Chris Dyson's Travel Blog

The final full day of the tour started with breakfast at 07:00am and we departed the hotel just after 08:00am making our way back to Athens. After driving for several hours we made a lunch stop on the way back stopping at the beach town of Kamena Vourla. We would have well over an hour here as it was a late Easter weekend in Greece, before the final leg of the journey. Kamena Vourla, Greece The final drive together took us 2 hours and we said goodbye to the excellent driver for the final time. We had a couple of hours free time in the city or around the hotel before our farewell dinner which was scheduled for 19:00pm. I made plans to briefly explore Athens first thing in the morning however some things are closed due to Easter Sunday been 1 week later in Greece. It was the last morning before flying home so I went to breakfast early at 07:00am to make the most of the city. Unfortunately the Acropolis was closed on Easter Sunday so I walked around it and took some long distance...

Breakfast opened at 06:30am this morning but we were not due to leave until 08:00am so there was plenty of time to get some food. We had a quick break around 10:00am to buy some snacks ready for a bit of a queue at the border as it was Easter weekend 1 week later in Greece. We also had lunch straight after the border crossing from Bulgaria because we were approaching 2 hours since we last used the toilets. The White Tower in Thessaloniki, Greece. We drove onto Thessaloniki , arriving for an driving orientation tour at 14:30. We checked into the hotel just after 15:00pm and the rest of the afternoon and evening was free for us to explore the city on our own. I quickly left my suitcase in my room and started to walk to some of the key sights. It only took me a couple of hours with a decent pace on my own, before getting something for dinner and returning to the hotel. A video of this day can be found below:

Today was a free day in Sofia, Bulgaria but I decided to join an optional tour in the morning. It was to visit Rila Monastery in the Bulgarian mountains and we met in the lobby at 08:30am. We were picked up by the same coach we had travelled several thousand kilometres on to this point. Rila Monastery. The drive to the monastery took around 2 hours and we were given a small guided tour when we got there, visiting some of the upstairs rooms that not everyone gets to see. We spent a couple of hours here and had an early lunch before heading back to Sofia. We hit some traffic on the way back returning to the hotel just after 14:30pm. The rest of the afternoon was free but I chose to rest in the hotel room. A video of this day can be found below:

Breakfast opened at 06:00am this morning with a load and go on the coach at 07:15am so there was no rush. We departed southbound towards the Serbian city of Niš which was scheduled for today's lunch stop. After a mid-morning break we arrived in Serbia's third biggest city around 11:00am. I walked over to the fortress and also checked out the newer side of the city centre. This was a good chance to use up any remaining Serbian coins if anybody had any left to get an early lunch. Nišava River next to Niš Fortress. After lunch we made our way towards the border with Bulgaria. We arrived at the border at 14:00pm and started the process of leaving Serbia and entering Bulgaria. Unfortunately another coach had just beaten us in the queue so it added a little bit of time. We successfully made our way to Sofia and met the local guide for a walking tour. After seeing the main sights on a 2 hour walk we checked in to the hotel. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia. Our dinner ...

Back on the road again today as we head south after a 06:30am breakfast, leaving the hotel around 07:15am. We set off driving towards the border with Serbia and arrived just before 10:00am. Usually going from an EU to non-EU country can be a slow process but we actually did it in under 1 hour. After making a final comfort stop we started the drive towards Novi Sad. View of Novi Sad from Petrovaradin Fortress. We arrived into Novi Sad and had just over an hour for a lunch stop. We walked into the old town for some exploration and then I split from the group to walk up to the fortress. We met back on the coach after 14:00pm and started to make our way to the capital of Serbia in Belgrade. We checked in to the hotel straight away and we were given the time of 17:00pm to meet in the lobby for the walking tour of the city. National Museum in Belgrade in Republic Square. The local guide met us in the lobby and took us on a 3 hour walking tour of the city. This concluded at the ...

Breakfast was once again at 06:30am but this time our departure time was set for 07:30am so it wasn't as much of a rush. We drove for a couple of hours and after a break mid-morning we arrived at Lake Balaton after noon. We would use this as our lunch stop for 1 hour by the lake. Lake Balaton. Driving onto Budapest arriving around 15:00pm, where we were met by a local guide for a driving tour of the city. The drive would take around 2.5 hours with stops for photos in between explanations of the various sights. After the driving tour we would meet in the hotel lobby at 18:00pm to make our way for the dinner reservation at a restaurant. The view of Budapest from Gellért Hill. After having an included 3 course meal we gathered outside and most of the group would make their way to an evening cruise on the River Danube. It would take 75 minutes total and we saw all the main sights lit up at night. By 22:30pm we made our back to the hotel via the metro. We looked forward to...

Once again breakfast was at 06:30am and were on the road just after 07:00am, after a quick turnaround from a late dinner last night. After a few hours drive we arrived at our first stop of the day which was Plitvice Lakes National Park. We bought our tickets but as it was so busy we had to wait 30 minutes until 10:00am before we were allowed to enter. Entering Plitvice Lakes National Park. Once we entered we set off around the trail to see the breathtaking views. We were given 3 hours which seemed like enough time but even as we exited before 13:00pm there was parts we didn't get to see. We then started the 2 hour drive towards the border with Slovenia. After our best border crossing yet in under an hour, we continued on to Ljubljana arriving at 18:00pm. Walking tour of Ljubljana, Slovenia We checked into hotel and got prepared to go for a brief walking tour around the centre of Ljubljana at 19:00pm with a local guide. The walking tour was a quick exploration that la...

Another early start with breakfast at 06:30am before departing the hotel just after 07:00am. We have 3 border crossings this morning as we head north along the coast crossing from Croatia to Bosnia & Herzegovina several times. Bosnia has 20km of coastline, which is why we have to cross the border 3 times instead of driving inland. Mostar Old Bridge. After clearing all the border crossings we made our way to Mostar. Once we arrived we had around 2 hours to explore, take some photos and get lunch here. Mostar is a city in Bosnia & Herzegovina which is located in the south of the country. People will often jump off the Old Bridge for money. In the late afternoon we had one final crossing back into Croatia as we went further north for our overnight hotel. Dinner was included tonight so it was nice to have food prepared for us as soon as we checked in. We arrived after 20:30pm so it had been a very long day on the road. A video of this day can be found below:

We woke up for the first time on this tour knowing that we wouldn't need to pack our bags as we had a 2 night stay in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Breakfast started after 07:00am and we were told to meet in the lobby for 08:00am to make our way on the public bus into the old town for a walking tour. We took the number 4 bus which took around 10-15 minutes. We met the local guide which took us round for about an hour then the rest of the day was free for us to explore. I personally didn't want to take the cable car up Mt. Srd so I did the hike trail instead. It took me over and hour as I didn't have good footwear for it but the views were worth it. I also took the chance to get some lunch while I was up there taking in the views. View from the hiking trail up to Mount Srd. After paying for lunch I made the decision to take the cable car on the way down for 90Kuna. It was quite expensive but I felt that I earned a rest by walking all the way up. Making it back into the old ...

We had another early start today with breakfast at 06:30am and leaving the hotel just after 07:00am. We made our way to yet another border crossing from Albania to Montenegro. After successfully entering Montenegro, we drove along the coast where our first photo stop was Sveti Steven. Sveti Stefan. After briefly driving a further 6km we arrived in the town of Budva. We would have 1 hour here to walk around and get some lunch. There were lots of sailing boats in the bay and it had a nice atmosphere while exploring. Budva, Montenegro Continuing on in the afternoon we made our way north along the coast to Kotor. This was another beautiful stop by the bay where we would enjoy more free time to explore. I had planned to walk up the hill to get a wide shot of the town but the price to do that was €8 so I gave it a miss. Kotor, Montenegro In the evening we would make our way to cross the border for the second time in one day into Croatia. Our hotel wasn't near the ol...

Today started after a good nights sleep as we had a more relaxed breakfast window between 07:00am and 08:00am before hitting the road. After roughly 1 hour of driving we started the process of another border crossing into Albania, which would be my 35th country. After clearing the border it was onto the capital city of Tirana where we met a local guide for a walking tour. University of Tirana. We saw the major buildings before ending the tour in Skanderbeg Square for some lunch. It was hard to find somewhere who took euros if you didn't want restaurant food. I didn't have any local currency(Albanian Lek) and didn't really want any extra transaction charges on my card, but I eventually found somewhere after some walking who would accept euros. Skanderbeg Square. We then made our way to the hotel to check-in and enjoy some more free time, before meeting in the lobby at 19:00pm to walk to our dinner reservation just around the corner. We enjoyed a 3 course meal ...

Day 3 started with breakfast at 07:00am and we were on the road just after 07:30am towards our first border crossing from Greece into Macedonia. The process of crossing the border took the best part of 2 hours but we actually only lost 1 hour because the clocks went back. We made our way to lunch where I had a very reasonably priced burger meal at a restaurant for just €3, even though the Euro isn't the official currency. Ancient Theatre of Ohrid. After lunch we made our way to Ohrid, Macedonia where we met a local guide who took us on a guided walking tour. We saw sights such as Ancient Theatre of Ohrid, Samoil’s Fortress and Church of St. John at Kaneo . After the walking tour we took a boat back to the town centre. The group met up after some free time in the evening and we made our way to the nearby hotel for an included dinner to end the day. Church of St. John at Kaneo. A video of this day can be found below: