Tour:
Ancient Crossroads
Full Itinerary
Day 1:
You’ll be met at the airport and taken to the Hotel in Tirana. Get to know your fellow travelers tonight over the dinner.
Day 2:
Ascend to Rozafa Castle, built in 350 B.C., and take in the views of this ancient city, once a part of the Venetian Empire. Visit Shkodra and tour the city that is considered the Venice of Albania. Enjoy lunch at Tradita Restaurant, famed for its farm-to-table cuisine, and then return to Tirana.
Day 3:
Explore the Block district, erstwhile enclave of Albania’s Communist elite and now one of Tirana’s most vibrant areas. Admire Skanderbeg Square and meet Tirana residents for insight into local life. At a Dervish monastery in Kruja, the caretaker shares insights into ancient Susm. Visit the old bazaar and the Ethnographic Museum, set in an Ottoman house. Return to Tirana for dinner and the music of a local band.
Day 4:
Inhabited since ancient times, the nely preserved town of Berat takes you back to the days of the Ottoman Empire. Tour the castle and spend time at a small family-run cafe, watching as the proprietors prepare a traditional Albanian meal. After lunch, continue to Hotel in Gjirokastra.
Day 5:
Perched along the slopes of the Drino Valley, this handsome town Berat, Albania reveals longstanding ways of life which have vanished elsewhere. Spend time with the matriarch of a Balkan family for insight into these traditions as well as Albania’s more recent Communist history. Discover the town’s nely-preserved Ottoman architecture and delve into the work of Nobel-nominated author Ismail Kadare, who set many novels here. Enjoy dinner and a performance by Iso Polifonia, a widely acclaimed polyphonic choir.
Day 6:
The vast archaeological site at Butrint reveals evidence of the ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian civilizations. Continue to Ioannina, a vibrant Greek city on the shores of Lake Pamvotis. Check in to the Hotel.
Day 7:
Seemingly suspended in the air, the magnicent monasteries of Meteora were built atop towering sandstone pinnacles. Only six remain and you’ll visit two of them including the Holy Monastery of Great Meteora. Learn about the eremitic monks who built them centuries ago as you take in the sweeping vistas. Return back to Ioaninna at the hotel.
Day 8:
Métsovo is a lovely mountain town with stone-paved streets and grand homes. Tour the Averoff Gallery and sample Greek cuisine and local wines. Cross the border to Albania to visit of Korça before traveling to Ohrid, Macedonia for a 2-night stay at the hotel.
Day 9:
The captivating lakeside town of Ohrid is one of the oldest in all of Europe. The Cyrillic Alphabet was created here in the 9th century and for more than 1,000 years Ohrid was the cultural heart of the Slavic world. Your full-day tour illuminates rarely-studied chapters of history and shows you signicant cultural treasures including Renaissance frescoes, Byzantine icons and the oldest Slavic monastery. Tonight, enjoy ne Macedonian cuisine at a lakeside restaurant.
Day 10:
Tour the ruins of Heraclea Lyncestis, founded by King Philip II of Macedon. Its amphitheater was built by Emperor Hadrian and the town remained an important center through the Byzantine and Ottoman eras. Enjoy dinner and a night tour of Skopje before spending the night at the hotel.
Day 11:
After a walking tour and lunch, we’ll take you to the airport.