Travel Stories

• history

• art and culture

5 min read • Feb 1, 2021

Explore the Balkan Peninsula and the turquoise waters of the Adriatic with these scenic drives in southeastern Europe – a perfect road trip experience.

• wildlife and nature

• activities

10 min read • Nov 12, 2020

Oliver Smith travels to the remote borders of Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo to set foot in a once-forbidden mountain wilderness where, today, walkers are…

• wildlife and nature

• activities

11 min read • Feb 28, 2020

The borderlands where Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo meet are one of Europe's wildest corners, whose mountains once inspired fear and now draw hikers

• beaches

• activities

4 min read • Jun 24, 2019

Albania’s rugged coastline, with traditional villages nestled in isolated bays and golden beaches lapped by turquoise waters, was a revelation when…

• road trips

• destination practicalities

5 min read • Jun 19, 2018

Having spent nearly half of the 20th century isolated from the rest of the world, Albania remains somewhat a land of mystery, only recently making its way…

• food

• food and drink

5 min read • Mar 29, 2018

As far as travel hubs go, Tirana has a perfect setting. Albania’s capital is squeezed between the Adriatic Coast beaches and the hiking trails of the so…

• food

• food and drink

5 min read • Nov 7, 2016

If wine needs a story, then the story of Balkan wine is a dog-eared, multi-volume series. The southeastern European peninsula may not immediately spring…

• food

• food and drink

5 min read • Oct 4, 2016

With nearly 500km of coastline abutting expanses of rugged mountains, centuries of Ottoman rule and a brief but impactful Italian rule, Albania – and…

5 min read • Aug 16, 2016

Our peloton of 12 cyclists snaked through a tangle of alleys past the walls of Dubrovnik. The city was full of morning innocence and rare silence. Buses,…

• hiking

• activities

5 min read • Jul 16, 2016

Waves of fog battled patches of blue sky as the Via Dinarica hiking trail inclined sharply to the junction between Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. At the…

• art

• art and culture

5 min read • Jul 15, 2016

Lively Tirana wears its history with pride. It would be easy to mistake Albania’s colourful capital for any modern city in Western Europe – with…

• hiking

• activities

5 min read • Sep 4, 2015

Descending through the forest from the Albania–Montenegro border pass, an unassailable stillness pervades, punctuated only by the sound of cowbells rising…

• hiking

• activities

6 min read • Mar 5, 2015

While Albania may have gone from a virtually unknown land to a well-established stop on the Balkan backpacker trail in barely a decade, its interior…

• road trips

• destination practicalities

11 min read • Oct 24, 2014

The Balkans have attracted adventurers for centuries – literary bigwigs Lord Byron and Rebecca West penned romantic accounts of journeys through these,…

• hiking

• activities

10 min read • Oct 24, 2014

Outdoors aficionados and adrenaline junkies, take note: there are still uncharted grounds to conquer only a few hours’ flight away from London, Paris or…