Balkans Preview - Spring 2019
I am a couple of months away from embarking on another journey which will see me visit the Balkans region of Europe. The tour will actually start in Athens, Greece and go through 10 different countries total before arriving back at the original start point 16 days later. Below I will briefly preview what is on the itinerary during this trip.
As i already mentioned the tour will start and end in Athens, Greece. I have actually been to Greece before when I was younger for a family holiday, but I will be counting it as a new country visited this time around as an adult. Some other places along this trip in Greece will be Delphi, Meteora, Kalabaka, and finally Kamena Vourla and Thessaloniki towards the end of the tour.
Moving on from Greece we move onto Macedonia which will be a new country for me. We will visit the capital city of Ohrid exploring the old town of the city with a guided walking tour. The visit will conclude next to the church with a view across the lake, before enjoying an included dinner.
Onto another new country for me as we visit the capital city of Albania in Tirana. Similarly we will also be given a guided walking tour around the main sights of the city before having an included dinner at the hotel.
We will have a couple of extended stops in Montenegro such as Budva and Kotor. Both of these destinations look picturesque from pictures I have already seen and am looking forward to visiting here even if we are just passing through.
Visiting Dubrovnik is probably one of the highlights of this tour. It has increased in popularity in recent years due to 'Game of Thrones' been filmed here. We will have a tour of the old town as well as some other optional activities to choose from in our free time. Further in the tour we will also visit
Plitvice Lakes National Park while in Croatia. I have seen pictures of this on Instagram and it looks stunning to be there amongst the nature.
We will spend just a few hours here visiting the capital city Mostar. We will have some free time to explore the historical old town and take some photographs before moving on.
I have been to Slovenia in the past but that was over 3 years ago on a previous tour. We will visit the capital of Ljubljana to walk the city and then have a bit of free time in the evening to find dinner. It will be good to get some better photos as I have a proper camera now instead of using my phone.
Moving onto to Budapest in Hungary and once again I was here 3.5 years ago. We will have a driving tour for everybody to get their bearings and then enjoy a full free day the next day. There are also a couple of optional tours I could join such as Széchenyi Medicinal Bath and a cruise on the river Danube.
Onto a new country now in Serbia and we make our way to the capital city of Belgrade. We will have a guided tour of the city to see the main highlights then enjoy an included dinner in the evening. The following day we will make a stop in the city of Niš to break up the drive day.
The 10th and final country on the tour will be Bulgaria and the capital city of Sofia. We will get a guided tour both on foot and with the coach before getting a full day to explore the following day. Alternatively I plan to join the optional tour to Rila Monastery, hopefully several others will do it too to meet the minimum number requirements.
After completing this multi-country tour, my total tally of countries visited will be above 40. I will also have stepped foot in most parts of Europe, a couple of notable exceptions still are Ireland and Portugal. Those 2 countries mentioned are just a quick flight away from the UK, but as far as group tours are concerned I have covered a lot of ground in Europe.
Thanks for reading,
Chris :)
Greece
As i already mentioned the tour will start and end in Athens, Greece. I have actually been to Greece before when I was younger for a family holiday, but I will be counting it as a new country visited this time around as an adult. Some other places along this trip in Greece will be Delphi, Meteora, Kalabaka, and finally Kamena Vourla and Thessaloniki towards the end of the tour.
Macedonia
Moving on from Greece we move onto Macedonia which will be a new country for me. We will visit the capital city of Ohrid exploring the old town of the city with a guided walking tour. The visit will conclude next to the church with a view across the lake, before enjoying an included dinner.
Albania
Onto another new country for me as we visit the capital city of Albania in Tirana. Similarly we will also be given a guided walking tour around the main sights of the city before having an included dinner at the hotel.
Montenegro
We will have a couple of extended stops in Montenegro such as Budva and Kotor. Both of these destinations look picturesque from pictures I have already seen and am looking forward to visiting here even if we are just passing through.
Croatia
Visiting Dubrovnik is probably one of the highlights of this tour. It has increased in popularity in recent years due to 'Game of Thrones' been filmed here. We will have a tour of the old town as well as some other optional activities to choose from in our free time. Further in the tour we will also visit
Plitvice Lakes National Park while in Croatia. I have seen pictures of this on Instagram and it looks stunning to be there amongst the nature.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
We will spend just a few hours here visiting the capital city Mostar. We will have some free time to explore the historical old town and take some photographs before moving on.
Slovenia
I have been to Slovenia in the past but that was over 3 years ago on a previous tour. We will visit the capital of Ljubljana to walk the city and then have a bit of free time in the evening to find dinner. It will be good to get some better photos as I have a proper camera now instead of using my phone.
Hungary
Moving onto to Budapest in Hungary and once again I was here 3.5 years ago. We will have a driving tour for everybody to get their bearings and then enjoy a full free day the next day. There are also a couple of optional tours I could join such as Széchenyi Medicinal Bath and a cruise on the river Danube.
Serbia
Onto a new country now in Serbia and we make our way to the capital city of Belgrade. We will have a guided tour of the city to see the main highlights then enjoy an included dinner in the evening. The following day we will make a stop in the city of Niš to break up the drive day.
Bulgaria
The 10th and final country on the tour will be Bulgaria and the capital city of Sofia. We will get a guided tour both on foot and with the coach before getting a full day to explore the following day. Alternatively I plan to join the optional tour to Rila Monastery, hopefully several others will do it too to meet the minimum number requirements.
After completing this multi-country tour, my total tally of countries visited will be above 40. I will also have stepped foot in most parts of Europe, a couple of notable exceptions still are Ireland and Portugal. Those 2 countries mentioned are just a quick flight away from the UK, but as far as group tours are concerned I have covered a lot of ground in Europe.
Thanks for reading,
Chris :)
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