Legends of Emperors and Crusaders: Self-Launched Bulgaria Loop

Land at Sofia Airport and take metro line M4 into the centre (~2.50 BGN / £1.10, 25 min) rather than a private transfer. Check into a central hostel or guesthouse near Vitosha Blvd or the Serdika area, then spend the afternoon free-walking the compact centre: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Roman ruins of Serdika under the underpass, the Largo, Banya Bashi Mosque and the small Church of St George. Evening rakia and shopska salad at a mehana in the centre (Hadjidraganov's Cellars or similar). Pick up a Bulgarian SIM/eSIM at the airport if you didn't sort one in advance.

🚌Metro M4 from airport to Serdika (~£1.10)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, central Sofia (£15-22 dorm/private)

• →Self-guided walk: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Serdika ruins, St George Rotunda
• →Free Sofia walking tour (tips-based, ~£8)
• →Dinner at a traditional mehana

Morning self-guided tour of Sofia's headline sights — the National History Museum or the Archaeological Museum, plus the Boyana Church (UNESCO, bus 64 from the centre) if you have the energy. After lunch take the direct bus or train to Veliko Tarnovo: buses from Sofia's Central Bus Station run roughly hourly and take about 3.5 hours (~20-25 BGN / £9-11); the train is slower and less convenient. Arrive into the evening, check into a guesthouse in the old town on the hill and eat at a family-run tavern.

🚌Sofia–Veliko Tarnovo bus ~£10 (3.5 hrs)

🛏Guesthouse in Veliko Tarnovo old town (£15-22)

• →National History Museum or Archaeological Museum
• →Optional Boyana Church (UNESCO)
• →Evening wander of Samovodska Charshia quarter

Walk up to the Tsarevets Royal Hill fortress complex in the morning (entry ~6 BGN / £2.60) — the Patriarchal Cathedral and Baldwin's Tower, with the Asen monument across the gorge. Afternoon wandering the Old Town's cobbled lanes and the craft workshops on Samovodska Charshia, stopping for a wine tasting at one of the small tasting rooms along the street (independently run, ~25-40 BGN / £11-17 for five or six local varieties — try Mavrud and Gamza). Consider the Sound and Light show on Tsarevets if it's a summer evening.

🚌On foot

🛏Guesthouse in Veliko Tarnovo old town (£15-22)

• →Tsarevets Fortress (~£2.60)
• →Samovodska Charshia wine tasting (~£11-17)
• →Optional Sound and Light show

Morning bus from Veliko Tarnovo to Varna (~3 hours, ~20 BGN / £9). Check into a hostel or budget hotel near the Sea Garden. Spend the afternoon at the Varna Archaeological Museum (home of the world's oldest worked gold, ~10 BGN) and the Roman Baths — both self-guided with English signage. Evening stroll along the Sea Garden and a cheap fresh-fish dinner near the port.

🚌Veliko Tarnovo–Varna bus ~£9

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Varna (£15-25)

• →Varna Archaeological Museum (~£4.50)
• →Roman Baths of Varna (~£2)
• →Sea Garden walk

Take a local bus or shared taxi south to Nesebar (~2 hours from Varna via Burgas; buses run frequently, ~15 BGN / £7). Spend a few hours on the UNESCO-listed island old town — churches of St Stephen and Christ Pantocrator, the Temple of Zeus remains, and the isthmus beach. Continue to Pomorie for a wine tasting at a local cellar (independent tastings ~25 BGN / £11 — the Black Sea region's Dimyat and Pomorie reds are the pool). Sleep in Nesebar or nearby Sunny Beach/Burgas depending on season and budget.

🚌Local buses Varna–Nesebar–Pomorie (~£12 total)

🛏Guesthouse in Nesebar or budget hotel in Burgas (£15-25)

• →Nesebar Old Town churches and Temple of Zeus
• →Pomorie wine tasting (~£11)
• →Beach time on the isthmus

Long travel day: bus from Burgas to Stara Zagora (~3 hours, ~18 BGN / £8), where the Neolithic Dwellings Museum (~6 BGN) and the exposed Roman forum on the pedestrian main street are both free-to-cheap and self-guided. Continue by bus/train to Kazanlak (~1.5 hours). Visit the Thracian tomb replica (UNESCO-listed original is closed to the public; the exact replica is ~6 BGN) and, if time allows, the Rose Museum. Overnight in Kazanlak, ideally in the Rose Valley season (late May–June) when you can book a rose-picking experience directly with a farm.

🚌Burgas–Stara Zagora–Kazanlak buses/train (~£13)

🛏Budget guesthouse or hotel in Kazanlak (£15-20)

• →Museum of Neolithic Dwellings (~£2.60)
• →Stara Zagora Roman forum (free)
• →Kazanlak Thracian Tomb replica (~£2.60)
• →Rose Museum (~£4)

A worthwhile splurge: hire a taxi or arrange a shared excursion for the day (~120-160 BGN / £50-70 split between 2-3 people) to hit the dispersed sights around Kazanlak — the Memorial Church of Shipka with its gold domes, and the Damascena Ethnographic Complex near Kazanlak for rose oil distillation, rose liquor and rose honey tasting (~20 BGN entry + tastings). Alternatively use local buses to Shipka village and a taxi up to the church. Afternoon wine tasting at Zagrey winery near Parvenets (~30-40 BGN / £13-17, book ahead directly). Evening walking tour of Old Plovdiv — the Roman theatre, ancient stadium and National Revival houses — self-guided or with a free-tour group.

🚌Taxi/shared car Kazanlak–Plovdiv via Shipka and Zagrey (~£35 per person if split)

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Plovdiv Kapana district (£18-28)

• →Shipka Memorial Church (free/donation)
• →Damascena Ethnographic Complex rose tasting (~£9)
• →Zagrey winery tasting (~£15)
• →Old Plovdiv self-guided walk

Take bus 6 or 44 from Plovdiv's Southern Bus Station toward Bachkovo (~1 hour, ~4 BGN / £1.80) and walk the shaded 10 minutes up to Bachkovo Monastery — the second-largest in Bulgaria, with 11th-century frescoes and the miraculous icon. Eat at the monastery's own tavern, then take a taxi or hitch the short 4 km up to Asen's Fortress with its clifftop Church of the Holy Mother of God. Return to Plovdiv for the evening and a Kapana district bar crawl.

🚌Bus 6/44 Plovdiv–Bachkovo + short taxi (~£6 total)

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Plovdiv Kapana district (£18-28)

• →Bachkovo Monastery (free)
• →Asen's Fortress (~£2.60)
• →Kapana bars evening

Morning bus from Plovdiv to Bansko (~3.5 hours, ~20 BGN / £9 via Sofia or direct depending on season). Afternoon wander Bansko's cobbled Old Town: St Trinity Church, the Velyanova House with its painted facades, and the stone-lane bazaar. Book a traditional mehana dinner directly — these are open to walk-ins and cost a fraction of an organised 'Taste of Bansko' experience (expect ~30-40 BGN / £13-17 for a full spread of kavarma, banitsa and local Bansko wine).

🚌Plovdiv–Bansko bus ~£9

🛏Guesthouse in Bansko old town (£15-22)

• →Bansko Old Town walk
• →Velyanova House (~£2)
• →St Trinity Church
• →Traditional mehana dinner (~£15)

This is the day the private tour really wins on logistics — do it with a shared taxi, a hired car, or by joining a day excursion. Cheapest workable version: take an early bus/taxi from Bansko to Melnik (~1.5 hours) for Villa Melnik and the Kordopulov House, with a tasting of the local Melnik and Shiroka Melnik varieties (~25-35 BGN / £11-15). Then head toward Rila Monastery — realistically this needs a car or a booked Rila shuttle from Sofia (~£25 per person on a GetYourGuide day trip). If you'd rather not drive, pick one: Melnik wine country in the morning, then an evening bus to Sofia, and visit Rila as a separate day trip from Sofia. Note that Rila Monastery is ~2 hours from Sofia and easier to reach on a half-day excursion. Return to Sofia for a farewell dinner with live folklore music — many central mehanas (e.g. Hadjidraganov's, Vodenitsata) do this nightly, no booking fee.

🚌Shared taxi/car hire + Rila shuttle (~£35-45)

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, central Sofia (£15-22)

• →Villa Melnik wine tasting (~£13)
• →Kordopulov House (~£2)
• →Rila Monastery (free, ~£25 shuttle)
• →Farewell folklore dinner (~£18)