TODAY´S HIGHLIGHTS: Transfer to the hotel. City tour of Bucharest. Dinner included.

Welcome to Bucharest. On arrival at the airport, we will be waiting for you to transfer you to the hotel. Towards 13.00hrs, after lunch, we will take a panoramic tour of the city with its ancient quarter and the giant Parliament Palace. Free time and dinner included.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Dracula’s Castle. Transylvania region. Special dinner in Sighisoara.

Today we have a journey with great scenic beauty, travelling to Transylvania across the Carpathian Mountains and through forests. In SINAIA, we will stroll through the gardens of the Peles and Pelisor Castles before going on to the 14th-century BRAN fortress, commonly known as Dracula’s Castle (tickets included). Time for lunch, before continuing to SIGHISOARA, a very beautiful walled medieval city and UNESCO Heritage center. In the evening we will enjoy a very special dinner, in the restaurant of Count Dracula, at the house where Vlad Tepes was born.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: varied landscapes, small picturesque villages on route.

In Transylvania there are numerous fortified churches in areas that were inhabited by people of German origin; some of these churches have been declared Heritage of Mankind, and we will see one of them, BIERTAN (tickets included). After this, we continue to SIBIU, an important economic and cultural center, previously the capital of Transylvania, with its bustling narrow streets and squares. Time for a stroll and take lunch. In the afternoon, we visit the impressive Castle of HUNEDOARA (tickets included), which is considered the prettiest castle in Romania. We continue to TIMISOARA, with time to explore its elegant central squares.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Belgrade. Museum of Yugoslavia.

We set off for SERBIA and the border pass. After a few hours travelling, we will arrive in BELGRADE. Here you can enjoy a panoramic tour of this active capital on the shores of the Danube as it flows into the Sava. We get the chance to admire its busy center, its parliament, and stroll in the Kalemegdan Fortress. A visit to the Museum of Yugoslavia, where Tito´s Mausoleum is located, will also be included. Free afternoon.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Sarajevo. Dinner included.

We begin our beautiful stage towards Bosnia. Brief stop in the city of ZVORNIK, one of the oldest cities in Bosnia, crossed by a river that marks the border with Serbia and will make us remember with sadness the war in Bosnia. Its population has since changed a lot as most of it, Muslim, was expelled while Serb refugees from other regions settled. We are near the village of Srebrenica, known for the massacre. After that we continue to PAPRAÇA, a humble Orthodox monastery established around the sixteenth century and known for its attractive church. We continue our route to SARAJEVO. Panoramic tour with a local guide of this city of strong Turkish influence, with its mosques, madrasahs and busy bazaars. Dinner included.

Note: if the number of travelers is less than 10 people, the route from Belgrade to Sarajevo can be made by regular coach or plane. In this case the visits to Zvornik and Papraça are not included.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Tunnel of Hope in Sarajevo. Beautiful landscapes throughout the route: mountains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes and picturesque villages. Dinner included.

Before leaving Sarajevo we visit the Tunnel of Hope that saved the city during the Serbian siege in the war. Later, we continue to another exciting drive of scenic beauty. Amidst deep valleys, we travel to MOSTAR, with its very beautiful historic center and stone bridge separating the Orthodox, Muslim and Catholic communities. After lunch, we stop in MEDJUGORJE, a place that attracts thousands of Catholic Pilgrims. We then travel to CROATIA. Border procedures (which may take a while). We will then arrive into DUBROVNIK at the end of the day. Dinner included.

Note: in some departures, accommodation may be in Cavtat, a coastal town near the city of Dubrovnik.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Panoramic tour of Dubrovnik. Boat trip to Lokrum. Dinner included.

In the morning we enjoy a panoramic tour of DUBROVNIK with a local guide. We are undoubtedly in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, surrounded by walls, bathed by the Adriatic Sea; its intact historic center is a jewel of world architectural heritage. The tour includes tickets to the Franciscan Monastery with the oldest pharmacy in Europe, and the Cathedral. We also include a boat trip to LOKRUM, a small island 15 minutes by boat from Dubrovnik and home to the ruins of a Benedictine monastery of the eleventh century, popular setting of the series "Game of Thrones". You can then enjoy free time, returning to the hotel at the end of the afternoon. Dinner included.

Note: in some departures, accommodation may be in Cavtat, a coastal town near the city of Dubrovnik.
Note: in the winter months, from November to March, there is no boat service to Lokrum and therefore we cannot visit the island.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Beautiful scenery of the Adriatic coast. Dinner included.

We set off early for MONTENEGRO. The coastal scenery and the Bay of Kotor are beautiful. We enjoy a ferry to cross the bay. Arrive in KOTOR to enjoy some time strolling in this beautiful walled town with its strong Venetian influence. After this we stop in BUDVA, a marvelous walled village surrounded by the sea to enjoy lunch. Then we travel to ALBANIA. We arrive in the capital of the Albania, TIRANA, and enjoy some free time. Dinner included.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Panoramic tour of Tirana. Slow mountains roads through rural areas. Dinner included.

Today we make a panoramic tour of TIRANA, with its Mosques, the Clock Tower and the ministries. At around midday, we leave for inland Albania, with high mountain scenery and small villages along the way. Enjoy the beautiful countryside around Lake Ohrid which forms the border with Macedonia. We continue to the Republic of Macedonia, and onto STRUGA, a picturesque town on the shores of the lake, time for lunch!

We continue to OHRID, a city with a strong Ottoman influence, you can stroll and see the Plaosnik Monastery, or the ancient university founded in the ninth century. The city is declared World Heritage. Dinner included.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Beautiful Balkan landscapes. Spectacular Meteora´s Valley. Dinner included.

Today we travel through Macedonia to GREECE, passing through BITOLA, a historic city that was called the “City of Consuls”. The North of Greece is strongly Slav and Ottoman in influence and has a sharp landscape. Situated by the lake, with beautiful scenery, we see KASTORIA. Enjoy the city of 100 churches, with its medieval streets and its pleasant restaurants on the lakeside. Continuing to KALABAKA, we will arrive in the early afternoon. We will visit the Valley of the Meteora, an impressive place declared UNESCO World Heritage. You will also have the chance to enter one of its most famous Monasteries (entrance included) . Dinner included.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Delphi and Thessaly region.

We will travel south through the Thessaly region. We will arrive in DELPHI after enjoying the view of wonderful landscapes. Entrance fee included to visit the beautiful archeological complex looking over the Gulf of Corinth offering amazing vistas. After that, we travel to the OSIOS LOUKAS MONASTERY, one of the most beautiful Byzantine monasteries in Greece, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its magnificent mosaics from the 11th century are surprising. We will resume our journey to ATHENS. Arrival in the evening.

TODAY´S HIGHLIGHTS: City tour in Athens. Evening transfer.

We will enjoy a panoramic tour of the city with a local guide which includes the Presidential Palace, the Panathinaikos stadium where the first modern Olympic games were held, the national library, the bustling squares of the center; the new neighborhoods that emerged after the 2004 Olympic games. The tour will end at the Acropolis site (entry not included). In the evening we include a transfer to the PLAKA quarter, a place full of small Greek taverns where you can also enjoy this country´s folklore.

After breakfast, end of our services.