Day 1: Sightseeing tour of Prizren & Prishtina We travel towards Prizren in the morning. Prizren, considered to be the cultural capital of Kosovo, this charming, vivacious town with mountains all around is a real treasure hidden in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula. We arrive in Prizren in about 2 hours and meet our local guide for a walking tour of the city entering the Sinan Pasha Mosque, The Church of Our Lady of Ljevis (Unesco), The Museum of Prizren League and the Ottoman Old Town known for its gold and silver filigree craftsmen. Enjoy free time for lunch in Prizren and leave the town for the capital of Kosovo, Prishtina. In the afternoon, have a walking tour of Prishtina to discover the city with its many mosques, cathedrals and markets. Day 2: Matka Canyon & Sightseeing Tour of Skopje This morning we head towards North Macedonia with our first stop at 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, before enjoying free time for lunch with a great view. With a short drive we arrive in Skopje the capital of North Macedonia Have a walking tour of Skopje discovering the city with its highlight like 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. Enjoy a relaxing evening in Skopje. Day 3: Sightseeing tour of Ohrid (Unesco) Reach and 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 Theatre 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. Day 4: Tirana via Saint Naum Monastery & Bay of Bones On our way to Tirana, visit the Bay of Bones Museum, a prehistoric settlement located on Lake Ohrid. A one of a kind in the region, it is an authentic reconstruction of a part of the pile-dwelling settlement, dating back between 1200 and 700 Bc. Then, continue exploring the medieval Monastery of Saint Naum. See the resident peacocks that roam the grounds Enter the monastery to view its intricate frescoes We drive towards the border of Albania to Pogradec, where you have free time to enjoy lunch on the shores of Lake Ohrid. Travel to Tirana in the late afternoon. (Hotel accommodation in Tirana is not included on tour)

Following a pickup from your accommodation in Durrës or Tirana, embark on a guided tour of the charming city of Ohrid. Explore the charming city 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-century walls. Discover the Ancient Theatre 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. Enjoy free time for lunch and explore this pretty lakeside town before returning to Tirana in the late afternoon.

This full day tour will encompass over 2500 years of Albanian history and regional development, as we travel from Durres to the Apollonia Archaeological Park, and to the Ardenica Monastery. We begin our tour by driving towards Albania's second largest town, the port city of Durres. Founded around the 7th century BC, Durres also known as Dyrrachium, became an integral part of the Roman Empire, so much so that the Via Egnatia initiated in this city. Following the Albanian Declaration of Independence in 1912, Durres even served as the capital of the Principality of Albania for a short period of time. We will explore its most priced attraction, the Amphitheatre of Durrës, that once had a capacity for 20,000 people, and is considered the largest amphitheatre in the Balkan Peninsula. Then we will have a quick coffee break by Durres' Marina, or the city's contemporary modern center. We will continue our journey to the village of Pojan, where majestically stands the UNESCO patrimony of Apollonia’s archaeological park. Founded around 600 BC, Apollonia was home to a renowned school of philosophy and acquired fame as an important cultural center that attracted brilliant students including the first Roman emperor, Augustus. Sadly, the city was abandoned in the 4th century AD, yet to this day it offers amazing landscapes that have changed little since its heyday as one of the biggest ancient settlements in the Adriatic sea region, now presenting the perfect grounds to reflect on the fleeting nature of human existence and development, amidst its ruins, as we will visit the Church of Saint Mary, the Archaeological Museum, the Odeon, the library, and its most photographed monument: the Bouleuterion. Our journey will continue to the Ardenica Monastery - the last monastery where monks still live today. Built in 1282 as an Eastern Orthodox monastery, it is known as the place where in 1451 was celebrated the marriage of Albania's national hero Skanderbeg with Andronika Arianiti. In 1780 the Ardenica Monastery started a theological school to prepare clerics in Greek Orthodoxy, and it had an important library with 32,000 volumes that sadly were completely burned by a fire in 1932. Free time (lunch optional). Return to Tirana and drop off in the same place as the pick-up.

Your tour will start at 9 am from Tirana and you will arrive in the Apollonia site at 11 am. First, you will start with a guided tour of the archeological site. Walking through nature and feel the unique atmosphere that give the ruins of thousand-year old buildings. There are not much archeological sites in the Mediterranean area that offer a landscape of beautiful ancient architecture and nature. Our guides will help you to identify the ruins of the eight angular antique city with the straight streets. How and what is left from the Hellenistic ancient theater, the triumphal arch, the agora with its colonnade, the gym, the temple (Bouleuterion) or the monument of Agonothetes (in honor of the two brothers mentioned in the inscription of 'Architrave), the Odeon, the library, and the mosaic villas. After lunch, the tour will continue with a visit to the Ardenica Monastery, Here we find the Church of Santa Maria, the chapel of San Triadhe, the mill and stalls for the animals.