When talking about a city that epitomises Bulgaria and stays in the heart with its scapes, atmosphere, history, and people, Plovdiv always wins hands down. Located on its emblematic hills by the River Maritsa, Plovdiv is the result of the meeting of different people, civilisations and cultures through the millennia, an inimitable combination of antiquity and modernity that we are happy to rediscover with each new visit.
The lockdown of the previous months made it crystal-clear for us how important active connection with nature is for our psychological wellbeing and physical health. While we kept to our homes we suddenly realised that we crave close contact with the wild forest, its clean air and tranquility.
Exotic experiences are a good thing, but for people of today, local tourism is one of the most rewarding forms of travelling. There is no need to fly and waste our energy and the precious time of our vacation at airports, waiting for connecting flights. Instead, only a couple of hours by car among picturesque landscapes bring us to places with specific charm and atmosphere, history and tastes. This gives us more time for the so-called slow travel that focuses on the quality of the experience, not on overloading the senses with new things until becoming inured.
Humans have hunted since they appeared in this world. Hunting provided them with the calories needed to develop their brain, stimulated them to discover fire and to create complex weapons, taught them to cooperate and to plan as a group, inspired their cave art and their mythology. With time it became a symbol of skills, power and strength, so it is hardly a coincidence that the first kings in the world, the men who ruled over Ancient Sumer and Egypt, were depicted as mighty hunters of lions, bulls, birds.
Bulgaria is blessed with magical nature where everyone can find their place for a wonderful vacation: majestic mountains, gentle sea, abundance of mineral springs, gorgeous wines, hidden spots far from the crowd.
The day when I came onboard a yacht for the first time is one of the things I will remember forever. The yacht itself was nothing to write home about but that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was that on her I was about to do something different and exciting, and at a new place, the Ionian Sea.
Luxury vacation or bustiness trip to Bulgaria are a reality in which quality and variety combine in a memorable way. Some of the hottest destinations for quality tourism in the country have been here for years. Others appeared recently, offering innovative concepts. Some are located at established tourist destinations while others will pleasantly surprise you with their unexpected locations. In all of them you will find personal approach and services that make you feel special.
Vacation in the mountains in winter and at the seaside in summer is no longer the only way in which people in Bulgaria relax. In this country, spa tourism is becoming increasingly popular.
In the recent years Bulgaria is becoming increasingly attractive tourist destination. The statistics shows it, too. In 2017, it recorded a significant increase of foreign tourists at almost 8 percent. According to prognoses, the trend is set to continue in this year. The increased incomes from visits from foreign tourists show something else: Bulgaria is successfully developing its potential to become a destination for high class vacation.
Unlike other traditional villages and towns in Bulgaria stuck in their museum-feel, Tryavna, a town in the central Stara Planina mountains, is alive. Ordinary people still live in its fine Revival Period houses and the cobbled streets are busy with townsfolk, hurrying about their business.
No-one can say that they have tasted life's great pleasures if they haven't spent even a day on a yacht.
Sailing is an adventure. The landscapes around you change with the speed that you want. You wake up in one bay, swim and have lunch in another and go to sleep in the port of a fishing village or the marina of a luxury resort. By you pass islands and beaches, settlements and sights, fish and stories. Are you going to stop and visit? Maybe yes. If you are in the mood. Maybe next time. If next time you are not in different waters.
When we talk about Bulgarian cities that stick in the mind, Ruse is inevitably among the first to pop up. This is well deserved. Bulgaria's biggest city on the Danube offers something you won't find anywhere else in this country. Located on the steep river bank, Ruse interweaves a network of elegant streets and squares, embracing buildings with the fine architecture typical for the transition between the 19th and the 20th centuries. The spirit of Central Europe is strong and recognisable in the elegant facades decorated with fine ornaments, beautiful caryatids, strong male sculptures.
Lovech is one of those places in Bulgaria that under their tranquil surface hide impressive landscapes, long history and interesting sights that stay for long in the heart. Each step here leads you to stories previously unknown, some new and some centuries and millennia old.
Bulgaria has a rare form of wealth: about 200 locations of 520 registered mineral water springs. You will hardly find another place in the country, however, where this impressive natural resource brings such pleasure, as in Velingrad.
Bulgaria's diversity impresses even the most experienced travellers. In it, share space splendid mountains and healing mineral springs, an excellent sea coast and millennia-old historical and cultural heritage.
The Bulgarian Black Sea is famed for its marvellous sand beaches and its combination of developed resorts, nightlife and protected areas with pristine nature. The mountains lure with its thick forests and clean air, with the feel of freedom and the options for outdoor activities. We shouldn't underestimate as well Bulgaria's spa wealth: 225 mineral springs many of which are in pleasant resorts and hotels that offer luxury and a variety of procedures. The choice is difficult but when you follow your heart, you will find wonderful places where vacation becomes a magical experience.
Some of the most exciting and beloved stories in the history of humankind – like the ones of Odysseus and of Sinbad, of Robinson Crusoe and of Captain Nemo – are about travels, adventures and trials at sea. The Age of Discovery has shaped the world as we know it today, and interesting discoveries of new animal and plant species in oceans are regularly appearing in the news.
A growing number of people choose Bulgaria as a tourist destination. It is visible not only from the official statistics and the buzz in the large cities and the popular resorts, but also in the fact that it is no longer a rarity to meet foreign tourists even in the most remote corners of the country.
How the times change! About a dozen of years ago, the word "spa" was still new in the Bulgarian language and the holiday at a spa hotel was mostly thought of as a lavish luxury for the chosen ones. For most of the people, spa procedures were a thing that requires a mineral water source. The professionals were few and far between.
The Bulgarian Black Sea coast is 354 km long and this limited space is the home of an astonishing diversity that makes the summer vacation here an event full with pleasant experiences and memories. From Durankulak on the north to Rezovo on the south, you have dozens of opportunities to enjoy sun, interesting sites, nature phenomena, lively resorts, quiet beaches and hotels of discrete luxury and excellent service.
