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Balkan Jewish Heritage - 15 Days Tour

Total traveling time* - 25 hours

Total traveling distance - 860 miles - 1.385 Km

The "Balkan Jewish Heritage" tour is about Jewish history in the Balkans. This magnificent and breathtaking tour includes visiting Albania, Montenegro, Greece, Macedonia, and Kosovo. This eye-opening tour starts and ends in Tirana, Albania, the only country in the world where Germans killed not a single Jew during WW2. The Albanians are the only nation in the world to have protected the Jew like their own family members thanks to their BESA. This tour is for people interested in discovering the Jewish community's culture, history, and lifestyle with the Albanians that are now spread in five countries. This tour provides access to the most significant Jewish sites and all of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of those five countries, old towns, beautiful beaches, dramatic mountains, and the Adriatic Riviera. This is a unique opportunity to explore the Jewish and local history in a heartbreaking and magnificent history trip, enjoying the Balkan Riviera's views while traveling in breathtaking nature and tasting local food and hospitality. This is a 15-day tour, and the visits may include  Kotor, Budva, Tirane, Llogora National Park, Vlore, Sarande, Butrint, Blue Eye Spring, Gjirokaster, Berat, Himare, Porto Palermo, Pogradec, Korce, Ohrid, Skopje, and Prizren.

Tour Details

Tour Details

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Balkan Jewish Heritage 

Itinerary balkan jewish heritage tour

- Itinerary 

Day 1: Visiting Tirana, the Albanian Capital City This day will start by visiting the center of Tirana and Main Boulevard.  We will have several short walks around the magnificent Skanderbeg Square. We will enjoy this new and modern built square and admire all the buildings surrounding it—afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Tirane. Day 2: Berat, the White Crown Berat is a UNESCO world heritage town and known as "The White City," but the locals call it the "The Crown of the Balkans." It is the oldest and the most visited place in Albania. Even those who come to Albania to enjoy the seaside get the opportunity to jump and see this gem-like city. After arrival, our day will continue visiting the "Kala" neighborhood and the "Onufri" museum, and the Jewish street. Overnight in Berat. Day 3: Back to Ancient and the Jewish Landing Port This day will start by driving to Apollonia Archaeological Park. Apollonia's site lay on the territory of the Taulanti, a cluster of Illyrian tribes that remained closely involved with the settlement for centuries. The city was said to have originally been named Gylakeia after its founder, Gylax. Still, the name was later changed to honor the god Apollon. Our day will continue with a walk on the Jewish street and around the TriPort, where the first Sephardic Jewish arrived from Spain and Portugal. Later on, we will walk around Vlore's main promenade and have a coffee break close to the sea. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Vlore. Day 4: Albanian Coastal Road On this day, we will drive deep towards south Albania via the Albanian Coastal road, which many believe to be the Mediterranean's most beautiful coastal road. Have the first stop on top of Llogora Pass and enjoy the Ionian sea's most unique view from more than 1,700 feet above the sea level, along with the breathtaking view that this Park has to offer. The next visit is in Porto Palermo, where the Ali Pasha Castle stands like a barrier in front of the blue rocky sea to protect the country. The bay of Porto Palermo once served as an important secret military submarine base, and the tunnel is still visible. The day will continue with a visit to the ruins of the 5th century BC Jewish Synagogue, the very first ever Jewish settlement in Europe. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Sarande. Day 5:  Two UNESCO Gems This day will start with visiting Butrint Archaeological Park, a World-Class Unesco World Heritage site. Founded in the VII century bc by the Kaons of Epirus, it became one of the most important cities in the Ionian sea. We will visit it is the best-preserved Archaeological site in Albania and a World Class UNESCO Site. This day will continue with driving to Gjirokaster and the Argjiro Castle visit, the biggest castle in the Balkans and the second biggest in Europe. Overnight in Gjirokaster. Day 6: Romantic Pogradec and Korca This day will start with driving towards Korca and Pogradec. The day will continue with visiting the old part of the Town of Korca and enjoying the local food and Bier by one of the most famous Bier factories in Albania. Overnight in Pogradec Day 7: Manastir, the biggest Jewish settlement in Macedonia Today we will enter Macedonia and visit Manastir, aka Bitola. This is the place where there is a big Jewish cemetery and has, for a long time, been one of the biggest Jewish communities in the Balkans. Overnight in Manastir - Bitola. This city is also important for the Albanians as their Alphabet was established in the Congress of Manastir in 1908. Day 8: The Ilirian Lychnidos - Ohrid Today we will drive deeper into Macedonia to visit Ohrid. In antiquity, the city was known under the ancient Illyrian name -Lychnidos, meaning "city of light."By 879 AD, the town was no longer called Lychnidos. Still, it was referred to by the assimilated native people as Ohrid from the Slavic words vohrid, meaning "on the hill," as the ancient town was at the top of the hill. Visit the Old town and the Amphitheater. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Ohrid. Day 9: Mother Teresa Birthplace This day will drive towards Skopje, the birthplace of Mother Teresa and the Macedonian Capital city of big contrasts. We will visit the Holocaust Museum and the "Aleksandar" square, the stone bridge, and the old town and enjoy local food at a traditional restaurant. Overnight in Skopje. Day 10: The NewBorn Country Today will drive to Kosovo and visit Prizren, a typical Albanian town and part of Unesco. Will visit the old town, the main square and the promenade, and the Albanian league house. Afternoon at leisure to enjoy the walks and local food. Overnight in Prizren. ​Day 11: Visiting Budva This day will start by driving to Budva, Montenegro, to visit the old town and the Citadel. Budva is a relatively small town, but it has a very nice neighborhood around the old town, with plenty of coffee shops and people walking around. Budva’s Old Town lies on a small peninsula and represents a treasure chest of cultural heritage. Crossed with narrow streets and squares are famous buildings, the Church Sv. Trojica, housing the tomb of the exquisite writer Stjepan Mitrov Ljubisa. Afternoon at Leisure. Overnight in Budva. ​Day 12: Old Town and Kotor Bay This day will start with driving to Kotor and will continue visiting the Old Town and starting the walking tour. This walking city gives you a great introduction to this UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will visit the Square of Arms, the Clock Tower, Flour Square with Pima and Buca palaces, St Tryphon Cathedral, the Bokelian Navy Square with Karampana, and the St Luke Square with St Luke church. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Kotor. Day 13: Visiting Kruje, the Ottoman Nightmare Today we will hit the road towards Kruje, the Gjergj Kastrioti stronghold during the war with the Ottomans in the 16th century. This day will continue with visiting the Castle, the Nation Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Old Bazaar. Drive to Budva and afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Kruje. Day 14: Antinuclear Bunker Today we will drive to Tirane and visit the 'BUNKART 2', a museum built inside an anti-nuclear bunker under the ground in a network of tunnels just meters from the Ministry of Interior. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Tirane. Day 15: Tour over after breakfast There are no activities today, and this is the end of the Tour and services. Breakfast is provided. If you have booked a post-tour transfer, you will be escorted to your destination or Tirana International Airport. Faleminderit and have a safe flight back home!

Activity Level balkan jewish heritage tour

- Activity Level

Our tours are physically active! It's an essential part of the Apollon Tours experience. On our tours — among other things — you'll need to happily… 1.    Carry/roll your luggage. If you cannot, our staff will help you carry your luggage. 2.    Be on your feet, walking and standing for up to three hours, indoors and outdoors, in good weather conditions. There are no activities in heavy rain/snow or high temperatures 3.    Sleep in centrally located hotels. 4.    After orientation and transportation lessons, be able to navigate towns and cities on your own

Hotels and flights balkan jewish heritage tour

- Hotels                                                                            

You will receive the list of the Hotels and the contact details as soon as your Deposit Payment has become nonrefundable, but in some cases, it might be later but never later than a month before the departure of the tour. In rare circumstances, we might change the hotel should we know there is a problem with the hotel we already booked. 

- Flights

We do not sell flight tickets, but we can suggest the best we know. 

Weather Balkans balkan jewish heritage tour

- Weather

Tirane

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Ohrid

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Sarande

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Kotor

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Inclusions balkan jewish heritage tour

Accommodation in centrally located hotels with breakfast - 14 Nights Private transport during the entire Itinerary Full time Certified English-speaking Guide and Experts Guaranteed tour price, locked in the moment of deposit payment Guided tour of Tirana Driving tour of the coastal road and Llogora National Park Guided tour of Ali Pasha castle in Porto Palermo Guided tour of Butrint Archaeological Park (Unesco) Guided tour of Gjirokaster Fortress (Unesco) Guided tour of the city of Gjirokaster (Unesco) Guided tour of the Onufri Museum in Berat (Unesco) Guided walking tour of the city of Berat (Unesco) Guided half-day walking tour of Tirana Guided walking tour of the city of  Ohrid (Unesco) Guided half-day walking tour of Skopje  Guided half-day walking tour of Prizren (Unesco) Guided half-day walking tour of Budva (Unesco) Guided half-day walking tour of Kotor (Unesco) Guided half-day walking tour of Old Town Kruje Guided half-day walking tour of Old Town Korca All entrance tickets to museums and sites as per itinerary 100$ coupon to use on your next tour with us (transferable)

Price jewish heritage balkas
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