Loading Page
11 Day Discover the Balkans - Da'at Educational Expeditions
Israel Tours
TRIP FINDER >>  
Click to search...
Israel Tours Eastern Europe Tours Spain Tours Morocco Tours Egypt Tours Turkey Tours Greece Tours South America Tours

11-Day Discover the Balkans

Air & Land
$3,989
Land Only
Balkan Tours

Take the time to get to know the Balkans on this tour of historical and cultural riches - Roman, Ottoman, Muslim, Christian and Jewish - that mark this unusual part of the world. Visit modern cities in a country that still retains seemingly untouched physical beauty; where old-style, traditional customs still hold; and with ethnic groups of diverse customs and religious beliefs who live and work together with renewed appreciation for one another.

Program Highlights Need to Know Register Now
 
Tour Highlights
  • Meeting with Jewish community representative
  • Special tour to the Old Dubrovnik Ghetto
  • Home hospitality dinner at a local farm
  • Hike at Plitvice National Park
  • Visit a stalactite and stalagmite caves near Ljubliana

Trip Includes

 

  • 9 nights accommodation using selected hotels
  • 2 nights Sarajevo
  • 2 nights Dubrovnik
  • 1 night Split
  • 1 night Plitvice
  • 2 nights Ljubijana
  • 1 night Zagreb
  • Breakfast daily and 7 dinners
  • Sightseeing per itinerary in a modern air-conditioned motor coach with panoramic windows, reclining seats and footrests
  • Services of friendly and professional English-speaking tour educator/guide throughout trip
  • Entrance fees per itinerary
  • Arrival and Departure airport Transfers
  • All hotel and airport portage and tipping included

Day One:
Wednesday - Departure

 

  • Depart the U.S. on your way to Sarajevo.

Overnight: Flight


Day Two:
Friday- Arrival in Sarajevo

  • Arrive at the Sarajevo Airport.
  • Welcome by Da'at representative; assistance with arrival formalities and transfer to the hotel.
  • Check into your hotel with time to settle in and relax.
  • Walking tour of Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  • Da'at Encounter: Welcome dinner and introduction to the president of the Jewish community, along with other Jewish community members.

Overnight: Sarajevo


Day Three:
Saturday - Sarajevo

  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Morning at leisure.
  • Da'at Encounter: Optional Shabbat morning services and possible kiddush gathering with community members.
  • Afternoon tour of Sarajevo, the capital of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including visits to:
    • 'Bas Carsija,' the Turkish Bazaar located on the main street that runs through the Old City.
    • Husref Bay's Mosque: Financed in 1531 by Gazi Husrev-beg, a local military man, he was also the city's biggest donor and patron responsible for building most of the Old City of Sarajevo. The mosque is one of the world's largest and an important example of Ottoman architecture.
    • The Olympic Stadium: An Architectural example of Sarajevo's shining moment during its socialist Yugoslavian era, when it hosted the 1984 Olympics before civil war destroyed the city.
    • The Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum: Constructed during the three-year siege of Sarajevo, it allowed food and humanitarian aid to reach the besieged city and enabled locals to escape the violence.
  • Dinner at leisure.

Overnight: Sarajevo


Day Four:
Sunday - Sarajevo Jewry and Dubrovnik 

  • Breakfast at your hotel.
  • Check out of the hotel.
  • Visit the Jewish Museum in the Old Synagogue, one of 15 synagogues that were once operational in the city, it dates from 1581 although the building has been rebuilt twice. Also see the Ashkenazi Synagogue which was built in 1902 and is still in use today, as well as the Jewish cemetery that was established in 1630 and is notable for its unusually shaped stones inscribed in Ladino, still spoken by some Jews in Sarajevo.
  • Depart for Dubrovnik, driving through the gorge of the River Neretva to Mostar. View the remains of the Turkish Quarter and the recently reconstructed 16th century single-arch, stone bridge in the city of Mostar.
  • Arrive in Dubrovnik, check into your hotel and enjoy some free time.
  • Dinner on your own at a recommended restaurant.

Overnight: Dubrovnik


Day Five:
Monday - Dubrovnik Old and New

  • Breakfast at your hotel.
  • Walking tour of picturesque Old Dubrovnik with stops at the Gothic-Renaissance Rector's Palace, the Bell Tower clock, Orlando's Column, and the 16th century Sponza Palace.
  • Lunch at leisure.
  • Tour of the Dominican and Franciscan Monasteries. The Dominican, originally built in the 14th century, was restored like so many of Dubrovnik's buildings after the catastrophic 1667 earthquake. The Franciscan Monastery boasts an extensive library with valuable handwritten documents, precious artifacts and ritual objects.
  • Visit Jewish Dubrovnik including Ulica Zudioska or Via del Ghetto, as it was known when first established as a place where Jews could settle within the walls of the city in the early 16th century.
  • Dinner: Home hospitality at a local farm near Dubrovnik; enjoy local food and music.

Overnight: Dubrovnik


Day Six:
Tuesday - Split's Roman Heritage

  • Breakfast at your hotel.
  • Check out of the hotel.
  • Depart Dubrovnik, taking the coastal road and passing a host of simple fishing villages alongside the Adriatic Sea to Split, a city that is thought to be approximately 1,700 years old. 
  • Take a tour of the historic inner city of Split built around The Roman Emperor Diocletian's Palace. Completed in 305 ACE, it is now recognized as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
  • See the remnants of Split's Roman heritage, including its Renaissance and Gothic structures, Jupiter's Temple, the Peristyle and the Cathedral.
  • Dinner at a restaurant in Split.

Overnight: Split                           


Day Seven:
Wednesday - Jewish Split

  • Breakfast at your hotel.
  • Check out of the hotel.
  • Visit the area in the northwestern portion of the city, site of the former ghetto of Split, home to to Jews since the 7th century ACE.
  • Da'at Encounter: Walk the Jewish Passage or Zidovski Prolaz, and head toward what is considered to be the second oldest, continuously operating Sephardic synagogue in the world.
  • Afternoon drive along the modern freeway to Plitvice, part of the mountainous region of Lika.
  • Walking tour of the lower lakes at Plitvice Lakes National Park, famed for its varying hues, from deep greens to greys and blues. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, prized for its beauty and naturally forming travertine; a combination of moss, algae and bacteria working together to create unique deposits of sedimentary rock.
  • Dinner at a restaurant nearby.

Overnight: Plitvice


Day Eight:
Thursday - Postojna Caves and Ljubljana

  • Breakfast at your hotel.
  • Check out of the hotel.
  • Drive along the coast, traveling past the beautiful Kvarner Bay in the northern Adriatic Sea to the popular resort Opatija.
  • Continue north to the Postojna Caves; at 12,781 miles long with about 3.3 miles open to the public, it is the longest cave system in the country and made up of Karst stone formations, layers of soluble bedrock. 
  • Travel to Ljubljana.
  • Walking tour of the old city center of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. See the picturesque, open-air Central Market and the Triple Bridge, the Baroque-styled Town Hall and Robba's Fountain.
  • Check into your hotel.
  • Dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight: Ljubljana


Day Nine:
Friday - Zagreb

  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Check out of the hotel.
  • Drive to Zagreb, the capital and largest city in Croatia, its history dates back to the 1st century ACE when it was a Roman settlement.
  • Da'at Encounter: Joint Distribution Committee meeting and visit to a JDC-run old age home in Zagreb.
  • Tour the Jewish sights of the city, including visits to the Old Synagogue and the newer, three-story community building that regularly hosts community concerts.The building is also home to an art gallery where works by Jewish artists as well as art with Jewish themes are regularly exhibited.
  • Da'at Encounter: Shabbat services and dinner with community members.

Overnight: Zagreb


Day Ten
Saturday - Zagreb

  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Tour the historic, medieval Upper Town, including St. Mark's Church with its brightly colored tile roof; the Baroque grandeur of the Church of St. Catherine; the imposing Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, part of which dates back to the 13th century; the Parliament and Government Palace.
  • Lunch at your leisure.
  • Free time for shopping.
  • Festive farewell dinner.

Overnight: Zagreb


Day Eleven
Sunday - Departure

  • Breakfast at your hotel.
  • Check out of the hotel.
  • Transfer to the airport for flight home. (Airport transfers included. Please allow a minimum of three hours for check in.)
  • Fly home, arriving the same day.
Need to Know
  • Tour prices are per person in U.S. dollars. All hotel accommodations, motor coach transportation, special dinners, sightseeing, admissions, luggage handling and the services of local guides, drivers, and the Expedition Educator are included.
  • Hotel Accommodations: The tour price includes all hotel accommodations, in hotel rooms with private baths. Our standard is to provide the best available hotels while considering value. Although the level of the accommodations may differ slightly from hotel to hotel, we are committed to your comfort. Two-bed rooms are reserved in most hotels. Triples are two-bed rooms with a rollaway cot where available and are not recommended when considering the comfort of those in the room. King-size beds are not available in most hotels; what is considered king-size usually consists of two single beds pushed together and made up separately, but with one headboard. Some two-bed rooms may have two twin - not full- or queen-size - beds.
  • Meals are included as specified in the itinerary.
  • Expedition Educator: All trips are conducted by our Expedition Educators or local guides who remain with the group throughout the tour.
  • Gratuities Included: All gratuities for restaurant and hotel staff.
  • Luggage Responsibility: All tour packages allow one piece of luggage per person and one carry-on bag. Excess luggage will be subject to charge of up to $100 per piece. The Travel Agent and/or Tour Operator shall not be held responsible for any damage to or loss of luggage/personal items. All damage/loss must be reported at time of incident and documented in writing by local authorities for submission to your insurance company.


Not Included


  • Airfare to the tour departure point and from the tour ending point is not included. Airfare may be purchased from us for travel originating in the United States. Please see Flights tab in the right-side toolbar.
  • Personal Expenses: All personal expenses such as: laundry, valet service, cables, telephone calls and postage are not included.
  • Guide and Driver Gratuities:
    • 4 seater - $70  (i.e. 2 pax) - per day
    • 7 seater - $90 (i.e. 3-5 pax) - per day
    • 10 seater - $110 (i.e. 5-7 pax) - per day
    • 10-19 passengers: Guide $10, driver $5 - per participant per day
    • 20 passengers and more: Guide $8, driver $4 - per participant per day 


       

Additional Information


  • Airline Security Measures: In the U.S., you must provide identification in the form of a passport at the time of airport check-in for travel to international destinations. Your passport name must match the name on your tour reservation and airline ticket or you may be denied boarding.
  • If you are traveling from an airport outside the jurisdiction of the U.S, you will need to determine what travel documentation and identification is required for that particular airport.
  • Due to heightened security regulations, certain items such as a metal nail file, pocketknife, cigarette lighter or tweezers, and some liquid, gel, or aerosol items may not be permitted in your carry-on luggage. Please call your airline prior to departure to obtain current information on non-permissible carry-on items and recommended airport check-in times. You may also wish to visit the Transportation Security Administration website at www.tsa.gov to obtain more information on acceptable identity documentation and prohibited luggage items.
  • Holidays and Museum Closures - Museum visits and personal shopping time may be disrupted due to unforeseen circumstances or the many religious, state and local holidays locally observed in the destinations being visited.
  • Photography During Tours: We will occasionally use photographs taken by fellow guests or your trip director for promotional purposes. If you prefer that your photo not be used in any marketing activities, please notify us at the start of your tour.
 
11 Day Discover the Balkans
2010Land OnlyStatus 
Oct 21$3989On Sale
 
Print This Page Send Page to a Friend Request a Catalog
   
Map of
View Map Accommodations Dates & Prices Program The Daat Added Value Daat Flights Reading List Need to Know Peace of Mind