More about Montenegro in the travel pages

Several UK newspapers have published articles about Montenegro in the last few weeks.

The Mail describes a family driving holiday based mainly on the Adriatic coast, with an excursion inland to Durmitor National Park.

The Telegraph's writer also spent a few days on the Adriatic before heading inland, in this case to hike in the relatively little-known Komovi Mountains.

Finally, the Independent's correspondent also combined the coast and the interior on an eventful family holiday.

Belle Air flies from London Stansted to Tirana

The Albanian low-cost airline Belle Air has recently started operating direct flights from London Stansted to Tirana twice weekly (Thursdays and Sundays). There are now three airlines offering flights from London to Tirana - Albanian Airlines already flies from Stansted, while British Airways flies from Gatwick.

Albania and Bulgaria feature in top destinations for 2011

Two Balkan countries, Albania and Bulgaria, appear in CNN's list of "the World's top destinations for 2011". The same two countries features in Lonely Planet's "top 10 countries for 2011". (This is not as much of a coincidence as it might appear - a Lonely Planet editor is among the contributors to the CNN list). I am a little bit sceptical about these annual lists - the format normally requires a completely fresh list each year, which means that pretty much every country in the world is likely to get a mention eventually. Even so, it's nice to see the merits of two Balkan destinations being recognised.

Snowboarding in the Balkans

A recent article in The Guardian, "Boarding the Balkan Bloc", looks at the snowboarding opportunities on offer in a number of ski resorts in the Western Balkans. Among the destinations covered are Kapaonik (Serbia), Popova Shapka (Macedonia), Kolašin (Montenegro), and Jahorina (Bosnia). The writer's overall impression of snowboarding in the region: "rugged mountains; masses of deep, powdery, snow; tree runs from heaven; zero lift queues; friendly locals; low prices; and great food (albeit heavy on the meat)".

Sam Baldwin, the writer of the article, is the editor of the Snowsphere.com winter sports travelzine, and the website includes further coverage of the resorts mentioned above, as well as others in Bulgaria and Slovenia.