Macedonian Highlights Tour

DAY 1: Private Transfer from the Airport to Skopje and to Mount Vodno

Private transfer from the airport to Skopje and to Mount Vodno for a cable car ride to the top of the mountain for the best view over the capital Skopje and the surrounding mountains. Proceed down to the city for a walking tour through its history layers: the memorial house of Mother Teresa, the Macedonia Square with the grand fountain of Alexander the Great, and over the old Stone Bridge into the maze of cobblestoned streets of the old bazaar lined with Ottoman mosques and baths turned into art galleries.

End the tour with dinner in the old town under the medieval city walls. O/N in Skopje.

DAY 2: Morning walk in Matka

Morning walk in Matka, a canyon filled with twenty caves and several abysses, and a place to a wonderful and memorable lake. The specific climate of the area contributed to the life of many endemic plants and animals, and to over 250 different species of butterflies! We’ll take a boat along the river to visit the cave Ubava, and a XIV century Byzantine church built in the rocks above the lake, with beautiful original icons and inscriptions on its walls.

Drive to Ohrid in the afternoon, with stops on the way to visit the Painted Alaya mosque in Tetovo, and the famous iconostasis of St Jovan Bigorski carved in wood by the Myak masters. O/N in Ohrid.

DAY 3: Ohrid

Both Ohrid and Ohrid Lake are under UNESCO World Heritage protection: the city for its great cultural and historical heritage, and the lake is the oldest lake in Europe with fantastic biodiversity. Take a morning guided tour of the Ohrid old town with a visit to the most significant Orthodox churches, the Roman Amphitheatre, the medieval fortress of Tsar Samoil, and the gallery of icons, with some 30 masterpieces dating back to the 11th century.

Afternoon drive by the lake to visit the Bay of Bones archaeological site in the lake, and to St Naum monastery, the birthplace of Slavic literacy, where we’ll take a boat ride in the lagoon under the walls of the monastery. Back to Ohrid for dinner with ethno music and folklore and overnight in the same hotel.

DAY 4: Galicica National Park

Morning drive in the woods of Galicica National Park to Prespa Lake, a nature reserve of white pelicans, cormorants, herons, cranes, and swans; it is home to a beautiful ethno museum of national dresses, and to a small medieval church St George. The modest interior of this medieval jewel is hiding real wealth inside its walls: with the preserved frescoes from the 12th century, it is one of the most important places in the World treasury of cultural heritage.

We’ll visit the home of the welcoming villagers for a tasty homemade lunch, and we’ll continue to Pelagonija, the heart of the Macedonian King’s empire, and to Bitola, the former city of consulates and embassies. O/N in Bitola.

DAY 5: Prilep

Visit Prilep, the city of medieval towers of King Marko, and the grand St Archangel Michael monastery perched on the rocks below the towers. We’ll take a walk in the old town of Prilep and visit the museum of tobacco, the leaning clock tower, and the colorful old market, and continue to Heraclea Lyncestis, the ancient city founded by Philip II (father of Alexander the Great) with time-preserved courtrooms, a Roman theatre and residences and basilicas from Early Christian period with world-renown mosaics.

Afternoon guided tour of Bitola, a city with 1.600 years of urban tradition and beautiful examples of architecture from different periods. The evening is free to join the promenade on Shirok Sokak (Wide Alley) street in the city center. O/N in same hotel in Bitola.

DAY 6: Krushevo

Leave Bitola in the morning and head to Krushevo, the highest town in the Balkans, known as the center of the most important battles in Macedonian history, but also for the rich Vlach traditions and art crafts, and for the mouthwatering dishes, including the Krushevo spiced sausage and their sweet, Soft Lokum that melts in the mouth.

Continue to the wine area of Macedonia. Optional: tour with winetasting in the cellars of Tikvesh, a gigantic winery built in 1885, today with over 20 million liters of production per year. Evening tour of the cellars of Popova Kula winery where we’ll have our farewell dinner with winetasting and stay overnight in the winery chateau.

DAY 7: Stobi

Drive to the airport for your flight back home. If time allows visit Stobi, the eternal city founded at the sunset of the ancient Macedonian kingdom. Hear the story of ancient winemaking traditions in the cellars of Stobi Winery. Optional, lunch winetasting in Stobi winery.

Included in Price:

Accommodation: 3 x 3*hotel, 2 * 4* hotel, 1 x boutique hotel

Meals: 6 x breakfast, 6 x dinner

Transport with air-conditioned tourist van/ minivan

Full escort by a professional tourist guide

Cable car on Mount Vodno

Local deli tasting in Krusevo

Boat in Canyon Matka

Boat in the lagoon at St Naum monastery

Folklore performance with dinner on Day 3

Winetasting with dinner on Day 6

Reforestation certificate for one tree planted in your name in Macedonia

Full organization and logistics by Macedonia Travel

Not Included in the Price:

Drinks during the meals

Entrance fees for monuments en-route (26 euro)

Winetasting in Tikvesh Winery on Day 6

Winetasting in Stobi Winery on Day 7

Any personal expenses not mentioned under “included in price