Bulgaria has a strong culture and rich traditions. Many of the traditional customs are displayed in the holiday calendar, which is diverse and complex. The majority of the Bulgarian people practices Christianity, eighty-five percent of the population belonging to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The traditional religion is considered to be Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The country also has a significant Muslim minority (13 %) and a small Jewish community.
One of the country’s most mysterious traditions is called fire dancing, which consists of barefooted dancers performing on burning embers. The dance is believed to banish illness, and encourage good health and fertility. Typically, Bulgarian folklore exhibits colorful displays of costume, dance and spirit. The folk festivals "Pirin Sings" and "Rozhen Sings" are the best-known Bulgarian folklore festivals. Last year alone, approximately 150,000 visitors from both Bulgaria and abroad gathered to watch the 4,000 festival performers.
Travelers enjoying a Bulgaria cruise during the first week of June can witness the celebration known as The Festival of Roses, which is held in the Rose Valley near the town of Kazanluk. The Bulgarian oleaginous rose yields seventy percent of the world’s rose extract, which is used as an essential component in many perfumes. The unique properties of Bulgarian roses and rose oil are due to the local climate and rich soil. The temperatures in February, when roses bud, are ideal, as is the humidity in May and June when the blossoms are picked.
Bulgarian is the official language of the country and uses the Cyrillic alphabet. During your Bulgaria tour you may also hear Turkish and Macedonian, but English, German, French and Russian are spoken in major tourist resorts and hotels.
Particularly exquisite crafts of Bulgarian artists include embroidery, vibrantly colored rugs and carpets, hand-painted ceramics, and finely detailed jewelry. A cruise to Bulgaria should include a visit to one of the country’s cultural museums or markets. The Samovodene Market in Veliko Turnovo, the Permanent National Exhibition of Folk Art in Oreshak near Troyan and the Etura architectural and ethnographic complex near Gabrovo all display spectacular examples of Bulgarian handicrafts.
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
1 day ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
1 day ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
6 days ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.