+381 66 23 72 92
Discover Hungary, Serbia, N. Macedonia, and Greece
From Budapest to Athens, 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 (3 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, and 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 free day
Free day in Budapest for you to discover this beautiful town on your own. (Breakfast)
DAY 4: 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, lovely 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 17th 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 5: 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 6: Belgrade – Viminacium – Belgrade
(Total distance for this day 270 km – total drive only 4h 30min)
We will begin our day today with the visit of 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 continue our tour by the drive to the distant past. Viminacium, our destination for today, was the capital of Roman Province Moesia Superior. It was a very important military camp in I and II centuries housing Legio VII Claudia & IV Flavia. It has the status of “Municipium” in II century during the ruling of Imperator Hadrian and the status of “Colony” in III century during the ruling of Imperator Septimius Severus.
After the tour of the site, we will return to Belgrade. The rest of the day is free.
Overnight in Belgrade (Breakfast)
DAY 7: Belgrade – Nish – Skopje, MACEDONIA
(Total distance for this day 450 km – total drive only 4h30 min)
Today we will get to know Niš, the second-largest town in Serbia. This city is most famous as the birthplace of Constantine the Great. It is situated in the Nišava Valley, near the spot where it joins the Južna Morava River, one of the most important Balkan and European traffic lines along which peoples, goods, and armies moved. Known as the ‘Via Militaris’ in the Roman and Byzantine periods and the ‘Constantinople road’ in the Middle Ages and the period of Turkish rule, these roads still represent major European traffic arteries.
Niš is one of the oldest cities in the Balkans and has from ancient times been considered a gateway between the East and the West. There is abundant archaeological evidence that Niš was inhabited even in prehistoric times.
We will see Niš Fortress, a complex and very important cultural and historical monument that dominates the urban nucleus of the city. The existing fortification is of Turkish origin, dating from the first decades of the 18th century. It is known as one of the most significant and best-reserved monuments of this kind in the Balkans.
Constantine the Great (280 – 337 AD) was born and raised in Naissus. He ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 306 to 337 and he consolidated the frontiers of the Empire by imposing a firm organization on the Army and the civil administration. As a powerful emperor, Constantine did not forget his birthplace. He erected a majestic residence in one of the luxurious suburbs of ancient Niš in Mediana, where he often resided and attended to state affairs.
Historical records testify it was in Naissus that he passed several laws in the years 315 through 334. Mediana is at the moment under reconstruction.
We will see rectangular in its base and three meters high, Skull Tower built out of 952 skulls of the Serbian heroes died in the battle of Cegar Hill against Ottoman Turks as a warning to the Serbian people. In 1892, a chapel was built over the skulls, which now protects the 58 remaining skulls. Skull Tower is a unique monument in the world, and it faithfully depicts the true nature of the Turkish crimes against the Serbian people.
Overnight in Skopje – Hotel (2 nights) (Breakfast)
DAY 8: Skopje tour – Matka Canyon – Skopje
(Total distance for this day 30 km – total drive only 40 min)
This morning we will we will explore Skopje, capital and the largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. It is located in a valley, on both sides of the river Vardar. It can be traced back 2000 years when it was known as the ancient city of Skupi.
We will walk through the old part of the town “Charshi”, where is the Stone Bridge – a symbol of Skopje built by Turks in 15 th century. We will visit the church of St. Spas, with its marvelous iconostasis first from 17 th century, Old Bazaar, Fortress Kale whose first walls date to the 6 th century, Mustapha Pasha Mosque – one of the most beautiful objects of Ottoman architecture erected in 1492 with the earliest wall paintings, Daut Pasha Bath, a masterpiece of Islamic civil architecture from the second half of 15th century.
We will spend a wonderful afternoon in Matka canyon located west of Skopje. Covering roughly 5,000 hectares, Matka is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in Macedonia and is home to several medieval monasteries. The Matka Lake within the Matka Canyon is the oldest artificial lake in the country.
Overnight in Skopje (Breakfast)
DAY 9: Skopje – Monastery Sv. Jovan Bigorski – Ohrid
(Total distance for this day 200 km – total drive only 3h30 min)
After breakfast, we will leave Skopje and depart for Ohrid. First, we will pass through the National Park of Mavrovo – the biggest in Macedonia, made famous by its lake, river, gorges and waterfalls.
Continuing our drive on a beautiful scenic mountain road, we will arrive to the Monastery of Sv. Jovan Bigorski, famous for its iconostasis carved in wood and by its particular nice location on the slope of the mountain.
Before arriving to Ohrid we will pass through Struga, a town located at the mouth of river Black Drim into Lake Ohrid.
Overnight in Ohrid – Hotel (2 nights) (Breakfast)
DAY 11: Ohrid – Thessaloniki, GREECE
(Total distance for this day 250 km – total drive only 4h)
After breakfast, we will leave Ohrid and take a beautiful drive through the Macedonian countryside before crossing the border to Greece. After a short drive, we will arrive in Thessaloniki. We will get to know better this historical town in a panoramic city tour.
Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece, with over 1 million inhabitants It is also known in Greek as “the co-capital”, a reference to its historical status as the “co-reigning” city of the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople. Thessaloniki is located on the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea. It is Greece’s second major economic, industrial, commercial, and political center; it is a major transportation hub for Greece and southeastern Europe, notably through the Port of Thessaloniki.
The city is renowned for its festivals, events, and vibrant cultural life in general, and is considered to be Greece’s cultural capital. Thessaloniki was the 2014 European Youth Capital. The city of Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon and was named after his wife Thessaloniki, daughter of Philip II of Macedon and sister of Alexander the Great.
An important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire. It was conquered by the Ottomans in 1430 and remained an important seaport and multi-ethnic metropolis during the nearly five centuries of Turkish rule. It passed from the Ottoman Empire to the Kingdom of Greece on 8 November 1912.
Thessaloniki exhibits Byzantine architecture, including numerous Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments, a World Heritage Site, as well as several Roman, Ottoman, and Sephardic Jewish structures. The city’s main university, Aristotle University, is the largest in Greece and the Balkans. We will see the White Tower, and step back in time at the Greek Agora and Roman Forum. We will experience the historic sights of Thessaloniki, and admire local attractions like the White Tower and Church of Saint Dimitrios, the patron saint of Thessaloniki.
Overnight in Thessaloniki – Hotel (1 night) (Breakfast)
DAY 12: Thessaloniki – Metheora Monasteries
(Total distance for this day 240 km – total drive only 3h)
We will leave Thessaloniki after breakfast and drive south. We will visit Meteora, a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos.
The six (of an original twenty four) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area. The rock formations have always been a site of worship for the ancient people of the area, however between the 13th and 14th century twenty four monasteries were established atop the rocks.
At their peak in the sixteenth century there were 24 monasteries at Meteora in Greece. They were created to serve monks and nuns following the teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Today there are six still functioning, while the remainder are largely in ruin. Perched onto high cliffs, they are now accessible by staircases and pathways cut into the rock formations.
Meteora is located near the town of Kalabaka at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains. Today we will visit a couple of those monasteries.
Overnight in Kalabaka – Hotel (1 night) (Breakfast)
DAY 13: Metheora Monasteries – Athens
(Total distance for this day 350 km – total drive only 4h30 min)
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world’s oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years and its earliest human presence beginning somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC.
Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. It was a centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, and the home of Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum. It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely because of its cultural and political impact on the European continent—particularly Ancient Rome.
In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2021, Athens’ urban area hosted more than three and a half million people, which is around 35% of the entire population of Greece.
Top Athens attractions including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Greek Parliament building, and the Presidential Palace, the home of Greece’s royals until the monarchy ended in 1974, the Panathenaic Stadium, the venue of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Then, drive along Panepistimiou Avenue to snap photos of the National Library and one of Greece’s most revered orthodox churches and the Acropolis the must when you visit Athens.
Overnight in Athens – Hotel (2 nights) (Breakfast)
DAY 14: Athens free
Free day in Athens for you to discover this beautiful town on your own. (Breakfast)
DAY 15: Athens Departure
(Total distance for this day 30 km – total drive only 40 min)
After breakfast will be the transfer to the airport for your flight home. (Breakfast)
More Photos
