Full-Day Private Sightseeing Tour to the North of Varna

The tour starts at 8 a.m. from Varna or any of the nearby resorts. A half-an-hour drive will take us to the picturesque coastal town of Balchik, where we visit a beautiful park with the summer residence of Romanian Queen Maria from the early 20th century. Along the coast, the steep terrain is traversed with terraces - gardens, interconnected by steep stairs, green tunnels and arches. The villa itself, reflecting the original personality and spirit of the Queen, is the work of Italian architects now functioning as a museum.

As part of the palace, in 1926 Swiss botanist Jules Jani designed and built a park complex. Later Sofia University established a botanical garden there. Today, more than 2,000 plant species from 85 families and over 800 genera are grown here. The collection of palm trees, for example, includes 33 species, some of which are more than 50 years old. Here you can see rare and exotic trees such as rubber tree, candy tree, paper tree, ancient ginkgo biloba, large-flowered magnolia and others.

We drive north to reach our next stop, Lake Durankulak, which is located in the northernmost part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Here the green plain gradually rolls on towards the coastal sand dunes and beaches. An old riverbed cuts the lowland. Its former estuary is now occupied by the lake of Durankulak. The area is a nature reserve and is very rich in birdlife in all seasons. The bigger of the two islands in the lake is also known as "The Bulgarian Troy". It holds is the largest prehistoric necropolis in the world, featuring the oldest stone constructions in Europe. Visiting the region of Durankulak you will learn a lot about the seven thousand years old European culture that thrived there and the world's first processed gold.

Our next stop is the picturesque nature and archaeological reserve at Cape Kaliakra. As we approach, the plain flows steeply towards the expanse of the sea and at the cape itself the sea cliff towers up to 70 m. The kaleidoscopic hues of the wild peonies, irises and adonises in spring, the silver-green tints of the absinthe and thristles in summer and the light movements of the feather-grass in autumn, gracefully sweeping among the remnants of the ancient fortress of Kaliakra, create the special appeal of this area. The promontory itself stretches 2 km farther into the sea, giving rise to various legends and tales that complement the site’s rich history. Cape Kaliakra is a convenient point for watching birds and dolphins and in calm weather any of the three dolphin species occurring in the Black Sea – the Common Dolphin, the Bottle-nosed Dolphin and the Harbour Porpoise - may be seen playing or chasing fish shoals. An hour drive will take us back to your accommodation.