Tour information
TOP TARGETS:
1) False Comma – Nymphalis vaualbum
2) Poplar Admiral – Limentis populi
3) Balkan Copper – Lycaena candens
4) Violet Copper – Lycaena helle
5) Bog Fritillary – Proclossiana eunomia
6) Freyer’s Fritillary – Melitaea arduinna
7) Eastern Large Heath – Coenonympha rhodopensis
8) Russian Heath – Coenonympha leander
9) Bulgarian Ringlet – Erebia orientalis
10) Yellow-banded Skipper – Pyrgus sidae
Tour starting and ending time: It is important to book your flight according to the official starting and ending times of the tour! Our bus and guide will be waiting all participants in the Nikola Tesla airport of Belgrade. Please make sure you can reach the starting point in time at 13:00 on the tour starting date! If you wish to arrive earlier to Belgrade our office can help you to book accommodation and logistics. However if you arrive early you need to make your way to the airport for the meeting time. In some cases we can pick up clients from the nearby airport hotels (please check with our office). Also very important that the tour only ends at 13:00 on the last day so please do not book flights out of Belgrade earlier than 15:30 on the last day!
The tour: This 8 day tour was designed to visit some prime butterfly areas in eastern Serbia. Our tour’s timing coincide with the prime time for the rare False Comma and we will be searching for this beauty. This amazing butterfly is very rare in Europe and the best place to look for them is in the Balkan Mountains of Serbia and Bulgaria.
Locations to be visited: Babin Zub (5 nts), Dimitovgrad (2 nts) and Jagodina (1 nt).
Group Size: The tour is guaranteed departure from 3 participants upwards with a maximum group size of 10 participants plus Sakertours leader.
Accommodation: Comfortable local accommodation / hotels. All rooms en suite.
Meals: All included in the price. Breakfast and dinner are mostly taken at the hotels. Lunches will either be on the field or some local restaurants.
Walking: Mostly easy walks throughout the tour – our walks are typically shorter, mostly along forest trails with some slopes but all taken at a gentle pace. There could be one or two moderate hikes (optional). Sturdy waterproof walking shoes advised.
Travel: Belgrade to Belgrade. Ground transport is depending on the number of participants. Car up to three persons and coach/minibus for four person and above.
Expected butterfly list: 80 – 100 species
Price and Date
| Tour date: | June 18 ‒ June 25, 2024 |
| Price from: | 1690 €/person |
| Deposit: | 400 €/person |
| Single room suplement: | 175 €/person |
| Availability: | FULL |
Booking deposit: As soon as you fill out a booking form we will send you a deposit invoice and information of the final payment.
Group size:
The minimum group size is 3 person
The maximum group size is 7 person
Cost includes:
- Belgrade-to-Belgrade all-inclusive
- All transportation throughout the tour
- All meals
- All accommodation
- All entrance fees
- Guides
Cost excludes:
- International flight to Belgrade
- Alcoholic drinks
- Services of personal nature (telephone calls, laundry etc.)
- Tips to guides
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1. After arrival in Belgrade we will need about five hours to reach our first hotel at Babin Zub in the Balkan Mountains. If the flights and the traffic allows we do some butterfly watching on the way where we could see Glanville and Twin-spot Fritillaries, Large and Purple-shot Copper and Amanda’s Blue. Night in Babin Zub.
Day 2. We will have a full day to explore the higher parts of the Babin Zub area. Our primary target today will be Violet Copper and Bog Fritillary but there are long list of goodies possible like Eastern Large and Russian Heath as well as Bulgarian Ringlet. We will also check places for the False Comma although we might be a touch early but nowadays everything is weather dependent and flying time can really stertch out from the ‘very best period’ to both directions. However as usual for the mountains if weather conditions are not suitable in the higher parts we will descend to look for other areas and species. Night in Babin Zub.
Day 3. Today we will make our way towards Dimitrovgrad and check some drier gorges in the afternoon. Visiting this area will give us a list of different butterflies and we will be on the lookout for the rare Spinose Skipper which has been found at a number of sites around here. Night near Dimitrovgrad.
Day 4. We will have a full day to explore various sites in Stara Planina near the Bulgarian border. Our targets apart from the rare Spinose Skipper will include Freyer’s Fritillary, Large Blue, Yellow-banded Skipper, Delattin’s Grayling and if we are very lucky even Blue Argus. The latter is a generally scarce species but we have a few sites where we can look for them! Night near Dimitrovgrad.
Day 5. After breakfast we drive back towards Babin Zub and will have a few more stops along the way at some butterfly hotspots. We shall arrive back by the afternoon and start searching for our main target False Comma. Night in Babin Zub.
Day 6. Another full day at this remarkable location where we will explore various elevations and we can expect to see up to 60 species in a day if weather conditions are favorable. Our targets will include Poplar Admiral, Geranium Argus, Yellow-banded Skipper, False Heath Fritillary, Almond-eyed Ringlet, Clouded Apollo, Cardinal and of course False Comma! Night in Babin Zub.
Day 7. Most of the day will be spent in the Babin Zub area and gradually making our way down and back towards Belgrade. This is our last chance to pick up some new butterflies and still a chance for the False Comma if we have not seen it before. Night near Jagodina.
Day 8. We will travel back to Belgrade airport where the tour will end.
