MACEDONIAN FAMILY ADVENTURE

Welcome to Macedonia. Your guide will welcome you at Alexander the Great airport in Skopje and transfer you to your hotel in Skopje, where you can discuss your upcoming tour, and Macedonian traditions and customs with our representative. If time allows, sightseeing walk of Skopje attractions: the memorial house of Mother Teresa, the restored Macedonia square with numerous monuments, museums and baroque style building built for the project Skopje 2014, and over the Stone Bridge into the old town of Skopje and through the small cobblestoned streets lined with jewelry, art craft and antique shops, few mosques and a Turkish Bath turned into art gallery. Dinner in a restaurant in the old bazaar. Overnight in Skopje. (D)

Morning transfer to Canyon Matka (16km) for a visit to the Bogorodica church (with the nuns' embroidery workshop) and after an easy walk through the canyon to a XIV century Byzantine church St Andrea, where we'll take a boat along the river to one of the caves in the rocks of the canyon. Lunch in a restaurant built in the rocks over the lake Matka, and continue to Mavrovo National Park (116km). Free afternoon for walks by Mavrovo Lake, or to rent a bike from your hotel and take a ride along the lake and the villages nearby. Dinner and overnight in hotel (mountain lodge) in Mavrovo. (B,L,D)

Transfer to village Galicnik (19km). After a short sightseeing walk around this village with authentic mountain architecture, you may choose to take a ride on their trained mountain horses and after have a traditional village lunch in the restaurant, or to take an easy walk through the woods of NP Mavrovo to village of Jance and have lunch in a restaurant in Jance overlooking river Radika valley. Afternoon drive to village of Vevcani near Ohrid Lake (80km). Free afternoon for walks around the village and to the springs nearby. Dinner in Kutmicevica guesthouse/restaurant and overnight in traditional guesthouse in Vevcani. (B,L,D)

Morning drive to Ohrid for a sightseeing walk in the old town (27km). Ohrid and Ohrid Lake are UNESCO World Heritage protected for their great cultural heritage and the lake for being the oldest lake in Europe with many endemic species of sponges, flora and fauna. Ohrid is also the birthplace of the Cyrillic script. Drive to the neolithic settlement on water in the Bay of Bones, and to a fishermen village for authentic lunch (Ohrid trout). Afternoon visit to the monastery complex near the albanian border St Naum where we'll take a boat ride in the crystal clear lagoon of the springs of river Drim.

Drive back to Ohrid (30km + 30km). Free evening to explore the old town. Overnight in Ohrid. (B,L)

Drive to National Park Galicica (20km) where we start trekking through the woods to the village of Elsani; from here we take a donkey ride inside the National Park to a beautiful old village with typical houses made of stones and mud, and back to the village for traditional lunch made by the local women. Afternoon free to swim on one of the many Ohrid beaches. Dinner in a restaurant by the lake built in the rocks below St Kaneo. Overnight in same hotel in Ohrid. (B,L,D)

Drive to Bitola (69km) for a visit of the old town with neoclassical 19th century architecture, and to the archeological site Heraclea, the ancient city of Philip II – father of Alexander the Great. From here continue to a small village at the foothills of Mt Pelister (7km) where you can experience real rural life of Macedonia over traditional cooking classes: learn how to use Macedonian traditional herbs and spices and make your lunch. Afternoon visit the local ethno museum in village Krklino.  Free evening to join the evening promenade on Sirok Sokak (old town of Bitola). Dinner in pizzeria in Bitola. Overnight in Bitola. (B,L with cooking classes, D)

Transfer to Demir Kapija. (128km). We'll make a brief visit on our way in Prilep for a short walk in the old bazaar with the leaning clock tower and the monument of great Macedonian story teller Itar Peyo. In Demir Kapija we accommodate in a camping in the woods next to the town where we'll have a picnic lunch and our certified guide will hold the "Leave No Traces" course – the 7 principles how to protect our nature and leave no traces when we stay there. Dinner will be in a local  restaurant in Demir Kapija. Overnight in tents. (B,L,D)

Today we have classes of rock climbing in the most famous rock-climbing area (the Iron Gate). Our guide is a professional rock climber, a member of UIAA Youth board with over 30 years of experience in rock climbing and organizing Youth climbing camps and festivals all over the world.  After a picnic lunch, afternoon is free for walks by the river nearby, or you can book your intro lesson in Zumba dances with our local instructor. Dinner with winetasting and overnight in the winery chateau in Demir Kapija. (B,L,D)

Transfer to Skopje Airport for flight home (90km).

DAY 10: Meet the rural side of Macedonia and the genuine hospitality of the people who live far from the busy Capital. Breath the fresh air coming from the surrounding mountains in the little river valley; you can pick up some eggs from the roost next-door for your breakfast, or, you can mess with our LA Soy expert in your "make-100%-natural cosmetics" course.

DAY 11: Wake up with the smell of freshly baked breakfast and coffee, and join the breakfast table in the beautiful garden of your household. Learn and taste the nature: what is lemon balm, mint, rosemary, chamomile, St Johns wort, marigold, thyme and basil, and how to use it in your kitchen, what are their medical benefits, how to make aromatic wines and liqueurs. Make-your-own-lunch with the locals: the tasty Balkan “Gibanitza”, but in the original way: with hand-made dough layers. And enjoy it with pure homemade yoghurt.

DAY 12: Transfer to Skopje airport for your flight home.