Eastern Macedonia tour

Pick up from Skopje airport. Accommodation in a hotel in Skopje. Orientation walk and time at your leisure. Welcoming dinner in a national restaurant. Overnight.

Breakfast. After the breakfast, we start a walking tour from the centuries old Kale – Skopje fortress. We will continue to the Old Turkish Bazaar, mingling with the locals, meeting different cultures and religions, old forgotten crafts, etc. Afterwards, we are headed to the Museum of Macedonian struggle, with possibilities to also visit the Archaeological museum of Macedonia that owns one of the biggest ancient coins collection in the world, exclusively from the Macedonian territory. We walk across the Stone Bridge, the landmark of the city, and stop in front of the biggest monument and fountain of Alexander the Great. The next stop will be the Memorial house of Mother Teresa. She was born in Skopje in 1910. Lunch in a traditional restaurant. Free time for exploring Skopje on your own. Overnight in Skopje.

After the breakfast, we drive towards the city of Kumanovo and the megalithic observatory Kokino, near the border with Serbia. From that point, we are headed towards the place called Kuklice, also known as “Doll Wedding”, near the city of Kratovo (known for the hundreds of naturally formed “stone pillars” that resemble humans). Next point is the city of Kratovo - the city of bridges and towers, where we will take a city tour with a local guide and have a home-made lunch with a traditional local family. Our next stop is the city of Kriva Palanka (near the Bulgarian border), where we will have accommodation and dinner in the monastery St. Joakim Osogovski. This is an excellent chance to see how people live in the rural areas and see some of the rituals. Overnight.

After breakfast, we will visit the active Monastery of St. Gavril Lesnovski (75 km, near the city of Probistip), and have the opportunity to communicate with the monks in this monastery. Our road heads to the city of Stip (40 km) where we will visit a city museum. There we will have lunch, the local specialty “pastrmajlija” (bread with meat). Our tour heads to the Archaeological Site of Stobi (40 km) (known as antique and early Byzantine City) where we will have guided sightseeing of the biggest archaeological Site in Macedonia. Our next stop is the Popova Kula Winery (65 km), near the little town, Demir Kapija, where we will have dinner with wine tasting and guided sightseeing of the Winery. Overnight in the beautiful hotel of Popova Kula Winery. http://www.popovakula.com.mk

Breakfast at the hotel. First, we will visit city of Kavadarci (30 km) and we will explore the city and after that we will visit the biggest winery in Macedonia –Tikvesh. There we will have tour around the winery and after that we will have wine tasting with light lunch. Transfer back to Demir Kapija (30 km). In the evening, there is an optional tour to Gevgelija (50 km), the “Macedonian Las Vegas”. You will have the chance to try your luck in the luxury casino hotels. Transfer back to the hotel (50 km). Overnight.

After breakfast in Popova Kula Winery, we continue to the city of Strumica where we will visit Smolare waterfall (85 km), the highest waterfall (38 meters) in Macedonia. Lunch in a local restaurant. Our next stop are the beautiful medieval monasteries from the XI century– monastery of Vodoca (30 km) and monastery of Veljusa (5 km) dedicated to Holy Mother Merciful. After visiting the monasteries, we will go and accommodate in a hotel in Strumica (10 km). Free evening for city strolling in the beautiful city of Strumica. Dinner on your own.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Berovo (50 km), little mountain town with beautiful nature. There we will visit Bacilo (a tea hut), and then we have the option to walk to Bacilo about (800 m) steep terrain or to use a tractor from the main road to the tea hut. It is a private property in the middle of the mountain and the owners grow their own fruits and vegetables around the hut and also have their own cattle. They will take us around the property and serve us homemade food. After that, we come back to Berovo and you will have free time to stroll around Berovo Lake. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the town of Vinica (45 km), where we will visit a museum of terracotta icons, one of the rare examples from that kind of Christian art in Europe. After that we will pass through Kochani, the city of rice and we will ride to Veles (75 km), city known as the birthplace of many Macedonian writers, revolutionaries and other important people. There, we will have lunch in a restaurant on the bank of the Veles Lake. Transfer to Skopje (50 km). Accommodation in a hotel in Skopje. Free time. Farewell dinner. Overnight.

Breakfast in the hotel. Driving to the Skopje International Airport for your return flight.