Tirana to Sarajevo/Belgrade; Tour of Enchanting Balkans in 8 Days

Choose Balkans provided us with an amazing experience vising 5 Balkans countries. Ask for Illir, to guide you. He's a former teacher and knows the region, intimately. We learned so much about the history, culture and geography of this region thanks to Illir. Highly recommended!

How do you rate a trip if something completely extraordinary happens that makes the scale from 0-5 making no sense? Yes, what if in the middle of the trip you meet the Prime Minister, who gives you and your family a handshake and wishes you a good trip? The trip is really well organized. The first day we saw Gjirokastër, the beautiful town with stone roofs. We stayed in the old town, where our guide had ensured in a very convincing way that we got to eat lunch and dinner at two restaurants that just cooked really good Albanian food. The next day we drove back and on the way we saw Berat - which is more beautiful in reality than in pictures. You must see the town with the beautiful houses on the hills on both sides of the river. And again, the lunch we had down in town was perfect. Both cities have their old Ottoman or Byzantine castle above the city on the hilltop above the city. In both cases it is really interesting and the two places are very different, from the American spy plane in Gjirokastër to the Onufri Iconographic Museum in Berat. It's a long trip. The roads in Albania are quite nice and they encourage you to drive fast - at the same time there are speed limits and there are a lot of police who monitor the roads. We are on holiday, so we took the trip quietly and with our stress. Be aware that it is a long way from Tirana to Gjirokaster. Our guide Gerion is really nice guy. In the same way, I have only positive things to say about our communication with the "Choose Balkans Team" office. I would definitely recommend them to others! and yes, in Gjirokastër on 19 October - by chance – We met the prime minister of Albania. We got a handshake and we talked a little with him.

I'm a sucker for antiquity. I love finding out about ancient estabilishments, how people lived, what they did, trade routes, relations to great empires and historical figures. Berat and Butrint were between the most amazing spots. First of all, the history of the Berati Castle is fascinating in itself. Did you know it came to be as a resting spot for merchants en route through these lands? I even got to visit the Onufri museum-church. I was blown away by the museums cicero, she was so damn prepared. Her English was impeccable and the way she explained everything with passion made it all come alive for me. Butrint was a whole other experience. The guide was also really prepared and the way she illustrated different constructs often on the ruins of the same building helped me understand the intrinsic history of the place and it's connections to great the great Roman and Greek cultures. Don't miss out people, Albania is a hidden jewel.