Fiesta Balcánica Fin Sofía (2024)

Jour 1

Welcome to ZAGREB! Upon arrival at the airport, we will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. Our guide will arrive with the group from Slovenia around lunch time. Then we will take a sightseeing tour with a local guide. We will have a chance to admire its two hills, the upper town and the new neighborhoods of Croatia’s capital city. Dinner included.

Jour 2

We will leave first thing in the morning to travel to Bosnia. The border area still shows sad memories of the conflict that took place in the 1990s. We cross the Serb-majority Bosnia. First stop, BANIA LUKA, and time to walk through the capital of the autonomous entity of the Srpska Republika, the second largest city in Bosnia after Sarajevo, with its fortress and orthodox cathedral. Then, departure to JAJCE, perhaps the most beautiful town in Bosnia, with its cultural mix, its mosque, its fortress and its impressive waterfall (admission included). Time for a walk. We continue our journey to SARAJEVO, arriving in the evening. We will have time in the historic center, during which you can stroll through the charming Bazaar, an old Ottoman market famous for its architecture, oriental atmosphere and traditional shops. Dinner included.

Jour 3

In the morning we will have a sightseeing tour with a local guide in SARAJEVO, a fascinating city known as "Jerusalem of Europe" due to the coexistence of several religions. Mosques, churches and synagogues reflect religious diversity. We will observe the great Ottoman influence in its old town, with its great mosque of more than 500 years old and its beautiful fountain. After the visit we continue our route in an area of pure beauty. MOSTAR with its wonderful historic center and its stone bridge that separates the Orthodox, Muslim and Catholic communities. Time for lunch and stroll through the city. We continue to Croatia. Border procedures (can be long). DUBROVNIK, arrival at the end of the day. Dinner included.

Jour 4

In the morning we enjoy a city tour of DUBROVNIK with a local guide. We are undoubtedly in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, surrounded by walls, bathed by the Adriatic Sea; its intact historic center is a jewel of world architectural heritage. The tour includes tickets to the Franciscan Monastery with the oldest pharmacy in Europe, and the Cathedral. We also include a boat trip to LOKRUM, a small island 15 minutes by boat from Dubrovnik and home to the ruins of a Benedictine monastery of the eleventh century, popular setting of the series "Game of Thrones". You can then enjoy free time, returning to the hotel at the end of the afternoon. Dinner included. Note: in some departures, accommodation may be in Cavtat, a coastal town near the city of Dubrovnik.Note: in the winter months, from November to March, there is no boat service to Lokrum and therefore we cannot visit the island.

Jour 5

We set off early for MONTENEGRO. Border procedures. The coastal scenery and the Bay of Kotor are beautiful. We take a ferry to cross the bay. Arrival in KOTOR to enjoy some time strolling in this beautiful walled town with its strong Venetian influence. After this we make a stop in BUDVA, a marvelous walled village surrounded by the sea to enjoy lunch. Then we travel to ALBANIA. We arrive in the capital of the Albania, TIRANA, and enjoy some free time. Dinner included.

Jour 6

Today we have a city tour of TIRANA, with its Mosques, the Clock Tower and the ministries. Around midday we leave for inland Albania, with high mountain scenery and small villages along the way. Enjoy the beautiful countryside around Lake Ohrid which forms the border with Macedonia. We continue to the Republic of Macedonia (border procedures). Time to have lunch in STRUGA, a picturesque town on the shores of the lake.We continue to OHRID, a city with a strong Ottoman influence, a World Heritage Site. You will have time to see the Plaosnik Monastery or the ancient university founded in the ninth century. Dinner included.

Jour 7

Today we travel through Macedonia to GREECE, passing through BITOLA, a historic city that was called the “City of Consuls”. Border procedures, entering Greece. The North of Greece has a strong Slavic and Ottoman influence and a very rugged geography. Situated by the lake, with beautiful scenery, we see KASTORIA. Enjoy the city of 100 churches, with its medieval streets and its pleasant restaurants on the lakeside. Continuing to KALAMBAKA, we will arrive in the afternoon. We will visit the Valley of the Meteora, an impressive place declared UNESCO World Heritage. You will also have the chance to enter one of its most famous Monasteries (entrance included). Dinner included.

Jour 8

We travel through the North of Greece, amidst pretty mountain scenery to the Aegean Sea. We arrive in THESSALONIKI with time for a stroll and lunch in Greece’s second largest city. After this we continue towards BULGARIA, crossing the border. In Bulgarian Macedonia we will make a stop in MELNIK, picturesque museum-town among beautiful landscapes in the center of a wine-producing area. We arrive in SANDANSKI, at this beautiful small spa town, the birthplace of Spartacus. Dinner and accommodation.

Jour 9

We visit the beautiful Rila Monastery, the heritage of mankind, with its appearance of a fortress surrounded by forests. We continue to SOFIA, where we arrive at the end of the morning. After lunch, we include a city tour of the capital of Bulgaria, where we will see the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the Russian Church, the Mosque, its squares and avenues of Stalinist architecture. Free time afterwards.

Jour 10

After breakfast, end of our services.