- Hotel to hotel
- 2 Nights
- Max 70 km per day
- Moderate
- 2 days cycling
- May to October
Overview
Three days to experience three very different architectural styles, cuisines, lifestyle… Starting from Krushevo, the open museum town with lovely colorful houses and important historic monuments from the end of the Ottoman Era, to Bitola, the former city of embassies and consulates with nice, romantic neoclassical buildings, squares and fountains, to the fishing cottages in Prespa Lake… When in Krushevo… don’t miss their famous sausages, melted cheese, and lokum (sweet oriental deli). Try to get in Bitola by late afternoon so you can join the evening promenade on Shirok Sokak walkway – the place to see and to be seen. (also to have a dinner, or a drink)… Prespa Lake is the breeding place of many birds, partly because of the abundance of fish in the lake. The choice for dinner is wide here: from Prespa carp to traditional sun-dried Cironki fishes.
ITINERARY:
Day 1: Krushevo – Bitola
Day 2: Bitola – Oteshevo (Prespa Lake)
Day 3: Oteshevo (Prespa lake)
Highlights
- Krushevo is the highest town in the Balkans, known as the center of the most important battles in the Macedonian history, but also for the rich Vlach traditions and art crafts, and for the mouthwatering dishes. Must see in Krushevo:
- The Makedonium monument
- Monastery of the Holy Ascension (Sveto Preobrazenie)
- Mechkin Kamen monument
- The house of Nikola Martinovski, one of the best Macedonian painters.
- Remains of the ancient city Stibera.
- French Military Graveyards from WW1
- Bitola is the former city of consulates and embassies, today one of the most beautiful cities in Macedonia which managed to maintain its 18th and 19th century neoclassical architecture and monuments. While in Bitola, don’t miss:
- Shirok Sokak
- The Old Bazaar
- Heraclea Lyncestis
- Museum of Bitola
- The Ethno museum in village Podmochani, with impressive collection of over 2000 exhibits.
- Birdwatching in Prespa Lake
Difficulty Grading
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MODERATE
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up to 75km / 46mi
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hilly terrain with moderate uphills
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Regular cyclists, who are used to longer rides and are happy to take an uphill, or two along the way
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Map
ITINERARY
DAY:1
Ride from Krushevo to Bitola will take down Bushava Mountain, and across the waste fields of Pelagonia plane. Or, if we consider the different nationalities and cultures in Macedonia, this would be the ride between the Vlach community (Krushevo) and Macedonian community (Bitola). Historically, you will be riding through the land of kings: King Marco (12th century) built his walls and towers on the hills above Prilep; Tsar Samoil (10th century) died here from heart attack when he saw his defeated army coming back from Constatinopole; Perseus (2nd century BC) fought for the city of Stibera here, before he surrendered to the Romans…
Once you arrive Bitola, another 4km cycling will take you to Heraclea Lyncestis, the ancient city built by Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great. Back in Bitola, only few minutes walk from your hotel is the old town: Shirok Sokak pedestrian walkway lined with colorful neoclassical buildings, the Ottoman-era bazaar, the clock tower...
Cycling: 5h ( 62km, ascent 171m, descent 813m)
DAY:2
As you leave urban Bitola, you enter the old local road that used to connect Bitola with Prespa Lake in the times of Yugoslavia. Today it is rarely used, as it hasn’t been maintained since the opening of the new motorway from Bitola to Prespa, and it is still covered with cobblestone in parts. One part of this road is on the ancient route of the Roman road Via Egnatia, built over old Candavian Road some 2.200 years ago.
You will know that you are close to Lake Prespa when you notice the apple orchards around you. It is the region that supplies all of the Balkans with apples.
Unlike Ohrid Lake, Prespa Lake has only few commercial beaches (one of them by hotel Lakeview), as most of the coast is covered with reed – this lake is the refugee for many rare bird species. Some of them are threatened with extinction worldwide, such as the Dalmatian Pelican and the Pygmy Cormorant. They still breed here in large numbers and benefit from the extraordinary wealth of fish in the lake.
Cycling: 6h (50 km, ascent 752 m, descent 503 m)
DAY:3
Explore Prespa coast before you head home: you can relax on the beach at your hotel, you can cycle to the beach at village Stenje (6km), or, call us to arrange a boat to the big island in Prespa Lake. They call it “the Snake island” - it is home of few types of snakes, cormorants, turtles, rabbits… You will also find here the ruins from ancient Roman and Byzantine era.
When To Go
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Possible
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01 May – 31 May and 15 October to 01 November
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Recommended
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01 June– 14 October
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Not available
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All other dates
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Price
299€ / per person
Price is valid for min 2 participants
INCLUDED IN PRICE
- Accommodation based on 2 participants sharing double room
- Luggage transfers
- Detailed cycling route descriptions and maps
- Local safety information and contacts
- Stand-by support (cell phone and contact person)
- Organization and logistic by Macedonia Travel
NOT INCLUDED IN PRICE
OPTIONS & SUPPLEMENTS:
- Supplement for single room accommodation: 42€
- Supplement for half board instead of standard bed & breakfast accommodation (2 dinners):
28€ / per person. Vegetarian and vegan meals available on request - Private arrival / departure transfers available upon request
- Extra night in Skopje
3* hotel: from 26 € / per person sharing double room; Single supplement from 15 €
4* hotel: from 40 € / per person sharing double room; Single supplement from 20 € - Extra night in Krushevo
Guesthouse (private room): from 20 € /per person sharing double room; Single supplement 20 €
4* hotel: from 35 € / per person / sharing double room; Single supplement: 20 €
- Extra night in Prespa
family hotel: from 23 € /per person sharing double room; Single supplement: 15 €
- Rent of bike: from 21 € /per day
- Rent of Global Positioning System (GPS) console: 45 €
Accommodation
Small, family run hotels in Bitola and in Prespa.
* Upgrade is available on all our tours, please contact our agents.
Arrival & Departure
The original tour starts in Krushevo, and ends in Oteshevo. If you are not located in Krushevo, please contact our agents to arrange your transfer to Krushevo, and / or from Oteshevo.
If you are in Skopje, to get to Krushevo it will cost you ca 9 € by bus, and app. 150 € if you prefer car transport.
There is no intercity bus service from Oteshevo, but we can arrange a transfer from the hotel to Resen (17km). Few bus companies operate from Resen to Skopje daily.
Please contact our agents for further information regarding transport and transfers.
Available on request
Why Travel With Us?
LOCAL EXPERTS
Since 2004 we create authentic, high quality tours in the Balkans. North Macedonia is our homeland, we have walked and biked every corner of the country and we make sure that the balance between the activities, the "must see" attractions and the "off-the-beaten-track" experiences gives you the true Balkan - intense, hearth warming and often life changing experience.
SAFETY
* Strict company risk management on each tour that we operate available
* 24/7 for anything from enquiries to emergencies
* Macedonia Travel has liability insurance by Winner - Vienna Group
* "A" licensed by the Ministery of Economy of North Macedonia UP 113-101
* IATA license No. 76-3 2058
FLEXIBLE BOOKINGS
* Change your travel plans up to 30 days before departure, with no fees.
*After you pay the deposit, the rest of the amount can be paid any time until 30 days before departure
