The Magic of the Balkans
Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia
19 to 28 April
“Mirdita” is the first word you usually hear when you land in the port of Durres: Good morning. And you immediately realize that it will be a good day as soon as you arrive in “Shqiperi”, the Land of Eagles, which welcomes you with the blue of its sea and sky. But Albania is not only the sea…. is the starting point for the Balkans; almost unexplored and untouched mountains enclose wonderful jewels, such as the SH 20 road that leads from Shkodër to Montenegro, on Lake Plav. From here begins our adventure on fantastic roads all curves, inside the Durmitor Ntl Park and then descend on the Cattaro Fjord…. and again Bosnia with its roads between nature and history. Finally Croatia welcomes us . that awaits us with its coast and its Natural Parks.
1 day. April 19, Ancona – Durres
Meeting of the participants with the companion by motorbike from Italy to the Port of Ancona at 13:00 and departure at 17:00 with accommodation in a double cabin inside. Dinner on board. Overnight.
Day: April 20 arr. Durrës – Tirana – Shkodër
Breakfast on board. Arrival at the port of Durres scheduled for 11:00. Handling harbour practices and stipulates insurance means for those who have not included in the green card Albania (you get immediately out of port at a cost of about 20 euros) and departure towards Tirana the lively Albanian capital of which we will see the Skandelbergh square and the Bunk’art museum 1. After lunch departure northwards to Shkodra, our evening stop, the old capital of Albania. Accommodation in hotel. Dinner and overnight.
Day: April 21 – Shkodër – SH 20 – Kolasine (Montenegro (B/-/D) 280 km
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the North to arrive a few meters from the border with Montenegro. Just before we turn right to continue along the SH 20 the beautiful road that for about 80 km runs along the border between Albania and Montenegro along the river in a succession of curves and breathtaking landscapes. After crossing the border we will arrive at Mojkovac, the entrance door of Durmitor NaConal Park. Hotel accommodation. Dinner and overnight.
Day: April 22 – Moikovic – Durmitor Pluzine – Podgorica (B/-/D) 265 km
Breakfast at the hotel. One of the most beautiful streets I have walked in my life…. maybe in the Top Ten. Mainly we cross Montenegro continuing on the M9 and we go through the woods to Zabljak to cross the Durmitor National Park and descend to Pluzine. A succession of perfect roads; breathtaking landscapes and curves up to the capital Podgorica. Along the way we will stop in Ostrog to visit the Monastery and then reach the Capital. Hotel accommodation. Dinner and overnight.
Day: April 23 – Podgorica – Cettgne – Cattaro – Pietra (B/-/D) 120 km
Breakfast. Departure towards Lake Skadarsko, the Montenegrin part of Lake Skadarsko from which once passed Virpazar we will continue towards Cettigne with a stop at the Mausoleum of Mount Lovcen before descending the pass along the P1 that from above descends into the Cattaro fjord. Accommodation in hotel. Dinner and overnight.
Day: April 24 – Stone – Trebigne – Kravice Falls – Sarajevo (B/-/D) 304 km
Breakfast at the hotel. Today we enter Bosnia. Continuing along the Fjord of Kotor we leave Montenegro and passed the border our first stop will be in Trebigne for lunch. We then continue to the Kravice Falls until we reach Sarajevo, a city symbol of both the war and the rebirth of the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Accommodation in hotel. Dinner and overnight.
Day: April 25 – Sarajevo – Mostar – Porto Tolero(B/-/D) 305 km
Breakfast. Continuing our route in the magnificent interior of Bosnia we reach Mostar one of the most historic and symbolic cities of the whole nation. Stop for the visit before continuing to the beautiful Porto Tolero.
Accommodation in hotel. Dinner and overnight.
Day: April 26 – Porto Tolero – Trogir – Plitvice (B/-/D) 410 km
Breakfast. The interior of Croatia will take us to the wonderful Plitvice Park. The accommodation will be a few kilometers from the entrance of the Park to have all the time available to visit it. Accommodation in the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.
Day: April 27 – Plitvice – Rijeka – Trieste (B/-/D) 280 km
Breakfast. We go back along the coast until we pass Rijeka and cross Istria to return to Italy in our tour day. Arrival in the afternoon in Trieste . Hotel accommodation. Dinner and overnight.
10 season: April 28
Breakfast at the hotel. End of services