ndd: Road Scholar Trips to Bulgaria and Romania

As with Adventuregirl there was no way to respond directly to your query indicating your desire to travel to these countries but "I don't know anything about these destinations". I hope this reply to you is not too snarky but, for heaven's sake, if you know nothing of a place why not buy (or get from the library) a guide book to learn if these are appropriate destinations for you? Secondly you asked for comments but however can one provide meaningful comments without knowing what might be your interests? My own trip to Romania and Bulgaria was in 2004 when not a lot of North American companies were offering tours there (Road Scholar was not)so I went with ITN advertiser Adventures Abroad based in British Columbia. My 9 fellow travelers were pretty much evenly divided between Aussies, Kiwi's, Canadians and Yanks. Because of my interest in art the absolute highlight of Rumania for me were the many painted monasteries of Bukovina. What are these? That's what a guide book will tell you! There were other memorable sights such as Sibiu and Sighisoara but the awful roads in 2004 made for slow travel between destinations and tourist sites depended heavily on the fictional Dracula legend. Bulgaria was an off-the-beaten-path place but highlights -- for me -- were Thracian artifacts found in museums and the 3rd century BC Thracian tombs with their high-quality wall paintings. Bulgarian National Revival architecture was also a pleasant draw. What is Bulgarian National Revival architecture? That's what a guide book will tell you! I found Veliko Turnovo, dating to the 6th century and capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom underwhelming despite all the tourist hype but others may be more impressed than I. The absolute highlight of Bulgaria for me was the not-to-be-missed Rila Monastery dating from 927. Both countries are, in my judgement, worthwhile places to visit if you know what you want to see.