14-Day The Best of The Balkans Small Group Tour from Bucharest to Budapest

We will leave Bucharest in the morning and head to Bulgaria. After crossing the bridge over the Danube River we will enter in Bulgaria and our first visit will be at a hidden 16th century Church of Nativity with beautiful and richly inside painted fresco

Visit Veliko Tarnovo , “City of Tsars” , the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Tsarevets Fortress , Monument of the Asenevtsi kings , Samovodska charshia are the main attractions of the city.

In the early evening we will arrive in Sofia . The walking tour of city center will include the gold-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Saint (Sveta) Sofia Church , Banya Bashi Mosque, the Sofia Synagogue and the main shopping street Vitosha .

Rila Monastery is Bulgaria’s most famous tourist site ( Unesco World Heritage Site ) and founded in the 10th century by Saint Ivan Rilsky (St John of Rila ) , a hermit canonized by the Orthodox Church . The monastery , one of the largest in the Balkans , was the center of Bulgarian culture and Orthodox belief for more than 1000 years . Our tour includes a visit to the Church, which is of particular artistic value, for it was adorned by the foremost 19-century masters of the Samokov, Bansko and Debar schools of painting and woodcarving

Continue drive south to the Bulgarian – Macedonian border . In the early evening we will arrive in Skopje , the capital of Macedonia . Orientation tour of Skopje before arriving to your hotel.

Enjoy a walking tour of Skopje (internationally famous for being the birthplace of Mother Teresa ) , with its most important landmarks : quay of the Macedonian river “Vardar”, the narrow streets in the Old Bazaar (is the biggest bazaar preserved in the Balkans today ), the Memorial house of Mother Teresa , the 1500 years old fortress Kale , Macedonia Square with the statue of Alexander The Great on horse

Continue the tour and drive to Ohrid ( Unesco World Heritage Site ) situated on the banks of the lake with the same name , perched on the border of Macedonia and Albania. Ohrid area has been the setting of thousands of years of human history and the old city center are testimony to its past. Lake Ohrid itself is Europe’s oldest lake having formed over three millions years ago. The walking tour of the old city center will include the narrow streets and squares , the Anchient Theater , discover the famous old churches, monasteries and basilicas (Sveti Sofia Church ) , Tsar Samuil’s (Samuel’s) Fortress and pedestrian shopping street .

After breakfast departure to the Museum on Water called also the Bay of Bones, an exceptional archeological complex and a reconstruction of a part of the pile-dwelling settlement, dating back between 1200 and 700 BC.A Roman military fortification

Next will drive to the amazing monastery of St.Naum, built on a rock that offers a great view of the Ohrid Lake and experience a small rowing boat ride to the springs of Black Drimm river.

Continue the tour and crossing the Macedonian – Albanian border driving to Tirana, capital of Albania . The walking tour of city center of Tirana will reveal the main tourist attractions : Tirana’s massive main square – Skanderbeg , National History Museum , Palace of Culture, National Bank, Et’hem Bey Mosque and Skanderbeg’s statue

In the evening we will arrive in Kruja . The name and the importance of the city are attributed to the national hero of Albania, George Castriot Skanderbeg, who made Kruja a fortress of resistance against the Turkish Ottoman empire for more than 25 years in the 15th century . Orientation tour of Kruja before arriving to your hotel.

visit the Kruja Castle, the headquarter of “the Dragon of Albania” . Enjoy a visit of the Kruja Castle Museum for a short lesson of Albanian history than discover the local souvenir market of the local traditional Old Bazaar

Visit Budva – Montenegro , crossing the Albanian – Montenegro border and stop to visit the Old Town and show you the most important spots: Ballerina and Mogren Beach, Land Gate, Ancient Necropolis, Square of Churches, Citadel, Njegoš’s street, marina, Mediternaska Street and Slovenska Plaza

In the evening we will arrive in Kotor and discover the fortified old town – Stari Grad ( Unesco World Heritage Site ) .

Kotor Bay Tour : Perast (boat trip to Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rocks), Tivat & Porto Montenegro

Continue the tour and cross the border to Croatia and head to Dubrovnik. “The Pearl of the Adriatic:”, Explore the Old Town also part of Unesco Heritage, via Onofrio’s Fountain and up Prijeko Street to the Old Port – the key to Dubrovnik’s trading and maritime success

Free time for yourself in wich you can choose through many possibilities offered by local operators to admire better the surroundings like: Boat Trip to the beautiful Elafiti Islands or discover the natural beauty of the Blue Cave and the options don’t stop here. The tour manager will help you with indications regarding the tours. If you prefer to relax you can stroll on the promenade from Lapad or just lay down on the beach and enjoy the Adriatic sea. Overnight in the same 3* hotel in Lapad – Dubrovnik.

After breakfast we will head to Bosnia – Herzegovina and after we will cross the border we will visit the beautiful city of Mostar with its Old Bridge Area and the old city, part of Unesco Heritage

Next, we will cross the border back to Croatia and arrive in one of the most important cities at the Adriatic Seat: Split. Visit the 4th century Diocletian’s Palace and city’s historical center also listed on Unesco’s heritage.

After breakfast , we will head to the Oldest National Park from Croatia that is also part of Unesco heritage. We will enjoy a walking tour in the nature and discover the amazing colours of the Natural Park that are ranging from azure to green, grey or blue depending on the sunlight. Overnight in a 3* hotel in Korenica close to Plitvice National Park. !! Please keep in mind that the visit of Plitvice Lakes is conditioned by the weather and in case of bad weather the National Park administration can take the decision to close it. We aren’t responsible in this case but we will do our best if possible to make some slight changes to the itinerary if the next day the weather will get better, respecting all the visits included in the itinerary. The tour manager will decide and choose the best solution for the group keeping in mind also your safety.

After breakfast we will head to the border of Slovenia. Explore the largest show-cave in Europe, the Postojna Cave with an electrical train, a touristic attraction that you can’t miss it , thanks to its natural beauty. In the late evening we will arrive in the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana.

After breakfast , enjoy walking tour in wich you will discover the main tourist attractions of Ljubljana city center : Congress Square, the National University Library, the New Square, and Cobbler’s Bridge, main square with the Prešeren monument, Franciscan Church, and Three Bridges , Old Square, the river promenade, the Municipality Square, St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Open Air Market, Butcher’s Bridge, and Dragon Bridge.

Next, we will head to the capital of Croatia, Zagreb where we will discover this magical city. Explore Zagreb’s Upper Town and Lower Town districts on this walking tour—enjoy fine city views from the Strossmayer Promenade. Discover top attractions including the Lotrščak Tower, St Catherine’s Church, the Stone Gate and the seat of the Croatian Parliament. Then, descend via Tkalčićeva Street to the Lower Town and head through Dolac Market to medieval Kaptol. Admire traditional architecture in Ban Jelačić Square.

After breakfast we will head to Serbia and in the afternoon we will arrive to Belgrad, capital of Serbia. Visit the Republic Square, the National theater and the National museum, Bohemian Quarter (Skadarlija), the oldest part of Belgrade with Ottoman heritage, the only mosque in the city, Kalemegdan park, Belgrade fortress, „Victor“ the most famous symbol of Belgrade and the confluence of the Sava and the Danube rivers.

After breakfast , departure to Budapest with a stop in Novi Sad where we will visit Zmaj Jovina Street, the promenade of Novi Sad and obligatory sight for any tourists, not least for the ornamental Palace of the Orthodox Bishop. We will see also y – Dunavska, street with its long line of single-storied 19th century houses. The Danube embankment, the outside of Petrovaradin Fortress on the other bank.

In the evening we will arrive to Budapest ,`´ The Queen of Danube “ , capital of Hungary . After the check-in you will have a 1h scenic cruise on Danube’s river to see the most important attractions of the city.!! Please keep in mind that the Danube’s cruise is conditioned by the weather, low level of water and any other navigation restrictions and we aren’t responsible in this case but we will do our best to enjoy the tour and if it will be possible the tour manager will change the cruise with the next day. In this case you will need to get yourself to the dock for the cruise since it will be the last day with your tour manager.

Free time in Budapest in wich you can discover by yourself this magical city and see the iconic statues of Heroes’ Square, the Andrássy Avenue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Discover also St. Stephen’s Basilica, Dohány Street Synagogue and the beautiful Castle District in Buda. Overnight in a 4* hotel in Budapest. !! In case you will need a transfer to the airport or any other extra services please ask the tour manager in advance if it is possible to organize it and let you know also the price. !! The tour manager will indicate the time that we will have for the visits and also he will decide the order of the visits. The order can be changed based on multiple factors like weather, traffic conditions and restrictions, national holidays, ecc but all the visits will be done as indicated in the itinerary, changing just the order keeping in mind that all this is done for your safety or to make more enjoyable your tour. In case that all the members of the tour have a special request to see something else that it is not in the itinerary and it requests also extra miles the tour manager after a discussion with our sales department will let you know the extra cost or if we can make it complimentary. !! This tour is a easy walking tour for persons with a good general fit condition. It requires some small effort like: carrying your own bag on just some steps to get into the hotel (mostly of the hotels have also an elevator), and also some average effort like: walking tours from 2 hours to 4/5 hours (from 1 km to 7 km) depending on the sites visited. To have a better idea: Sofia walking tour: 1,5 hours = 4 km, Skopje Walking Tour: 1,5 hours = 3 km ; Plitvice Lakes: 3 hours = 6 km Even if there is involved some walking the tour is still accessible for all the people with a good condition without involving trekking or any other high difficulty tours. Still keep in mind that we will have to make some walk during the tour. In case you can't have the walking tour or you like to spend your time in a different way you can explore the attractions by yourself if possible only after agreeing with the tour manager. In this tour you will enjoy the sightseeing, see the cities indicated and have also enough time for yourself. Even if it we see 10 countries the days are organized to start the tour between 08.00 to 09.00 and get to the hotel at 6 – 7 p.m. in order to have also free time.