Small-Group Day Trip to North Bulgaria

Serban Riga was our driver and guide and was awesome. He was charismatic and kept us entertained the whole day. He was prompt and shared interesting information. Beautiful spots visited in N Bulgaria. Would do the tour again. 11.5 hrs total with enough time at each stop to not feel rushed. Recommend bringing food so you can be flexible with eating. Was a long day but well worth it. Glad the tour went ahead with only 3 people.

Riga was fantastic and went above and beyond to make sure everyone had a nice time. His local knowledge and experience helped us to maximize a long day. The sites were interesting and beautiful and it was a worthwhile excursion from Bucharest that allowed up to experience a different culture and perspective.

Our guide was responsive and keep the group entertained during the 12 hours journey. Driver was professional. We saw Unisco listed churches and old town. A trip worth the time and effort

Incredible! I am so happy that I booked this tour. The history in this region was fascinating, and the stops were carefully chosen. Our guide was upbeat, took lots of photos, and navigated the traffic like an absolute champ. I really enjoyed my time in Bulgaria, and I can recommend this one to anyone considering a day trip from Bucharest (esp. if you are interested in religious/Ottoman history, or if you appreciate stunning landscape and architecture). The only thing I might suggest would be to add a short stop to take photos in the sunflowers, but overall I was extremely satisfied with my experience.

Serban was an excellent guide. I appreciated that he messaged via WhatsApp the night before to confirm pick up location and time. He also emphasized that being on time is important. He was an enthusiastic and friendly person who wanted to make sure we got the best experience. Throughout the tour, he shared lots of tips and interesting information. Also, as it was a group of 4 ladies, he told us where the clean toilets would be located. He shared the tentative plan and that we can do as a group or a bit on our own. I preferred to see the sights with the group as it made the day less stressful when sticking with the guide. Serban also would drop us off at the fortress then park the van so we weren't doing a lot of walking. I thought that was a good touch.

My wife and I took this trip on Saturday Aug 8, 2026. Our Tour guide was Serban Riga. The thing that sets TravelMaker aside from all the other tour operators we experienced in our recent trip to Bucharest is that TravelMaker is more concerned with the experience of their guests than by making sure their tours are maxed out with passengers. On this particular day there were only 4 guests doing the tour. There was plenty of space for us to be comfortable while travelling, the interaction with Serban was more personal than a canned commentary and we had the flexibility to see things that may not have been specifically outlined in the itinerary. Their emphasis on quality over quantity shows and was so much appreciated. To speak specifically about our guide Serban....REQUEST HIM! He does not disappoint. Serban is one of the most friendly outgoing people I have met. He is upbeat, fun, humourous and took the time to answer everyone's questions. His knowledge of the local areas was demonstrated in his explanations to us and he was happy to relate the historical significance of the sites we explored. If we get a chance to return to Bucharest (and we certainly hope we do) TravelMaker will be our first (and likely only) consideration for tour experiences. Thank you Serban and TravelMaker for a wonderful day.

As a person we loved our tour guide, he was a local, was friendly and funny. We weren't impressed with the preconversation as I asked about meal times and break times as it's a 12 hour trip and we need to know when we can eat and have bathroom stops so we can not hold others up. Most tours don't share well (even an draft schedule helps but more detailed than what we get). The frustrating part is that we didn't get time much time at any of the spots. We don't know ahead about the locations to know where it is more valuable to spend time in. He just kept rushing us off and said, "we do what the group wants" and then we got home 2 hours early. First stop: Ivanovo Rock Church (stayed one hour, should have been 30 min) 2nd stop: Arbanassi - we were shown one church nobody on the tour wanted to spend money to go in. 30 minutes waste of time. We didn't feel we had enough time to explore so not knowing where anything is just had everyone on tour go back to the bus as we were dropped off in the middle of a residential area. 3rd stop: Veliko Tarnovo - though he said "we can do what we want he also said it's best to stick together" so we all had a lunch together. Then no time to walk around this city to explore. He told us to jump into the van and then in the van asked, "does anyone want more time here - we do what majority vote says?" Put us in an awkward position and when I said yes, gave us 30 min. but it wasn't enough to see anythning. 4th stop: Nearby fortress. We had one hour here which was good enough for the fort. But if planned better the small city nearby (one of us went there instead) had all the historical sites and given 30 min more could have explored that. Instead, we were rushed home and got home 2 hours early. A lot of driving and not much time to see anything. It was everyone's first time so hard to speak in until after the tour. But just giving an hour to talk around after lunch and 30 min longer at the fortress would have given us a QUICK time but more time to really see. Poor planning.

Really fun trip! Our guide Sheban Riga (I hope I got that right) was accommodating and entertaining. He was very good about telling us about bathroom breaks, and best of all where to take us to avoid Turkish toilets (holes in the floor—this is very helpful to women travelers!!!). My only complaint is that the description says you must be able to climb steps, but in reality there is a significant amount of hiking, as the steps are interspersed with areas of uneven ground as the trail takes you up the side mountains. I had to miss out on one of the attractions due to this oversight. All in all a great experience, lovely people, and a great day away from the city! Thank you!!!

+4

The pictures on Viator were too old and did not show what how steep the stairs at the monastery were. Also it did not state that we would only see one cave. The artist area was lovely. The driver was knowledgeable, but we had to ask questions for him to tell us information most of the time.

Our guide Matthew was good, but the tour does not match the description or expectations. We got 1 hr at the caves instead of 40 min (40 would have been plenty). Then at the tsar city, we *only* got 1 hour, which was not nearly enough time. According to the description, we should have gotten 1 hr 20 min,which still wouldnt have been enough, but would have been better (the fortress is HUGE)! And then they gave us *2 hours* in the city and for lunch, which was ridiculously absurdly long. I would so much rather have had more time at the fortress and less for lunch in some touristy city. And the cherry on top: Avanasi was supposed to be a free experience around the city. Our guide brought us to a church where they charged for entrance. Again. NOT what the description says. Viator also did not mention how long any of the drive times were. Basically, you're just paying for a driver to these spots, with some added commentary here and there. Wouldn't say it's worth it and wouldnt have booked if I'd known