9-Day Albania and Kosovo Tour with UNESCO Sites and Koman Lake

• Meet at the airport and transfer to Tirana for a visit to the National Museum of History, which is a great introduction to the country and its people from antiquity to the present.

• Take a driving tour of the major sites of Tirana, including the colourful buildings for which the Albanian capital is now recognized. The dull grey communist buildings have been transformed into modern art canvases through splashes of bright colours and abstract shapes. It is considered an ingenious way of uplifting the facades and the moods of the inhabitants.

• Continue to Dajti Mountain by cable car. This service travels for about 300 m to the top of Dajti Mountain and gives you a spectacular view of the beautiful capital city of Tirana. You can see local farmers below still using ancient farming methods today. The restaurant at the top has a breathtaking panoramic view.

Overnight in Tirana.

• Head towards Prizren. On the way, stop in Kruja, the center of Albanian resistance against the Ottomans under the national hero Scanderbeg, who defeated them in 22 battles, including against one of the greatest warrior sultans, Mehmet the Conqueror, and resisted the Ottoman occupation for 25 years. Visit the castle with its two great museums and the old Ottoman-style bazaar.

• Proceed to 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 on the banks of the Bistrica River. The craftsmen of Prizren are well known for their beautiful gold and silver articles, embroidery, Prizren cloth, knives, and other folk handicrafts. Of all the cities in Kosovo, Prizren has best preserved the architectural physiognomy of the past. Overlooking the town from a hill that dominates the Prizren plateau is the Fortress of Prizren.

Overnight in Prizren.

• Departure to Peja with a stop in Prishtina for a short city tour. 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.

• Afterwards, drive 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.

• Drive to Gjakova for a visit to this town, which has one of the oldest bazaars, built in the 17th century, that has survived to this day. This ancient shopping center has many stores and stalls where you can buy all sorts of handicrafts. Aside from shopping, the Gjakova Old Bazaar also has a 15th-century mosque, which is one of the major attractions at the site.

• Afterwards, continue to Fierze, where you take the Koman Lake ferry. This is a spectacular boat trip through the artificial lake created by the hydropower stations built on the Drin River. The depth of the lake has given it an opal-green colour, while the surrounding mountains have created the magnificent effect of a fjord. After arrival in Koman, drive to Shkodra, the most important town of northern Albania and the Illyrian capital in the 3rd century BC. Visit Rozafa Castle with striking views all around.

• Continue to town and take a walk in the newly renovated pedestrian area of Italian and Austrian architecture, testimony to this town's historic links with both countries, and visit a communist prison turned museum.

Overnight in Shkodra.

• Depart for Durres, one of the oldest cities in Albania, founded in 627 B.C., where you will have lunch by the sea (optional).

• Take a sightseeing tour of the amphitheater, situated in the middle of the modern city in an inhabited area, and then proceed to Berat, Albania's second museum town, sometimes called "the city of a thousand windows" and one of the most attractive Albanian towns. See the fortress, the Onufri Museum, and several churches and mosques.

• In the downtown area, visit the Leaden Mosque, the King Mosque, the Bachelor Mosque, and Halveti Tekke.

Overnight in Berat.

• Proceed to Gjirokastra. Gjirokastra is the birthplace of Albania's former iron-fisted dictator, Enver Hoxha. Visit the pre-Ottoman citadel with its weapons museum and former political prison. Afterwards, enjoy free time to stroll around town, where many of the buildings retain their original wood and stonework. Lunch in a local restaurant in Gjirokastra.

• Make your way to Saranda, stopping on the way at the beautiful Blue Eye spring, shaped like an eye with beautiful blue and turquoise-green colours among old maple trees.

• Visit the ancient city of Butrint, a World Heritage Site. The town was first settled by Greek colonists and was continuously inhabited for centuries, forming archaeological layers of passing civilizations. It is situated on a beautiful peninsula among dense vegetation.

Overnight in Saranda.

• Drive along the spectacular Albanian Riviera towards Vlora. Breathtaking scenery awaits at the Llogara Pass, 1000 m above sea level.

• Head towards the Himara region and the water springs of Borshi.

• Continue towards Ali Pasha Fortress in the bay of Porto Palermo, a rare example of French military engineering built in the first decade of the 19th century.

• Stop at 1100 meters above sea level in the forest of Llogara National Park, from where you can admire the whole coastline and the Greek islands in the Ionian Sea.

• Arrive in Vlora and enjoy an afternoon city tour.

Overnight in Vlora.

• Explore Apollonia Archaeological Park, which began in the 7th century BC as the ancient town of Apollonia, the second-largest Greek colony in Albania. Founded in the 7th century BC, Apollonia became one of the most important cities in the region in the 4th century BC. Nowadays, it is one of the most significant archaeological parks in Albania.

• Drive towards Ardenica Orthodox Monastery, dating from the 12th century and located on a hill overlooking the valley. It has one of the best-preserved Byzantine churches in Albania and is famous for its wooden carved altar and fresco-covered walls. In the afternoon, check in to your hotel located in the city center.

• Drive to Tirana, the capital of Albania.

• Go on a walking tour in Tirana.

Overnight in Tirana.

• After breakfast, the tour ends with a transfer to "Mother Teresa" Airport.

End of services.