Rhodope Mountains hiking vacation in Bulgaria
Moderate week of walking in the Rhodope Mountains featuring self guided trip notes, luggage transfers, spa hotels and average daily distances of 12kms
Devil’s Throat Cave Yagodina Cave Trigrad Gorge Shiroka Laka Buinovo Gorge The Canyon of Waterfalls Old town of Plovdiv Moderate walking trails Average daily distances: 12kms Luggage transfers from one hotel to the next 3 and 4-star accommodation (some with spa facilities)
Price
£830 excluding flights
More info
Included:
7 overnights with breakfast included
All internal ground transfers and baggage transfers as listed in the program
Detailed pre-departure vacation information pack
24/7 phone assistance by our local office/representative
Description of Rhodope Mountains hiking vacation in Bulgaria
Map
Price information
£830 excluding flights
Included:
7 overnights with breakfast included
All internal ground transfers and baggage transfers as listed in the program
Detailed pre-departure vacation information pack
24/7 phone assistance by our local office/representative
Departure information
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
Travel guides
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Reviews
1 Reviews of Rhodope Mountains hiking vacation in Bulgaria
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 02 Jul 2018 by Ruth Kinsella
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The totally stunning views, the wild flower meadows and the lovely people. We stayed in some beautiful hotels, only one was a little too corporate for us (Mountain Lake Hotel - we were the only visitors and it was very lonely after all the bustle of the smaller family hotels), - our most favourite ones were the family owned and run hotels that were simply charming and the people could not do enough for us and made us feel really welcome despite the language barrier. Particularly loved the spa in our hotel on the second night, sitting outside in the hot tub looking at the mountains was perfect.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Try to swap the last two walks around, do the waterfall walk on the final full day and then do the lake walk on the last day. We were slightly underwhelmed by the lakes but completely blown away by the waterfall walk and would have loved to have spent more time completing that work properly. Also, try to learn a few useful Bulgarian words, such as tap water, vegetables, hot water, tea.... there is access to some of the best water in the mountains but we had to keep drinking water from a plastic bottle because I could not get them to understand that tap water would be perfect. Also, although not important, it would have been lovely to experience the local yoghurt for breakfast and that was a little to challenging with the language barrier. Such a shame but in no way was this a spoiler - the whole experience was just perfect. Oh and do download the walks, it makes things so much easier to have the walk on your phone.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, I did. Need to do something about the plastic bottles though before it becomes an unfortunate habit or expectation. What a stunningly beautiful country and I just hope that we left a positive footprint while we were there too. A special mention to our driver, Kotse - what a perfect gentleman, great driver, very safe and he made our daily transfers very enjoyable - even getting us to the local shop so we could get our bit for our lunch. We had a couple of little problems on our last day and Alex sorted everything out really quickly and efficiently so a big thank you to Alex too.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Brilliant, on my next visit I would love to make the most of some of the other walks, it all comes with confidence, but with the benefit of hindsight, we could have used the walking app better and maybe been a little more adventurous.
Responsible Travel
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) vacation so that you can travel knowing it will help support the places and people that you visit, and the planet. Read how below.
Planet
To minimize environmental footprint, we limit the size of our parties for this trip to maximum 6 people. Our detailed tour information packs include a section on environmental responsibility and detailed instructions related to the ‘leave no trace’ policy, protected animals and plants in the area, etc. We encourage our clients to use the info packs and maps in electronic format.In the Rhodope mountains, we are cooperating with the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds and we have successfully completed joint projects related to bird protection in the area. In the Trigrad region we are cooperating with local non-profits and communities and have successfully stopped the construction of dams and water power plants on the rivers in the area. While many of our peers in the Eagle’s Eye area offer 4x4 tours to the viewing point, we recommend to our clients to reach the top by walking, and never include motor vehicle tours as options to our itineraries.
People
In the Rhodope mountains in Bulgaria, we typically hire local drivers (not the hotel transfer services or big taxi companies) to transport luggage and people on walking days. By using local transport services and locally owned and operated guesthouses and small hotels, we are giving back to local people.We are supporting the local NGO Rekichka, which has been implementing a number of projects related to the development of sustainable tourism in the region in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme and the European Union. This itinerary is designed to contribute to the local and rural communities in the Rhodope mountains, which is one of the poorest regions of Bulgaria. We encourage our guests to taste the local food and wines, buy locally hand-made souvenirs, participate in local events during their trips.
We also work closely with our accommodation providers so that we can provide unforgettable experiences to our clients whilst contributing to sustaining and promoting the local traditions to the benefit of the local economy.
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