Immersion in the Balkans

Meet our guide on your arrival at Tirana International Airport and leave for the Albanian capital.

Tirana is a city in constant evolution. Formerly dull and grey, the city has experienced an international boom post-communism, becoming a lively metropolis, colourful and very lively thanks to its unique atmosphere. Fascinating, Tirana represents both the past and the future of Albania.

Dinner and overnight in Tirana.

After breakfast, leave for Berat. One of the rare cities with an architectural style typical of the Ottoman period. Visit of a city characterised by the coexistence of different religious and cultural communities over the centuries.

Lunch in Berat.

Sightseeing tour of Berat and rendezvous on the heights of the city to visit its fortress "Kala" built in the XIII century and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage.

Visit the Onufri iconographic museum consisting of a collection of objects belonging to Albanian churches and monasteries whose paintings of the iconographer painters date from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Then leave for Tirana for your last night in Albania.

After the visit, head to the Albanian coast and join Vlora.

On the way meet in a family vineyard for a wine tasting in the cellar "Çobo Winery" and discover the wine heritage of Albania.

Arrive in Vlora and drop off your luggage at your hotel and walk along the shore of Vlora.

Dinner and overnight in Vlora.

After breakfast, you will drive to Dhërmi. On the way make a stop at the Llogora National Pass and enjoy a sumptuous scenery between mountains and seas.

Arrival in Dhërmi, charming little seaside resort and lunch by the sea then join the beaches of Dhërmi.

Embark on a boat to discover the wonders of the Adriatic Sea. You will discover the amazing Gjippe Canyon, the pirate’s caves and the Pëllumbas caves.

Continue to the south of Albania and stop in Ali Pasha Castle. Famous governor of the region on behalf of the Ottoman Empire often compared to Napoleon for his strategies and military alliances.

Join finally Saranda, the biggest seaside resort of Albania, located in front of the island of Corfu in Greece. Drop off your luggage at the hotel.

Dinner and overnight in Saranda.

After breakfast, head towards Butrint and start the visit of an archaeological site of an ancient city built by the Trojans after the fall of Troy. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit this ancient city occupied by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Venetians. This archaeological site presents ruins of the ancient civilizations of this historic city.

Join a restaurant, mussel farmer on the shore of Lake Butrint for lunch in an amazing place.

On you way back, make a stop at Ksamil, a small seaside resort where you can relax on its beautiful beaches.

At the end of the day, enjoy a traditional dinner in a castle on the heights of Saranda (subject to availability). Overnight in Saranda.

After breakfast, leave for Gjirokastra. Another rare example of a city with an architectural style typical of the Ottoman period.

On the road, make a stop at the source of water of the "blue eye" or (syri i kaltër in Albanian) and re-energize yourself in this magnificent landscape of postcard (visit which can be suppressed according to the season).

Arrival in Gjirokastra and lunch. Start a sightseeing tour of the city and admire the architecture of a series of 17th-century "remarkable" two-story houses, a site that gives the impression of a thousand-window painting. Visit the Citadel of Gjirokastra overlooking the city. You will also visit the Skenduli house, a typical Ottoman house dating back to the 18th century.

Then leave in the direction of Permët. Example of agrotourism in Albania for its ecological farms, its production of local products like rakia or honey, and for its commitment to the environment.

At the end of the afternoon, you will head towards an agritourism farm and discover a cheese dairy located in a "Cheese Factory Bunker" bunker.

Dinner in the cheese factory and taste the local products and appreciate its many varieties of cheeses, wines and rakias. You will learn more about this family and its history during the meal. Overnight in Permët.

After breakfast, head south for Korça. You will cross beautiful landscapes of plains and mountains through rural Albania.

Continue your road and arrival in Korça. Also called "little Paris" because Korça is the center of the Francophonie in Albania but also for its coffee culture. Lunch in the city.

Leave then for Northern Macedonia and join the city of Ohrid.

On the way visit the Saint Naum Monastery. In the middle of lush greenery, the monastery of St. Naum. Built in the tenth century is a refuge of tranquillity on the border between Albania and Macedonia.

Photo stop at the Bay of Bones Museum, an authentic reconstruction of part of a colony dating from 1200 to 700 BC.

Arrive in Ohrid and drop off your luggages at your hotel.

After breakfast, start the sight seeing tour of Ohrid, the Cradle of Orthodoxy. A UNESCO World Heritage City and a sublime lakeside city, which for many represents the culmination of the Macedonian experience, a Kingdom of light and water and a reference to the ancient ruins of traditional kingdom of Macedonia.

Discover its historical heritage, well-preserved as the church of Saint Jovan or its ancient theater dating from the Roman Empire.

Your will then reach a cave in the old city of Ohrid where you will discover the ancestral traditional of winery in Macedonia. Taste different local wines with some cheeses.

Free afternoon in Ohrid to enjoy the Mediterranean atmosphere of the city.

Dinner and overnight in Ohrid.

After breakfast, leave for the Capital city of North Macedonia ; Skopje.

On the road, stop in Tetovo to discover its 15th century painted mosque of Sarena Dzamija. Painted inside and out, it represents one of the most beautiful mosques in Macedonia.

Arrive in Skopje and lunch in a traditional restaurant.

Start a short sightseeing of Skopje.

Leave then toward to Kosovo. You will be travel across the splendid Sharri Mountains towards the city of Prizren, Kosovo's cultural and historical City. Its cobbled streets and its tea rooms located in the old bazaar give Prizren a unique Ottoman charm.

Dinner and overnight in Prizren.

After breakfast, famous for its reputation of respecting all religions, you will visit three nearby religious precincts: The Mosque of Sinan Pasha, the St. George's Orthodox Cathedral and the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.

Lunch at a traditional restaurant in Prizren.

After lunch Head towards the historic city of Albania - Kruje.

Start a guided tour of one of Europe's oldest cities. Visit of the city with its old bazaar and the medieval fortress of Skanderbeg.

Compared to Alexander the Great, Skanderbeg is a true hero in the Balkans for having been the first to unite the Albanians and resisted the invasion of the Ottoman Empire.

Enjoy you last day to buy souvenirs in the old bazaar shops or at the swimming pool of the hotel.

Dinner and overnight stay in Kruje.

Breakfast and free time until your transfer to the airport for your return flight.