Rivers Travel

The ‘EXIT’ Festival July 8-11, Novi Sad, Serbia

A Popular Stage at the EXIT Festival

With 25 stages, you are almost certainly guaranteed to find whatever specialist style of music you seek at Exit, alongside big names who this year include the Chemical Brothers, Mika, Placebo, Missy Elliott, LCD Soundsystem and Pendulum. A lovely site on the slopes of a castle overlooking the Danube, cheap food and drink, blazing Balkan sunshine and entertainment that goes on all night make this a favourite with students from all over Europe. Expect four riotous days and next to no sleep. Novi Sad is about 90 minutes drive from Belgrade Airport,
Cost £85 www.exitfest.org

Spirit of Burgas August 13-15, Burgas, Bulgaria
Nominated for best European festival at the UK Festival Awards for the past two years – and this is only its third event – Spirit of Burgas takes place on the white sands of the Black Sea coast. The beach stretches for two miles, the sea views are stunning, tickets are cheap and the seven stages offer

The Sisters of Mercy performing at Spirit of Burgas,August 2008

rock, dance and jazz from acts including the Prodigy, Gorillaz Sound System and DJ Shadow. A festival to visit now, before hordes of Brits discover it.
Cost £52 www.spiritofburgas.com

‘Stop Making Sense’ September 3-5, Petrçane, Croatia
Billed as three days and nights of musical anarchy by the sea, this is a brand-new dance festival co-organised by a former Big Chill director and British club promoter. The September weekender celebrates 25 years of techno with DJ sets from Juan Atkins, Carl Craig and Theo Parrish, as well as Friendly Fires and Optimo. Son of Dave, Django Django and Nathan Fake play live and, for an extra £10, festival-goers get access to after-dark boat parties and clubs.

Only 20 minutes from the airport of Zadar (Discover Europe with Lufthansa) and 90 minutes from the airport of Split (Balkan Holidays) this is truly a unique and special place to enjoy, explore, relax and go wild in.
Cost £80; www.sms-2010.com

The town of Hisar in Bulgaria is making a new claim to fame by healing hundreds of kidney stones, bladder stones and gallstones with water from the 22 mineral springs in the region. There is a rehabilitation hospital in the town and spa and wellness hotels have mushroomed in recent years.

Part of the old Roman wall at Hisar (Hisarya)

The Black Sea resorts of Albena and Pomorie in the east, and to Velingrad and Sandanski in the southwest, have new luxurious hotels which have already gained a reputation among Bulgarians and foreigners alike for the high quality of their services.

Before the fall of communism in 1989, visitors from Scandinavia, the former Soviet bloc and the Middle East were regular guests in Bulgaria’s spas which specialized in treating medical conditions varying from gout to sterility.

But in the past decade, Bulgaria marketed itself almost entirely as a cheap destination for summer and winter holidays, turning its back on its varied natural resources. The consequences of which have been to sideline the spa resorts and Bulgaria’s historical heritage.

Spa tourism has started to attract investment during the past five years, according to the Bulgarian Union for Balneology and Spa Tourism. Companies from Israel, Russia, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman have already invested or shown interest.

Velingrad, a charming mountain town that boasts 80 mineral springs, has 5 star hotels with affordable prices and a warm climate. There is an ageing population in Europe that will find the availability of all-year-round spa services an attractive proposition.

Grand Hotel Velingrad

Bulgaria offers the unique mineral waters, ecologically clean locations, and a good price-quality balance. The country wants to spend more on its infrastructure so that it will be able to compete with other European tourist destinations. Bulgaria is now advertising the unique spas at fairs in Germany, the Balkans, Israel and Russia.

Sigrun Lang, president of the European Spas Association, says Bulgaria’s has rich natural resources, a long-term tradition in balneotherapy, and well-qualified specialists. It will not remain a well kept secret for too much longer.

Look here for more information on Balkan Holidays

BalkanTravellers.com 6 April 2010 | A list of the 10 most affordable holiday destinations, including Croatia, Bulgaria and Turkey, was recently published by the German-language version of the Yahoo! Travel Magazine.

The three Balkan countries were listed in the company of Malaysia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Egypt and Hungary, as places that afford good quality travel at reasonable prices.

Croatia – mentioned by the publication as an alternative to a holiday in Italy, attracts with its diverse landscape and the friendliness of its hosts, which it offers for very little money. According to the magazine, however, high season – around July and August, should be avoided in return for the months of April and May.

Bulgaria is profiled as a diverse destination, offering a range of possibilities – from the beach vacation opportunities presented by the Black Sea coast to the skiing holidays available at the Bansko mountain resort. Named as the cheapest destination in Europe, but not forever, as – the publication notes, the country is in the running to enter the euro zone.

The third affordable Balkan destination on the Yahoo! Travel Magazine’s list is Turkey, which combines beautiful beaches, fancy hotels and fine food – all at a good value for money. According to the publication, Turkey offers especially good deals for families and great shopping bargains as well.

Yorkshire Evening Post – Published Date: 22 March 2010

BALKAN Holidays has announced a new route from Leeds Bradford Airport to Sofia in Bulgaria for the winter 2010/2011 season, targeting the expanding Yorkshire ski market.

Winter 2011 ski packages to Bulgaria from Leeds Bradford are now on sale, with prices starting from £222 for seven nights departing on March 19, 2011, staying at the Castle Apartments in Pamporovo – based on six people sharing a two-bedroom apartment.

The tour operator currently operates summer charter flights serving the resorts of Bourgas and Varna in Bulgaria from Leeds Bradford.

With the addition of this new winter route Balkan Holidays will be able to offer services throughout the year.

Rupert Diggins, Balkan Holidays sales and marketing manager, commented: “We are delighted to introduce this new winter service to Sofia which opens up the popular Bulgarian ski resorts of Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo.”

Tony Hallwood, LBIA commercial director, added: “This is great news for skiers who now have a wider choice of ski destinations from their local airport. As a non-Euro destination Bulgaria is particularly attractive, offering excellent value for money.”

The Istrian peninsula – popular with tourists taking Croatian holidays – is a “very special area,” according to the Croatian National Tourist Board.

Visitors in the Istrian region will find a wealth of culture, heritage and history set amongst a picturesque landscape.

The board states: “Its quite unique qualities are the result of its location – sitting where the Mediterranean Sea insinuates itself deepest into the European mainland and being isolated from the bulk of Croatia by the Ucka massif.”

Rovinj, an ancient town in Istria, is cited as being a particularly special spot.

It offers a range of monuments and buildings, with the St Euphemia church the “most striking symbol” of the region, in the board’s opinion.

Grisia – a traditional meeting place often packed with artists and performers – is another spot potentially worth a visit when on a Croatian holiday in the area.

Taking a spa holiday in the Istrian town of Opatija was recently suggested by the tourist board as one of the most romantic breaks on offer at this time of year.