Balkan Pearls by Bus (6 Nights) - 2026 Season

Balkan Pearls by Bus
(8 Days 7 Nights, 6 Nights Accommodation)
8 Countries – 6 Capitals – 24 Cities
Greece – North Macedonia – Albania – Montenegro – Croatia –
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Serbia - Bulgaria
Kavala – Thessaloniki – Skopje (1) – Tetova – Kičevo – Ohrid (1)
Elbasan – Tirana – Lezhë – Shkodër (1) – Podgorica – Petrovac – Budva – Kotor –
Herceg Novi – Dubrovnik – Međugorje (1) – Mostar – Blagaj – Jablanica – Konjic – Sarajevo (1) – Belgrade (1) – Sofia
Departure Dates

We start our tour by picking up you, our valued guests, from in front of Istanbul Kadıköy Marriage Office Parking Lot at 21:00, in front of Mecidiyeköy Ziraat Bank at 21:30, İncirli Ömür Bus Stops at 22:00, Beylikdüzü Marmara Park Havaist stop at 22:30, Silivri 5M Vega Mall in front at 23:15, Yenice Aytemiz facilities at 23:55, Namık Kemal Yaypet Rest facilities at 00:25, following the Malkara – Keşan direction. We arrive at the İpsala border gate. After the passport and customs procedures we will perform here, we continue our journey with an overnight trip. After the passport and customs procedures we will perform here, we continue our journey with an overnight trip.

After breakfast taken freely in Kavala, we taste the famous Kavala cookies and give a short photo break on the Kavala coast. Then we continue our journey towards Thessaloniki. We visit the house where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born in Thessaloniki and leave here, continuing our journey towards the Greece-Macedonia border. After passport and customs procedures, we continue our journey towards Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. Upon our arrival in Skopje, we set out to explore the streets of this city embracing both East and West. While wandering around the surviving part of the largest bazaar built outside the capital in Ottoman history, Kapan Han, Sulu Han, Cifte Hamam, Murat Pasha Mosque, Sultan Murat Mosque, clock tower, stone bridge, Skopje fortress, statue groups built within the scope of the 2019 European Capital of Culture, Macedonian Square, Vardar River, Alexander the Great statue are only a part of what we will see in this magnificent city. If you are lucky and they haven't run out early in the morning that day, you should eat the famous badem ezmesi (almond paste), if it's the season, you must drink a cold boravitsa and taste kikiriki. After our tour, transfer to our hotel and check-in. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel in the morning, we complete our check-out procedures and leave our hotel with our luggage. Guests who wish can join the Matka Canyon tour to be organized as an extra (20 Euro) (Guests not joining the tour will rest at a café on the way). Our guide takes us to Matka Canyon to take a pleasant walk in nature and store up oxygen. Following the pleasant walk we will do here, we continue our journey towards Tetova. You will be amazed when you see the Painted Mosque (Alaca Camii) built by two sisters. We visit this mosque adorned with pencil work, which is an important decorative art in the Balkans, taste the ice-cold water flowing from the Şar Mountain from its fountain, and continue our journey to Ohrid. Following a short and delicious break we will give in Straza on the route, we start our walking city tour upon our arrival in Ohrid. During our tour in this beautiful city, which is established on the shores of Lake Ohrid, famous for its pearl and being like a pearl itself, we will see Ohrid houses, the Church of St. Sophia, Damat Ali Pasha Mosque, Halveti Tekke and Mosque, and the Turkish quarter. After exploring Ohrid on foot, free time for your shopping and enjoyment. We recommend you drink a cup of Turkish tea or Turkish coffee in the Turkish quarter. Guests who wish can join the Ohrid Lake Boat tour to be organized as an extra after the city tour (15 Euro). After a pleasant and peaceful excursion lasting about 1 hour on the lake, we return to Ohrid. After our tour, we move towards our hotel with the meeting at the specified place and time. Upon our arrival, check-in to the rooms. In the evening, guests who wish can join the Macedonian Night tour with dinner, music, and entertainment to be organized as an extra (45 Euro). After enjoying both the meals and having fun to the fullest with Rumelian, Balkan, and Macedonian melodies, transfer to our hotel and overnight.

After breakfast at the hotel in the morning, we complete our check-out procedures and leave our hotel with our luggage. Guests who wish can join the St. Naum and rowboat tour to be organized as an extra (30 Euro). We go to the location of the St. Naum Monastery, also known as Sari Saltuk, established right on the shore of the Lake Ohrid source. We perform our rowboat tour on the natural spring known as Black Drim, which has a magnificent natural beauty. During the free time to be given here after the rowboat tour, you can visit the church where the tomb of St. Naum is also located, if you wish. After our tour, we go to the Macedonia-Albania border gate. After the customs and passport procedures we will perform here, we arrive in Tirana, the capital of Albania, via Elbasan. During our panoramic tour here, Skanderbeg Square, Skanderbeg Statue, opera house, Et'hem Bey Mosque, and Enver Hoxha's Pyramid are only some of the things we will see. During the free time given, we recommend you taste the Albanians' famous dessert called Trileche, meaning three milks. After our tour, we go to our hotel located in Shkodër via Lezhë. Upon our arrival, check-in to the rooms. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, we complete our check-out procedures and leave the hotel with our luggage. After completing our passport and customs procedures at the Albania-Montenegro border, we will continue via Podgorica, Sutomore, and Petrovac, and give our esteemed guests a short photo break at a point overlooking the island of Sv. Stefan, which was purchased by a Singaporean multi-billionaire. After the photo break, we proceed, seeing the city of Budva, famous for its beaches, panoramically from our vehicle. Immediately after Budva, one of the ideal centers abroad for a seaside holiday, we arrive at Kotor, one of the important surviving places of the Middle Ages. When you see the city of Kotor, which has defied the centuries in the depths of the bay and on the slope of the mountain, one of the touristic centers of Montenegro, both your mind and heart will stay here. With our arrival, during our walking city tour, the mansions of families very important for Kotor, Saint Tryphon Church, the Orthodox church, squares, and the beautiful stories we will see and hear will be only some of them. During the free time we will give in this city, if the season and weather are suitable, you can climb the stairs to the chapel at the very top of the walls and take magnificent landscape photos from here, follow the scents in the narrow streets of the city to taste different and magnificent dishes, sip your drink in one of the squares, and visit the Cat Museum, one of the most interesting museums in the city. Do not forget to ask your guide where that magnificent cake is in this city; it is our recommendation to all sweet lovers. After the free time, leaving Kotor, we first pass from Montenegro to Croatia. Guests who wish can join the optional Dubrovnik tour (40 Euros) (Guests who do not join the tour will rest at a facility). We arrive at Dubrovnik, one of the most popular holiday centers of recent years, which was also used as the shooting set of the popular series Game Of Thrones, and is historically a very important settlement in terms of relations with the Ottoman Empire. During our walking tour inside the fortress, the Pile Gate, Ploce Gate, Onofrio's Fountain, the world's first pharmacy, Franciscan Monastery, Orlando's Column, Sponza Palace, and Rector's Palace are some of the things we will see. After our pleasant tour in this city smelling of history, during the free time we will give, you can explore the back streets of the city, shop in the stores, taste seafood, or drink a pleasant coffee while watching the sea or the medieval streets. After the free time, meeting at the time and place to be given by our guide, we leave Dubrovnik and first cross into Bosnia and Herzegovina. Transfer to our hotel and check-in to the rooms. Overnight at our hotel. (Depending on regional density, accommodation will be made in the Medjugorje or Trebinje region.)

After breakfast at the hotel, we complete our check-out procedures and leave the hotel with our luggage. Guests who wish can join the optional Kravica Waterfalls tour (25 Euros). You will adore the Kravica waterfalls, a natural wonder. You must definitely drink a coffee against the view of the waterfall. After the pleasant time we will spend here, our next stop is Mostar, one of the most important cities of the region, famous for its bridge which was destroyed by the fire of Croatian artillery during the Bosnian War in our recent history and later rebuilt with the contributions of the Republic of Turkey and is on the UNESCO world heritage list, and which will take you to a completely different world with its narrow and authentic streets dating from the Ottoman Empire. During our tour here, the Mostar Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque, Catholic cathedral, Turkish consulate, and the martyrs' cemetery are some of the things we will see. If we are on a lucky day, we can also see young people jumping from the bridge for show purposes, but whose story dates back to old times. During the free time we will give after our tour, you can buy souvenirs specific to Mostar and take a nice food break. After the free time, we meet our vehicle at the time and place to be given by our guide and continue our way. Guests who wish can join the optional Blagaj tour (20 Euros). Blagaj, where we will visit the Dervish Monastery (Tekke) established right on the bank of the Buna River source boiling from under the mountain, will allow you to accumulate unforgettable memories. In addition to its natural beauty, we will listen to the story and history of the tekke from our guide. After our tour, we continue our way towards Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With our arrival, we start exploring the center of the city on walking. On our walking tour, the sebilj (fountain) which is the symbol of the city, Gazi Husrev-bey madrasa, Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque, bezistan (covered bazaar), clock tower, the diverse shops of Baščaršija, Sacred Heart Cathedral, eternal flame, Latin Bridge, and Fatih Mosque are only some of the things we will see. After our walking tour, you can drink Bosnian coffee in cafes specific to Bosnia, lose yourself with magnificent Bosnian pastry (burek), or discover the city by getting lost in its European and Ottoman-era streets. Transfer to our hotel after our tour. In the evening, guests who wish can join the optional Bosnian Night tour with music, dinner, and entertainment. We recommend you not to miss this pleasant night where we will taste the most delicious dishes of Bosnia accompanied by Bosnian music (55 Euros). Transfer to our hotel after our tour. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, we complete our check-out procedures and leave the hotel with our luggage. Guests who wish can join the optional Vrelo Bosna and Tunnel of Hope tour (30 Euros). On our tour, we first go to Vrelo Bosna, where the source of the Bosnia River is located. After taking a pleasant walk and taking our photos in this natural park located right at the edge of Sarajevo at the foot of Mount Igman, we go to see the remaining part of the tunnel that gave hope to the people of Sarajevo and the country during the Bosnian War, which was the scene of the most dramatic events of our recent history. Here, after listening to the information our guide will give about the war and the tunnel, we visit the house of Granny Sida located in the garden of the tunnel, which is visited as a museum today. After our tour, we depart for Belgrade. With a pleasant journey continuing through the highlands and villages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we cross the border gate on the Drina River, which we are familiar with from books, and enter another country in our program. After the winding roads of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we reach Belgrade by watching wide plains, villages, and magnificent views that are the exact opposite of what we saw. During our walking tour after our arrival, Knez Mihajlova Street, Kalemegdan, Monument of Gratitude to France, Stambol Gate, Damad Ali Pasha Tomb, viewpoint, Victor Monument, Zindan Gate, Leopoldov Gate, clock tower, and the fortress walls are only some of the things we will see. After our walking tour, you can stroll in the lively streets of Belgrade, taste different ice cream flavors at the ice cream shop recommended by your guide, or drink a pleasant coffee while watching the surroundings and the city. After our tour, guests who wish can join the optional Belgrade Boat Tour (20 Euros). On this tour to be made on the Danube and Sava rivers, you will have the opportunity to watch the city of Belgrade from the river and see the War Island more closely. After our tour, transfer to our hotel and check-in to the rooms. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, we complete our check-out procedures and depart for Sofia with our luggage. With our arrival in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, we start our panoramic city tour. During this tour, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Russian Church, Hagia Sophia Church, St. George Rotunda, Archaeological Museum, Presidency, Prime Ministry, and Banya Bashi Mosque are some of the places we will see. After the free time we will give following the panoramic tour, we leave Sofia and continue our way towards the border gate. Arriving at the Kapikule border gate and after the passport and customs procedures there, we return to Istanbul following the highway. Upon our arrival in Istanbul, we drop off our esteemed guests at the points where we picked them up and bid you farewell with the wish to meet again on our next tour.