to Sinaia
12h00 – 15h00 Time to explore the Peles Castle and have lunch
Over 40 years ago, dozens of builders, artists, and wooden sculptors built Peles Castle. The neo-Renaissance masterpiece was commissioned by Romania's first king, Carol I, and its first stone was laid in 1875. Today, this former royal summer residence is a very popular tourist attraction. Visits are made by a mandatory 40-minute guided tour. Inside, every corner is filled with silk rugs, Murano glass, carved walnut, or polished marble.
15h00 – 17h00 Travel to Bucharest
17h00 Arrival in Bucharest, check-in at the hotel and free time.
DAY 7 | BUCHAREST
08h00 – 09h00 Breakfast at the hotel
09h00 – 11h30 Bucharest walking tour with local guide
Located on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, Bucharest is the capital and largest city in Romania. According to 2011 estimates, Bucharest had a population of 1,883,425, making it the sixth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits.
11h30 – 14h30 Free time to explore Bucharest and have lunch
15h00 – 16h00 Private guided tour of the Palace of the Parliament
The Palace of the Parliament, in Bucharest, is a building with multiple functions where both chambers of the Romanian Parliament are installed. With 350,000 m², it is the largest palace in the world and the second-largest building after the Pentagon. The palace was originally commissioned and designed in the late 1970s by the communist regime of dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu to be the seat of all political and administrative power in Romania. Its chief architect was Anca Petreşcu. Construction began in 1980 and lasted until 1989 when Ceauşescu was overthrown. Until then, less than 80% of the building had been built, but the work was interrupted because it was too expensive for Romanian public coffers. Nicolae Ceauşescu called it the House of the Republic, but many Romanians called it the People's House. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the palace is the largest civilian administrative building in the world (The Pentagon is the largest in absolute terms), as well as the most expensive administrative building, and the heaviest building.
16h00 Return to the hotel and free time.
DAY 8 | VELIKO TARNOVO
08h00 – 09h00 Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
09h00 – 12h00 Travel to Veliko Tarnovo
12h00 – 16h00 Time to explore Veliko Tarnovo and have lunch
Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is known as the historic capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists with its unique architecture. The old part of the city is located on three hills: Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora, which rise amidst the meanders of the Yantra. In Tsarevets are the palaces of the Bulgarian emperors and the Patriarchate, the Patriarchal Cathedral, as well as a series of administrative and residential buildings surrounded by thick walls. Trapezitsa is known for its many churches and as the former main residence of the nobility. During the Middle Ages, the city was one of the main centers of European culture and gave its name to the architecture of the Art School of Tarnovo, the painting of the Art School of Tarnovo, and literature. Veliko Tarnovo is an important administrative, economic, educational and cultural center in northern Bulgaria.
16h00 – 19h00 Travel to Sofia
19h00 Arrival in Sofia, hotel check-in and free time.
DAY 9 | SOFIA
08h00 – 09h00 Breakfast at the hotel
09h00 – 11h30 Guided tour with a local guide in Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city in Bulgaria. 1.26 million people live in the city and 1.68 million people live in its metropolitan region. The city is at the foot of Vitosha Mountain, in the western part of the country. Being in the center of the Balkan peninsula, it is halfway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, while the Aegean Sea is the closest. Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. As the primary city in Bulgaria, Sofia is home to many of the main local universities, cultural institutions and commercial companies. Sofia is one of the top 10 places for start-ups in the world, especially in the area of information technology.
11h30 – 15h00 Time to explore Sofia and have lunch
15h00 – 17h00 Visit Boyana church
The Boyana Church is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church located on the outskirts of Sofia, in the Boyana district. In 1979, the building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The east wing of the two-story church was originally built in the late 10th or early 11th century, then the central wing was added in the 13th century under the Second Bulgarian Empire, the entire building being completed with further westward expansion in mid-nineteenth century. A total of 89 scenes with 240 human images are depicted on the walls of the church.
17h00 – 20h00 Return to the hotel and free time.
20h00 – 22h00 Farewell dinner
DAY 10 | DEPARTURE FROM SOFIA
Transfer to the airport at a time to be arranged.
End of our services.