It’s very safe to travel in the Balkans. The Great Balkan Ride is a drive-what-you-can rally through some of Europe’s most beautiful and underrated countries. It isn’t even the most challenging Travel Scientists‘ event (that honour, we reckon, goes to the Central Asia Rally). However, some people may still presume that the Balkans is a […]
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Great Balkan Ride 2017: Team Interview 1
We interview Rob and Amy about the Great Balkan Ride 2017. At the end of the Great Balkan Ride, in fact during dinner in Thessaloniki, we interviewed some of the teams about their experience of the event, and their thoughts on the Balkans generally. The first team were Rob & Amy. Rob is a Travel […]
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The Great Balkan Recap: Day 8
A memorable last day of the Great Balkan Ride 2017. Photo by Theodore Marković The final day of the Great Balkan Ride was eventful, as we squeezed in sightseeing, another border, and a fantastic final meal. We departed the picturesque City of Stone and travelled through (very underrated) Northern Greece, on our way to one of […]
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Dečani Monastery: Guarded by NATO
The frescoes at Dečani Monastery are unmissable. On the Great Balkan Ride, we spend one night in Kosovo and, despite the briefness of our stay, the young country easily manages to defy expectations. One of the most memorable moments is visiting Dečani monastery: this 14th century masterpiece is as stunning as it is controversial. You many […]
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The Great Balkan Recap: Day 7
A very memorable Day 7 of the Great Balkan Ride 2017. Photo by Theodore Marković The Great Balkan Ride may have been almost drawing to a close, but the seventh day provided some of the best memories of the entire event. We began at the seaside of Vlorë, drove the dramatic coastal route to Sarandë, before cooling off in […]
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Highlights of the Albanian Coast
The Albanian Coast is one of Europe’s best kept secrets. The Great Balkan Ride may concentrate on adventure — driving off-road in places like the mountainous highlands of Montenegro and remote river valleys in Northern Albania — but there’s still time to relax: it’s a holiday, after all. And anybody who is new to the region […]
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The Great Balkan Recap: Day 6
The highlights of the sixth day of the Great Balkan Ride. The sixth day of 2017’s Great Balkan Ride was a chance to do some sightseeing, as the road from Durrës to Vlorë included perhaps Albania’s most attractive town: Berat. We’d been told that we should see the view from the top of Berat hill, but it was […]
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The Great Balkan Recap: Day 5
Day 5 was another exciting day driving through remote Albanian nature. Many questions were waiting to be answered by Day 5 of the Great Balkan Ride: Would all the teams make it back from the mountains? Would Barbara make it to the airport? Would “Lola the Corolla” have survived the night? And most importantly… how […]
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The “Good Old Days” of Yugoslavia… On Film
See Yugoslavia as it was in 1986. The Great Balkan Ride visits places that are, compared to much of Europe, undiscovered treasures. And while nowadays people, our participants included, are coming to appreciate the attractions of the Balkan region, it was even less appreciated in 1986. That was when the American TV series “2 on the town” […]
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The Great Balkan Recap: Day 4
Day 4 was the most dramatic day of the Great Balkan Ride 2017. Photo by Theodore Marković After a relaxed evening the previous night, the journey ahead on day 4 of the Great Balkan Ride promised to be memorable. And boy it delivered. We were heading to Thethi, Albania’s mountain paradise, and teams were offered too possible […]
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