BEST OF THE
WESTERN BALKANS

Reservations and payment
Please fill in the Reservation Form with all details needed and send it to office@lyuba.tours or stefan@lyuba.tours. A deposit at the amount of EUR 500 per person is required to assure your place on the tour. The final payment to be made no later than January 27, 2025. For all payments invoices with all banking details of Lyuba Tours 2007 will be sent. Payments by bank wire accepted after receiving the invoice.

Flights
We do not arrange flights. You are responsible for booking your flight ticket. We can always help you with an advice on that.

Tour information
On receipt of deposit, Lyuba Tours 2007 will send a confirmation of space by an e-mail. Updates will be sent from time to time. After final payment is received, study material and a letter will be sent with informationregarding luggage allowance, weather, packing, and money. About 30 days prior to departure, we will send final documents via e-mail. They will consist of hotel and rooming lists, emergency numbers and any last-minute notes. All tour members must meet payment and document submittal deadlines to insure timely processing of tour material. Upon arrival in Bulgaria, Stefan will provide maps of countries, alphabet, short dictionary list and other useful materials.

Customs and entry requirements
A passport with validity at least through 30 November 2025 is required. No visas are required for U.S. citizens traveling to Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Croatia or Albania for fewer than 90 days. In the section for visas/entries and departures your passport should have space for entry and exit stamps (excluding those marked amendments.) If passport needs to be renewed or pages need to be added, please use their Expedited Service and overnight mail for processing (this takes about two weeks). If not a U.S. citizen, passenger is responsible for obtaining whatever documentation is necessary for entry into countries to be visited. Regulations are subject to change, and we will try to inform you of the latest changes.

Travel insurance
We strongly advise to have a travel insurance for the trip. Situations may arise, voluntarily or involuntarily, in which the traveler cancels. Traveler is advised that insurance is available covering trip cancellation, lost or damaged baggage, medical needs, and certain travel-related accidents. We highly recommend trip-cancellation insurance. Most insurance companies now have a clause which invalidates the insurance if there is a “pre-existing condition.” If you have such a medical problem yourself, or a situation in the family, which could very well cause you to cancel (such as an ill elderly parent), please consider taking the insurance soon after making your deposit. The insurance companies now offer to drop the “pre-existing exclusion” when insurance for the full non-refundable cost of the trip is purchased within 21 days of the initial trip deposit if purchasing Worldwide Trip Protector.

Group size and composition
Small groups make difference! Our groups will consist of no more than 12 tour members plus the lead guide. This will allow us to be more flexible and explore the countries off the beaten track. The tour cost is based on minimum of 6 participants. On the trip status date of 20 January 2025 (or before if the trip is confirmed a go), all the participants with paid tour costs will be contacted by Lyuba Tours.

This special tour will be mostly composed of Lyuba Tours or Rick Steves’ Europe tour alumni. You will enjoy traveling together with like-minded folks with hearts open to the big beautiful world and its peoples!

Ground transportation
We will travel throughout Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania in comfortable, air-conditioned private minibus or smaller vehicle with smaller group. Smoking is NOT permitted on the vehicles. Seating will be rotated.

Health regulations
No inoculations are required. Please see the CDC’s website for recommendations: www.cdc.gov or call 1-800-CDC INFO. We suggest you check with your doctor for medical advice regarding the trip and your health. It is also suggested you discuss updating your tetanus and diphtheria booster.

Health considerations
To get the most out of a tour, a traveler should be in good physical and mental health, able and willing to walk, climb steps, and participate in group events. This trip requires moderate walking, sometimes over uneven or cobbled streets or paths. If assistance is needed, a participant should travel with a companion. You must also be able to carry your own hand luggage, so please go light! Any physical or mental disability requiring special help or assistance must be noted in writing on the reservation form. Lyuba Tours 2007 reserves the right not to accept or retain as a tour passenger any person whose condition or general deportment impedes the operation of the tour or affects the rights, welfare, or enjoyment of other passengers. A refund for unused tour services is the limit of Lyuba Tours 2007’s liability if such person is required to leave the tour.

Opportunities for adventure
This tour is designed for those interested in learning about the history, culture, and natural areas of Bulgaria, Macedonia Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania. This is a moderately active program (soft adventure). Since some of the travel will be in remote areas, travel participants need to be flexible concerning time schedules, food and weather. Roads may be bumpy. Don’t expect to find things exactly as they are at home! If that were the case, why travel? Occasionally, we may experience delays, alterations in the plans, some discomforts and inconveniences. But we will also experience a different culture and our minds and souls will be expanded! A spirit of adventure and tolerance is absolutely fundamental to participation in any of our tours.

Wandering Policy
We encourage everyone to partake in all the sightseeing and special activities. We’ve spent months researching and preparing a full and exciting program. However, if you would like to venture out on your own, or take personal time for rest or shopping, you may do so. This is your trip! We only ask that you alert our group leader and guide when you will be separating and rejoining the group. Please take extra security precautions with your belongings.

Changes in itinerary
Every effort will be made to operate this tour in accordance with the itinerary shown, including all activities as advertised. Museums and features are subject to scheduling. Occasionally, changes are made to improve an itinerary or enhance a certain feature. Unforeseen local conditions beyond our control may prevent the completion of an itinerary or require alterations in an itinerary. These local conditions can include inclement weather, seasonal variations in climate, changes in airline schedules and equipment, government appropriation of hotel space, and other events beyond our control that would jeopardize the traveler’s comfort, safety, health, or enjoyment. In these cases, the right is reserved to substitute hotels, and to alter the itinerary for the comfort and safety of the travelers. The right is also reserved to cancel the tour prior to departure.

Cancellations and refunds
Should Lyuba Tours 2007 cancel a departure for the reason of insufficient number of participants to operate the tour with no increase in cost, a full refund of all monies paid will be made.

On the participant’s part, cancellation or change of date will result in a per person cancellation fee of EUR 500, irrespective of reason up until 20 January 2025. Thereafter, the cancellation fee will be at the amount of the tour cost paid. Should your cancellation cause the number of participants to fall below the required number to operate the trip, and a replacement not be found, the full portion of the trip will be forfeited. If a person requests a room share to avoid the single supplement and then cancels after final payment is made and a roommate assigned, then the person canceling forfeits the single supplement if a share cannot be found.

Should a person cancel a trip voluntarily, if payment was made by a bank wire, the amount of bank wire expense charged to Lyuba Tours 2007 will be deducted from the refund amount.

Once the tour begins, no refund may be claimed for all or any part of the tour fee. Unused or changed hotel accommodations, transportation, or other services or features of the tour are neither refundable nor exchangeable. Cancellations will only be accepted via an e-mail.

What clothes should we pack? What will the weather be like?
Weather will be pleasant: this is the best time to travel the region, not too warm, not too cold. Rain and sudden drops in temperatures are still possible, though. Make sure you dress in layers, with a water and wind proof outer layer, and good sturdy walking shoes.

What is the difference between your Wild Balkans and your Western Balkans tour?
The Best of the Wild Balkans, and the Best of the Western Balkans tours are both similar and different from each other. 
The Wild Balkans is a tribute to the wild, spontaneous explorations we used to do years ago with Lyuba to places off the beaten trail; the Western Balkans is a tribute to the cultured, more epicurean trips we made to the region. 
The Wild Balkans is led by Yuri, and it takes place in autumn: when the leaves turn colourful, and the air starts cooling after the long, hot summer.
The Western Balkans is led by Stefan, and it takes place in spring, when everything has just turned green. 
Both tours include Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia.
In addition, the Wild Balkans includes Serbia and a dash through Greece. 
The Western Balkans includes Montenegro and Bulgaria.