Balkan Grand Tour

About this tour

Our longest tour and the one that covers everything we do. It is the Balkan Highlights loop extended south: after Belgrade, Sarajevo, Mostar and the Bay of Kotor, the road continues down the Montenegrin coast into Albania for Tirana and Berat, crosses into North Macedonia for two nights on Lake Ohrid and one in Skopje, and returns to Belgrade up the motorway through the Morava valley.

Fourteen days is long enough to slow down. Four of the days are full driving days of four to five hours; the others are two to three hours or none at all. There are two nights in Belgrade, Sarajevo, Mostar, Kotor and Ohrid, and single nights in Tirana, Berat and Skopje. Five countries, five currencies (two of them the euro), and a different cuisine roughly every three days.

1. Day 1
   Arrival in BelgradeMeet at 17:00 and walk down Knez Mihailova to Kalemegdan for sunset over the confluence. Welcome dinner in Skadarlija.Airport transfer · 18 km · about 30 minOvernight: Belgrade
2. Day 2
   Belgrade and ZemunThe fortress, Kosančićev venac and the Temple of St Sava in the morning; Zemun, Gardoš and the Danube quay in the afternoon. Evening free.City driving only · about 30 km in totalOvernight: Belgrade
3. Day 3
   Across the Drina to SarajevoWest through Šabac and Loznica, over the Drina at Zvornik and up through the hills to Sarajevo, with a lunch stop on the way. Evening walk through Baščaršija.Belgrade → Zvornik → Sarajevo · about 290 km · 5 h with the borderOvernight: Sarajevo
4. Day 4
   SarajevoA full day: the Latin Bridge, Ferhadija and the City Hall, the Yellow Bastion, the Tunnel of Hope and the Trebević bobsleigh track. Evening free.City driving only · about 40 km in totalOvernight: Sarajevo
5. Day 5
   Konjic and the Neretva canyon to MostarSouth along the Neretva: Konjic and its Ottoman bridge, lunch by Lake Jablanica, the canyon, and Mostar by mid-afternoon. Evening at the Old Bridge.Sarajevo → Konjic → Mostar · about 130 km · 2 h 30 of drivingOvernight: Mostar
6. Day 6
   Blagaj, Počitelj and KraviceThe Herzegovina loop: the dervish house at Blagaj, the fortified village of Počitelj and the Kravice waterfalls, with a swim in summer. Back in Mostar by late afternoon.Mostar → Blagaj → Počitelj → Kravice → Mostar · about 110 km · 2 h 15 of drivingOvernight: Mostar
7. Day 7
   Trebinje and the Bay of KotorEast across the karst to Trebinje for lunch under the plane trees, over the border into Montenegro and along the bay to Kotor. Evening walk inside the walls.Mostar → Trebinje → Kotor · about 190 km · 3 h 45 with the borderOvernight: Kotor
8. Day 8
   Kotor and PerastPerast and the boat to Our Lady of the Rocks, lunch on the waterfront, and an afternoon in Kotor for the walls or the museums. Evening free.Kotor → Perast → Kotor · about 25 km · 45 min of drivingOvernight: Kotor
9. Day 9
   Down the coast into AlbaniaBudva's old town in the morning, then south past Bar and Ulcinj, over the border and past Shkodër to Tirana. Late afternoon walk: Skanderbeg Square, the pyramid and Blloku. Dinner together.Kotor → Budva → Ulcinj → Tirana · about 200 km · 4 h 30 with the borderOvernight: Tirana
10. Day 10
    Bunk'Art and BeratThe Bunk'Art 2 museum in the morning, then south to Berat: the inhabited castle, the Onufri museum and the Mangalem quarter. Evening on the promenade with Berat wine.Tirana → Berat · about 120 km · 2 hOvernight: Berat
11. Day 11
    Over the mountains to Lake OhridNorth-east through Elbasan and up to the Qafë Thanë border, then down to Struga and along the lake to Ohrid. Evening on the promenade and the boardwalk to Kaneo.Berat → Elbasan → Ohrid · about 175 km · 3 h 45 with the borderOvernight: Ohrid
12. Day 12
    Ohrid and Sveti NaumThe old town on foot: St Sophia, Plaošnik, Samuel's fortress and St John at Kaneo. Afternoon at the Sveti Naum monastery and springs at the southern end of the lake, with time to swim. Return by boat when the water is calm.Ohrid → Sveti Naum → Ohrid · about 60 km · 1 h 20 of driving, or 1 h by boat backOvernight: Ohrid
13. Day 13
    Matka and SkopjeAcross the mountains to the Matka canyon for a boat between the cliffs and the walk to St Andrew's monastery, then into Skopje: the Stone Bridge, the Old Bazaar and the fortress. Farewell dinner in the bazaar.Ohrid → Matka → Skopje · about 190 km · 3 h 15 of drivingOvernight: Skopje
14. Day 14
    The motorway home to BelgradeNorth on the motorway through Niš and the Morava valley, with a lunch stop, to Belgrade. Arrival at your hotel or the airport by about 15:00. Book flights from 18:00 onwards, or stay another night in Belgrade.Skopje → Niš → Belgrade · about 430 km · 5 h 30 with the border and stopsTour ends

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