The Balkans spans seven countries and dozens of distinct destinations — from Croatia’s Dalmatian coast to Albania’s Ottoman hill towns and Bosnia’s Ottoman-era bridges. Joining a guided tour is often the most practical way to reach national parks, cross borders for day trips, or get proper context for UNESCO-listed old towns.
All tours below are bookable through GetYourGuide with verified reviews and, in most cases, free cancellation.
1. Croatia — Dubrovnik: Old Town Walking Tour
Dubrovnik: Old Town Walking Tour with Local Guide (from $20 per person)
Dubrovnik’s walled old city is one of the best-preserved medieval ports in the Mediterranean. The walking tour covers the Stradun — the main limestone thoroughfare — alongside the Rector’s Palace, the Church of St Blaise, the Franciscan Monastery with its 14th-century pharmacy (one of the oldest in Europe), and Luža Square. Licensed local guides add the city’s maritime history and its complicated modern history through the 1991–92 siege.
Tours run 90 minutes to 2 hours. For the complete picture, the Dubrovnik: Old Town and City Walls Guided Tours Combo combines the old town walk with the 2 km circuit along the city walls — the most dramatic viewpoint in the city and worth the extra hour.
Duration: 1.5–2 hours | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Licensed guide; entry tickets not included (Stradun itself is free to walk)
Book the earliest morning tour to avoid cruise-ship crowds — by 10am the Stradun is significantly busier.
2. Croatia — Plitvice Lakes: Guided Day Trip from Split
From Split: Plitvice Lakes Fully-Guided Day Tour (from $75 per person)
Plitvice Lakes National Park is Croatia’s most visited natural site — a UNESCO World Heritage Site of 16 stepped travertine lakes connected by waterfalls, set in karst forest 140 km northeast of Split. Day tours run from Split, Zadar and Zagreb, making it accessible from multiple Dalmatian bases.
The guided route covers the Upper and Lower Lakes on wooden boardwalks built directly over the water, with an electric boat crossing Lake Kozjak included. The tour includes park entry tickets, which are otherwise timed and require advance booking independently in high season.
The From Zagreb: Plitvice Lakes Full-Day Tour is the better option if you’re routing through the Croatian capital.
Duration: 12 hours from Split (including transport) | Difficulty: Easy–Moderate
Includes: Transport, entry tickets, electric boat, guide
Plitvice is busiest between June and September — the guided tour ensures timed entry. Autumn visits (October–November) offer fewer crowds and dramatic foliage.
3. Montenegro — Bay of Kotor: Cruise with Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks
Montenegro Day Trip and Kotor Bay Short Boat Cruise (from $65 per person)
The Bay of Kotor is an inland sea — a drowned river canyon 28 km deep, ringed by limestone mountains and medieval Venetian towns. The cruise covers the full bay, stopping at Perast — a baroque one-street town of 17th-century sea-captains’ palaces — and the island of Our Lady of the Rocks, a man-made islet built from ships’ ballast and sunken rocks over centuries, topped by a 17th-century votive church.
The From Dubrovnik: Montenegro Boat Tour from Perast to Kotor combines a drive from Dubrovnik with a one-way boat from Perast to Kotor, covering the bay from the water in the most scenic direction.
Duration: 4 hours (cruise section); full day with Dubrovnik departure | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Boat, guide; island entry approximately €2 extra
Summer departure slots go fast — book this tour 7–10 days ahead in July and August.
4. Bosnia & Herzegovina — Mostar and Herzegovina from Sarajevo
Sarajevo: Mostar, Konjic, Blagaj, Pocitelj and Kravica Falls (from $70 per person)
Mostar’s rebuilt Ottoman bridge — the Stari Most — is the iconic image of Bosnia’s recovery after the 1990s war, and the town’s old bazaar, Islamic architecture and multicultural street life make it the most compelling city in Herzegovina. This tour from Sarajevo covers the full region, adding the canyon town of Konjic, the dervish tekke at Blagaj (a 16th-century Sufi monastery built into a cliff at the source of the Buna river), the hilltop fortress of Počitelj, and Kravica waterfall — a 25 m horseshoe falls on the Trebižat river.
The From Sarajevo: Mostar and Cities of Herzegovina Day Tour is the simpler variant if you want to focus on Mostar itself rather than the full Herzegovina circuit.
Duration: 12 hours | Difficulty: Easy
Includes: Transport, guide, hotel pickup from Sarajevo
The road from Sarajevo to Mostar through the Neretva canyon is itself worth the trip — one of the most dramatic drives in the Balkans.
5. Albania — Berat: Historic City and Castle Walking Tour
Berat: Historic City Walking Tour (from $20 per person)
Berat is one of two UNESCO-listed cities in Albania (alongside Gjirokaster) and one of the most architecturally intact Ottoman towns in the Balkans. The castle — still inhabited, one of the few in Europe where people live inside the citadel walls — overlooks three distinct historic neighbourhoods: Mangalem (Muslim), Gorica (Christian) and the upper quarter within the castle itself.
The walking tour covers the castle complex, the Onufri Museum (housing 16th-century Byzantine icons by the Albanian master painter), and the characteristic Ottoman houses with their rows of arched windows — the city’s “thousand windows” that gave Berat its poetic name.
For a full-day tour from Tirana or the coast, the Berat City Tour and Castle Visit from Durrës/Golem includes transport from the Albanian Riviera or airport area.
Duration: 3–4 hours (walking tour); full day from Durrës | Difficulty: Moderate (uphill castle access)
Includes: Licensed guide; museum entry approximately €3 extra
Berat is 120 km south of Tirana and works as a day trip or an overnight stop on a southern Albania route.
How to Choose
| Tour | Duration | Best for | From Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubrovnik Old Town Walk | 1.5–2 hours | Medieval history, city context | From $20 |
| Plitvice Lakes Day Trip | 12 hours | UNESCO natural landscapes, Croatia | From $75 |
| Bay of Kotor Cruise | 4+ hours | Coastal scenery, Montenegro | From $65 |
| Mostar and Herzegovina | 12 hours | Ottoman culture, Bosnia | From $70 |
| Berat Castle Tour | 3–4 hours | UNESCO old town, Albania | From $20 |
Prices are per person, in USD, as of 2026. All tours offer free cancellation; check individual listings for specific cancellation windows. Browse all Balkans tours on GetYourGuide.