Details, prices and bookings come from the operator (coda-tours.com). Check with them before you go.
Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina all lie entirely within the Balkan Peninsula, a word of Turkish origin meaning “chain of wooded mountains.” Once part of the former Yugoslav Republic, Macedonia is a land of contrasts, ranging from Skopje, with its modern shopping centers and timeless Turkish baazar, to the medieval monasteries of Ohrid. Macedonia’s blend of Orthodox mystery and the exotic Ottoman legacy combine with the world-class beauty at Lake Ohrid. If you wondered about places where Americans are truly liked, visit Kosovo with us — where a statue of Bill Clinton stands in the capital, Pristina.
Depart the USA on any regularly scheduled flight to Skopje, Macedonia.
Upon arrival in Skopje, Macedonia, you may book a transfer with Coda Tours to be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. Check in to the Marriott Hotel, centrally located in Skopje. The afternoon is at leisure to relax after the flight. This evening we will depart to a local restaurant for our Welcome Dinner, with fellow tour participants.
After breakfast, we tour Skopje. Macedonia is a country of 2 million, 30 percent of them ethnic Albanians. Obstructed by Greece from becoming part of the European Union (due to conflict over the use of the name Macedonia), today Macedonia is a divided nation with an uncertain future. In the last five years, Skopje has become the world capital of kitsch. We will discover the massive statuary of Alexander the Great, his mother, Olympias, and father, Phillip II, and listen to a local artist give a personal view point of their artistic merits. We will also see the home of former local resident, Mother Teresa, and the beautiful Church of Saint Salvation. Finally walk through the Albanian quarter – a world removed from Orthodox Skopje.
After breakfast, we drive to neighboring Pristina, capital of the Republic of Kosovo, just 50 scenic miles away. We stop en route at the site of the June 28, 1389 Battle of Kosovo, where the fate of Serbia was sealed, marking the rise of Ottoman influence over the entire Balkan region for the next 500 years. We continue to Gračanica Monastery, completed in 1321 by Serbian King Milutin. This striking complex, one of the UNESCO Medieval Monuments in Kosovo, is an active religious center and Serbian enclave in largely Albanian-speaking and Muslim Kosovo. We visit the Pristina Museum, the Bazaar Mosque, the Clock Tower and the Mosque of Sultan Mehmet Fatih, followed by a stroll along the main street of Pristina. We return to Skopje for overnight. Enjoy dinner on your own this evening in one of the lively local restaurants.
Departing Skopje this morning, we drive southwest to the Monastery of St. Naum — dramatically set on rocky outcropping over Lake Ohrid, high above deep forest and the springs of the river Crn Drim. Here we board a boat for a cruise across the serene lake, which has captivated visitors since prehistoric times. Writing, education and Slavonic culture all spread out from remarkable Ohrid town in the 7th to 19th centuries. Among the extraordinary collection of monasteries, ancient buildings and medieval chapels, Ohrid has the oldest Slav monastery (St. Pantelejmon) — and more than 800 Byzantine-style icons. Orthodox Byzantine monks brought Christianity to Ohrid in the 10th century from Greece through the effort of Saints Cyril and Methodius. We check in to our hotel set along the lake with dinner tonight in the hotel.
En route today to Tirana, capital of Albania, we stop at the fortified city of Berat, a splendid UNESCO-designated example of the coexistence of Islamic and Ottoman traditions. Its castles and fort date back more than 2,400 years. We visit the Old Quarter and the icon museum of Onoufri, Albania’s master iconographer, and stop along the way at Helveti Tekke, a Bektashi Sufi shrine and another testimony to the long history of tolerance in the region. We continue to Tirana, where we spend two nights.
After breakfast we join our guide for a tour of Tirana and neighboring Kruja, — home of Albania’s national hero, Scanderbeg, who famously recaptured the city and defended it from the Turks in the 15th century. We visit the Old Castle, Scanderbeg Museum and spend time at the Turkish-style bazaar before returning to Tirana for lunch and some time at leisure to explore this city on your own.
Today we travel north through an old and historic region of Albania. We visit Rozafa Castle, an Illyrian stronghold near Shkodë, and continue along the Adriatic coast to the walled seaside town of Budva in Montenegro. En route we pause for lunch and a cruise on Lake Skadarsko, largest in the Balkan Peninsula. Our hotel and spa, where we spend the next two nights, is outside in Becici, a small coastal town on the Dalmatian Coast just outside Budva.
Today we drive along the spectacular Dalmatian coast to medieval, fortified Kotor, which commands a gorgeous, deep, natural harbor in Montenegro. A part of the maritime Venetian Republic from 1420 to 1797 (interrupted by periods of Ottoman rule), Kotor retains much of its Venetian legacy. Set on a dramatic bay, the city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for both its cultural and natural riches. It has one of the best preserved medieval towns of the entire Mediterranean. Autumn is a marvelous time to enjoy the Adriatic. Continue to Dubrovnik, Croatia and check in to our hotel.
Explore Dubrovnik Old City. Following a devastating earthquake is 1667, Dubrovnik was rebuilt in the Baroque style. It is a beloved city, full of international visitors. We will take a morning tour with our guide and have the afternoon and evening to explore on our own.
Mostar in the center of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The scenery climbing from the coast is spectacular, with Mostar dramatically set on both sides of Neretva River. We wander cobbled alleys and watch the famous divers from the symbolic Old Bridge (Stari Most), painstakingly rebuilt since its destruction in the war, and tour the Ottoman Muslibegovic House, a Bosnian National Monument.
We drive to Sarajevo today via tranquil Blagaj to see the 16th-century house built for the Dervish cults at the source of the trout-filled Buna River. We continue to Sarajevo with its Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Orthodox legacy and monuments.
Today we explore the wonders of Baščaršija, Sarajevo’s 15th-century bazaar and old town spread out along the Miljacka River. A moving highlight is a tour of the Sarajevo Tunnel. Built between 1992 and 1995, the tunnel allowed food, war supplies and humanitarian aid to come into the city — and for its people to get out. Stand on the site where the Arch Duke Ferdinand was shot, sparking World War I. Enjoy sitting in a café, doing some shopping or exploring more of this fascinating city in the afternoon.
After a morning at leisure, we transfer to the airport for flights home.
Dates on request · Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Europe, Montenegro · with Coda Tours
27 Mar – 9 Apr 2027 · South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe · with Coda Tours
6–17 Jul 2027 · Poland · with Coda Tours