My parents and I are going back to Europe in the Spring of 2014 and want to see the Hill Towns on Italy, Slovenia, Crotia, Bosnia and either Kosovo or another country. Is Kosovo worth visiting, pretty places and safe? Where should we go in Kosovo or should we go somewhere else? We love the mountains, lakes, rivers. We also like beaches and oceans. Thanks!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
The last time I was in Kosovo was 2002, so things may have changed greatly since then... but there isn't really anything there worth going out of your way to visit. The capital city Pristina, even if they've cleaned it up in the past 10 years, would still be almost completely without any charm. There is some nice mountain scenery, but probably nothing better than you could seen in nearby Bulgaria.
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3049 posts
I haven't gone to Kosovo, but I did a lot of research before my recent Balkans trip, and I don't think it is really a good place for tourism, unless you're specifically interested in 'politically problematic' and 'off the beaten path- no, really' or volunteer tourism or something. Bosnia is wonderful. Mountains, rivers, you got it. You could easily add the extra days to Bosnia, or go to Serbia and enjoy Belgrade. I was just there briefly but it was far nicer than I'd expected, and the people were the friendliest of all the places we visited in the Balkans, challenging stereotypes. For beaches/oceans/mountains you could do Montenegro instead!
Posted by
Paris
9548 posts
Just curious as to why you feel you need to add another country when you already have Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia on your list? In fact, depending on how long your trip is, you might need to cut back on the number of destinations rather than add on. Anyway, those four countries have lovely scenery and interesting cultural sites; you certainly needn't add Kosovo for the sake of adding Kosovo. The Helpliners have given you good advice to focus elsewhere.
Posted by
Calgary, Ab, Canada
86 posts
I agree with Sarah-Montenegro is supposed to be beautiful. I've traveled twice to Croatia and Bosnia, and am going back again next summer, and I've always heard that "you have to go to Montenegro". When I was in Bosnia in 2011, I met a couple of travellers that got caught in a border squirmish in Kosovo and had to spend an extra 12 hours on a bus being re-routed and it was an extremely stressful situation for them (bullets were flying type stressful, not oh I'm going to miss my hotel reservation stressful). They also said that Kosovo was in no way worth the hassle to see (not to mention all the border problems with Serbia that they encountered). I have also heard that Belgrade is great to visit for a couple of days. I love the Balkans! Have some Bosnian Coffee. That will wake you up anytime of day.