From Sofia: Serbia and Macedonia Guided Tour
Description
An English-speaking guide will pick you up from the meeting point in Sofia at 9:00AM and, after about a 2-hours drive with various landscapes to admire along the way, you will reach the Serbian border. After crossing the border you will go the nearby town of Bosilegrad (the former Yugoslavia's main state) before you cross back over the border with Bulgaria and head for Northern Macedonia. After another short drive, you will arrive at the beautiful Monastery of Osogovo – an incredibly powerful place in the hills from the 12th Century, which was later turned into a mosque by the Ottomans, and then again converted into a church. This place is very scenic and peaceful - take time to go for a walk around the area. Afterwards, you will have lunch in a nice restaurant with good Macedonian grill (meat or fish) and Skopsko beer, of course. Please note that the total driving time is around 5 hours.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Former Yugoslavia main state
An incredibly powerful place in the hills from the 12th century, turned into a mosque by the Ottomans and again into church. The place is very scenic and very peaceful for a walk after a few hours on the road.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(10)
Had amazing day! Super insightful and was able to see two new countries! Would highly recommend to anyone traveling to Sofia!!!
This tour is not to major cities in Serbia or North Macedonia. In fact, they're not cities at all, but small villages. Most of the tour will be spent in the car getting to the locations. Border crossings we're kind of a pain, but not too bad. We enjoyed our tour guide, and he was very knowledgeable on the areas we visited. The views from both stops were really beautiful. The Monastery in NM was one of the most unique ones I have ever seen. It was nice to visit two additional countries during our vacation in Sofia. If you're looking for an exciting tour in big cities, this one isn't for you. If you're ok with small towns with incredible views, then I recommend this tour. Wear comfortable clothes and good walking shoes because there are a lot of stairs.
Travelers should know not to reserve on a Sunday this tour. The 1st town was everything close. We couldn't even buy water. There was not a store to buy any souvenirs not even a magnet. No water, I wanted to cry. The tour is a totally fiasco. Then the 2nd Macedonia again everything was close. The Monastery was not worthy visiting. Again I was extremely frustrated that my day was totally ruin. I definitely asking for a refund. It's not worth it to have a private guide when we are the one trying to get all of the info from guide person. Inside the car was extremely hot. The driver although he was nice, not very attentive for a private tour. All he keep saying... you should of not pick up this tour.... Now I know better. Viator has always been one of my favorite travel agency., but they must be very careful who the associate with.
Dear Brenda, we thank you for you message. In order to cut the long story short: unfortunately you have booked a wrong tour and were expecting a day tour to Belgrade and Skopje (1100 km and over 12 hours drive). Such tour does not exist and yes, shops are usually closed on Sundays so bringing a bottle of water is always useful.
Great short day trip to Serbia and North Macedonia. Our guide Stefan was incredible, lots of stories from Communist Bulgaria towards Democracy. The monastery of Joaquim Osgava is incredible and the lunch is not to be missed.
Amazing day trip. Smooth ride. Knowledgeable guide. Very patient with my family, including 2 young kids. You get to visit 2 countries in this trip. Border crossings very smooth (don’t forget your passports). Overall, great day. This is a must do while in Sofia.
This was a highlight of our time in Bulgaria, in fact probably the highlight. The trip was wonderful, taking in a mainly Bulgarian town (Bosilegrad) in a remote mountainous part of Serbia, and the Osogovski monastery in North Macedonia. We enjoyed our time with our knowledgeable and friendly tour guide and driver Georgi, who went out of his way to accommodate us. The price seemed a little high when I booked, but it was certainly worth it as just about everything in the trip was included. We also enjoyed a lovely coffee shop in Bosilegrad and a fantastic restaurant just outside the town of Kriva Palanka (close to the monastery), although usually the lunch is at the monastery (it was closed the day we went, but we loved the alternative venue). Even the border crossings add a sense of uncertainty and adventure to the trip. Based on this experience I would certainly book another tour with V Travel.
The trip is scenic through forests and mountainous areas. The guide did an excellent job driving and handling the border crossings. The highlights are visiting two countries in one day and the fantastic lunch in a beautiful setting in North Macedonia.
Our transport was prompt and comfortable and Stefan was an excellent guide and driver. Our trip into a Serbian village was very different and we suspected we were probably some of the first tourists there. Lovely countryside all the time and the border checks went smoothly with Stefan's help. Osgovo monastery is a treasure and the locally caught trout and salad at lunch were delicious. It is a lot of time in a vehicle but we didnt mind that and highly recommend the trip. Stefan also recommended a very good restaurant that we visited the next day.
