Bike-and-Buggy Combo Tour

Three nights at Banya near Bansko, guided, with one day on an enduro bike and one at the wheel of a buggy.

The buggy is a Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo with around two hundred horsepower, driven in turns on forest tracks, which is an entirely different experience from the bike and a good deal faster.

Sofia airport opens it, with a transfer of about two and a half hours to the Aquilon Spa Hotel at Banya, a briefing with the crew and a meal. The bike day follows: breakfast, a short transfer to the club base for kit, guided riding in the mountains with lunch at a village tavern, and a different route back for dinner and the thermal pools. The buggy day comes next in the same format, on forest tracks towards the Rila ridges with the driving shared. A five-day version adds a second bike day.

The GasGas enduro and the Can-Am buggy with shared driving, the guide and technical support, the riding gear, the fuel, 24-hour Sofia transfers, a double room at the Aquilon and full board including drinks and alcohol are all included; flights, travel insurance and spa treatments are not, and there are published supplements for a single room, late check-out, an extra night and a private transfer. Spring and autumn suit the trail conditions best. Four days with two very different vehicles in it is the most varied of the operator’s short breaks, and full board with drinks keeps the on-the-ground spending close to nothing.