East Macedonia tour
April 18, 2019
The Best of Macedonia tour
Day1
Arrival in Skopje (20 km) (D)
Pick up from the Skopje Airport. Accommodation in a hotel in Skopje. Orientation walk and time on your leisure. Welcoming dinner in national restaurant. Overnight.
Day2
City tour Skopje (B, L)
Breakfast. After the breakfast we start walking tour from the centuries old Kale – Skopje fortress. We will continue to the Old Turkish Bazaar, mingling with the locals, meeting different cultures and religions, old forgotten crafts, as well. After that we go to the Museum of Macedonian struggle, with possibilities to visit the Archaeological museum of Macedonia as well, with one of the biggest ancient coins collection in the world exclusively from the Macedonian territory. We walk across the Stone bridge, the land mark of the city, and stop in front of 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 drive up to the close mountain Vodno to visit the church of St. Panteleymon with Renaissance frescoes from the 12th century. Then free time for individual activities. Overnight.
Day3
Skopje – Stobi – winery Tikves – Prilep – Bitola (195 km) (B, L, D)
Breakfast. Today we will visit the biggest ancient city in Macedonia – Stobi (80 km). The oldest synagogue in Europe, from the 1st century AD is found in this archaeological site. After that we are going in the biggest winery in the Balkan – Tikves (20 km). We will have lunch there with wine tasting and tour around the winery. Transfer to the city of Prilep, where we will visit the city fortress – Marko’s towers (50 km) and the monastery Archangel Michael, and see the frescoes of King Marko and King Volkasin, the last Christian medieval Macedonian kings from the XIV century. After that, we will have some free time to stroll to the streets of Prilep. After that we will go to Bitola (45 km). Accommodation in the hotel and dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight.
Day4
Bitola (15 km) (B, L)
Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the ancient city of Heraclea Lynkestis, dating back from the time of the ancient Macedonian king, Philip II of Macedon (359-336 BC), the father of Alexander of Macedon (Alexander the Great), who founded this town. Visit of the museum of Bitola dedicated to Kemal Mustafa – Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, who finished the military school in this very building. Stroll to the most famous Macedonian street, Shirok Sokak. Accommodation in a hotel.
Day5
Bitola – Galichica – Prespa – Elshani – Ohrid (110 km) (B, L)
Breakfast at the hotel. Our first site for today will be Ethno museum in Podmochani (35 km). Driving through the National park Galichitca at 1.700 metres altitude with the most spectacular view over the two lakes, Ohrid and Prespa to the village – Elshani (65 km). In this village local families will welcome us for home hosted lunch. After that we will have chance to ride a donkey. After this special event, we will go in our hotel in Ohrid. Accommodation and overnight.
Day6
City tour Ohrid (5 km) (B, L, D)
After the breakfast, we will have tour through the old city of Ohrid, town of UNESCO. Ohrid is one of the oldest towns in Europe, full of history with traces of four thousand years of civilization. We will visit famous untouched medieval churches, fortress of Tsar Samuel with a beautiful panorama, the ancient Macedonian-Roman theatre, sailing with small boats on the way back to the centre. Explanation of the history, the biggest open air museum of the Byzantheum. Lunch in a national restaurant. After that we will visit the church St.Sophia and a pearl shop store, where the workers will explain us how they are producing thе famous Ohrid pearls. Free time to explore more of this UNESCO site. Dinner in a national restaurant with a folk ansamble and traditional Macedonian songs and dances. Overnight in a hotel.
Day7
Ohrid – St. Naum – Ohrid (B, L)
Breakfast at the hotel. Boat trip to the reconstruction of the unique prehistoric settlement on water from the Bronze Age, the most visited site in Macedonia. Explanation by the professional curator. We continue sailing to the extraordinary monument of nature – lake springs and the monastery of St. Naum from 9th century. One of the first inscriptions of the Cyrillic and Glagholitic alphabet were found in this monastery and the originals are still standing at the pillars there. Lunch in the restaurant in the springs. Free time. Sailing back to the town. Dinner in a restaurant. Overnight in a hotel.
Day8
Ohrid – Struga – Vevhani – Ohrid (B, L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel. We will go to visit the other city on the Ohrid lake shores– Struga . Struga is internationally known for the festival Struga poetry evenings in the honour of the famous brothers Miladinovi. After that we will visit the village Vevchani and Vevchani springs. We will have lunch in the restaurant. After that we will return to Ohrid and have free time. Dinner in a restaurant. Overnight in a hotel.
Day9
Ohrid – Tetovo – Skopje (180 km) (B, L, D)
Breakfast at the hotel. We drive to the ethnically and religiously mixed town Tetovo to visit the unique Colourful Mosque, painted from outside and inside in different colours, presenting paintings of towns and cities from 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 cave decorations, like stalactites and stalagmites. Accommodation in a hotel. Farewell dinner in a national restaurant.
Day10
Skopje (B)
Breakfast at hotel. Free time. Driving to the 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