# Road trips in Bulgaria > 4 road trips and 19 hand-picked places in Bulgaria, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/bulgaria/ 4 road trips and 19 hand-picked places in Bulgaria, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through Bulgaria - [Rila and Pirin: lakes, monasteries and sand pyramids](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b7-rila-pirin/): From Sofia to the Seven Rila Lakes and Rila Monastery, then south to Melnik’s sand pyramids and up to Bansko below the Pirin peaks. - [Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast: Kaliakra to Sozopol](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b7-bulgarian-black-sea/): Cave monasteries above Varna, Queen Marie’s palace gardens, the red cliffs of Kaliakra and the old towns of Nessebar and Sozopol. - [Across the Balkan range: Veliko Tarnovo, Shipka and Plovdiv](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b16-veliko-tarnovo-shipka/): From the medieval capital of Veliko Tarnovo over the Shipka Pass to the Valley of the Roses, Thracian tombs and Roman Plovdiv. - [The Rhodope Mountains: marble bridges and cave gorges](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b16-rhodopes/): South from Plovdiv to Asen’s Fortress and Bachkovo Monastery, the marble Wonderful Bridges, the village of Shiroka Laka and the caves of Trigrad. ## Places worth the detour in Bulgaria - [Seven Rila Lakes](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b7-seven-rila-lakes/): Seven glacial lakes stepping down a cirque in the Rila mountains. From Panichishte take the chairlift, then allow three to four hours for the loop; it is snowbound until June. - [Rila Monastery](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b7-rila-monastery/): Bulgaria’s great monastery, striped arcades and a church painted inside and out, set in a forested valley. Cover shoulders and knees; there is paid parking outside. - [Melnik Sand Pyramids](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b7-melnik-pyramids/): Eroded sandstone towers and ridges surrounding Bulgaria’s smallest town. A path from Melnik climbs among them to Rozhen Monastery in about 90 minutes. - [Balchik Palace](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b7-balchik-palace/): The seaside villa of Romania’s Queen Marie, a mix of minaret and Balkan house, with terraced botanical gardens and a large cactus collection. - [Cape Kaliakra](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b7-cape-kaliakra/): A narrow red cliff headland running 2 km into the Black Sea, with fortress walls and dolphins often visible below. The wind is strong at the tip. - [Tsarevets Fortress](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-tsarevets/): The fortified hill of the medieval Bulgarian capital, circled by the Yantra river, with walls, gates and a rebuilt patriarchal church on top. A sound-and-light show plays on some evenings. - [Ancient Theatre of Plovdiv](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-plovdiv-theatre/): A Roman theatre from the 1st century AD set into the hillside of Plovdiv’s old town, still used for summer performances. Walk from the pedestrian centre; the Revival houses of the old town are just above. - [Wonderful Bridges](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-wonderful-bridges/): Two huge marble arches formed by a collapsed cave in the western Rhodopes, at about 1,450 metres. The road from Chepelare is narrow; a short path leads under and over the arches. - [Devil’s Throat Cave](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-devils-throat/): A cave in the Trigrad gorge where the river plunges in a 42-metre underground waterfall, the highest in the Balkans. Guided visits end with a steep climb of about 300 steps; it stays cold inside. - [Rozhen Monastery](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b7-rozhen-monastery/): A quiet monastery on a ridge above the sand pyramids, with frescoes, carved woodwork and a vine-shaded courtyard. It can also be reached by car. - [Aladzha Monastery](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b7-aladzha-monastery/): Medieval hermit cells cut into a limestone cliff in the forest above Golden Sands, with steps and ladders up to the chapel. - [Arbanasi](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-arbanasi/): A village of stone merchant houses on a plateau above Veliko Tarnovo, with churches whose plain exteriors hide rich 17th-century frescoes. The Church of the Nativity is the finest; one ticket covers several sites. - [Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-etar/): An open-air museum of a Revival-era craft street with water-powered mills, workshops and artisans at work. It lies in a wooded valley south of Gabrovo on the road to the Shipka Pass. - [Shipka Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-shipka-monument/): A stone tower on a peak near the Shipka Pass, commemorating the battles of 1877–78 that led to Bulgarian independence. About 900 steps climb from the road; the tower top gives views over the Balkan range. - [Buzludzha Monument](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-buzludzha/): A saucer-shaped Communist party hall of 1981 on a bare summit, abandoned after 1989. Entering the building is prohibited; view the exterior from the road end, which is reached by a winding side road off the Shipka Pass. - [Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-kazanlak-tomb/): A 4th-century BC Thracian tomb with painted frescoes of a funeral feast, listed by UNESCO. The original is sealed for protection; an exact replica nearby is open, in the park on the north side of town. - [Asen’s Fortress](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-asen-fortress/): A medieval fortress on a rocky spur above the Chaya gorge, with a well-preserved 12th-century church. Drive up the narrow road to the car park just below; views reach over the Thracian plain. - [Bachkovo Monastery](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-bachkovo-monastery/): Founded in 1083, the second-largest monastery in Bulgaria, with frescoed churches around a leafy courtyard. Paid parking is by the road below, past a lane of market stalls. - [Yagodina Cave](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b16-yagodina-cave/): A multi-level cave with rich formations in the Buynovo gorge, visited on guided tours of about 45 minutes. It is reached by the narrow road through the gorge between Teshel and Yagodina. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in Bulgaria?** Popular routes include Rila and Pirin: lakes, monasteries and sand pyramids, Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast: Kaliakra to Sozopol, Across the Balkan range: Veliko Tarnovo, Shipka and Plovdiv and The Rhodope Mountains: marble bridges and cave gorges. CampingSpirit has 4 trip guides that pass through Bulgaria, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in Bulgaria are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Seven Rila Lakes, Rila Monastery, Melnik Sand Pyramids, Balchik Palace, Cape Kaliakra and Tsarevets Fortress. **Do you need a vignette or pay tolls in Bulgaria?** Vignette needed for motorways. Buy the e-vignette online before you drive on motorways. Rules and prices change. Check official sources before you travel. **What is the motorway speed limit in Bulgaria?** 140 km/h on motorways for cars, unless signs show otherwise. **Are there low-emission zones in Bulgaria?** Few or none.