Join the 2019 Fulbright Alumni Service Corps Trip to Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia & Herzegovina!

Take the path untaken in the Balkans by exploring the secluded, yet historical areas of Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Meet with members of the Bosnian Fulbright Association. Participate in the restoration efforts of heritage sites with the award-winning Regional Restoration Camps in Gjirokastra. Meet the local students of Albania and learn their cuisine, culture, and traditional dance. Go back in time and explore the Ottoman-era castles, classical archaeological sites, and Byzantine churches. For breathtaking scenery, enjoy a visit to the lakeside village of Virpazar and participate in workshops in the cobblestone alleys of Sarajevo.

About the trip

Total cost: $2,350 (shared room); single rooms available for an additional $250 (subject to slight change)

Dates: September 14-26, 2019

Travel partner: Cultural Heritage Without Borders

Contact: travel@fulbright.org

Registration

To register for the trip, pay your deposit and submit your registration packet by April 15, 2019.

Final payments are due by July 2, 2019.

Itinerary

1

September 14, 2019

Arrival  | Tirana, Albania
  • Arrival at Tirana airport. Transportation from the airport to the hotel in Tirana is arranged by the organizers, according to flight times.
  • 19:00    Group welcome dinner

2

September 15, 2019

Tirana
  • 09:00 – 13:00    City tour with visits to the House of Leaves Museum of Secret Surveillance
  • 13:00 – 14:30    Lunch with local Fulbright alumni
  • 14:30 – 15:00    Getting ready to leave
  • 15:00 – 15:40    Travelling to Durrës
  • 16:00 – 17:00    Visiting Durrës Archeological Museum
  • 17:00 – 21:00    Travelling to Gjirokastra
  • 21:00 – 21:30    Checking in at the hotel
  • Dinner on your own

3

September 16, 2019

Gjirokastra All day (Service component)
    • 9:00 – 9:40       Registration and ice-breaker
    • 9:40 – 10:00     Introduction to the Regional Restoration Camp in Gjirokastra
    • 10:00 – 13:30    “Gjirokastra’s historic Bazaar: Tangible and Intangible Aspects”
Visits to the Bazaar and the Castle (outdoor lecture)
    • 13:30 – 15:00    Lunch break (on your own)
    • 15:00 – 17:30    Visiting Skenduli/Etnographic Museum
    • 17:30 – 18:00    Group work – choices of sites, safety measures/similar

4

September 17, 2019

Gjirokastra All day (Service component)
  • 8:40 – 9:00      Learning assessment, recap from the day before
  • 9:00 – 13:30     Lectures
  • 13:00 – 13:30    Introduction to the Camps works and activities & division into working groups
  • 13:30 – 15:00    Lunch break (on your own)
  • 15:00 – 18:00    Hands-on workshops – using different traditional materials and techniques
Dinner on your own

5

September 18, 2019

Labova e Kryqit/Butrint All day (Service component)
  • 9:00 – 18:30     All day visit to Butrint/Labova e Kryqit (group lunch included)
Dinner on your own

6

September 19, 2019

Gjirokastra All day (Service component)
  • 8:40 – 9:00       Learning assessment, recap from the day before
  • 9:00 – 13:00      Hands-on workshops – using different traditional materials and techniques
  • 13:00 – 14:30    Lunch break (on your own)
  • 14:30 – 18:00    Hands-on workshops – using different traditional materials and techniques
  • 19:00                 Group dinner – farewell to Gjirokastra and the Regional Restoration Camp
Packing to leave

7

September 20, 2019

Shkodra
  • 8:00 – 15:00     Travel to Shkodra (group lunch provided on the way)
  • 15:00 – 15:30    Checking in to the hotel
  • 17:00 – 18:30    Visiting Marubi Museum
Free time and Dinner on your own

8

September 21, 2019

Shkodra – leaving to Montenegro
  • 09:00 – 10:30    Visit to the Ethnographic Museum and Museum of Masks
  • 10:30 – 12:30    Visit to the Castle of Shkodra
  • 13:00 – 14:30    Lunch on your own and free time in Shkodra
  • 14:30 – 15:00    Packing to leave Albania
  • 15:00 -18:00     Travelling to Virpazar, Montenegro
  • 18:00                 Checking in to the hotel
Free time - Dinner on your own

9

September 22, 2019

Virpazar All day
  • 10:00 – 16:00    Touring the Monasteries of Shkodra Lake
Group Lunch Dinner on your own

10

September 23, 2019

Leaving for Sarajevo
  • 09:00 – 17:00    Travel to Sarajevo (via Niksic, Pluzine) with a group lunch on the way
  • 17:00 – 18:00    Checking in at the hotel
Free time in Sarajevo Dinner on your own

11

September 24, 2019

Sarajevo
  • 09:00 - 13:00    City tour and museum visits (Old Town)
  • 13:00 – 14:30    Lunch on your own
  • 14:30 – 18:00    National Museum and the Museum of History
  • 19:00                Reception with local Fullbrights

12

September 25, 2019

Sarajevo
  • 09:00 - 12:00    Siege Museum (nearby airport)
  • 12:00 – 14:00    Lunch on your own
  • 14:00 – 18:00   Cable car ride, walk in the nature (Trebevic mountain)
  • 19:00                Group farewell

13

September 26, 2019

Departing
  • Departure from Sarajevo

What's Included

  • Double room accommodations in comfortable hotels (2 occupants per room). Single rooms are available for an additional $250
  • Breakfast daily, 5 lunches, 4 dinners
  • Transportation within Albania, from Albania to Montenegro, and from Montenegro to Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Admission and fees to museums and program activities as listed in itinerary
  • Honoraria for speakers booked by CHwB
  • All tools, materials and craftspeople required for the service project/Regional Restoration Camp portion of the itinerary
  • In-country health insurance, not including airlift or emergency evacuation to the U.S.

What's Not Included

  • Flights to/from Tirana or bank transfer fees
  • Expenses of a purely personal nature
  • Room service charges
  • Transportation of luggage in excess of weight allowance
  • Gratuities to the bellmen and waiters
  • Travel Cancellation Insurance
  • Gratuities for guides
  • Daily meals that are not organized for the group
  • Extra beverages at group meals
  • Visas or other entry documents

Please read all the information in our registration packet for terms on cancellations, refunds, and other policies.

Membership requirements: Please also note that you must be a current member of the Fulbright Association in order to join the tour. If you are not a member, you can click here to join, or if you are a lapsed member, please click here to renew your annual membership. Not a Fulbright alumn? No problem! The Fulbright Association welcomes all supporters of the mission of the Fulbright Program to join as Friends of Fulbright. Tour registrants may also bring one non-member guest. Please indicate who your guest is in your registration materials.

If you have any questions, please give us a call at (202) 775-0725 or e-mail us at travel@fulbright.org.