NEXT SCHEDULED TOUR 2026!!!
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Be a part of our second tour of Albania – The Gem of the Balkans tour for friends and friends of friends!
Albania has natural beauty in such abundance with its stunning mountain scenery, national parks and walking trails, a thriving capital in Tirana and beaches to rival any in the Mediterranean. It is truly the hidden gem of the Balkans. After visiting you will wonder why it has taken 20 years for the country to take off as a tourist destination! Albania offers a remarkable array of unique attractions, forgotten archaeological sites and villages where time seems to have stood still. In addition, great food which incorporates Mediterranean, Ottoman and Italian influences, great local wines and beer and an abundance of great coffee.
Albania is a country that is off the main tourist trail but the tides are turning and tourism in Albania is progressing quickly so now is the time to visit this still relatively undiscovered gem.
Since the fall of a particularly brutal strain of communism in 1991, Albania is emerging and advancing at an incredible rate. A progressive and resilient spirit coupled with a determination to move forward are hallmarks of this country and its people.
TURKEY EXTENSION – OPTION.
Albania was under Ottoman rule for almost 450 years so why not also visit the seat of Ottoman power, Istanbul. Istanbul will assault the senses and this tour extension will offer you the opportunity to visit the major historic sites in Istanbul plus the fabulous Grand Bazaar and Spice Market and even enjoy a cruise up the Bosphoros. We then travel to Gallipoli to visit the battlefields where the ANZACS fought so courageously.
A minimum of 8 (with a maximum of 14) is required to make the trip viable.
Confirmation that this trip will go ahead will be given no later than December 2023 and will be dependent on the minimum required number confirming their bookings therefore you must register and confirm your interest no later than this date.
Don’t delay – for further details please do not hesitate to contact me on 0418 108 608 or via email on shineyshirl@gmail.com Shirley Seit.
DAY 1.
Arrival day and a warm welcome to Tirana. You will be collected from the airport and transferred to our hotel. Later this evening we will meet the rest of the group and enjoy our first meal together.
The night will be spent at: Opera Hotel – Tirana.
Meals provided will be: Dinner
Extras included: Transfer from Mother Teresa Airport
DAY 2.
A walking tour of the city. We visit the National Archaeological Museum. The House of Leaves will provide you with a glimpse of the paranoia and oppression which marked latter part of the Communist period. This will be followed by a walking tour of Tirana including Skandebeg and Mother Teresa Square, The Blloku and many other sites.
The night will be spent at: Opera Hotel
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner
Entrance fees provided: All entrance fees.
Extras included: A guide at the Archaeological Museum.
DAY 3.
Today we take the cable car up to Mount Dajti and enjoy lunch in the Dajti national park. The cable car rises 1,600 metres above sea level and will provide spectacular views of Tirana. We will have time for lunch before taking the return cable car to Tirana. We will then travel a short distance to BunkArt where we will tour this large underground bunker/ a labyrinth of corridors and rooms that was used by Enver Hoxha late in the oppressive communist regime.
The night will be spent at: Opera Hotel – Tirana.
Meals provided will be: Breakfast and Dinner
Entrance fees provided: Cable Car, Bunk Art 1
DAY 4.
We travel to the Bektashi World Centre and view the ornately decorated place of worship. Our first stop on route to Progradec will be the town of Elbasan where we visit the historic fortress and also the Ethnographic Museum.
We then continue to the village of Lin where we stop for lunch on the shores of Lake Ohrid before continuing to Progradec where we will spend the night.
A group dinner tonight at Drilon enjoying a very private section of the lake.
The night will be spent at: Enkelana Hotel – Pogradec
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner
Entrance fees provided: Ethnographic Museum
DAY 5.
We travel up the mountains outside of Korce to Voskopoja. Founded in the 16th century the pretty village was once a major settlement and was famous for its churches which were adorned with beautiful frescos. We explore the churches and wander around the pretty streets of the town. Lunch will be in the village where we have the opportunity to savour the local cuisine.
Our walking tour of Korce takes us to the Education Museum, and the beautiful Icon Museum. We will also make our way to the Korce Brewery to enjoy some of the local brew. Dinner tonight will be in the village square, a lively and social space enjoyed by the locals.
The night will be spent at: Grand Korce Hotel – Korce
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner
Entrance fees provided: Icon Museum, Education Museum
DAY 6.
We depart Korce for our first stop, the Kamnicia Tumulus to visit this Bronze Age burial site. We then travel towards the Greek border before visiting the unspoilt village of Benja which time has forgotten. We have the opportunity to luxuriate in a thermal pool nestled under a stunning Ottoman bridge. Our final stop is the pretty town of Permet where we enjoy a traditional meal.
The night will be spent at: Hotel Alvero – Permet.
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner.
Entrance fees provided: Kamnicia Tumulus Museum
DAY 7.
We take a hike to the village of Leusa before departing Permet. We then head towards the UNESCO heritage listed site of Gjirokastra. This pretty town dominated by the Gjirokastra Castle. We arrive in time for lunch. After lunch we take a walking tour to the Ethnographic Museum and then to the Castle.
The night will be spent at: Hotel Argjior – Gjirokastra
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner
Entrance fees provided: Ethnographic Museum, Gjirokastra Castle.
DAY 8.
We travel towards the Ionian coast and visit Karstic Springs which is more commonly known as the ‘Blue Eye’ on route to Butrint, a UNESCO site which is one of the great archaeological sites in the Balkans. The setting is idyllic with the ruins nestling in national forest in the bend of the Vivari River. After lunch we make our way to Saranda, a seaside town which looks across the strait to the Greek island of Corfu. After a walk up the promenade we enjoy a group dinner overlooking the Ionian Sea.
The night will be spent at: Hotel Butrinti -Saranda.
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner
Entrance fees provided: Butrint, Blue Eye.
Extras provided: Guide at Butrint.
DAY 9.
A free day in Sarnada today…a chance to catch your breath and enjoy a leisurely day. Perhaps some time on the beach to enjoy the cooling waters of the Ionian Sea.
The night will be spent at: Hotel Butrinti – Saranda
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 10.
We leave Saranda and travel along the scenic coastal road. We stop at the fortress of Ali Pasha at Palermo Bay then we drive through the pretty villages of Himare, Venu and Kondraq. After checking into our hotel at the Llogora National Park we take a hike following a beautiful scenic track through the national park. Dinner at the hotel tonight.
The night will be spent at: Hotel Alpin – Llogora
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner.
Entrance fees provided: The fortress of Ali Pasha
DAY 11.
We travel via Vlore to the ancient city of Apollonia. Founded in 585 BC the city achieved fame and wealth before being incorporated into the Roman Empire. We continue our drive to the Ottoman influenced town of Berat where the white buildings sprawl up the hillside towards the fortress. We will spend the next two nights here. We will do a short walking tour of one of the old quarters before enjoying a dinner on the terrace of our hotel.
The night will be spent at: Hotel Mangalemi or similar- Berat
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner.
Entrance fees provided: Apollonia
Extras provided: Guide at Apollonia
DAY 12.
A leisurely start to the day after which we make our way up to the ancient fortress which still houses a local community to this day. Our walking tour takes us to the Onufri Icon Museum which houses many beautiful examples of this iconographer’s artworks.
The afternoon is free to further explore this very pretty UNESCO heritage listed town.
The night will be spent at: Hotel Mangalemi or similar -Berat
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & dinner
Extras provided: Entrance to the Fortress and Onufri Icon Museum
DAY 13
After breakfast we depart Berat and make our way to Albania’s major port Duress on the Adriatic coast where we visit the Archaeological Museum and then stop for lunch before making our way to our final stop Kruja. Our hotel is a very short walk to Kruja Castle which houses the Museum of Albania’s national hero Skanderbeg. Within the fortress walls is also one of the best Ethnographic Museums in the country.
Our final group dinner tonight.
The night will be spent at: Hotel Panorama – Kruja
Meals provided will be: Breakfast & Dinner
Entrance fees provided: Duress Archaeological Museum, Kruja Ethnographic Museum, Skanderbeg Museum.
DAY 14.
The tour ends today after breakfast and transport will be provided to the airport to board your flight. Those travelling on the Istanbul will be met at Istanbul airport and transferred to their Istanbul hotel.
Meals provided will be: Breakfast
Extras provided: Transfer to airport.
For further important information and tour cost click here:
To see what others have had to say click here:
ISTANBUL / GALLIPOLI EXTENSION
DAY 14.
Arrival day and a warm welcome to Istanbul. You will be collected from the airport and transferred to our hotel in the Old City that will be a short walk to many of the historic sites and also the Grand Bazaar. Later this evening we will enjoy our first authentic Turkish meal together.
The night will be spent at: Valide Sultan Hotel or equivalent – Sultanahmet.
Meals provided will be: Dinner
Extras included: Transfer from Ataturk Airport
DAY 15.
A guided tour of the Old City. We visit the Hippodrome, the sporting and political centre of the Old City; the Blue Mosque, renowned for its tiles and marble; Topkapi Palace, residence of the Sultans for over three centuries, the imposing Aya Sophia, formerly a church, then a mosque and now a museum. We also visit the Underground Cistern (Yerebatin Saray).
Tonight, we will enjoy a group dinner of traditional Turkish food.
The night will be spent at: Valide Sultan Hotel or equivalent – Sultanahmet.
Meals provided will be: Breakfast and dinner
Entrance fees provided: All entrance fees.
Extras included: Guide for the day.
DAY 16.
Today we will make our way to the Spice Market and then board a ferry for a cruise up the Bosphorus to the Black Sea.
Lunch at a fishing village and some time to explore the village before the ferry trip back.
The night will be spent at: Valide Sultan Hotel or equivalent – Sultanahmet.
Meals provided will be: Breakfast and dinner
Entrance fees provided:
Extras included: Bosphorus Ferry Cruise (lunch is not included).
DAY 17.
An early departure and a five-hour drive to the Gallipoli battlefields. We will stop in the town of Ecebat for lunch where our guide will be waiting to meet us. After lunch, our guide will take us on a tour of the memorials including Lone Pine, Anzac Cove and Chunuk Bair. After what I am sure will be a moving experience we will make our way back to our beach front hotel and then enjoy dinner at the hotel.
The night will be spent at: Tursan Hotel or equivalent standard – Canakkale
|Meals provided will be: Breakfast and Dinner
Entrance fees provided: All entrance fees
Extras included: Guide at Gallipoli
DAY 18.
A leisurely start to the day and the opportunity for an ocean swim. After lunch at our hotel we cross the Dardanelles and travel along the Aegean to Troy where the beautiful Helen once created havoc! Our guide will be on hand to explain the complexities of this unusual site which is dominated by a replica of the famous “wooden horse” – we will then make our way back to Canakkale and enjoy dinner overlooking the Dardanelles before making the return ferry crossing to our hotel.
The night will be spent at: Tursan Hotel or equivalent standard – Canakkale
Meals provided will be: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Entrance fees provided: Troy.
Extras included: Guide at Troy
DAY 19.
We depart Canakkale and travel back to Istanbul in time for lunch and the opportunity to do some last-minute shopping at the Grand Bazaar before a flight the following day. Our final group meal together tonight.
The night will be spent at: Valide Sultan Hotel – Sultanahmet.
Meals provided will be: Breakfast and Dinner
DAY 20.
The tour finishes after breakfast today and you will be transported to the airport for your outgoing flights.
For further information and tour costs click here: