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While the Balkans Region is often overlooked by tourists in favor of their western or southern Europe counterparts, the Balkans has a lot to offer visitors. We admit that, until recently, we have not explored the area in-depth. While we still have a lot to discover, we recently spent three weeks traveling the Western Balkans and Greece. Across these three weeks, we visited five countries; Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece. While it’s not nearly enough time to thoroughly explore, this 3-week Balkans itinerary provides you with a good overview of the countries and gives you plenty to write home about.
Week 1: Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina
You can start your trip by flying into Zagreb to work your way south through the Balkans. Croatia is a beautiful country with plenty of natural wonders and coastal cities to enjoy. When we arrived, we immediately rented a car and started off towards our first destination, Plitvice National Park. From there, we made our way through Croatia (with a hop over to Bosnia and Herzegovina) until we got to Dubrovnik.
Here’s a brief overview of our itinerary:
- Day 1 – Plitvice National Park
- Day 2- Krka National Park, Trogir, and Primosten
- Day 3- Split
- Day 4- Island-hopping boat trip from Split
- Day 5- Day trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Day 6- Dubrovnik tour, monastery, and walls
- Day 7- Dubrovnik tour, palace, and jazz bar
We only put a brief overview here because we wrote another in-depth article just for this first week. Read our 7-day Croatia Road Trip itinerary here.
Week 2: Montenegro and Albania
After a fast-paced first week of your Balkans itinerary, we recommend using week 2 to slow down and relax a bit. Montenegro and Albania are the perfect countries to do so. The way we organize the days in this itinerary leaves plenty of leisure time to move at your own pace and have some downtime.
Kotor, Montenegro (4 days)
Directly south of Croatia is the small, welcoming country of Montenegro. After a 5-hour bus ride from Dubrovnik, Croatia, to Kotor, Montenegro, we walked ten minutes from the bus station into the heart of Old Town Kotor. We recommend staying within the old town to have a central jumping-off point to explore the city and surrounding area.
Where to Stay: Apartment VASSA
Day 1: Old City
The walled old town is the city’s most popular area, with plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from. It is quite small but is still worth dedicating a day to exploring what the area has to offer. We admittedly didn’t do any tours in Kotor, but we recommend a free walking tour to learn more about the city’s history. After the tour, use what you learned to get familiar with the city and some of its attractions. Some top attractions include St. Tryphon’s Cathedral, Clock Tower of Kotor, or one of our personal favorites, Cat Park!
Dinner – As for food, we are simple. We are always on the lookout for cheap food and drinks. Personally, I enjoy meat and beer, and Kotor had plenty. Of course, there are many iterations of various Balkan staples available, such as cevapi and kebabs. That’s why we visited MojaKafanica Kotor twice, where the food was simultaneously delicious and cheap (they also had A/C and football games on both times).
Drinks – For nightlife lovers, Old Town is definitely the place for you. You can get beer and wine basically anywhere in the town. But if you want to party with locals and tourists alike, check out Old Town Pub, where people fill the street outside with dancing and drinking.
Day 2: Bay of Kotor
Kotor is situated at one end of the Bay of Kotor. This makes it the perfect spot to catch a boat and spend time on the water. You can find a water taxi on your own or book a guided Kotor boat tour to take you to the top spots. Head out to Our Lady of the Rocks, a small island just off the coast of Perast with a small church and museum. Afterward, you can ferry across to Perast for some lunch or snacks. I will warn you, Perast seems expensive compared to Kotor, with many nice hotels and weddings going on while we were there. We just got some snacks from the convenience store and wandered a bit before getting a water taxi back to Kotor.
Dinner – Kotor is home to some excellent Italian restaurants. One of our favorites was Pepe Nero, where you must try the salmon gnocchi, prosciutto gnocchi, and wine. Don’t leave without tasting the homemade Milka dessert (you won’t regret it).
Drinks – For something a little calmer than the bar from Day 1, head to Jazz Club Evergreen. Interestingly, they didn’t play jazz on live music night, but we still enjoyed the music and ambiance. Keep in mind that they don’t have live music every night, so if you are set on live music, check with them to see which days they have it.
Day 3: City Walls + Kotor Fortress
Key features of the old town include the city walls and Kotor Fortress. For 8 Euros, you can walk the city walls and take it up to Kotor Fortress. The hike up is no easy feat with visitors needing to make their way up 1350 steps. The reward, however, will be wonderful views of Kotor and the bay.
Dinner – We already mentioned how good the Italian restaurants are in Kotor, so don’t mind if we share another one. One of the most popular restaurants that we tried (and failed) to get into is La Catedral Pasta Bar. We attempted to go here back-to-back nights, and there was a long wait each time. They don’t take reservations, but if you are up for the wait or catch it when the line is short, we recommend giving it a try!
Drinks – If you want another night out, Letrika Caffe Bar turns from a cafe to an outdoor club after dark. When we went, it was packed, and they had a live DJ and laser lights.
Day 4: Outside the city walls
It may come as a shock to some visitors, but there is more to Kotor than just the old own. Spend Day 4 getting outside the city walls and seeing what else the city has to offer. We personally spent some time at Kotor Beach just outside the city walls. It surprised us to find that we were some of the only tourists around despite how close we still were to the old town. We can’t say that will be the case when you visit, but it was a nice break from the heat to take a dip in the bay with the locals.
Dinner + Drinks – This is a two-for-one because this restaurant serves delicious food and drinks. Back within the city walls, you’ll find a restaurant called Atrium that serves tasty, you guessed it, Italian food. Bonus points for their delicious espresso martinis (one of my personal favorites).
Tirana, Albania (3 days)
After Montenegro, it’s time to head to the fourth country on your Balkans itinerary. We took a 6-hour bus ride down to Tirana, the capital of Albania. People told us that Tirana isn’t worth exploring and is more-so a stopover city to fly into to get to another Albanian destination. We challenged that by spending a couple of days in the city and think you should too.
Where to stay: Bujtina Shqiptare Apartment
Day 5: Walking Tour + Bunkart 1
If you know us, you know we believe free walking tours are compulsory in a new city. Take a tour to learn an overview of and the history behind Tirana and Albania. Following the walking tour, we traveled across the city to Bunk Art 1, an old bunker turned history/art museum. If you plan a visit, set aside at least 2-3 hours because the museum is huge. About 2 hours in, we got to the point where we had to stop reading and just look at the pictures to be able to get through it in a decent amount of time. It was very informative and actually a bit creepy!
Dinner – A restaurant that really stood out for us was Oda – Traditional Albanian Restaurant. Oda is one of the top recommended restaurants in the city for traditional food. It has become a bit touristy, but even locals recommend it, and it ended up being one of our favorite meals during our entire trip. Just be aware that Oda has 2 locations not far from each other. The other option is Oda Garden, which is much more popular due to its large garden. We tried to get a table at Oda Garden, but they were fully booked around dinner time. That said, it’s best to book a table ahead of time.
Day 6: Food Tour + Bunk’Art 2
We had no idea what to expect going into Albania, but one thing we didn’t expect was how much we’d love the food. Admittedly, we did not do a food tour in Tirana, but we wish we did and plan to next time! That’s why we are adding it to your Balkans itinerary and even found the tour that we are going to add to our itinerary for next time. To experience some of the best of Albanian cuisine, take the Tirana Local Food and Walking Tour. We learned that Tirana provides some top-notch traditional food. After the food tour, walk it off in the Bunk’Art 2 Museum. This museum is more centrally-located and easier to access. The museum is small compared to Bunk’Art 1 but complements it by going more in-depth about the Ministry of Internal Affairs and secret police during the communist era.
Dinner – If you’re not too full from your food tour earlier, try Zgara e Tirones 2. Our host recommended the restaurant, which was both delicious and affordable.
Day 7: Day trip
For your final day in Albania, we suggest taking a day trip outside Tirana. Two popular day trip options include Berat or Durres. Berat is known as the “Town of the Thousand Windows” and is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its Ottoman and Byzantine-influenced architecture. You can visit on your own via bus/car or take a guided Berat city tour from Tirana. If you are looking for something close to Tirana, Durres is the second largest city in Albania and is only 45 minutes from Tirana. Durres is known for some of the best beaches in Northern Albania, as well as its ancient architecture, like its 2nd-century Roman amphitheater. You even have the option to combine both on this Berat and Durres Day Trip from Tirana.
Week 3: Greece
After eating and walking your way through Kotor and Tirana, it’s time to head to Greece for Week 3 of your Balkans itinerary. Catch a short flight from Tirana to Athens for the final country of your trip! We spent a couple of days in Athens, hitting the top tourist sights and, of course, taking a food tour. Since we are escape room enthusiasts, we also hit one of the most popular escape rooms in the world (#3 of the top 100, to be exact). From Athens, we headed to Naxos and Santorini for a few days for some beach and sun time.
Here’s a brief overview of our itinerary:
- Day 1 – Athens free walking tour + food tour
- Day 2- Athens ancient ruins + Acropolis Museum
- Day 3- Athens museum/shopping + escape room/nightlife
- Day 4- Naxos town + Temple of Apollo
- Day 5- Beach hop around Naxos
- Day 6- Fira + Oia in Santorini
- Day 7- Road trip around Santorini
We are only providing a brief overview here because, like we did with Croatia, we wrote a whole other in-depth article about Greece. Read our one-week Greece itinerary here.
While three weeks may not be enough to hit every top destination and see everything in the Balkans, following this Balkans itinerary can help you get the best out of your relatively short time. The Balkans have much to offer, whether for a family vacation or a solo backpacking trip. Of course, we recommend spending as much time as possible in all these destinations. All in all, the Balkans are a wonderful group of countries with interesting connections and histories, fantastic food, and welcoming people. It’s definitely a place worth your time!
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