The Jewels Of The Balkans

Albania – Macedonia – Greece
(8 days / 7 nights)

Itinerary:
Day 1: Tirana – Arrival
Upon arrival to Tirana Airport, meet & greet by our representative and transfer to your hotel.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Tirana.

Day 2: Tirana
After breakfast, meet with your tour director and enjoy a sightseeing tour of Tirana, where you will be led to the very heart of Tirana, seeing Skanderberg Square, the Opera, Clock Tower and Ethem Bay Mosque, including the National Museum & BUNK’ART Museum.
After sightseeing and lunch, you will be heading to Mount Dajti.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Tirana.

Day 3: Tirana – Ohrid – Bitola
After breakfast, we will drive towards North Macedonia – Ohrid (130km). Ohrid is known as the Balkan Jerusalem. You will start with a visit to the church of St. Sophia, which dates back to the 11th century. Then you will go up to the Roman Amphitheatre and then continue the walk to the church of the Holy Mother of God Most Glorious, where you can see some of the most beautiful and valuable frescos. From there you can head to Kaneo, where you can see the Ohrid Lake from the cliffs. After the lunch break and sightseeing, we head to Bitola (70km).
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Bitola.

Day 4: Bitola – Kalampaka
After breakfast, you will be visiting the second largest city in North Macedonia, and one of the most charming cities with rich history, and the city beneath the Pelister National Park.
You will have the opportunity to see Heraclea Lyncestis, with the beautiful floor mosaics. You will enjoy the mixture of Ottoman, neo-classical, 19th century romantic architecture. After lunch, you will head for Kalampaka (260km). Kalampaka in Greece (also spelled Kalambaka or Kalabaka), is a town situated on the foot of the most extraordinary Meteora rocks. We will then visit the monasteries, which are the country’s most unique attractions and protected by UNESCO.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Kalampaka.

Day 5: Kalampaka – Butrint – Saranda
After breakfast, we will head towards Butrint, Albania (210km), which is the first Albanian city to be included on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. After lunch, we will visit the most extraordinary objects discovered in the theatre of Butrint: the statue of Apollo, the goddess of Butrint, the marble heads of Zeus, the portrait of Agrippina, the head of Livia and many Latin and Greek epigraphs.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Saranda.

Day 6: Saranda – Gjirokaster – Vlore
After breakfast, you will be visiting the city of Gjirokaster (60km), which is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage List. The main characteristic of Gjirokastra is the intensive use of stone in building the houses, which look like small fortresses, the streets of cobblestone, which all lead to Bazaar. We will also visit the Mosque of Bazaar. The most important structure of the city is the castle, which is the biggest castle in Albania and second largest in the Balkans. Then you will visit the Ethnographic Museum, located in the house where the former communist dictator Enver Hoxha was born, in Palorto quarter. Lunch on the way to Vlore (110km).
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Vlore.

Day 7: Vlore – Apollonia – Berat – Durres – Tirana
After breakfast, morning drive to Apollonia (40km), visit Archaeological Park. UNESCO archaeological site founded by Greek colonists from Corfu and Corinth, on a site where native Illyrian tribes lived, and was perhaps the most important of the several classical towns. Cicero also mentions Apollonia as a great and important city. The rest of the day is reserved for the “city of thousand windows” Berat (60km) and its famous castle. Visit Berat Castle (UNESCO) and Ethno Museum in Berat. Lunch in Berat old town or wine tasting. Drive back to Tirana (122km), through Durres.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Tirana.

Day 8: Tirana – Departure
After breakfast, transfer in time to the airport, for your departure back home.

Our package includes:
• Round trip ticket Beirut/Istanbul/Tirana/Istanbul/Beirut with Pegasus Airlines
• Arrival & departure transfers
• 7 nights’ accommodation at the selected hotels including daily breakfast
• 7 dinners at the hotels or local restaurants
• 6 lunches at local restaurants
• All sightseeing tours mentioned in the program in air-conditioned vans/mini-buses
• Entrance tickets to the mentioned sites
• Professional guide throughout the tours
• Accommodation taxes in all countries
• Meet & assist of our representative

Our package excludes:
• Airport taxes ($ 190)
• Visa fees
• Travel insurance
• Optional tours