Balchik, Cape Kaliakra, and the Northern Black Sea Coast
Meet your tour guide at your convenience between 8:30 and 9:30 am at your hotel in Varna or a nearby resort area.
Head north to your first stop, Aladzha Monastery - a rock monastery dating from the 10th-11th century A.D. Nowadays, the monastery is inactive and functions only as a museum site.
Visit the rocky dwellings of the monks and the museum, where you can find additional information about the monastery's history.
Proceed to Balchik, a drive of more than 30 minutes, with your Varna tour guide. On the way, you will see the most famous beach resorts in this area, Golden Sands and Albena Resort. You can stop at Albena Resort to visit the Baltata nature preserve, famous for being the densest northern forest in Europe.
Arrive in the "White Town," a small coastal town with around 15,000 citizens.
Explore the town's most popular attractions: the Botanical Garden, Romanian Queen Maria's summer residence, and its beautifully arranged park. Walk through and observe the complex for about 1.5 hours.
Stop at Cape Kaliakra, an astonishingly beautiful place rising more than 60 meters above the sea cliffs. Visit the ruins of the old medieval fortress from the 12th-14th centuries and get to know the ancient story of this magnificent place. Admire the wonderful views from the edge of the cliffs and, if you are lucky, watch dolphins at play.
Eat lunch in a traditional Bulgarian restaurant with local dishes. As an option, you can stop for lunch at the famous mussel farm, where original fish and mussel dishes made from local recipes are served.
Continue further north to Cape Shabla, the easternmost point of Bulgaria. Cape Shabla lies at the country's far eastern end and is home to a lighthouse with an interesting history.
Visit the architectural preserve of Yailata. This seaside ledge covers 300 decares (45.3 hectares) and is separated from the sea by rock massifs 50-60 meters high. Here, you can observe a "cave town" consisting of 101 dwellings, the ruins of an ancient fortress, human-carved caves, and rocky cemeteries.
Halt at the small coastal village of Tyulenovo. Its name comes from the species of seals that once lived here.
Proceed to Shabla town, its tourist information centre, and Shabla Lighthouse. As an option, you can also visit Shabla and Durankulak lakes, which are rich in wild nesting birds.
Stop at local farms on your way back to Varna, where fruits and vegetables are grown, with the possibility to buy some. Optionally, visit a local winery for wine tasting and the chance to buy wines and local spirits.
Return to Varna and then to your place of accommodation.
