Traveling by car along the Albanian coast is an amazing experience. Many new tourist resorts are rising from the Adriatic Sea: in towns like Velipoja, Shengjin, Dürres and Vlora, hundreds of new apartment buildings and hotels are under construction. Infrastructure is developed in the form of palm-lined promenades, wide boulevards and sunny squares with pretty […]
Author: Marianne van Twillert
SKADAR LAKE: BOAT TOUR TO BEŠKA AND STARČEVO ISLANDS
It was a pleasure to accept the invitation of our friend Jelena from Skadar Lake Boat Milica to join her at a boat trip to the islands of Beška and Starčevo. This was one of the few boat tours we had not made so far and we were very curious to see the western and […]
ORCHID TOURS TO MONTENEGRO
As a nature lover, I have always been fond of wild orchids. From late April to June, you can find these flowers everywhere in Montenegro, provided that the soil is calcareous – on meadows and fields, along country roads and hiking trails, among rocks and under bushes. Many of them are amongst the most beautiful […]
THE FORGOTTEN PREHISTORIC DRAWINGS OF LIPCI
I am sure that almost all tourists traveling around the Bay of Kotor have seen the tourist signpost for “Lipci” on the round-about, where the new road from Žabljak/Nikšić joins the coastal road (south of Risan). And I am also sure that hardly anybody has made efforts to find this archeological treasure, as there are […]
KAPETANOVO JEZERO OFF-SEASON
Early in May I finally had the opportunity to visit Kapetanovo Jezero (Captain’s Lake – photo 1). Unfortunately, the weather was cold and rainy, and at the altitude of around 1700 m above sea level spring had hardly begun. But maybe it was exactly the barrenness and lonelyness of this area that gave us […]
LEPUSHË: HIKING IN KELMEND
The last Saturday of April was a perfect day for a hiking tour in the mountains. It was not easy to decide where to go, as there is still snow at altitudes above 1500 m. We had heard a lot about the hiking possibilities and wonderful nature in Lepushë, a village situated in the Kelmend […]
IS PODGORICA REALLY UGLY AND BORING?
I have been living in Podgorica for almost 40 years. If you have ever thought about visiting this city (or living in it), you will probably be surprised to hear that I really love living here, as many travel guides, web sites and blogs will give you the advice to avoid Podgorica, as it is […]
THE “HOUSE OF PEACE” IN ŠĆIT-RAMA LAKE (BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA)
One of the places we always return to when traveling the Balkans is the village of Šćit (difficult to pronounce, isn’t it?) on Rama Lake in Bosnia & Herzegovina. It is a hidden gem in a country that is still characterized by a large number of destroyed and abandoned houses – consequence of the last […]
THE ISLAND OF PAG, 1000 KM OF DRY STONE WALLS
April is always the month when we prepare our camper for new adventures. Exploring the countries of ex-Yugoslavia and other Balkan states, we try to discover hidden secrets, but we also like to return to places, where we have found peace and harmony in the past. Last week we took advantage of the warm weather […]
BALI, ISLAND OF THE GODS
When we started our round trip through Indonesia, I was particularly curious about visiting the island of Bali. Why has Bali, with its population of 4 million people, become a world tourism destination with 1,2 million tourists a year? Eighty percent of international visitors to Indonesia visit Bali and Bali alone: are they attracted by […]