Private guide in Bulgaria

We traveled in Bulgaria with a private guide, Patrick Peneff (phone +359 887 364 711), July 27-Aug. 9, 2013, and had a wonderful time. We discovered Patrick through an article in ITN (Jan. ’13, pg. 32).

We told Patrick we were primarily interested in history, literature and politics, and the itinerary he arranged, with certain museums and places of interest, reflected these priorities.

For our 14-day, 13-night trip (and including a 10% discount for early booking), we paid €2,620 (near $3,550) for accommodations, with breakfast; his services as a guide and driver; fuel, and entrance fees. We paid for lunches and dinners separately, but costs were very reasonable.

Patrick’s accommodation choices included an apartment, a cabin, a private house and some excellent small hotels. Many of the more interesting places we visited we could never have discovered on our own. 

The same was true for his choices of restaurants and food. We came to love Bulgarian food. I’m sure we would not have been so adventurous on our own. We usually ate together, but he made it clear that we were free to be on our own if we wished. 

Personable, open and, we feel, honest, Patrick was knowledgeable and easy to talk with. His English was excellent. When making travel decisions, he took into account our energy levels and the weather conditions. While traveling, when we saw something else that we wanted to see, he was comfortable making changes, although we had to pay extra for entrance fees and the like.

Patrick also likes to do hiking or bicycle tours.

ED & PATTE SULLIVAN

Portland, OR