*UPDATED – take a look at the 2019 season tours!*

Keep up the good things and improve them – that is exactly what happened to our offroad tour offerings, which have made the Balkans an instant bestseller in the overland travel market several years ago. The 2018 tour portfolio is derived from the 2017 tours, but every one of them has been further improved, as we think there’s always a way to get closer to perfection. Lets look into the details.

Balkans Snow Trails (4-10th February)

Every winter so far has given our visitors a memorable adventure in the virgin snow of the Balkans wilderness. This season we hope to make it even more effective by simplifying the plan – we do not waste one day on moving from the mountains of eastern to the mountains of western Serbia, rather we make the tour one day shorter and keep it in the wildest region all the time – on the mountain trails of the Serbian Carpathians. Of course, top class accomodations is guaranteed, including the hot thermal pools to relax after every daily adventure in the snow!

https://www.rustikatravel.com/4×4/scheduled/balkans-snow-trails/

Homolje Gold Rush (1-7th April)

This tour, which we traditionally organize during the Easter holliday each springtime, has been an instant hit from the very start, and the pace of this year’s registrations proves that it’s still the case. It’s an enchanting combination of early springtime technical challenges in the muddy forests of Homolje mountains, and a cultural experience with the centuries long gold panning tradition, including a drive-through in the biggest gold mine in the Balkans. And the underworld of eastern Serbia also has lots to show! This is the last hotel accomodation tour in our regular tour calendar.

https://www.rustikatravel.com/4×4/scheduled/homolje-gold-rush/

Secret Carpathians (May, July, September)

This is a 3-tour series (one in springtime, one in mid summer and one in late summer) which compiles all of our previous touring experiences with eastern Serbia in a highly flexible concept, which adapts to the season specifics to get the most out of this extraordinary landscape. So every of the Secret Carpathians tours will be different. Most of our returning visitors have taken part in one of our previous Nomad’s Adventure tours, but this area is so huge and so diverse that at least 70% of the available routes we haven’t taken yet in any tour! Just like the Carpathians in Romania, it’s an enchanting wilderness area, where you can travel for days without contact with anything urban, sleeping in the most fascinating wild camping spots. True journey of discovery is guaranteed!

https://www.rustikatravel.com/4×4/scheduled/secret-carpathians

Iron Gate and Stone Arches (24-30th June)

A unique tour centered around the mighty Iron Gate gorge of the Danube river, in the far northeast of Serbia. The Iron Gate national park features one of a kind, dense jungles with some of the nicest forest trails in the Balkans, and being close to the Danube you always run across some very spectacular scenic viewpoints above Danube. Close nearby, just a little further inland in the mountain river valleys, lay many magnificent natural stone arches, which eastern Serbia is especially famous for. And the Iron Gate is also known for being the cradle of European neolithic culture, with it’s impressive museum of the Lepenski Vir neolithic settlement. So again we have a fascinating combination of technical, landscape and cultural experiences which altogether make a perfect overlanding tour!

https://www.rustikatravel.com/4×4/scheduled/iron-gate/

Montenegro Highlands (July / August)

A tour strongly evolving season after season – this year expanded with a day of rafting on the Tara river, and the finals extending into northern Albania. It’s a vicious bombardment of your senses with sensations like out of this world, staying for most of the time on the high plateaus of the Dinaric Alps, usually above 1500 m of altitude. After taking this tour you will certainly understand what we mean by saying that there’s no smaller country in Europe with more densely packed natural beauty than Montenegro. A must for every passionate overland adventurer!

https://www.rustikatravel.com/4×4/scheduled/montenegrian-highlands/

Balkans Wild Tracks (23th Sept – 5th Oct)

Two years in a row this has been our most successful tour, and it’s no wonder – the far south of the Balkans, comprising of Greece, Albania and Macedonia (FYROM) features the most fascinating, rugged mountainous landscape in Europe, often resembling alpine ridges. This tour takes place in some of the highest of the Balkans mountains, reaching on Pelister in Macedonia the highest point accessible on wheels in the Balkans – 2600 m, granting you an almost unreal view of the gorgeous Prespa lake below. Take a look at the tour videos in the programme below, and judge for yourself whether or not this tour is worth two weeks of your time. Although it’s quite late in the season, this tour usually books out first, so if you want to secure your place in it, hurry up!

https://www.rustikatravel.com/4×4/scheduled/balkans-wild-tracks/

Overland Tunisia (26 Dec – 6 Jan 2019)

Our first tour stepping out of the Balkans and bringing you the exotic desert world of north Africa will offer you to spend the New Year hollidays among the thermal water oasis, sand dunes, and stony mountains of Tunisia, also exploring the interesting trails along it’s Mediterranean coast, like the famous Romel’s route. A mixture of luxury hotels and wild camping in the desert, it will bring you the best of both worlds, promising a first class experience of the Tunisian wilderness.

https://www.rustikatravel.com/4×4/scheduled/overland-tunisia/

Morocco Desert Adventure (April 29th – May 12th 2019)

Actually, this tour will be much more than just desert. It will be an overwhelming experience of all of the contrasts and famous landmarks of Morocco, taking you also across some famous beaches of it’s Atlantic coast, and even twice across the Atlas mountain range (once over a pass reaching as high as 3000 m). We will also visit the famous historical towns of Fes and Marakesh, the “monkey village”, some breathtaking waterfalls, and have a true desert experience in the vast southern spaces of the Sahara. It will be mostly wild camping, but will also feature four exquisite ethno-style hotels, as well as two organized oasis-camps, making it the perfect balance between wilderness and comfort. The two weeks will be packed with content like few other Moroccan, making this a great value for money.

https://www.rustikatravel.com/4×4/scheduled/morocco/

So we included all the tours of the 2018 season in this overview, plus one premiere tour from the next season that we feel will spark a lot of interest among our traditional visitors. Take your time, and choose the right tour – at the moment of writing this all the tours still have some free spaces, but that can quickly change!

Update: Take a look at our 2019 season tours!