Jeg har vært på tur med Hiking the Balkans i Makedonia, Kosovo og Serbia, og jeg har virkelig lagt min elsk på Balkan som feriedestinasjon. Å være på tur med Hiking the Balkans er en ren fornøyelse. De tar oss med til steder det knapt har vært en turist før oss og vi får et innblikk i det lokale og autentiske livet i landet vi besøker. Balkan har mye vakker og urørt natur, en stor gjestfrihet og et fantastisk kjøkken. Jeg ser frem til å besøke flere destinasjoner i Balkan med Hiking the Balkans i nærmeste fremtid.

Balkan er ukjent for mange, men har flere utrolige flotte steder. Jeg har fått oppleve urørt og pristin natur, små landsbyer hvor det føles som om tiden hår stått stille i flere tiår, sett flere utgravninger fra Romerriket, og ikke minst - spist herlig lokal mat dyrket og laget på stedet - mat man ikke får andre steder. Jeg har vært på flere turer og alt har vært super organisert, veldig trygt og har gitt meg minner for livet. Det er ikke lenge til min neste tur!

My sister and I are so thankful for the opportunity to hike the accursed mountains in Montenegro and Albania with Maja and Mio. Lea's organization helped us sign on with ease. We wanted to hike remote regions in the Balkans with a high level of physical activity and this is exactly what we experienced. Vistas from the peaks and valleys were spectacular. Mio challenged us with a swift pace and kept us laughing with his direct, intelligent and slightly bawdy sense of humor. Thank you Maja for your accommodating leadership and sharing your knowledge of all things Balkan. Highly recommended!

It was my first experience with the Hiking the Balkans Initiative and Serbia was an unventured ground for me. The programme was a perfect balance of hiking adventure, culinary experiences, relaxing spa splashing and enjoyable time with local people. Serbia is an unspoilt gem. You could only wish it would remain like this forever, while on the other hand more people should discover the beautiful nature of the land, it's friendly and hospitable people and the lovely cuisine. The hikes up the four mountains were absolutely fantastic, all skilfully prepared and led by our Sebian mounteer Mio. The spa and the visit to the village were nostalgic experiences setting us back a few decades in time. The meeting with the family full of warmth and genuine interest from both sides. There is still so much more to be discovered.  

Wonderful! Many thanks to Maya and Mio for taking care of us and organising the trip. Amazing place, great food, beautiful nature and great fun. Also thanks to all attending for being helpful and supportive throughout our journey. 

This really was a fantastic trip. Food, scenery and company were all exceptional. Thank you to Maja, Lea and Meto for the time and effort you put into organising everything. No stone was left unturned and your hard work along with a bit of good fortune weather-wise made for a wonderful experience. Nikhil, it was great meeting you and look forward to catching up at the reunion next month. Hope to get time over the coming days to go through my camera photos and will upload those in due course.

This was the best trip I’ve ever been on. Thanks to Maja and Lea for organising. Incredible scenery, mountains, food, people… This was amazing! Special thanks to Meto for organising the hikes and making sure they were safe. Thomas and Goran it was great to meet you both and I’d really recommend a trip in the Balkans!

I had a fantastic holiday and can count myself as a half decent skier now thanks to Maja 🙂 It was great to spend time with everyone and I hope to see you all soon! Many thanks to Maja and Stoyan for taking such good care of us!

I always enjoy watching the enthusiasm and passion that goes into a new business venture to drive it forward and this was obvious from the organisation, service and the level of planning that went into the trip, great few days and great to see a lot of Macedonia, history and culture 🙂 thanks again!

It has been a great weekend! Lea is a fantastic host, making you feel part of Macedonian culture and life in all the aspects. We could have not have a had a better guide! Cannot wait to visit the Balkans again with lea and her crew 🙂

Beautiful mountains, easy- going group of people, delicious food - simply great trip! Thank you Lea and Maja again!

Truly spectacular scenery! We seemed to have the whole mountain range almost to ourselves for days on end. Great natural food, lovely weather and excellent friendly organisation from Lea and Maja

I've visited Macedonia on end of April 2016. Throughly enjoyed the beauty of outdoors, Macedonian food and drinks, history and culture of Macedonian politics, Orthodox Christianity and Ottoman Empire. Lea is very well informed and very happy and proud at what she does. She has taken very good care of our group. To sum up it's beautiful place and less travelled and cheap too! Must visit for the outdoor lovers! Bit of a rainy weather when I visited, good reason for me to visit again.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of travelling the Balkans, which history I had so little knowledge of. Back in May I joined the trip that Maja organised in Montenegro and a month later I had already booked my second and third trip. It’s been a truly amazing experience to travel with someone who has such an incredible passion and knowledge about the history and politics of the region. I have been mesmerised by the gems this big region has to offer. I highly recommend it!

“I’ve been on three trips to the Balkans and will go on a fourth in a few months. Each time was a fantastic experience with great people in amazing locations, guided by locals passionate about their country and its nature. One highlight of our last trip was being served coffee and AMAZING home-made bread and cheese by Albanian seasonal farmers on a forlorn foggy mountainside.”

Memorable trip, and fantastic time in Albania. Thanks Maja!

Thank you Maya and Leah for making it happen. I have connected with all of you, amazing beautiful people. My highlights were hot outdoor spa when its -20C outside! Our conversations in the lobby after skiing. The amazing new year’s eve party.The karaoke in the bus! Trying skiing ! Happy 2015 everyone.  Look forward to more LEC trips.

Great trip. Hiking (the many peaks) of mountain Galichica, few moments of silence at Matka Gorge, dinner at the lake view restaurant, spreading sunblock on some of you, meeting Tony, Gregory, and, especially, Lea true Macedonians were the highlights of the trip.

What an amazing trip! Am suffering from SEVERE withdrawal symptoms from our holiday, and missing you all  🙂  Thanks to everyone for making it such a memorable adventure.Since our return, I’ve been raving about those Macedonian tomatoes… my friends have been wondering if I spent too much time in the sun…. :)Hope to see you soon, M x

Breathtaking scenary, perfect weather, good food, the contagious passion of Maja and our guides for this country, very nice travel companions: this trip had it all! Montenegro has joined my list of the best countries to visit!

Mountains, laughter, wild flowers, views that were so spectacular I was beginning to think I was hallucinating, delicious fresh food in the night-time air, wonderful companions, the scent of wild herbs and the sun beating down on us. Thanks everyone, especially Maja, Vlatko, Martin .., and Nada for helping to steer us through the restaurant bill maze!

excellent holidays – fantastic scenery, rugged mountains, amazing hospitality and a great company – many thanks (as ever) to Maja and Vladko for a superb planning, organization and logistics! Thanks to everyone for being such a great company!.

Thanks very much to Maja and Vladko I enjoyed every single moment of the trip. No room for boredom at all. The hikes, swimming in the lakes, the movie, the tours, the food…and of course you people. Magnificent country, such a pity the division.

Veliko hvala to Maja and Vlatko for being so adventurous and taking us off the beaten paths:)  in such a splendid way. Please carry on like this. These trips are full of fascination and fun, looking forward to explore more with you and thanks everyone for joining and spending this great week together.

Thank you so much Vlatko and Maja for organising this amazing trip to Bosnia. It has exceeded all my expectations. It was more than perfect with great hikes (including bundu bashing ), sightseeing in interesting cities , great food, hospitality, swimming in lakes, sleeping in the mountain, lots of history and culture. Thank all of you for the great week!

5 stars are not enough to express the joy of this trip! I loved every minute of it – fantastic mountains, alpine flowers and lakes, weather, food, company, not to speak of being fortunate in having the best guide in Bulgaria!  Thanks so much for thinking of and planning this trip so well Maja and Lea, I will surely be visiting Bulgaria again…

Thank you Maja for your hard work in taking us to a road less travelled. Beautiful moutains, lovely food and a friendly group made for a memorable trip. Was interesting to meet the people and learn more about Kosovo first hand, including the Kosovan definition of an easy hike

Interesting cities & yummy food…I LOVED the mountains! Thanks everyone for the great company, conversations and laughs. Specially Maja and Lea for a 10/10 organisation!

Lovely group of people,I’m glad we got to see kosovo before everybody else does.Many thanks to Maja and Lea for all there hard work .I hope everyone in the LEC realises how lucky they are to have such a wonderful group on their doorstep