Choose a restaurant for a Dine-Around evening in Dubrovnik from a selection offered on tour. Rather than sharing one fixed group menu, enjoy the chance to select a setting and meal that suit your tastes.

Dining here is an opportunity to experience the city’s atmosphere beyond its sightseeing landmarks. The choice of restaurants makes this included evening a more personal food experience, whether you prefer a lively table or a quieter place to linger over conversation.

• 9 Dinner (D)
• 15 Breakfast (B)

• Bran: Learn about the story of the infamous Count Dracula during a private after-hours visit to Bran Castle, following a traditional dinner.

• Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Insight Vacations

Meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers over dinner at a local restaurant in Bucharest. This hosted gathering offers an introduction to the people who will share your journey through the Balkans.

Settle into the Romanian capital over conversation and a meal, with a chance to ask questions and get to know the group. It is a sociable start rather than a formal sightseeing activity.

Explore Bucharest with a Local Expert, viewing University Square and the former Communist headquarters before entering the Palace of Parliament. Walk its vast halls and hear stories that put the building’s scale into human context.

Commissioned under Nicolae Ceau?escu, the palace is a monumental reminder of Romania’s Communist era. The contrast between its lavish interiors and the city’s public squares offers a compelling introduction to Bucharest’s recent history.

Enter Bran Castle on a private after-hours visit, when the daytime crowds have gone. Explore the fortress’s rooms, hear tales associated with Count Dracula and learn about Queen Marie of Romania, who made the castle a royal residence.

A private dinner at Queen Marie’s Tea House adds a distinctive setting to the experience. Perched above the Transylvanian landscape, Bran Castle has a history beyond its literary fame, spanning medieval defence and 20th-century royal life.

Climb to Tsarevets Fortress with a Local Expert and explore the ruined citadel above Veliko Tarnovo. From the hilltop, take in views across the town’s steep slopes and the winding Yantra River.

Tsarevets was the fortified heart of the medieval Bulgarian capital during the Second Bulgarian Empire. Its surviving walls and commanding position make the city’s former political importance tangible, while the panorama reveals why this hill was chosen for defence.

Visit a 17th-century merchant’s house in Arbanasi and step inside the Church of the Holy Nativity. Together, the fortified home and frescoed church offer a glimpse of village life, wealth and faith.

Arbanasi’s historic buildings reflect a prosperous trading community. In the church, painted biblical scenes cover the interior, while its intimate space offers the acoustics highlighted during the visit. The experience brings Bulgaria’s domestic and spiritual heritage into close view.

Discover Sofia with a Local Expert, seeing St. Sofia Church, the golden domes of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the archaeological complex around the Church of St. George Rotunda.

These landmarks reveal layers of the Bulgarian capital in a remarkably small area. The early Christian rotunda, later churches and grand cathedral each belong to a different chapter of the city’s history, making this sightseeing experience an introduction to Sofia’s enduring crossroads of cultures.

Explore Skopje with a Local Expert, taking in Macedonia Square and the Stone Bridge before walking through the Old Bazaar. The route brings the North Macedonian capital’s monumental centre and traditional trading quarter into view.

The bridge spans the Vardar River and links parts of the city with different architectural characters. In the bazaar, narrow lanes and longstanding commercial traditions retain a strong sense of Skopje’s Ottoman-era heritage.

Pause beside Lake Mavrovo to take in the mountain scenery of western North Macedonia. This named lakeside stop offers time to look across the water and appreciate a landscape very different from the region’s capital cities.

Set within the Mavrovo area, the lake is framed by wooded slopes and highland terrain. Its broad views make the stop a quiet scenic experience, with the changing light and mountain backdrop providing a natural subject for photographs.

See Tirana through a local resident’s eyes on a walk centred on Skanderbeg Square. Hear what daily life is like in Albania’s capital while exploring its principal public space.

Named for the country’s national hero, the square sits amid buildings that reflect different periods of Tirana’s history. The resident’s perspective gives the visit a personal dimension, connecting the city’s changing appearance with the experiences of people who live there today.

Explore Budva’s Stari Grad, the coastal Old Town enclosed by historic ramparts. Wander its narrow lanes and small squares at your own pace, with places to pause and watch life unfold in this Montenegrin seaside town.

The old quarter’s stone streets and defensive walls offer a quieter counterpoint to Budva’s modern resort atmosphere. This is a self-paced visit rather than a guided tour, allowing you to choose which corners of the compact historic centre to explore.

Visit Kotor’s Stari Grad, a walled Old Town beside the Bay of Kotor. Explore its stone-built setting, where narrow streets and historic squares sit beneath steep limestone mountains.

Kotor’s preserved architecture and dramatic position form part of the UNESCO-listed Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor. The meeting of maritime heritage, fortifications and mountain scenery gives the town a character distinct from the Adriatic’s more open coastal settlements.

Walk Dubrovnik’s stone-paved Old Town with a Local Expert, seeing Onofrio’s Fountain, the Rector’s Palace and the city’s defensive walls. The sightseeing also takes in its historic monasteries and the streets within the bastions.

Once the centre of the maritime Republic of Ragusa, this UNESCO-listed quarter preserves a remarkable ensemble of civic and religious buildings. Limestone paving, enclosed lanes and glimpses towards the harbour convey how closely the city’s public life and seafaring history are connected.

Explore Mostar with a Local Expert and visit Stari Most, the stone arch spanning the Neretva River. Walk the Old Town’s cobbled streets, where shops display traditional handicrafts.

Originally built in the 16th century, the Ottoman-era bridge was destroyed during the 1990s conflict and painstakingly reconstructed. Its return made it a powerful symbol of the city’s resilience. The surrounding lanes place that history within Mostar’s living craft and trading traditions.

Share dinner and drinks in a Sarajevan family home, enjoying local dishes and warm hospitality in a personal setting. Listen to your hosts’ stories about their culture and life in the city.

This hosted meal offers a perspective that monuments alone cannot provide. Conversation around the table connects Sarajevo’s culinary traditions with the people who sustain them, making the evening both a cultural exchange and an opportunity to support meaningful local connections.

Visit Sarajevo’s Tunnel of Hope with a Bosnian War expert as one of two included Insight Choice experiences. Learn how the tunnel helped connect the besieged city with the outside world during the 44-month siege.

The site gives physical scale to a defining chapter of Sarajevo’s recent history. Expert interpretation helps explain the ingenuity and hardship involved, making this a thoughtful choice for travellers who want to engage closely with the city’s wartime experience.

Walk to the spring of the Bosna River with a conservation guide as one of two included Insight Choice experiences. Explore the protected park beyond Sarajevo while learning about its landscape and natural value.

Known as Vrelo Bosne, this green space offers paths, water and a calmer setting near the capital. The guided visit supports conservation awareness and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land, giving the walk a purpose beyond its scenery.

Discover Belgrade with a Local Expert, seeing Terazije Street, the National Museum and National Theatre at Republic Square. Visit St. Sava Church and explore Kalemegdan Fortress.

The fortress overlooks the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, a position that has shaped Belgrade’s strategic history for centuries. From its river views to the scale of St. Sava, the tour reveals both the Serbian capital’s historic layers and its prominent civic landmarks.

Enjoy dinner accompanied by a folklore dancing display during an optional evening experience in Sofia. The combination of food and performance offers an introduction to Bulgarian traditions in a sociable setting.

Watch dancers bring regional folk culture to life through movement and music while you dine. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, making it a choice for travellers who would like an organised cultural evening in the capital.

Explore Cavtat’s Adriatic waterfront on an optional excursion from Dubrovnik. Wander pine-fringed paths beside the clear sea and visit a local winery for a closer look at the area’s wine culture.

Cavtat offers a smaller-scale coastal setting than Dubrovnik’s fortified Old Town, with space to enjoy the shoreline at an easy pace. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; winery visit details may be confirmed with your Travel Director.

Visit Pele? Castle in the mountain resort of Sinaia and admire rooms filled with art, armour and tapestries. Built as a summer residence for Romania’s royal family, its richly furnished interiors reveal the tastes of the court.

The castle stands at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains, where its steep roofs and elaborate woodwork create a striking contrast with the surrounding forest. Its collections offer a close look at the craftsmanship and ceremony of royal life.

Walk through Bra?ov with a Local Expert, taking in Town Hall Square and its red-roofed buildings beneath the imposing Black Church. The compact historic centre invites a closer look at the streets and facades of this Transylvanian city.

Founded in the early 13th century, Bra?ov grew into an important trading centre. Its fortified heritage and Gothic church speak to centuries of commerce and community life in the Carpathians.

• Business class coach with extended leg room
• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• 4 & 5-star stays