On this tour we bike along the north and central parts of the Balkan Mountains, famous for their unspoiled nature, green valleys with sheep peacefully grazing on lush grass, precipitous cliffs and gentle, rolling hills offering plenty of unique biking opportunities. We start the trip from the tiny Goliam Izvor village, passing by the Central Balkan National Park and ending up in Veliko Tarnovo – the Old Bulgarian capital and one of the most charming Bulgarian towns. The narrow roads meander through picturesque villages that look as they have been untouched for the past 200 years. You’ll see wooden carts pulled by a horse or donkey and villagers making hay the old-fashioned way. During the trip you will visit several of Bulgaria's most important Orthodox monasteries, situated in the dales or woods. Churches with centuries-old icons and colourful murals are spread across a wide range of villages and small towns.
This cycling tour will take you on a memorable adventure in the lands of the Rodopi mountains in Bulgaria, the central parts of Northern Greece and the Halkidiki peninsula (Sithonia and Athon). The Bulgarian part of the tour includes biking in the pristine landscape of old coniferous forests, gorges, caves, big dams and beautiful meadows in the mythical Rodopi mountains and a pleasant relaxing evening by the hot mineral springs in Ognyanovo spa resort. Then you cross the border with Greece and start exploring the lands of Drama prefecture typical for their karst relief housing 2 of the most beautiful caves in Greece Aggitis and Alistrati. Enjoy the quiet views of small mountain villages, herds of sheep around the roads and the majestic silhouettes of the surrounding mountains – Falakro (2236m), Mavros logos and Menikio.
This is an exceptional cycling tour combined with sailing on a yacht around the Dalmatian archipelago. Enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Solta, Hvar, Korcula, Mijet islands and Peljesac peninsula cycling on the bike and lying on the sun chair on the deck of the ship. Most of the islands have been populated from ancient times and altogether with their pristine nature have also rich history and numerous sights from the past to explore. We go on land with the bikes on different harbors and towns and while we cycle enjoying wonderful views the ship sails to the next harbor. After cycling we go on pleasant walks in the towns and explore their history and culture or go for some more biking either on roads to small mountain villages or off road on nice mountain bike trails.
A tour designed to explore both the natural and cultural merits of the Rodopi Mountains – century-old coniferous woods which fill your lungs with fresh air; deep gorges banked with vertical cliffs more than 250 m, or 820 ft, high; green meadows decorated with a colourful carpet of flowers; sinister caves; the blue waters of mountain dams and unique local architecture and habitats. All overnight accommodation will be spent in the town of Devin (situated at 715 m, or 2,345 ft) with daily transfers to neighbouring areas.
This tour has a guide and is vehicle supported, but self-guided option is also possible upon request. Rodopi Mountains with the highest peak Goliam Perelik at 2191 m a.s.l, are the southernmost mountains in Bulgaria.
In Cappadocia, nature and history comes hand in hand to form one of the most beautiful scenes of the world. While wind and water formed the fairy chimneys (Peri Bacalari) in thousands of years, humanity built thousands of years old civilizations with carving houses and churches within these rocky pillars and decorating them with beautiful frisks. Cappadocia was derived from Katpatuka, which means "the land of beautiful horses" in the Hittite language. Besides a fantastic cycling in Cappadocia the next step is nice ‘around trip‘ in Taurus Mountains area. The Taurus Mountains are the Western branch of the great mountain chain that stretches across all of Asia. The Turkish section of this massive range follows the Southern border of Anatolia and is itself made up of four major sections.
Mala mountain and Iskar valley - 1 day Easy cycling on isolated roads in this picturesque part of the Balkan mountains. Enjoy a nice ride to Iskrets village for a lunch in a restaurant with a trout fish pond, visit the small Iskrets monastery, take a short walk in Svoge town and enjoy the beauty of one of the highest waterfalls in Bulgaria near Bov village – Bovsko praskalo (90m high).
This tour is not just a circuit of some of the most interesting Bulgarian cloisters. It is also a journey through Bulgaria's history, since all of the featured religious buildings are monuments to everything that happened in Bulgaria over the last 1,300 years or so. As early as the 4th-5th centuries, monasteries began to spring up on Bulgarian territory. In the period between the 9th and the l2th Century, monasteries and the churches were the centres which, during the Byzantine rule, managed to preserve the Bulgarian language, written culture, habits and national consciousness. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (13th-14th Century) churches and monasteries played a particularly important role in celebrating the past glories of Bulgarian literature and the arts.
The Rodopi Mountains are situated in the oldest part of the Balkans and boast some of the loveliest coniferous woods in the country. The landscape is gentle and rounded, consisting of high ridges and deep river valleys with gorges intermingling with river basins and valleys. Here one can also find 70% of the world minerals, as well as some 600 caves. Flora and fauna contain species that have become extinct in other European countries. In contrast with our tour of the Balkan Mountains, this tour will take you even higher, to around 2,000 m, or 6561 ft. Most of the mileage is done on asphalt main roads, with relatively little traffic, that are well-suited for biking. Along them cyclists can see some old-style means of transportation: wooden carts pulled by horses, donkeys or cows.
The heritage of Transylvania cycling tour (Rumania) 8 days Transylvania is not only the most famous part of Romania thanks to the legend of Dracula, but it is also the most romantic and inspiring of all country's provinces. Settled over a plateau area (305-488 m high) in the north-west of Romania, it is among the most advanced regions of the country. We visit here well known medieval towns dating from the 14th century as Brasov, Sighisoara and Sibiu. High-roofed wooden churches, citadels, legendary castles, troubled history, splendid mountain scenery and alpine peaks, scattered villages …these are just a few of the entire region's assets! And since no visit to Transylvania would be complete without visiting the castle of the literary Count Dracula, the dramatic Bran Castle is also one of the stops there.
The area encompassing the central Balkan Mountains is a crossroad for many tourist routes leading to Bulgaria's major natural and cultural attractions, including the towns of Tryavna, Dryanovo, Gabrovo, Apriltsi, Troyan, Veliko Turnovo and so on. This region features a number of monasteries, cobbled-stoned streets, ancient houses and museum villages which still remind the ones of the Bulgarian National Revival Period. Overnight accommodation will be based in the town of Tryavna (450 m, or 1,476 ft) with daily transfers taking place to various neighbouring areas.
This tour has a guide and is vehicle supported, but self-guided option is also possible upon request.
