Classic Tour of Albania

Day 1 : Arrival at Tirana Airport. Transfer and accomodation in the hotel.Program starts: Durres - One of Albania\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s oldest cities, the country\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s main sea port, the second largest industrial center after Tirana. Durres lies on a small peninsula on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The city was colonized by the Greeks in 627 B.C. Named Epidamnos, which later became Dyrrachium. From the Venetian Tower at the harbor the Medieval Town Wall leads to the amphitheater (capacity 15,000 spectators) dating back to the 2nd century AD. and containing an early Christian Crypt with a rare wall mosaic. Between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, Durres was an important port and trading center on the Via Egnatia trading route between Rome and Byzantium (Istanbul). After a great number of earthquakes, the main part of old town sank into the sea or collapsed and was subsequently built over. Today the city is well known for the nearby beach resort of Durres Plazh, its wonderful sand and warm sea water.

Day 2 : Breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast in the hotel  depart to Apollonia .Apollonia, situated 12 km from the city of Fier. The city of Apollonia was found at the beginning of the 7th century BC by the Greek colonists coming from Corinth and Corcyra, on the top of the ancient dwelling site of Illyrian Glaukos. Apollonian was in Roman times, a large and flourishing city near Aos river (today Vjosa). Of great interest to be visited are; The Encircling Wall, the monuments of Agonothetes, the Library, the Odeon, the Portico, the house with mosaics, The Museum of Apollonia, the Church of St. Mary.After the tour lunch in a local restaurant in Fier and depart to Vlora city. Arrival in Vlora and check in the hotel. Afternoon city tour in Vlora Vlora is a coastal city. As an ancient dwelling place it is known by the IV century B.C. as AULONA. It is the only of the major sea-ports, but also of great historical importance as it was there in 1912 the Assembly was convened to proclaim Albanian as an independent state and to set up the first National Government headed by Ismail Qemali. On a hill above the city you can enjoy the religious places of Bektashi sect \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"KUS BABA\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" From there you can see the beaches and the view of the whole city. Vlora is blessed with warm climate, rocky and sandy beaches. After the tour return back in the hotel.

Day 3 : After breakfast travel to Saranda. Along the seashore to arrive to Saranda you can visit the castle of Porto Palermo placed near Himara. It is also known as the castle of Ali Pashe Tepelena. The walls of the castle are 1.6m thick and offer great views over the bay. After visiting this castle, the road  along the seashore passes many beautiful villages such as Qeparo which is a very large and sunny beach, Borsh which has a sandy sea and the flora is the similar to that of Qeparo, Lukova a very wide beach too. Lunch. After arriving in Saranda, a scenic narrow overlooking the sea and marshes leads you to the ancient city of Butrint. Visit to the ancient theatre, the temple of Aesculapius, the baptistery with colorful mosaics and the ancient city walls. An old fortress housing a small museum watches over the entire site, which is one of the last un spoilt natural and ancient historical areas in Mediterranean. Dinner, overnight in Saranda.

Day 4 :  After breakfast in the hotel, meet the group and depart to Butrinti National park full day tour BUTRINTI with its archaeological artifacts prove that during the 7th and the 6th centuries BC Butrint was a proto-urban centre, but it was only during the 5th century BC that it turned into a full developed city. By the end of the 4th century the agora, the boulevard, a small temple and the theatre holding 1500 seats were built up, the latter one fortunately being preserved till our days. The complex of the theatre and other buildings like Askleps temple, portico, romkan baths form the most magnificent part of the ancient city. During late antiquity and early Middle Ages, Butrinti flourished. The construction of the baptistery, which is the most important monument of the early Christian period, dates from this time. The baptistery, which has a round shape with a diameter of 13.50 m, is laid with multicolored geometric and animal mosaic motifs and bears special artistic values. The hall has two rows of granite colonnades upon which the roof rests.Overnight in Saranda.

Day 5 :

After breakfast we have the departure to Gjirokastra, which is a “Museum City”. The characteristic houses resemble the towers and have been built one above the other. They have only one common element, the stone. All the homes have the form of medieval towers. Visit to the castle which stands out above the city as a balcony, providing the possibility for visitors to enjoy the beautiful landscape. The castle houses the National Museum of Weapons, which preserves all the kinds of weapons used and produced by the Albanians from antiquity.  Overnight in Berat.

Day 6 : After breakfast, check out and meet the group in hotel lobby. Start Berat city tour. Berat, known as the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" City of one thousand windows\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" and declared a Museum City, part of UNESCO heritage site, Berat, overshadowed to the east by Tomorr Mountain 2415 m, it is an ancient Illyrian settlement founded in the 4th & 5th centuries B.C. on the territory of the Illyrian tribe of Desarettes. The town is composed of 3 parts; Gorica, situated on the far side of the river; Mangalem, situated on the fortress side of the river and the Residenial quarter within the fortress known as KALAJA. The old part of the city has some religious buildings like mosque and Byzantine churches. The old name of the city was ANTIPATREA.  There you can also visit  the fortress , the ONUFRI\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'S Museum. After the city tour stop for lunch, traditional food, in Berat. Depart to Tirana in the afternoon. Upon arrival in Tirana, check in  hotel.

Day 7 : Breakfast in the hotel, depart for Tirana city tour \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The Albanians\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" - a mosaic in front of the entrance of the National Historical Museum, Statue of Skanderbeg in Skanderbeg Square, Et\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'hem Bey Mosque at the south east corner of Skanderbeg Square, The Clock Tower next to the Et\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'hem Bey Mosque, Government buildings: at the south end of Skenderbeg Square. Roman Catholic Church of Saint Paul: completed in 2001, the largest church in Tirana. Orthodox Church of St Prokop was built in 1780. The Tabakëve and Terzive bridges (respectively in front of the Parliament building and on Elbasani Street) date from the beginning of the 20th century.The monument to Mother Albania, 12 meters high, was inaugurated in the Dëshmoret e Kombit cemetery in 1971. The Academy of Sciences building, The Gallery of Figurative, The International Cultural Centre, formerly the Enver Hoxha Museum, was inaugurated in 1988. Popularly referred to as \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"the Pyramid\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", it was designed by a group of architects under the direction of the dictator\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s daughter. To visit :The National Historic Museum , Archeological Museum , The Statue of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg ,the Center of Development of Culture and Bussines , The palace of Culture , the Mosques of Haxhi Et\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Hem Bey , The Clock Tower .Leave Tirana and drive to Kruja city. Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant. After lunch start Kruja tour. Kruja is situated north  East of Tirana, 560m above sea level on the slopes of Sari Salltiku Mountain. Kruja has been inhabited since the 3rd century B.C. It was mentioned for the firs time as a Christian religious center in the year 879. To Visit : The Fortress Museum of Gjergj Kastriot Scanderbeg , The Ethnographic Museum , Old Bazaar . Return back to Tirana. Overnight in Tirana.

Day 8 : After breakfast in the hotel  check out and prepare for airport transfers.

Price start from 879 euro /person

Included in the price :

Accomodation on a 3/4 star hotel

Bed and Breakfast

Entrance Fee to museums

Turist tax

Professional Guide