14-Day Balkan Tour through Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro

• Meet at the airport and transfer to the hotel in Tirana.

• After a short break at the hotel, visit the National Museum of History, which offers a great introduction to the history of the country and its people.

• Afterwards, take a driven tour of the major sites of Tirana, including the colourful buildings for which the Albanian capital is now known. The dull grey communist-era architecture has been transformed into modern art canvases through splashes of bright colours and abstract shapes - an ingenious way of uplifting both the facades and the moods of the inhabitants.

Overnight in Tirana.

• After breakfast, depart for the archaeological site of Apollonia, one of the most important ancient centres in Roman times on the famous Via Egnatia. Due to its fame and importance, it was known as Apollonia Prima, built to honour Apollo. Caesar chose to send his nephew Augustus Octavian to study oratory in Apollonia, which is testimony to the importance of this ancient city.

• Visit the city and an Orthodox monastery that has been turned into an archaeological museum.

• After the visits, continue to Vlora.

Overnight in Vlora.

• After breakfast, depart for Saranda through the spectacular Albanian Riviera with its traditional villages. At Llogara National Park, stop at around 1100 m, where spectacular views of the Ionian Sea can be admired.

• Afterwards, continue along the wonderful coast to the ancient city of Butrint, another UNESCO World Heritage Site considered the best archaeological site in Albania and probably one of the most important in the Balkans. The city was first settled by Greek colonists and was continuously inhabited for centuries, forming archaeological layers of passing civilizations and giving archaeologists the possibility to study continuity through time. It is situated on a beautiful peninsula among dense vegetation. The site has been occupied since at least the 8th century BC, although myths associated with its origins speak of the city's foundation by Trojan exiles.

• After a thorough visit of the site, return to Saranda.

Overnight in Saranda.

• After breakfast, drive to Gjirokastra, a UNESCO site and museum town with beautiful and very distinctive architecture.

• Visit the medieval Castle, which used to be a political prison during the communist dictatorship, and the Ethnographic Museum, which is also the house where the Albanian dictator was born. Then visit Skenduli House and the Old Town.

Overnight in Gjirokastra.

• After breakfast, depart for Berat, one of the most visited and characteristic towns in Albania, under the protection of UNESCO as part of the heritage of humanity for its architectural uniqueness. Visit the Castle and the Onufri Museum. Berat Castle is of particular interest because people still live within its walls in their traditional houses, as their ancestors have done for centuries. The castle used to have over 40 churches, of which seven remain, including St. Mary's Church, now turned into the Onufri Museum. Onufri was a famous Albanian icon master painter of the 16th century who painted many Orthodox churches in Albania and Greece, using a special red colour. Berat is also known for its close ties with religious practice, as two of the oldest Bibles in the world have been found here. One dates back to the 6th century AD and the other to the 9th century AD, and both are internationally renowned for their theological importance. Enjoy a homemade lunch in one of the houses inside the castle.

• Just below the castle, visit the Leaden Mosque, the King's Mosque, the Bachelor's Mosque, and the Alveti Tekke, completing a tour of this town's religious tolerance.

Overnight in Berat.

• After breakfast, depart for the city of Ohrid.

• On the way, drive through rural villages with wonderful countryside landscapes. Stop in Elbasan for a visit to the castle.

• Afterwards, proceed to Struga, famous for its wall of water where the Black Drin River flows out of Lake Ohrid on its way to the Adriatic.

• After a short visit, continue to Ohrid, where we take a familiarization tour of the town, proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage region for its cultural and natural legacy.

Overnight in Ohrid.

• After breakfast, visit the Church of St. Sofia, built between the 11th and 14th centuries, which was the seat of the Archbishop. Continue to St. Clement, a classic Orthodox Byzantine church dominating the Old Town and demonstrating the link between Byzantine and Italian Renaissance art. At Plaoshnik, in the 9th century, St. Clement of Ohrid founded the first University of Europe and educated 3,500 students. Visit St. John at Kaneo, which stands alone on a small promontory jutting out into the lake at the western end of the Old Town and provides spectacular panoramic views of the lake and surrounding mountains, as well as Samuil's Fortress.

• Other visits include Saint Panteleimon Church, the Holy Virgin of Peribleptos Church, the Icon Gallery, and the Old Bazaar.

Overnight in Ohrid.

• After breakfast, drive to Stobi, one of the most important archaeological sites in Macedonia. Lying in a fertile valley just a few minutes off the central north-south highway that connects Macedonia with Greece, the ancient city of Stobi was a vital trade route in its day.

• Visit the excavation sites with beautiful remains such as a 2nd-century amphitheatre, the Theodosia Palace, and early Christian ruins with extensive and ornate mosaic floors.

• Afterwards, depart for Skopje, where we take a guided tour of the main sites. Visit the old Turkish bazaar, Mahmut Pasha Hammam, the Memorial House of Mother Teresa, the Stone Bridge, and Macedonia Plaza.

Overnight in Skopje.

• In the morning, drive onwards to Prishtina (2 hrs).

• Visit Gracanica Monastery, which was constructed on the ruins of an older 13th-century Church of the Holy Virgin, itself built on the ruins of a 6th-century early Christian basilica. Of the former monastic compound, only the church has survived. Visit Ulpiana, an ancient Roman site also named Justiniana Secunda. Under the Roman Empire, Ulpiana flourished and was mentioned as a glorious city, "urb splendidissma". Ulpiana suffered numerous attacks from barbarian tribes such as the Huns and Goths, and it was destroyed in 479 by the Goths. A final blow came when an earthquake struck in 518 AD and destroyed what remained of Ulpiana. Next, visit the 1389 Kosovo Battlefield and Sultan Murat's grave, both about 15 minutes away from Prishtina.

Overnight in Prishtina.

• After breakfast, drive to visit Prizren, a true open-air museum and one of the most beautiful towns in Kosovo. It is situated on the slopes of the Sharr Mountains and the banks of the Bistrica River. The craftsmen of Prizren are well known for their beautiful gold and silver articles and other folk handicrafts. Of all the cities in Kosovo, Prizren has best preserved the architectural style of the past. Afterwards, head towards Peja through the magnificent Rugova Gorge to the Decani Monastery nearby. This monastery complex is a wonderful example of Orthodox religious architecture and art, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a must for anyone visiting Kosovo.

Overnight in Peja.

• After breakfast, a long drive through the magnificent natural beauty of north-west Kosovo and Montenegro takes us to Kolašin, Montenegro's most famous ski resort, and then to its capital, Podgorica.

• Take a driven tour of the capital, Podgorica, and continue on another panoramic drive to Cetinje, a town of immense historical heritage founded in the 15th century. It became the centre of Montenegrin life and both a cradle of Montenegrin identity and an Eastern Orthodox religious centre.

Overnight in Budva.

• After breakfast, drive to Kotor and visit the Old City of Kotor, a well-preserved urban settlement typical of the Middle Ages, built between the 12th and 14th centuries. Medieval architecture and numerous monuments of cultural heritage have made Kotor a UNESCO-listed World Natural and Historical Heritage Site. Then drive back to Budva. The old town is Budva's trademark. It stands on an island that used to be connected to the mainland by a sandy strip and so grew into a peninsula. Budva Old Town is a unique architectural and urban entity that is mentioned as a settlement even in the antique period. According to those sources, Budva is one of the oldest urban centres in the Adriatic - it is more than 2,500 years old - and then we return.

Overnight in Budva.

• After breakfast, drive to Shkodra. On the way, stop for a photo at Sveti Stefan, renowned for its celebrity residents from the music and movie industry.

• Afterwards, proceed to Shkodra, the centre of Roman Catholicism in Albania and a town with long historical roots, also mentioned as the capital of the Illyrian Kingdom.

• Visit the pedestrian area with Italian influences and the castle, thought to date back to Illyrian times.

• After lunch, return to Tirana.

Overnight in Tirana.

• After breakfast, transfer to the airport and end of tour.