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Valley of the Thracian Kings: Exploration Journey Into the Mysterious Ancient Heritage
4.8
28 Ratings
Kazanlak
Embark on an exploration journey into the mysterious ancient heritage of the Thracian Kings. Discover the myths, legends, and archaeological wonders of this ancient civilization.
Embark on an exploration journey into the mysterious ancient heritage of the Thracian Kings. Discover the myths, legends, and archaeological wonders of this ancient civilization.
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak - The region of the Valley of the Thracian Kings, also known as the Valley of the roses (center for the production of rose oil) was preferred burial ground for the Thracian nobility. This practice bequeathed us about 1,300 tumuli, from which approximately 300 are excavated. The most famous one is the Thracian tomb of…
- Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak - The region of the Valley of the Thracian Kings, also known as the Valley of the roses (center for the production of rose oil) was preferred burial ground for the Thracian nobility. This practice bequeathed us about 1,300 tumuli, from which approximately 300 are excavated. The most famous one is the Thracian tomb of Kazanlak, recognized as a masterpiece of the Thracian artwork. The tomb dates from the end of the 4th century BC and due to its well preserved and original frescoes it has been listed as UNESCO world heritage site. In our itinerary, we are planning to visit 4 more Thracian toms which are very different from each other and will fulfill the picture of this amazing ancient civilization. Grifoni tomb dates from 5th century BC. It consists of three chambers and one corridor. Many valuable artifacts
- works of art were found at the site. It’s one of the richest Thracian burials found till now. The last stop will be the Ostrusha tomb, which dates from the 4th century. It’s mainly famous for its unique ceiling- a combination of relief and fine decoration - different portraits, colorful figures, and floral ornaments.
- Iskra Historical Museum - When we finish with the toms, our final visit will be the Regional archaeological museum where we will see the artifacts from the tombs and some masterpieces of the Thracian art and material culture. After this visit, we will have 2 and a half hours of a beautiful drive back to Sofia.
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
- Entrance fees
- Transport by private vehicle
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
- Entrance fees
- Transport by private vehicle
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Food and drinks
Additional Information
On this full-day excursion, you’ll delve into the enigma of the Thracians, renowned for legendary figures like Orpheus (an ancient philosopher and music maestro) and Spartacus (a gladiator and Roman slave who led a historic rebellion). Notably, the Thracians are also credited with the world’s oldest recorded gold treasure. Our tour includes visits to…
On this full-day excursion, you’ll delve into the enigma of the Thracians, renowned for legendary figures like Orpheus (an ancient philosopher and music maestro) and Spartacus (a gladiator and Roman slave who led a historic rebellion). Notably, the Thracians are also credited with the world’s oldest recorded gold treasure. Our tour includes visits to five significant examples of Thracian sepulchral art, including a UNESCO World Heritage site, as well as a trip to the Kazanlak History Museum. As we spend our day uncovering the legacy of the Thracians, we’ll also get to appreciate the scenic landscapes they held in high regard.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- We understand your concerns in relation to COVID 19, therefore we’ve taken the needed measures for you to feel safe. All our guides and drivers go through regular medical checks, wear masks during the tours and in each vehicle, we have a disinfectant spray. Furthermore due to the situation nowadays we organize tours only for small groups (up to 7 persons) and we have the option for private tours.
Location
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
General Radetski St., Parc Tubelto
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(28 Ratings)
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Nicholasa_a
Sep 14, 2025
Outstanding historical tour about the ancient Thracians - This was a terrific tour; the tour guide, Ivan, was stellar: very knowledgeable, articulate and provided many anecdotes and facts which made the narrative about the Thracians and their relevance to Bulgaria’s history very interesting and compelling.
Review provided by Viator
Riceball2006
Aug 29, 2025
A lovely insight into the Thracian Kings - If you like to learn about the history of Bulgaria, this is one of those trips that will do it for you. I was the only one on the trip and Adrian did a fantastic job telling me all there is to know about the Thracian Kings. He is very enthusiastic about giving you all the facts and he managed to keep me entertained the long ride there. I am so pleased that I did this day trip and with so much information Adrian provided, it makes me want to come back one day to see the northern part now.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jerry
Aug 21, 2025
Fun, personable, delightful! - Our guide was absolutely friendly, professional, knowledgeable, and extremely fun to be with. He knew exactly where to go, what to say, and how to interact with us where we were laughing and enjoying each other the entire time! Thank you, thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marftrip
Jun 29, 2025
Fantastic Tour Company, Highly Recommend! - I’ve just finished two tours with this company in five days, and both were fantastic! Excellent guides, smooth air conditioned transportation, good lunch stops and best of all, no rushing!
My two guides, Krasi and Ivo were so knowledgeable about both Bulgarian and Balkan history, I finished each day having learned so much! Each tour was well planned and well paced, so I never felt rushed, yet we managed quite a lot over one day. Each tour was also filled with wonderful conversation, but they can clearly give tourists more space if needed as well.
I’ve recommend both Bulgaria and this tour company to all my friends, and highly recommend it here as well. I’d like to return to Bulgaria at some point, and I’d immediately book with Bultrips again. I’ve traveled to 54 countries now, and these were two of my best day trips in all those travels!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alexander_s
Dec 30, 2024
Impressive and interesting tour. - This was my second tour with BulTrips. It turned out to be a very reliable company. The groups were quite small (2 and 3 people, respectively, including me) and the vehicle was a comfortable van. The Thracian tombs look more impressive in reality than on the pictures. Our guide Krassimir was very dedicated and provided detailed information about the Thracians and Bulgaria. He even added some interesting extra stop. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Viator
Jly5649lk
Nov 28, 2024
Excellent tour to Thracian tombs from Sofia - It's exciting to see the Thracian tombs and rose museum. The tour guide Krasi is soooooo nice! He made the whole trip done smoothly and provided plenty of information. It's the best tour I've ever had! Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kymbra_w
Oct 28, 2024
Highly Informative and Engaging Tour - The amazing historical information provided by our tour guide! He was amazingly informed and educated! My travel companions were also highly engaging! It was a “perfect storm” of people and we all learned a great deal about beautiful Bulgaria and each other.We enjoyed a wonderful day of discourse and sights
Review provided by Viator
O6422tcandrews
Oct 23, 2024
Masterclass in Thracian history and access to sites you’re unlikely to visit otherwise. Well worth the effort. - This one is for the history & archeology fans…
The things you want to know: Pick up was on time at our location, travel was in a comfortable vehicle and stops for stretching legs, toilets and refreshments were planned in so absolutely no need to worry about any of that. It is a long day but it is worth it…
Our Guide: Hugely knowledgeable and clearly passionate about his subject. Time passed quicker on route simply because of all the information he was able to impart. Spoke very good English so easy to understand and equally happy to take plenty of questions. Good luck asking him something about Bulgarian history he can’t answer!
The Trip: The first stop is just a teaser and then on to the museum. Having the guide is essential, the artefacts in the museum are brought to life through the knowledge of the guide. Stopped for a quick bite and then on to the other tombs. These tombs were all unique but all fascinating and amazing giving an incredible insight into Thracian culture.
Should I go? Well, if history is your thing, when else are you ever going to see and enter burial tombs from the 4th century BC? Or spend time with an expert in the history of Bulgaria or Thrace in particular?
Book it now.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julio_n
Sep 1, 2024
The best way to learn about the Thracians - It was a fantastic experience: the guide is an expert archeologist, knowing everything about the thracians and about other periods of Bulgarian History.
Review provided by Viator
Jessika_r
Sep 9, 2024
Ask about guide prior to booking!! - I was really looking forward to this tour but unfortunately it is by far the worst tour I have ever done. The driver/tour guide obviously didn’t want to be there. He kept mentioning that it was Sunday and a holiday and that he had to drive there and back but “this is what you wanted.”
He asked us to not interrupt him during the 3 hour drive because he needed to concentrate on driving and while I am glad he took our safety so seriously, it was an incredibly long drive (6 hours in total) with zero commentary…not even music! To be fair, on the way back he pointed out the Centre of Bulgaria and a statue in some random town but that was seriously it.
The description of the tour said we would hear about Spartacus and Orpheus and learn about Thracian secrets but there was nothing of that. He didn’t understand most of our questions and often answered “I don’t know” or said something that didn’t make sense. We tried to re-phrase the questions but even if he did end up understanding the question he gave vague answers and seemed completely uninterested in the topic. Eventually we gave up and we endured awkward pauses.
Without exaggeration, he only spoke about the Thracians for about 10 minutes all together, and even that is a generous estimate because he repeated a lot of the information.
I realise that there is still a lot that is unknown about the Thracians but I literally learned more about the Thracians from a YouTube video I saw prior to the tour.
Because of the nature of the tour (many artifacts have been taken to the Archaeological Museum in Sofia and the tombs are very small) the guide is crucial to the experience.
Although our guide said he was a professional with 40 years experience, I cannot recommend him.
On a more positive note, my experience with Bultrips was actually good. Adrian responded to my questions and gave good instructions about the pick-up point. The one star goes to you, Adrian.
Please, Bultrips, in the future, if you can’t find a suitable guide/driver please just cancel the trip. I would have preferred not to have gone at all to this “tour.”
Review provided by Viator
