Albania, North Macedonia & Kosovo: Capitals and UNESCO – 7 Days

Spend a week tracing the shared history of three nations.
Travel to Tirana, Skopje, Prishtina, and the UNESCO site of Berat, Ohrid and Prizren to understand how the area’s complex past has shaped each destination’s culture. As you venture from city to countryside, learn about the local traditions from the resilient people who call this region home.

Group size: Min 4 – Max 12 travelers

Day–by–day itinerary

Tirana  |  2 nights
Day 1: Travel Day & Tirana

Included meals: Welcome Dinner

Airport pick-up service available throughout the day (included).

Welcome to Albania! Transfer to Tirana and settle into your hotel. For those of you not too tired, there is a guided walking tour of the city center, including Skanderbeg Square, Et’hem Bey Mosque, the Pyramid and the Blloku area.

Then, meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers at tonight’s welcome dinner.

Day 2: Sightseeing tour of Kruja & Durres

Included meals: Breakfast
Included entrances: Skanderbeg Museum, Durres Roman Amphitheater

We start our journey from Tirana, directly to the city of Kruja.

• Set off on a guided tour of Dollma Bektashi Teqe , the surroundings and the Castle itself, the Skanderbeg Museum and the National Ethnographic Museum.
• You will have free time to wander around the Old Bazaar, with beautiful cobblestone alleys and lovely old architecture, and enjoy lunch with a view.

After lunch, head for the seaside historic town of Durres and set off on a guided tour of the City Walls, Byzantine Forum, Roman Thermal Baths, the Venetian Tower and the Amphitheater and enjoy the city’s street art around the ancient ruins.

Return in Tirana in the late afternoon.

Berat  |  1 night
Day 3: Sightseeing tour of Berat (UNESCO) & Alpeta Agrotourism

Included meals: Breakfast, Agritourism Lunch
Included entrances: Berat Castle, Onufri Museum

Transfer to Berat passing through suggestive hills full of olive trees.

Get settled in the hotel and set out for a walking guide through the UNESCO – recognized old town.

• Admire the White Mosque, the Holy Trinity Church, Gorica Bridge and the Berati citadel/castle
• Enjoy a coffee and raki break inside the castle of Berat
• Visit Onufri National Iconographic Museum, built in 1986. The Museum’s name honors the Albanian master painter of the 16th century, Onufri, who is responsible for a rich legacy of iconography in the country. The museum contains an immense collection of one-hundred and seventy-three select objects from Albanian churches and monasteries.

Transfer to the scenic and family owned Alpeta Agrotourism & Winery located among the rolling hills that surround the city. Tour the facilities for a complete view of the process of vinification, its cellar and vineyard.

After the visit, enjoy lunch with their seasonal home-grown and locally sourced organic delights and their fine wine.

Return in Berat for a free evening.

Ohrid  |  1 night
Day 4: Sightseeing tour of Ohrid (UNESCO)

Included meals: Breakfast
Included entrances: St. Sophia Church, Samuel’s Fortress, Local Guide

Transfer to Ohrid via Struga where we will have a coffee break on the shores of Ohrid lake.

Get settled in the hotel and enjoy free time for lunch with the lake as your view.

Take in all that the UNESCO–recognized charming city of Ohrid has to offer on a guided tour with a local guide.

• Pass by the glorious Church of Saint Sophia and the National Workshop for a handmade paper-making demonstration.
• Enter Samuil’s Fortress and walk along its historic 4th-centrury walls.
• Discover the Ancient Theater of Ohrid, built in the Hellenistic style.
• Walk up to the cliff-top Church of Saint John at Kaneo for panoramic views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Please note: Travelers should be prepared to show their passports at the border crossing between Albania and North Macedonia 

Skopje  |  1 night
Day 5: Matka Canyon & Sightseeing tour of Skopje

Included meals: Breakfast
Included entrances: Boat ride & Vrelo Cave, Mother Teresa Memorial House

Transfer to Skopje and on the way stop in Matka Canyon known for its butterfly colonies.

• Here we embark on a private boat ride for a short exploration of the Vrelo Cave, one the deepest in the world.

Drive to Skopje, get settled in the hotel and have free time for lunch.

Set out to explore the beautiful capital city of North Macedonia.

• Some of the highlight are Mother Teresa Memorial House, opened in 2009 to pay tribute to the life of the celebrated humanitarian, the old railway station and the Stone Bridge, which dates back to 1451.

Prishtina  |  1 night
Day 6: Gracanica Monastery (UNESCO) & Sightseeing tour of Prishtina

Included meals: Breakfast
Included entrances: Gracanica Monastery, Ethnographic Museum

Today our first stop of the day is Gracanica Monastery recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Admire the monastery’s beautiful saint images and talk to the nuns.

With a short drive we arrive in Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo. Discover the city with its many mosques, cathedrals and markets.

• Take a photo of the Newborn monument, symbol of their independence and being a young new country.
• Visit the Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa with its own clock tower.
• Admire The National Library of Kosovo, a building that definitely stands out from the rest, consisting out of 73 white domes.
• Wander the Old Bazaar in Pristina with nearby the ethnographic museum that shows the traditional Kosovar life.

Have the rest of the day on your own. The main boulevard in the capital, Sheshi Nena Tereza, is a nice street to stroll through and enjoy a delicious meal or coffee at one of the restaurants.

Please note: Travelers should be prepared to show their passports at the border crossing between North Macedonia & Kosovo.

Prizren  |  1 night
Day 7: Prizren (UNESCO) via Adem Jashari Memorial Complex

Included meals: Breakfast
Included entrances: Adem Jashari Memorial Complex, Albanian League of Prizren

This morning we drive to the village of Prekaz, home of Adem Jashari, considered one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the leader of the armed resistance against the Serbian president Slobodan Milošević and his regime.

• Visit the Memorial Complex and Museum. For the “political tourist” this is a chilling view of what was left from the Serbian attack on the Jashari’s houses. After three days of continuous shelling, Adem and more than fifty members of his extended family (including women, children, and the elderly) were killed; only one survived. Besarta, Adem’s niece, who was ten years old at the time, was the only one to live through the attack.

Transfer to the “Ottoman” town of Prizren, surrounded by mountains and crossed by Bistrica river.

• Set out for a walking tour with your local guide into the ancient streets of Prizren, with its picturesque and historic building, churches, mosques such as Sinan pasha Mosque and Church of Our Lady of Ljevis (UNESCO).

Enjoy the rest of the day on your own to enjoy food and to wander around this charming city.

Flight Home  |  0 nights
Day 8: Departure Day

Included meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, we depart at 09.00 for Tirana/Tirana Airport.

Theth   |   2 nights
Day 4: Vusanje to Theth via Peja Pass

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch (picnic), Dinner

Drive through Grebaje valley until you reach the start of the hike. The path passes along the craggiest part of the Prokletije/Bjeshkёt e Namuna mountains. Almost the entire hike is surrounded by steep mountains with stunning views. This itinerary allows us a glance into the region’s past when it was a forbidden zone during the Communist era. A border military post, a bunker and the border crossing pyramid sign still remain by the crossing.

The transfer hike finishes at the beautiful village of Theth with its traditional tower houses surrounded by steep mountains.

Day 5: Natural wonders of Theth

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch (picnic), Dinner

Spend a day exploring Theth National Park.

• Marvel at the view and sound of the waterfall and canyon.
• Enjoy a refreshing bath at the Natural Pools and a picnic lunch at the Blue Eye of Theth.
• Visit the village of Theth in the afternoon, where a four-century old tower used as reconciliation tower and the 100 – year – old, well-preserved church are the highlights.

Valbone   |   1 night
Day 6: Pass from Theth to Valbone

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch (picnic), Dinner

Set off on a guided hike through a well-maintained trail suitable also for families and “Sunday hikers”.

The route across the Accursed Mountains takes a total of 8 hours with many stops to enjoy, eat (picnic) and take photos of breathtaking panoramas.

Tirana   |   1 night
Day 7: Tirana via Koman Lake Boat Ride

Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch (picnic)
Included: Koman Lake Boat Ride

Enjoy Valbona’s gorgeous setting, on a wide plain surrounded by towering mountain peaks in the morning. Explore the village of Kukaj or enjoy your morning in Valbone Valley before transferring to Fierze Dam to hop on a boat for a scenic ride passing by rocky mountains and vivid green hills.

Transfer to Tirana and get settled in the hotel.

Flight Home   |    0 nights
Day 8: Departure Day

Included meals: Breakfast

Please note that the airport drop off is not included on tour. If you want to include this service, you can book it during your reservation.