BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: Europe’s best kept ski secret!

Skiing in Bosnia? You’d never guess this often-overlooked destination has quietly become one of the world’s top up-and-coming winter sport hot spots. Along with the rest of the country’s tourism industry, things are slowly get-ting back on track since the war of the 1990s, and Bosnia is ready to welcome skiers and snowboarders of all levels to its slopes. With fewer crowds and much lower prices than Europe’s better-known resorts, the mountains around Sarajevo offer the perfect alternative ski and snowboard experience. Add to this Bosnia’s friendly locals and breathtaking scenery and you’ve got it made.In February 2014, our team is launching a powdery new program, Ski Sarajevo, based on Jahorina Mountain.

Skiing in Bosnia? You’d never guess this often-overlooked des-tination has quietly become one of the world’s top up-and-coming winter sport hot spots.

The mountain has witnessed its fair share of ups and downs in the last century: from the start of the Great War to the 1984 Winter Olympics and the Siege of Sarajevo.Jahorina’s highest peak is 6,276 feet tall, making it the second tallest of Sarajevo’s mountains, behind Bjelašnica. The mountain hosted the women’s alpine skiing events in the 1984 Winter Olympics.Jahorina offers 16 miles of ski trails, plenty of winter sports and plenty of après ski. Don’t worry if you don’t have your own gear – ski and snowboard rentals come in at a very reasonable 10 euro ($14) per day. Staying in a dedicated ski lodge, there’s no shortage of entertainment with evening DJ sets and exclusive parties.

Currently, Sarajevo isn’t the cheapest airport to fly into so we give travelers the option to start the trip across the border in Dubrovnik, or Zagreb in Croatia – a popular destinations with plenty of low-cost flight options.From there you spend the night in the picturesque town of Bihać or Mostar, known for its mix of East and West and famous arched bridge, before heading to your home for the next five nights, Jahorina. On the way back to Dubrovnik you also get a night in beautiful Sarajevo with plenty of time to explore the city.Find out why Sarajevo is Europe’s best kept secret before everyone else does!

7-day tour starting and ending in Zagreb or Dubrovnik – 500,00 € per person

• Meet and greet at Zagreb or Dubrovnik Airport• Transfers• 1 Night in Mostar• 5 Nights on Jahorina Ski Field• 1 Night in Sarajevo• Transfer and drop off in Dubrovnik• 7 Breakfasts• Walking tours of Sarajevo and Mostar with a local Bosnian Guide 5-day tour starting and ending in Sarajevo – 420,00 € per person

• Meet and greet at Sarajevo Airport• Transfers• 5 Nights on Jahorina Ski Field• Transfer and drop off at Sarajevo Airport• 5 Breakfasts• Sarajevo City Tour

Accommodation based on shared rooms. Upgrades to private rooms are available at about 20,00 € per person per night.

Top 10 alternative city breaks in Europe: readers' travel tips

Sarajevo on the 5th place on the list of cheapest European cities for tourists

All those who wish to travel through Europe, now is the best time for it. The prices have fallen, and the portal Priceoftravel.com published a list of European cities that you can visit with a modest budget. Among them is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo, on the fifth place. The cheapest city in Europe for travel is Bucharest. To stay in three-star hotel, you will pay 41 euros. The next cheapest cities are Sofia (42 euros), Kiev (43.6 euros) and Cesky Krumlov (46 euros).

According to PriceofTravel.com, to stay in three-star hotel in Sarajevo, you need 44 euros per day.

"East meets West in Sarajevo where prices fell in 2015. It has been more than a decade since the war, the city is almost completely rebuilt and it’s again a vivid a place where you feel welcome. It has beautiful nature, nearby forests and mountain lakes that will blow your mind ", explained this portal.

On the list of the cheapest cities are also St. Petersburg (Russia), Budapest (Hungary), Krakow (Poland), Belgrade (Serbia), Split and Zagreb (Croatia), Vilinius (Lithuania), Bratislava (Slovakia), Santorni (Greece) and Riga (Latvia).

We had a huge response to our article on the 10 best weekend breaks in Europe’s smaller cities, with many readers making their own suggestions. Here are some of our favourite short-break destinations, chosen by you.

Sarajevo old town Photograph: Bryan Pocius/Flickr Creative Commons

A huge number of commenters chose the capital of Bosnia and Hezegovina as their favourite city. Paully84 described it as “breathtaking”, while 1984isNotEmmanual said it was “a city that’s so wel-

coming”. It’s easy to make your way round the histori-cal centre on foot but sign up to one of the Sara-jevo Walking Tours (free during off-season) if you want to be led by a knowledgeable guide. In the evening there are plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from; notably „Cheers“, „Aquarius club“ etc. The list also included Italian cities of Bologna and Alghero, also Nice, Ljubljana, Granada, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Wroclaw and Basel. From the listed cities Sarajevo earned the 4th place on the list.

Breathtaking, a city that’s so welcoming!

NEWSLETTERApril 2015

In Janury this year, 21,5 percent more tourists in Bosnia and Herzegovina than the

same period last year!

Sarajevo resorts and mountain landscapes look magical from the air

In Bosnia and Herzegovina in January 2015, tourists made 45 295 visits, which is less in percentage compared to December 2014, but 21,5 percent more than in January 2014.

Tourists made 102,167 overnight stays in January, which is higher by 0.8 percent compared to December 2014 and by 27.7 percent compared to January 2014.

The total number of overnight stays of domestic tourists is 41.3 percent and 58.7 percent of foreign tourists.

Number of overnight stays of domestic tourists decreased by 15.5 percent compared to December 2014, but it’s for 32.6 percent higher than in January 2014. The number of foreign tourists increased by 16.6 percent compared to December 2014, and is 24.4 per-

cent higher than in January 2014.According to the type of the accommodation, the highest number of overnight stays was in Hotels and similar accommodation with a share of 95.3 percent.The structure of foreign tourists in January 2015: tourists from Croatia (30.8 percent), Serbia (20.2 percent), Slovenia (7.5 percent) and Turkey (6.3 percent), making a total of 64.8 percent.

Tourists from other countries made 35.2 percent of overnights.

As for the length of stay of foreign tourists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the first place are guests from South Africa with 7.4 overnights, Ireland with 3.4 overnights, Ukraine with 3.3 overnights and Serbia and Montenegro with 3.2 overnights.

Service, Sarajevo360 – www.sarajevo360.ba presented a new piece of art After promoting the video "Sarajevo from the sky", in which one can see the cultural and historical, religious, tourist and other facilities in the center and the old part of Sarajevo, Sarajevo360 recorded another unique video from the air with an emphasis on individual picnic areas, mountainous regions and Sarajevo sur-roundings. And the new video aims to increase the visibility of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sarajevo on the tourist map of the world, Sarajevo360 said.

You can watch the video on www.sarajevo360.ba

Mostar among the 25 small European cities that tourists must visit

Mostar found its place on another travel site, among 25 small cities, recommended for visiting.

On the travel site Worldofwanderlust.com, a list of 25 European cities was published, among which are, apart from Mostar, cities of the region.

Thus, the list included also Ljubljana, but also Pruščica, a small town on the island of Brač.

"The small town of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the most understated destinations in Europe. If you find yourself here, be sure to visit the nearby Blagaj - another 'charming' city", stays in the description of the “pearls on the Neretva river” on this page.

Bosnian pearl from the air: Fabulous view of Lake Rama

Rama Lake with its islands is the pearl of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These shots were recorded early in the morning and afternoon will leave you breathless and you will surely want to visit this wonderful place. The recording was made from a multirotor aircraft specialized in aerial photography.

Rama Lake is an artificial lake on the river Rama in the city called Prozor. It was created in 1968. The maximum length is 12 kilometers, area of about 1,500 hectares, depth 95 meters, while the fluctuations of water up to 55 meters.

The area is limited by steep mountain ranges of Raduša, Makljen, Ljubuša and Vran moun-tains. Catchment area represents the very beginning of the Adriatic Sea basin, and the water coming into the lake is very clean and of excellent quality. The main water flow is the river Rama, which originates from two strong springs southwest of the Varvar village. Left spring is constant and is called the summer spring. Upstream is the winter spring which is

activated as a result of heavy precipitation and snowmelt. Down-stream, the major amount of water, Rama gets from karst springs Buk and Krupic that are right tributaries of Rama. On the left side, streams Brodac, Slatina and Sopot, come together with Rama, whose sources are not submerged even at the time of maximum elevation.

All streams always have short courses, and there is no possibili-ty that they become muddy. Rama is the most important tribu-tary of the Neretva river in which, through the Jablanica Lake, it flows in Gračac, ten miles upstream from Jablanica.

Bosna and Hercegovina among the most beautiful and unvisited countries in the world

For tourists looking for a little more unusual, less known destinations and locations for their holidays, here's the list of "unexplored" extraordinary countries that you can visit Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This small country in the heart of Europe is best known for the war that took place two decades ago, and has remained one of the unexplored "beauties". This Balkan country offers both - cultural, and natural resources, and picturesque towns like Banja Luka and Mostar, as well as numerous mountains are something that you should defi-nitely visit, advises the site News.com.au.

The list also includes Colombia, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, Uzbekistan, Papua New Guinea and Burundi.

SEIC d.o.o. DMC DivisionKalmija Baruha 171000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tel: + 387 33 275 808Fax: + 387 33 275 809Mob: + 387 60 323 68 52

Top 10 tourist attractions in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Old Bridge in Mostar, was rebuilt in 2004 on the ruins of the Ottoman bridge from the 16th century that was destroyed during the war in 1993. Considered to be one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.

Mehmed pasha Sokolovic bridge is a historical structure in the town of Visegrad. It was designed by Mimar Sinan, the Ottoman architect of the Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic, after whom it was named. It was completed in 1577 and is listed on UNESCO's list of protected monuments in 2007.

In the National Park Sutjeska is Perucica, one of the two remaining primeval forests in Europe. It is also the oldest national park in the country. Also, in the Park Sutjeska one can see the highest peak Maglić and the Sutjeska river canyon.

Prijedor has several attractions. The City Mosque is one of the oldest in Prijedor and one of the major tourist attraction for visitors BiH. It was built in 1750 and contains a library and a school. Holy Trinity Church, an Orthodox church built in 1898 is also another structure that you must see.

Kozara National Park is a famous place for hunting. Duck hunting, wild boar, hares, foxes, deer and pheasants is regulated within this area. For those who do not like hunting, there are trails for hiking, biking and walking.

Like most of Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina is rich in historical treasures. Bosnia is known for its natural beauty, numerous mountains, according to travel site Travelison.com, which selected 10 destinations that are special and a must for tourists.

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Ostrožac Fortress dates from the 16th century and is located in the Una-Sana Canton near the placecalled Ostrožac. Between 1900 and 1906, the fortress was further expanded by an unknown member of the Habsburg family.

Radimlja the cemetery containing medieval tombstones (stecaks), most of which date from the 15th and 16th centuries. It is one of the most popular locations from the medieval period to the tourists. It is located three kilo-meters west of Stolac.

Mogorjelo , the Roman villa rustica dates from the fourth century. Surrounded with a beautiful park and a horse farm. Equestrian Club is also located nearby. The club attracts more than 300,000 tourists each year since its opening.

Canyon of the lower course of river Tara is the continuation of the canyon of the river, which rises in the dinar Alps in Montenegro. Together with the canyon of the upper flow of river Tara, it is the second longest canyon in the world, right after the Grand Canyon and is protected by UNESCO.

Pannonian lakes are the only salty lakes in Europe. They are located in the multicultural city of Tuzla. Beaches and other entertainment facilities surrounding the lake attracts more than 100,000 torists each year.

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