Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanasi Tour from Sofia

Maria, our tour guide, was so knowledgeable about the history and culture of Bulgaria that it made our tour to the ancient capital come alive. This is a real quality tour.

Venezia and the driver lady were amazing! They were so punctual but never rushed me. The Mercedes was clean and the driver handled traffic efficiently. Venezia felt like a long lost friend, she was so friendly and open. She walked me through Tvarets fortress explaining the history and then we walked down to the church and grabbed lunch nearby. We then drive 10 mins to Arbanasi where I opted to see the old houses which were well laid out but it was a very short tour. Veliko Tarnavo is hard to get to so having a personal driver and guide was amazing. We chatted about history, culture, the economy, politics. It was a fascinating insight into how real modern day Bulgarians respect and preserve their valuable history. I would highly recommend this tour.

My husband and I joined another couple on a day trip to Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanasi. The other couple spoke Spanish and we only spoke English. Our guide, Filip, was amazing the entire day, and exceeded our expectations. Filip conveyed so much information about the sights, in both Spanish and English, alternating between the two languages easily so both couples felt up-to-date with understanding the history of what was in front of us. We were picked up from our hotel in Sofia in a spacious Mercedes that was very clean and comfortable. Rvi was our driver and she was very patient and careful, especially when it poured while we were in transit and other drivers were doing silly things on the road. We thoroughly recommend this day trip, for seeing the old Veliko Tarnovo palace - fortress, the colourful Church of the Nativity and an old traditional house in Arbanasi. Filip and Rvi were both friendly and extrememly considerate and professional.

I have not visited Veliko Turnovo and Arbanasi for over a decade. Last September the occasion was special - the wedding of our best man. Veliko Tarnovo surprised me with the groups of young people and tourists despite the post COVID situation. It was alive , people were very positive and smiling. We had a lovely dinner in the city center at a very nice pizzaria. The bride had made a reservation for the terrace on the second floor. We had a beautiful view of the city, the Tsaravets palace and enjoyed delicious food and very kind service. After dinner we had the opportunity to see the famous spectacle at Tsarevets called " Light and sound". It was free around 20 min. It is a very good idea that every weekend now you can see the short version for free. It was magical for me, I even shed a few tears. It was also special because my two small children aged 2 months and 2 years shared the spectacle too. The wedding was very beautiful starting with an open wedding ritual at the emblematic monument The 4 Horses. The wedding party was at one of the best hotel complexes in Arbanasi. It was a special wedding with great people and a lot of fun and dancing until dawn.

Best experience to visit the Old Capital; rich in history and beautiful avenues. Our tour guide Maria was friendly, an excellent driver and expert in this particular trip and she related not only the history but the development of modern Tarnovo.

Visiting Veliko Tărnovo church was amazing experience. Marya was our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and thoughtful person. Highly recommended tour

Despite being more than 2 hours drive away it is very worth it. Medieval town well preserved its ruins and very nice houses. Recommended

We did Veliko Tarnovo tour with Maria. She is very friendly and knowledge about the history. Also we enjoyed along the trip with her, not only as a tour guide, she threat us like family. We recommend this tour and thanx Maria for memorable trip especialy during pandemic.

I was travelling with Zelanos Tours 3 days, on 3 different tours, in small groups - with a guide Mariya. She was brilliant, I enjoyed all her tours very much. And a big plus with Zelanos - they have guaranteed tours - even in the winter when nobody else has guaranteed departures. they do. Very much recommended.

It's an interesting visit. Our guide, Daniela, was always very friendly and gave us a lot of information.