While I was chatting with my Hive friend a few days ago, I found out about the route he wants to take this summer on his trip:
Dubrovnik - Podgorica - Skadarsko Lake or the sea - Tiranë - Butrint or Gjirokastër or the national park south of Vlorë - Ohrid and the lakes and mountains around. And then, one of the options are Skopje - Belgrade - Sarajevo - Mostar - Dubrovnik.
I promised him that I would be happy to share with him everything I know about the places he mentioned, because I, too, have passed through those roads few times.
And what's the easiest way to gather all the information about the places I've visited that would be interesting to him in one place?
So the best thing to do is refer him to the posts I've published on Hive.
Searching through the posts from the last two years, I came to the following conclusion:
I published many posts before I discovered full potential of the Hive world, by tagging only the one community I was onboarded to.
Thus, I missed pinning my posts on Pinmapple (now Worldmappin)…
It doesn't matter, whatever happened, happened...
It's important that I know how to do things and how I work 😁
But I concluded something else. I still have a lot of impressions, photos and recommendations for places I've visited, but I haven't written about them... I'll do that in some future posts.
And at the same time, I remembered some places, on those trips, which I did not manage to visit. I have now re-added them to my list…
And what from the list of places did my friend visit and what would I definitely recommend him to visit...
Find out below 😁
Dubrovnik. The City Museum, which I've visited twice in the past few years and haven't written a post about yet (will do so in the coming days), will definitely be on his list, as it's a starting point.
My friend, beware of high prices. When you sit down in a restaurant, be sure to look at the menu before ordering, so that you don't experience an unpleasant surprise.
I recommend you to go to the hill above Dubrovnik, from which you can enjoy a magnificent view of the city, a place called "Krst". There is a cable car to the place, but since you plan to rent a car, you can go by car. I think the ticket was 25e when we were there... Maybe it's even more expensive now.
In the last couple of years, the prices have increased several times. Considering that you rent a car, do it before you leave for your trip, so that you don't pay for ridiculously expensive parking while you are in Dubrovnik.
From Dubrovnik, you planned to go to Podgorica.
As you pass by Herceg Novi, visit it. It has a lovely old town and promenade by the sea.
If someone recommends a tour of the Bay of Kotor rather than a ferry ride, know that they have not deceived you. Driving along the coast, with a visit to the old town of Perast and Our Lady of Šrpjela, will be worth every spent hour.
I went to Podgorica several times on business, and the last time, I walked around the old town and made a trip to the nearby Rijeka Crnojevića.
If you like driving on a narrow road, you can cross Rijeka Crnojevića and get to Lake Skadar. It's a tough road, but it's worth it 🙂
I personally avoided driving between Montenegro and Albania, but if you want to go in that direction, you will have to go that way...
When you arrive in Tirana, you will have a lot to see. I was on a trip for one day, walking around the city. In my opinion, they went a little too far with the modern buildings in the old part of the city...
There are nice cafes and restaurants, and the most interesting for me were the bunkers and the story about them.
When you continue to Valona, you may turn to Durrës. The coast is not spectacular, but the town is worth a visit.
I ate the best pizza and cakes there during my vacations in Albania.
Valona is a coastal town on the border of the Adriatic and Ionian seas. I have not visited the national park you mention, nor Butrint or Gjirokastër, but if you drive to these places, you will pass through Dhermi, Himare and Saranda.
I had a trip to the island of Sazan and I was not interested in driving to Saranda.
I only wish you a trip without crowds (which is really impossible, especially if you are traveling near August when this coast is full of Italian and Albanian tourists).
These places I mentioned will be on my map if I decide to spend a new vacation in Albania, because they are really beautiful landscapes.
When you leave Albania (to Macedonia), you will go through Ohrid, a place that I would recommend in any case. We stopped there for two nights, but it wasn't enough for us 🙂
In Skopje, you can eat the best lamb in the Balkans at the Javor Mrzenci restaurant and tour the old town. Don't be confused by the number of fake "antique" details, one of the former mayors was obsessed with ancient Greece.
If you decide to leave Skopje and come to Belgrade, I'm here 😃
And from Belgrade, the shortest way is through Bosnia. Romanija and Jahorina, then Sarajevo, with a mandatory stop.
(You also have a route via Višegrad, a city with a famous bridge described by the Nobel laureate Ivo Andric in his novel "On the Drina Bridge"... That route would pass by Zlatibor and Tara, which are beautiful landscapes, but I think the route via Sarajevo is more interesting).
And then from Sarajevo along the Neretva river valley to Mostar.
You can go from Mostar via Trebinje (about which I also did not write a post, but I have some perfect photos and stories).
And if you have time, you can also take a detour via Kravice (waterfall and lake). For me, this remained as an unfulfilled wish - a tour of Kravice. When I left Mostar and headed for Trebinje, I only stopped in Blagaj, there was no time for Kravice (for now 🙂).
From Trebinje, where I spent a few days and visited many places of interest - one of them the Tvrdoš Monastery, the road takes you to Dubrovnik and on to home...
Feel free to ask me anything that interests you @godfish (and all others🙂), if I didn't write in the post, I certainly have photos in the archives, I will be happy to give you advice and recommendations.
Thank you for stopping by my post and I hope you enjoyed the photos and the story I shared with you
All photos are my property, taken with a mobile phone