Hiking tour
April 18, 2019
Cycling tour through the central part of Macedonia
April 19, 2019
Bike tour
Day1
Arrival in Skopje (20 km) (D)
Pick up from Skopje Airport. Accommodation in a hotel in Skopje. Orientation walk and time on your leisure.
Day2
City tour Skopje – Mountain Vodno cycling (B, L) (30 km)
Breakfast. After breakfast, we start a walking tour from the old Kale – Skopje fortress. We will continue to the Old Turkish Bazaar, mingling with the locals, meeting different cultures and religions, and seeing old forgotten crafts. After that, we will go to the Museum of Macedonian struggle, with possibilities to visit the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia, as well. We will walk across the Stone Bridge, the landmark of the city, and admire the biggest monument and fountain of Alexander the Great. The next stop will be the memorial house of Mother Teresa. She was born in Skopje in 1910. Lunch in a national restaurant. After that, we will take a ride with the bikes up to the close mountain Vodno. We will visit the church of St Panteleimon with Renaissance frescoes from the 12th century. Then we continue riding to the peak of the mountain up to the Millennium Cross. Through the village of Nerezi, we ride back to the hotel.
Total cycling: 30 km, riding uphill and downhill, and some flat terrain, a moderate one.
Day3
Skopje – Bitola – Magarevo village (Pelister National Park) (B, D) (170 km)
Breakfast in the hotel and then drive to Bitola. Accommodation in a mountain hotel in the national park, Baba Mountain. A short introduction to the park and start our ride to the mountain glacial lakes. We will follow the WWI trails and trenches, admire the views, explore unique flora and fauna, such as the indigenous five-needle pine tree called molika, observing the natural phenomenon called rocky rivers in the mountainous terrain. Then we will get back on our bikes and ride back to the hotel. Dinner in the hotel.
Total cycling: 35 km, mountain terrain, flat and rocky, hard one.
Day4
Magarevo – Brajcino (Lake Prespa) (B, L, D) (50 km)
Breakfast in the hotel. Today we start cycling from Magarevo, riding through the national park Pelister. From the mountain pass, we will have an excellent view of Lake Prespa and its coast. We will ride down to Lake Prespa. The next stop is the village of Brajcino. We will have a traditional lunch in a guesthouse in the village. Accommodation and dinner in the village in private apartments.
Total cycling: 50 km, uphill, downhill, flat, moderate to hard one.
Day5
Brajcino – Galicica National Park (Mountain Galicica) – Ohrid (B, L, D) (82 km)
Breakfast in the village. Today we ride the bikes around Lake Prespa with a few stops to observe more than 300 species of local birds. We continue riding uphill to the mountain pass of Galicica mountain. We will enjoy the breathtaking view over Lake Ohrid, on the other side of the mountain. Then we ride downhill to the fishermen village Trpejca (called in Lonely Planet as the Macedonian San Tropez), including lunch in the village, lake trout, and homemade wine. Continue to the city of UNESCO, Ohrid. Accommodation and dinner in a hotel.
Total Cycling: 82 km, asphalted road, uphill, downhill, flat, moderate to hard one.
Day6
Ohrid City Tour (B, L, D) (4 km)
Breakfast in the hotel. Today we have a day off, but with the possibility to explore this unique place on foot. One of the oldest towns in Europe, Ohrid. Full of history with traces of four thousand years of civilization. We will visit famous medieval churches, the fortress of Tzar Samuel with a beautiful panorama, the ancient Macedonian-Roman Theatre, sailing with small boats on the way back to the center. Our guide will take us on a journey through history in the biggest open-air museum of the Byzantium. Lunch in a national restaurant. Free time to explore more of this UNESCO site. Dinner in a national restaurant with a folk ensemble and traditional Macedonian songs and dances. Overnight in a hotel.
Day7
Ohrid – St. Naum Monastery complex – Ohrid (B, L) (60 km)
Breakfast in the hotel. From the city port, with the boat Alexandria we will set sail to the other side of the lake, to the monastery St. Naum, founded in the 9th century. We will visit the monastery itself and the natural lake springs. After lunch, we will take our bikes and ride along the lakeshore back to the town Ohrid. Free evening. Overnight.
Total Cycling: 30 km, asphalted road, a little bit uphill, mostly flat, moderate.
Day8
Ohrid – Tetovo – Skopje (B, L, D) (180 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. We drive to the ethnically and religiously mixed town Tetovo to visit the unique Painted Mosque, painted from outside and inside in different colours, presenting paintings of towns and cities from the 19th century, a kind of a Renaissance in the Islamic world. After that, close to the capital Skopje, we will visit one of the most beautiful canyons in Europe, Matka, with the river Treska. We will have a lunch break in the restaurant on the bank of the river, possibly river trout, and by small boats, we will set sail 6 km upstream to visit the cave Vrelo, full of natural cave decorations. Accommodation in a hotel in Skopje. Farewell dinner in a national restaurant. Overnight.
Day9
Skopje – Airport (B) (30 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. Free time. Driving to Skopje International Airport, about 40 minutes from the hotel.
Services for the tour
- Professional local tourist guide
- All transfers with our vehicle
- Accommodation in hotels on BB basis
- Meals in restaurants according the program
- All entrance fees for museums and churches
- Rates depend on the number of travellers