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Day 1: Tirana, Albania
Tour the capital, including Ethem Bey Mosque, the Clock Tower, and the National Historic Museum.
Day 2: Tirana-Kruja - Tirana
Visit the fortress of Kruja, the Scanderbeg Museum, Ethnographic Museum and the old bazaar full of local handicrafts. Stop by Elbasan Castle and continue to Pogradec on the shores of Lake Ohrid. We will explore the traditional village of Tushemisht.
Day 3: Durres - Berat
In Durres, visit the Amphitheatre and Archeological Museum. Continue to Berat, a UNESCO site, and visit the Fortress, Onufri Museum (an old Orthodox church which displays many of the iconic paintings by Onufri and his followers); Leaden Mosque, the King's Mosque, the Bachelor's Mosque and the Alveti Tekke.
Day 4: Apollonia - Vlora
Visit the ancient city of Apollonia, founded in 558 BC by settlers from Corfu and Corinth. Continue to Vlora where we visit the independence museum and explore the town.
Day 5: Vlora - Saranda
Morning enjoy a pleasant drive north along the Albanian Riviera stopping for refreshments at the coastal town of Himara and several other small coastal villages enroute to Saranda. In the town center, the ancient ruins are thought to be one of the earliest Jewish Synagogues in Albania, approximately dating to the 4th century AD.
Day 6: Saranda - Butrint - Saranda
Visit the World Heritage site of Butrint, Albania’s most important archaeological site. Bask in Saranda on the beautiful Ksamil beach or explore the town.
Day 7: Saranda - Gjirokastra
Visit Gjirokastra, a museum city and UNESCO site.
Day 8: Gjirokastra - Korca
In Korca visit the Museum of Medieval Arts and the Mosque of Mirahori, one of the oldest in the country, built in 1469.
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Day 9: Korca - Voskopoja – Pogradec
Explore fascinating Voskopoja, one of the most important towns in the European part of the Ottoman empire. Overnight in the small village of Tushemisht, close to Macedonia border.
Macedonia
Day 10-11: Pogradec - Sveti Naum - Ohrid
Visit the old Sveti Naum Monastery. on arrival in Ohrid, explore the town on foot as well as a boat trip on Lake Ohrid. Situated on the shores of Lake Ohrid at 695m above sea level, the town of Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in Europe.
Day 12: Ohrid-St. Jovan Bigorski-Skopje
Drive through the mountains and villages, following the Albanian border. The beautiful scenic mountain road will first take us to Monastery of Sv. Jovan Bigorski, famous for its iconostasis carved in wood. We next visit St. Jovan Kaneo on a cliff above Ohrid Lake, one of the most magnificent churches in all of Macedonia. Upon arrival in Skopje, a walking tour.
Kosovo
Day 13: Skopje - Prizen - Pristina
Prizren is a true open air museum, one of the most beautiful towns of Kosova. Visit all the magnificent sites. Then continue to Pristina, enroute visit the Monastery of Gracania (UNESCO).
Return to Albania
Day 14: Pristina - Shkodra
The northern city of Shkodra was the Illyrian capital in the 3rd century BC. Once part of the Venetian empire, Italian influence is everywhere evident here.
Day 15: Shkodra - Tiraina - Depart
Morning drive to Tirana airport for flight home.
OR Day 14 Continue to Serbia on our Balkans Explorer Tour
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