Featured Destination
Balkans
This July, Splash Around in Four Lakes and a Dam Throughout the Balkans
As the summer comes into full swing and the temperatures in the region become unbearable, most travellers and holidaymakers to and around the Balkans head to the region's coastal resorts along the Adriatic, the Mediterranean, the Aegean or the Black Seas.
But if you’ve already explored these coasts and are seeking alternative destinations that to cool off by the water, BalkanTravellers.com provides you with five enticing opportunities to do so this July. From throughout the region, we have highlighted a group of lakes in a natural reserve in Croatia, three lakes in Serbia, Turkey, Macedonia and Albania and a man-made dam in Bulgaria. Some of them are quite popular tourist destinations; others are Full Story
Epicure
Croatia
The Truffle Rush
The Istria Peninsula in Northern Croatia is the Klondike of the culinary world. Every October, among the Motovun forests near the Livade village and along the banks of the Mirna River, there are swarming hoards of people and dogs – some sources claim as many as 15,000.
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Routes Less Travelled
Romania
Perishing or Jovially Surviving in Transylvania
Sorin-Alexandru Cristescu of the Romanian incogniterra.org writes about a melancholic journey through the crumbling castles of Transylvania, central Romania.
Cristescu’s two gloomy days north of Braşov are cheered up by the jovial Saxon community residing there. And, notably, this is a Dracula-free trip.
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Byllis, Albania: Ancient City in the Sky
Bulgaria
Chiprovtsi: Stooping Women Guard the Bulgarian Renaissance's Few Traces
Urban Browser
Albania
Gjirokastër: Albania’s Town of the Stones
The city of Gjirokastër in the southern part of Albania has several claims to fame. Besides being the birthplace of two of the most important Albanians – communist dictator Enver Hoxha and world-renowned writer Ismail Kadare, the city also brings together different elements of the country’s mixed history, representing its Byzantine, Ottoman and Communist pasts. Full Story
Turkey
Ani Fades Away in the No Man's Land between Turkey and Armenia
Bulgaria
Plovdiv: A Felicitous Stop on the Orient Express Route
Curiosity Chest
Balkans
In Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, Traces of War Crimes and Criminals Attract Tourists
7 October 2008 | Several countries in the Western Balkans, including Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, are banking on their recent conflict-torn past and offering foreign visitors the chance to retrace the steps of war criminals and see the traces left by the wars that shook the region in the 1990s.
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Bulgaria 3/7/14
Bulgaria
Treasure-Hunting in Bulgaria’s Eastern Rodopi Mountains: Ancient Sites and Whimsical Rocks
While Bulgaria’s seaside and mountain resorts continue to attract the bulk of both domestic and international tourists, more unconventional destinations around the country are also starting to become popular with travellers. Among their advantages are the smaller or nonexistent tourist crowds, as well as the alternative tourism opportunities they provide.
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Bulgaria in 5 days: Shumen, South of Nowhere
Bulgaria
Bulgaria in 3 Days: Sofia and Mount Vitosha
Hidden Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Along Suleiman the Magnificent's Bridge in Svilengrad, South-Eastern Bulgaria
The Ottoman bridge over the Maritsa River is not only a predecessor (and maybe even a prototype) of the famous bridge on the Drina, but it is also superior to it in terms of scale and splendour. The legend about its origins is as dramatic as that of the Drina Bridge, although it did not win the Nobel Prize like Ivo Andrić’s novel that recounted it Full Story
Bulgaria
Genghis Khan’s Descendents Swap Central Asia’s Altay for Bulgaria’s Balkan Mountain
Bulgaria
Kabiyuk, The Horse "Factory" Bulgaria Inherited from the Ottoman Empire
Balkan Coasts
New Routes to Cruise in Europe – the Blue Danube All the Way to the East
Croatia
Southeast of Budapest, one of the mightiest European rivers carries you down to the somewhat shabby, but vastly unexplored world of Balkan historical and architectural heritage sites
If you’ve seen Emir Kosturica’s film Black Cat, White Cat, you’ll surely remember the scene of the German cruise ship – the enormous, brightly-lit vessel that floats elegantly over the water to the sound of the Viennese waltz, passing by – unaware of and untouched by – the chaotic, dirty and underdog existence of the film’s main shady Balkan characters. Their traffic on the Danube, in contrast, consists mainly of smuggling activities on dilapidated motor boats or floating around, using the inside of old truck tyres. Full Story
Balkan Mountains
Roman Ruins and a Rural Paradise in Bulgaria’s Western Rodopi Mountains
Bulgaria
In the spot where the majestic Pirin and Rodopi Mountains come together, around 50 kilometres south of the major ski-resort of Bansko, lays perhaps the best destination for rural tourism in Bulgaria. The mineral water springs of the village of Ognyanovo and the spectacular architecture of the villages of Leshten and Kovachevitsa, situated on the rolling western-most hills of the Rodopi Mountains, were known only to Bulgarian village life afficionados until a few years ago. Recently, however, they have started to open up and attract
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Meteora, the Second Sky Over Greece
Bulgaria: Strandzha's Mysteries
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Photogalleries
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A Perfect Shot
BULGARIA D'OR: The Bulgarian countryside, patinated with the noble golden dust of the autumn. Photographs by Lode Desmet
360 degrees Bulgaria, an exhibition by photographer Alexandar Ivanov, is on display at the Sea Garden in Varna until August 28. It will be shown at Plovdiv’s Central Square from Sept 5.
The exhibition Photographs of a Trip Through Bulgaria by Hungarian photographer András Balla can be seen in Sofia's Hungarian Cultural Institute, at Aksakov 16 Street, until August 22
Instant Spring in Sofia | Photographs by Lode Desmet
Off-the-season Beauty of Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast | Photographs by Adelina Iliev
Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea Coast
Photographs by Albena Shkodrova
excellent smugs
Annoyances in the Balkans
Balkans
Relentless Homophobia Rages in the Balkans
Be IN-tolerant! Be normal!, appeals a poster (pictured above) that recently flooded the streets of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.
As the first gay pride parade in Bulgaria is about to take place, amid strong opposition by nationalistic organisations and a large part of society, the high levels of persistent homophobia in the country and the Full Story
Insiders' Advice
If the relentless homophobia is already that bad, what's the attitude in general towards HIV/AIDS, given the rather worrying HIV-prevalence in Eastern Europe and Russia?
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Is it easy to drive in the Balkans? Depends. If you are looking for adrenalin, this is a cheap way to get it. Expats say the best tactics is not to get annoyed.
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How to pick the right time to go? Winter is beautiful in the high mountains, the problem is, it can be so cold! Then again, who cares how cold it is - the locals have a cheap cure: heavy red wine. Sometimes warmed up.
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You can't trust local maps. Nor some international travel guides. One of them, for instance, says, that Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina flows FROM the Adriatic towards the inland of the Balkans, never reaching the sea. OK, how about the Neretva delta and channel in Croatia?
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The Big Book of Travelling
United States
The Rise of Burlesque in New York: Tassels and the City
Burlesque – the more audacious relative of commedia dell'arte, is in revival. A reality in “upside down style”, this creative, witty and softer version of striptease is back on stage, following an absence of nearly 80 years. In New York, Anjeza Bojku scoped out several burlesqee venues for BalkanTravellers.com. Full Story
Thailand
A Short Guide to the Peculiarities of Thai Food
Travel News
6 November 2008 | The capitals of Serbia and Croatia and the Greek island of Corfu are among the best European spots visited by the legendary character James Bond in the four decades of his existence on film.
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Blog
Adrien and Martin Joly : From Gravina to Atella Adrien and Martin Joly : Goodbye Montenegro Adrien and Martin Joly : From Bari to Gravina
