Balkan Super Loop

419 € / per person

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Your Balkan Super Loop Tour

Nis Overview

Nis is a big city in Serbia. It has a very long history and an important role in the events on the Balkans. Established by the Thracians, developed by the Romans as Nissus, situated on Via Diagonalis road and it is the birthplace of Constantin the Great. The history of the city is going through Bulgarian, Ottoman and finally Serbian periods.

All of the stages are still visible and put you in a time machine. The highlights of Nis are Mediana, Roman villa, connected with Constantin’s family, The Skull tower, built and decorated with human skulls by the Ottomans after an uprising against them, the fortress and a Nazi concentration camp. Also, Serbians are famous with there meat cook.

Skopje Overview

Skopje is the capital of Macedonia and it is a perfect place to see how history is used to create identity. The town was inhabited since the Prehistorical times. It was a military Roman camp, but it’s flourishing moments ware during the Bulgarian kingdom. It was our capital between 972-992. It was part of the Byzantine empire and between 1081 and 1088 was conquered by the Normans.

Now Skopje has a monumental new city center, which is making an interesting combinations with the old parts of the town. The highlights that you will be able to visit are: The Medieval fortress, the old cozy streets, the house-museum of Mother Theresa and other.

Kosovo Overview

Kosovo is one of the youngest and most dramatic countries on the Balkans after the separation war in 1999. It is a part of former Yougoslavia and it declared its independence in 2008 from Serbia. The country is still not recognized by the government in Belgrade, although some steps are being done in improving the relations in 2013.

The main problems are based on nationalism on the Balkans in the 19th century between Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians. The territory of Kosovo is mostly mountainous and high terrain. With is 1.8 billion people and 11 000 sq.km it is one of the smallest countries in Europe, yet well worth visiting. You can read more about Kosovo’s cultural capital Prizren.

Quick information

Duration:

Start: 8:00h
End: 18:30h

Recommended period:

All year round

Driving time:

12h approx

Handicap accessible

Yes, fairly accessible

Special requirements:

Comfortable shoes

Overview

Itinerary

Itinerary for Balkan Super Loop Tour - Nis, Skopje, Pristina & Prizren

Day 1

We begin our tour at 8:00 from Sofia with a relaxed scenic drive along the Balkan range (Stara planina or Old mountain) to the border and in about 2 hours we reach the beautiful historic town of Nis. We will explore the city’s heritage and we will have lunch in a local restaurant in the old part – great homemade food and grill specialty. After that, we will continue to Macedonia’s capital Skopje and overnight there.

Day 2

After breakfast we will leave in direction of Prizren in Kosovo (2 hours drive) which is the best place if you are looking for culture. Surrounded by a beautiful mountain, you can enjoy a lot of traditional handicrafts, tasty food in restaurants and a rich history. After some nice walk and delicious lunch, we will head to Pristina. The capital has not so much to offer for tourists, but it is interesting to see how people build their new Muslim country’s main city. We will drive back to Skopje for a second overnight in your central hotel.

Day 3

On the next morning after a good breakfast we will pay a visit to Skopje’s center and highlights. After a nice lunch we will proceed our trip to explore one of the most beautiful gorges in Europe – Matka gorge. Optional is to hire a boat and have a 1-hour journey in the canyon. This will give you a chance to reach and explore a beautiful cave. After that the boat will bring you back, close to the parking area. We will spend time to enjoy nature and back to Skopje (40 minutes driving). If you wish to skip Matka gorge, we can take the chair lift to Vodno mountain top next to the city for a beautiful view over the capital and lunch. Around 16:00 we will start our 4-hour car journey back to Sofia (Bulgaria) where the tour will end.

Balkan Super Loop