Recommended tours:

3 days - (Skopje - Debar - Ohrid - Prespa)

other tours

Day 1: Skopje, St. Jovan Bigorski:

After the breakfast, start for Matka. We recommend you to spend two to three hours there. A large number of cultural monuments, and great natural treasure is concentrated at Matka. Do not miss the monastery St. Andreja and the cave Vrelo, that was equipped with a lighting generator with the funds from the EU Phare CDP. If you have some time left, you can see Monastery Matka, but you should also devote your attention to the beautiful nature that surrounds you.

At 12:00 hours you should be at the St. Panteleimon monastery in Nerezi, on the slopes of the mountain Vodno. After you have seen the church and its surroundings, you can have your lunch here, or you can choose from among the restaurants in the city.

The period from 12:30 to 13:30 is reserved for lunch.

At 14:00 start your sightseeing tour through the cultural monuments in the city. Go to the its old part, on the left bank of the river Vardar. There, you can visit the Skopje Fortress (Kale), that offers a panoramic view to the city. In the immediate vicinity of the Fortress are the church Sv. Spas (Holy Salvation) and the Mustafa-Pasha mosque. Near the mosque are the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Museum of Macedonia (complex of Museums of History, Ethnology and Archaeology) that hosts the biggest icon collection in our country. In the courtyard of the museum is Kuršumli an (Lead Caravanserai), that connects you to the Old Skopje Bazaar. There you can see many old craftsmen shops, the old houses and, at its entrance from the Stone Bridge, the Daut-Pasha amam (Turkish bath), today the National Art Gallery.

Enjoy your dinner in one of the many restaurants in the Old Bazaar, or cross the Stone Bridge and choose from among the restaurants in the center of the city.

After the dinner, start for the monastery St. Jovan Bigorski in the Debar region. You can spend the night in the monastery lodgings. Or, as a contrast to the monastic silence, you can enjoy the cultural offerings of Skopje (you can obtain information from the free brochure or at the telephone number: 9868) and the vibrant night life of Skopje, and postpone the visit for the monastery for the next day.

Day 2, Ohrid:

If you awakened in Skopje, still reserve some time on your way to Ohrid to see the monastery St. Jovan Bigorski, with a magnificent wood-carved iconostasis and lodgings that are representative of the traditional Macedonian architecture. Alternatively, you caould visit Tetovo (the Painted (Aladza) mosque, the Arabati Baba teke and possibly visit the Lešok monastery, located outside of the city). Then continue your trip to Ohrid. 

Start your Ohrid sightseeing tour with a walk from the Samoil's fortress, and then head for the town's square. Visit the church Mother of God Peribleptos first. Do not forget to enter the part of the church where the relicts of Saint Clement are resting, and in the courtyard spend few minutes on the grave of the great poet Grigor Prlicev, the Macedonian Homer. Head towards Plaošnik, where the excavations of the early Christian basilica are located, and the church of St. Panteleimon (St. Clement's university), the first Slavic university, from the 10th century is currently restored. This place offers a magnificent view to the Lake Ohrid.  At the terrace, overviewing the Lake, see the church St. John Theologian, Kaneo. From there, head towards the city, Visit the  Antique Theatre, the cathedral church St. Sophia, the churches St. Nicola Bolnicki and Holy Mother of God Bolnicka ("of Hospital"), the church St. Nicholas Gerakomia, the House of the Robev family) today a museum of archeology, and the House of Uranija, today a Museum of ethnology.

In the period between 13:30 and 14:30 hours, enjoy your lunch in one of the restaurants in the town. They offer a wide variety of cuisines, but we recommend you to taste the famous and endemic Ohrid trout .

At 14:30 start for the St. Nahum Monastery. Before you arrive there, you can see the cave church Holy Mother of God in the tourist camp Gradište. Around 15:15 you will arrive to St. Nahum. Do not forget to hear the heartbeats of the saint who rests in the monastery church. Visit the small chapel of St. Petka and enjoy the tour by a rowing boat around the springs of the river Crni Drim.

You can decide to have your dinner here, or to start for the city at  18:00 hours. On the way back, you can stop at the fishermen's villages of Trpejca or Peštani and dine there, or opt for the city's restaurants. In the evening, stroll around the old Ohrid bazaar (caršija) and treat yourself with a gift of traditional silver filigree (in the living museum - the workshop and store of the master Vangel Dereban) or Ohrid pearls.

Day 3: Galičica, Prespa: 

At 9:00 in the morning start your journey over the Galičica mountain to the region of Prespa. We recommend you to take a light lunch with you. During the ride, enjoy the scenery of this National Park and take the opportunity to find the spot from which you can simultaneously see both Ohrid and Prespa Lakes. At 10:30 you will arrive at Oteševo. Continue your trip to the villages of Stenje and Konjsko, that are starting points for the boat trip to the Golem Grad island. You have two possibilities: the first is to stop at the village of Stenje and hire a boat (and a boatman) here - the boat trip should last about an hour and a half; or, driving through the woods, get to Konjsko and hire a boat there. The boat trip from Konjsko to the island will last for about half an hour, but we have to warn you that the road from Stenje to Konjsko is fairly bad.

At about 12:00 hours you will be at the Golem grad island. Walk around the island, enjoy its natural and cultural treasure - the church of St. Petar, the remnants of the church Sv. Dimitrija, the Early Christian basilica, etc. Here you can eat the lunch that we recommended you to take with you. Before going back to the mainland, take a boat cruise around the island.

At 13:00 start for the shore. If you haven't had your lunch at the island, you can now eat at Krani. From here, start for Kurbinovo. Enjoy the astonishing frescopainting of the church St. Gjorgji in this village. At 16:00 hours, you should be at the Slivnica monastery, near Kurbinovo. Spend half an hour in sightseeing of the monastery and its surroundings.

At 16:30 start for the  village of Brajčino. Between 17:00 and 17:45 pay a visit to the monastery St. Petka and you can also stroll through its picturesque surroundings.

At 17:45 you can visit the village of Dolno Dupeni and decide whether you will have your dinner here, or in Resen or Krani.