9-Day Athens, Sofia and Istanbul Tour from Athens: Kalambaca | Sandansky

Welcome to Europe!!! Upon arriving at the airport we will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. You can enjoy free time until your tour starts. Please, check the informative posters placed at the hotel reception area which have all the information about your upcoming services such as meeting place, time and the guide's name.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS: City tour in Athens. Evening transfer.

We will enjoy a panoramic tour of the city with a local guide which includes the Presidential Palace, the Panathinaikos stadium where the first modern Olympic games were held, the national library, the bustling squares of the center; the new neighborhoods that emerged after the 2004 Olympic games. The tour will end at the Acropolis site (entry not included). In the evening we include a transfer to the PLAKA quarter, a place full of small Greek taverns where you can also enjoy this country's folklore.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT: Meteora Valley with entrance to a Monastery. Dinner included.

We set off in the early morning for the North of Greece. A stop at KAMENA VOURLA, a beautiful tourist centre by the sea amidst magnificent countryside. Continuation northbound. We make a brief stop at the gorge where the battle of Thermopylae took place. We will visit KASTRAKI, a picturesque village with beautiful views over the whole valley. Time for lunch before visiting the Valley of the METEORA, an impressive place declared Unesco World Heritage. We will see the whole of the valley and will have the chance to enter one of the most famous monasteries (entrance included). Dinner and accommodation.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT: Beautiful landscapes of Macedonia. Dinner included.

We travel through the North of Greece, amidst pretty mountain scenery, to the Aegean Sea. Arrive in THESSALONICA with time for a stroll and lunch in Greece’s second largest city. After this we continue towards BULGARIA, and the border pass. In Bulgarian Macedonia we stop in MELNIK, a picturesque museum village in beautiful scenery amidst a wine producing area. Arrive in SANDANSKI, at this beautiful small spa city, the birthplace of Spartacus. Dinner and accommodation.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT: Rila monastery. City tour of Sofia.

We visit the beautiful Rila Monastery, the heritage of mankind, with its appearance of a fortress surrounded by forests. We continue to SOFIA, where we arrive at the end of the morning. After lunch, we include a tour of the capital of Bulgaria, where we will see the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the Russian Church, the Mosque, its squares and avenues of Stalinist architecture. Rest of day at leisure.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport. We take a regular flight (included, variable times) to Turkey. Arrival in ISTANBUL. Transfer to the hotel and free time. You will receive information on this part of your trip in the afternoon, or it will be placed on the informative signs located in the hotel reception.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS: Sightseeing tour. Cable car to Pierre Loti viewpoint. Topkapi Palace. Night transfer to Taksim.

A sightseeing tour of the city. We find ourselves in a city built in two continents. On our tour, we will include a cable car ride up to the Pierre Loti viewpoint and we will enter the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent (the largest in Istanbul). We will see the walls, the Golden Horn, the fishing district, and we will admire the exterior of Hagia Sofia. After the visit, we will offer tickets and a visit to the Top Kapi Palace, which was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire, with its magnificent courtyards and its pavilions. At the end of the afternoon we will provide a transfer to the Taksim neighborhood, the most commercialized and lively area of the city. There will be time to dine in one of its many restaurants, and you can also take the old tram that crosses the area or go to see the nearby Galata Tower.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS: Boat trip on the Bosphorus.

Today we include a boat trip on the Bosphorus that will last about two hours, exclusively for Europamundo travelers. The Bosphorus is a strait that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which separates Istanbul into two parts: the European and Asian parts. We will enjoy seeing the liveliness of the strait with its multitude of boats. We will pass under the two bridges that unite Europe and Asia and we will admire the palaces of the sultans, the typical wooden houses and the Ottoman villas. Free time.

After breakfast, end of our services.