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Discover Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia
From Budapest to Dubrovnik, 15 days / 14 nights
DAY 1: Arrival Budapest, Hungary
(Total distance for this day 20 KM – total drive only 45 min)
Arrival to Ferenc Liszt International Airport of Budapest, meeting with our representative and transfer to your hotel in town. The rest of the day is free.
Overnight in Budapest – Hotel (2 nights)
DAY 2: Budapest city tour
(Total distance for this day 70 KM – total drive only 4h)
In the morning after breakfast we will enjoy a panoramic city tour of Budapest. We will get accounted with its old historical quarters. Budapest is full of UNESCO-listed monuments, architectural wonders, lively markets, attractions such as Buda Castle, Széchenyi Thermal Bath, St Stephen’s Basilica. See the Chain Bridge, St Stephen’s Basilica and State Opera House Explore the Buda Castle complex, Heroes Square, and the Central Market Hall. Also, we will see the Hungarian Parliament Building in Kossuth Lajos Square.
Overnight in Budapest (Breakfast)
DAY 3: Budapest – Novi Sad, SERBIA – Belgrade
(Total distance for this day 394 KM – total drive only 4h)
After breakfast, we will leave Budapest and take a drive South. After crossing the border into Serbia we will make a stop for lunch break in the historical town of Subotica. After the break, we will continue our journey South.
We will visit Novi Sad, one of the biggest cities of Serbia and the capital of the region of Vojvodina. It is a modern, lively city with many growing businesses, but, at the same time, it maintains a beautiful taste of the past. We will have a walking tour of the center of Novi Sad to visit the main Orthodox Cathedral, the main Catholic Cathedral, and then continue to have a walk on the famous Dunavska street.
We will also visit the fortress of Petrovaradin, built in the 17 and 18th centuries, and once called “Gibraltar on the Danube”. This Austrian artillery fortification is situated above the river and represents the second-largest structure of its kind preserved in Europe. Built by Austrians at the spot of former Roman, Byzantine, and Hungarian settlements, the fortress plays a very important role in the life of the town even today, as many cultural events are organized there, famous music festival EXIT is among the best known. In the late afternoon we will arrive in Belgrade.
Overnight in Belgrade (3 nights) (Breakfast, Lunch)
Day 4: Belgrade walking city tour
Enjoy today a city tour of Belgrade, capital of Serbia since 1403, when Despot Stefan, son of Prince Lazar, moved his palace here.
We will start our day by a short walk to visit the Museum of Nikola Tesla to learn more about live and achievements of this extraordinary scientist. Later we will continue our tour by walking to the elegant Republic Square, where we will make a close inspection of its architectonic monuments such as the National Theatre and the National Museum.
We will stroll along unavoidable Knez Mihailova Street – the main shopping and meeting place, in order to see a few other masterpieces of Belgrade’s architecture, such as the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. We will then see the oldest quarters of the 19th century, including the ‘Question mark sign’ Inn, Princess Ljubica’s Residence (now housing a permanent exhibition of original furniture), as well as the Patriarchy and the Orthodox Cathedral.
Walking through the streets of the old part of town we will arrive to the fortress of Kalemegdan, which is the symbol of Belgrade, situated where the River Sava flows into the Danube. Our visit to the fort will start with the Upper fortress area. It includes well-preserved artillery structures dating from the mid-18th century, as well as a medieval fortification – an acropolis with original or partly reconstructed ramparts, gateways, towers and the excavated ruins of a 15th century castle. A few Turkish monuments and some ancient Roman remains also lie in this area. In this section of the fortification complex we will see the elegant 18th century Baroque Clock Tower and the Roman Well.
Touring the Eastern ward, we will see the Rose Church of Our Lady, along with a panoramic view of the Lower fortress and its monuments – the Nebojsa Tower, the Baroque Gate of Karl VI, and the remains of the medieval metropolitan palace.
In the afternoon you will have free time to enjoy Belgrade on your own. In the evening, we will enjoy traditional bohemian part of Belgrade – Skadarlija.
Overnight in Belgrade (Breakfast, Dinner)
DAY 5: Belgrade – River Drina Cruise – Ethno Village Mecavnik
(Total distance for this day 200 KM – total drive only 4h)
After breakfast, before leaving Belgrade, we will visit new St. Sava Church. This is the third largest Orthodox Church in Europe, built at the place where in 1594 Sinnan Pasha had the holy relics of St. Sava burned.
We will drive on a beautiful scenic road, following river Drina, which forms the border between Serbia and Bosnia. We will take a short cruise through the canyon. The beauty of the River Drina lies not only in its biological diversity and a rare scenic beauty. Everything is so close that you can almost reach out and touch the freezing water beneath you and steep rocks and dark forests along the river banks will surround you. Only the sky is far away from you. It shows up there among the grey rocks as a narrow pale blue stripe…
After a short drive, we will arrive to the ethno village of Mecavnik, the ‘Wooden City’, built as a setting for the film of the very famous movie director Emir Kusturica. The amazing village was, until recently, merely a couple of salvaged traditional wooden houses on a bluff above a beautiful valley. This village will be our home for tonight.
Overnight in Mecevnik: Ethno Village Mecavnik (1 night) (Breakfast, Dinner)
DAY 6: Mecavnik – Uvac National Reserve – Zlatar
(Total distance for this day 150 KM – total drive only 3h 30 min)
This morning we will take a drive south to wonderful “Uvac” Special Nature Reserve, protected natural asset of great importance. It’s situated in southwestern Serbia, wedged between Mt. Zlatar massif in the Southwest and Mt. Javor in the Northeast.
A major morphological feature of the reserve is the Uvac River canyon valley including the valleys of its tributaries. The special value of canyon parts of the river valley are curving meanders. Relative height of meander heads is 100m in places. We will take an exciting boat ride through meanders, and take a hike uphill to the breathtaking viewpoint.
Later, we will take a drive through the beautiful countryside to the nearby Mt. of Zlatar.
Overnight at Zlatar – Hotel (1 night) (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 7: Zlatar – River Tara Canyon UNESCO, MONTENEGRO – Zabljak
(Total distance for this day 150 KM – total drive only 3 h)
After breakfast, we will cross the border to Montenegro. We will continue with a breathtaking drive through the canyon of River Tara, a unique rival to the Grand Canyon of Colorado. It is part of the National Park of Durmitor and is a UNECSO site. River Tara has its source in the mountains at the northern part of the country and runs 140km before it joins river Piva, forming Drina, one of the largest and most rich rivers of the Balkans.
For centuries, Tara eroded the soft limestone, forming a spectacular gorge, measuring 82 km long and in some places 1300m deep, making this the second-largest gorge in the world. At Djurdjevica Tara place, just before reaching the small town of Zabljak, we will have the opportunity for a ride on a stunning zip-line crossing from one side to the other of the canyon and the river Tara.
We will end our day by arriving to Žabljak, a small village on the top of Durmitor Mountain.
Ovenight Zabljak – Hotel (1 night) (Breakfast)
DAY 8: Zabljak – Rafting at ScepanPolje
(Total distance for this day 120 KM – total drive only 2h 30 min)
Zabljak is a small village on the top of Durmitor Mountain, which lies at the very center of this vast and wonderful National Park. It is located at 1456 m above sea level, which makes it the highest town in the Balkans. It is surrounded by 23 hilltops, the highest of which is 2300m.
Within the territory of the National Park, there are 17 glacial lakes, known as the “eyes of the mountains“, the most famous being Black Lake. After breakfast, we will spend a good part of the day taking a walk through the National Park and around Black Lake.
In the afternoon we will take a drive to Scepan Polje and settle in our camp. Dinner and overnight will be in Rafting Camp.
Overnight in Rafting Camp in Scepan Polje (2 nights) (Breakfast, Dinner)
DAY 9: Rafting
This will be our program for today organized by rafting camp
– Breakfast will be served till 10:30 am – specialties of domestic kitchen
– Preparations for rafting/equipping with a life jacket, helmets, and protecting clothing and footwear
– 11.30 – After short driving with off-road vehicles or vans to Brstanovica (starting point of rafting) You will meet the skipper and other participants, and get instructions for behavior on the boat
– Rafts have a capacity for 8 to 10 people and it is important that all participants follow rafting
instructions
– 12.00h – Rafting through the most attractive part of Tara River in the length of 18 km, where plenty of nice excitement – such as cascades (waterfalls) cells and Vjernovića ranked with 5; Borovi, Varda, Cegrlo categorized with 4, and the other 17 categories 2-3).
– Rafting lasts for about 3.5 to 4 hours with breaks for swimming and relaxation on Kulina, Manita Šipčanickom springs, and creek.
– Arrival around 16:00h
– Lunch – domestic specialties
(Rafting is convenient for all guests, no previous experience is needed)
Overnight in Rafting Camp (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
DAY 10: Rafting – Cetinje – Kotor
(Total distance for this day 210km – total drive only 4 h 30 min)
After breakfast, we will say goodbye to our new friends and continue our tour. The road coming down from the mountain top will take us to Cetinje, once, in the time of Njegos, a capital of Montenegro. It doesn’t have a strong fort like many other important capitals from its time, as nature blessed this place with natural stone protections.
The town was founded in 1482, when Ivan Crnojević, the last ruler of the medieval country of Zeta, built here a palace for himself as well as a church. Cetinje stayed the heart and soul of Montenegro up to WW1.
In Cetinje, we will visit the royal palace of King Nikola II, the last King of Montenegro. The palace contains both a beautiful small museum as well as the Monastery of St. Petar. We will treat ourselves to local smoked ham and cheese in the old village of Njegusi, before descending to the coast from the mountain.
We will take a breathtaking drive coming down from the mountain top back to the coast, to get to know Kotor – UNESCO town museum.
Overnight Kotor – Hotel (3 nights) (Breakfast, Lunch)
DAY 11: Kotor– Budva – Kotor
(Total distance for this day 50 KM – total drive only 1 h)
First, we will have a walking tour of Kotor, a town museum, (UNESCO site), inhabited even at the times of the Illyrians and Romans. However, our morning walk through the city will take us back to medieval times, as most of the monuments we can observe now are from the 14th to 18th centuries.
The city is surrounded by strong walls, a Renaissance tower stands on the main square, and there are numerous churches and lovely houses remaining. We will see the Cathedral of St. Tripun, St. Luka Church, St. Mihail Church, and many more.
We will take a drive along the Montenegro coast passing beautiful villages and make a short photo stop above the famous St. Stefan. After a short drive, we will arrive to Budva, one of the oldest inhabited places in the area, known since Illyrian times. The town of Budva that we can see now is medieval and is definitely the most attractive tourist place on the Riviera. Budva has a fortified old part of the town with the typical architecture of narrow streets and stone buildings placed around the main cathedral.
This area is now used as a gathering place for tourists, containing many shops and taverns. Budva also has several attractive beaches and hotels.
Overnight Kotor (Breakfast)
DAY 12: Kotor free day
Today we will have a free time to enjoy Kotor and its beaches.
Overnight Kotor (Breakfast)
Day 13: Kotor – Boka Kotorska – Herceg Novi –Dubrovnik, CROATIA
(Total distance for this day 90 KM – total drive only 2 h)
Today we will enjoy a marvelous drive around beautiful Boka Kotorska Bay, passing by many old fishing villages, churches, monasteries, marinas and beaches.
After a short ride, we will visit Herceg Novi. We will go for a walk through the narrow streets of the medieval town, which was founded by the Bosnian King Tvrdko in 1382. The town played a very important role in the trade and economy of the whole area in the 14th and 15th centuries, even after it was given to the Turks at the end of the 15th century. The town was ruled at times by Venice, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and France before it was finally given to Montenegro in 1918.
We will see the city walls, the main western entrance, the Sahat Kula tower, then Kanali Kula, also known as the BloodyTower, as it was used as a prison during the times of Ottoman rule. We will also see Forte Mare, a citadel from Venetian times, as well as the church of St. Archangel Mihail.
We will cross the border into Croatia and drive along the beautiful Dalmatian coast, before we arrive to the pearl of the Adriatic coast – Dubrovnik, a jewel in stone, dazzling in the magnificence of its architecture.
Overnight in Dubrovnik area – (2 nights) (Breakfast)
Day 14: Dubrovnik tour
(Total distance for this day 20 KM – total drive only 30 min)
In the morning we will have a walking tour in the old walled heart of Dubrovnik. All motor vehicles are banned from the centre and our bus drops us outside the Pile Gate. We will see the Franciscan Monastery, housing one of the world’s oldest pharmacies, the old harbor, St Laurence Fortress, the Sponza and Rector’s Palaces and other points of interest in this best-preserved European walled city.
Afternoon is free to enjoy this wonderful town.
Overnight in Dubrovnik (Breakfast)
DAY 15: Dubrovnik Departure
After breakfast will be the transfer to the airport for your flight home. (Breakfast)
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