Balkans photography holiday
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro are both beautiful countries with well preserved nature. Unfortunately there is a lot of waste that people dump in hidden places. We give example to our guests and locals as well how to keep nature clean. While photographing we often pick up trash, educate our guests about nature, animals and plants and how it’s all connected. We always carry binoculars with us so the guests can use it for watching birds and other wildlife which helps understanding nature and its fragility. Also books about animal and plant life are always present in our van.
All our guests get reusable plastic water bottles so they can fill them anytime – tap water in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro is drinkable. Sometimes we can even drink water from fresh mountain springs! This way they do not have to buy new bottles over and over again which is good for environment and their wallets.
Where possible we stay in »eco-lodges« or »etno villages« where our guests can experience untouched nature and traditional life of the region. Most of these places produce organic food in a traditional way which is more sustainable for nature and also of better quality as regular processed food.
Our local guides and tour leaders always educate our guests about rules of conduct in national parks and other important nature areas.
Community
All of our accommodation suppliers on this tour to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro are local people who run establishments themselves. In the cities (Sarajevo, Virpazar, Kotor Bay) we use pensions and B&Bs. In more remote places, especially in the mountains we use eco-lodges and etno villages which are all made of natural materials in a traditional way. Our guests can experience traditional way of life, authentic hostitality of the owners and their families and eat locally produced food.
We communicate directly to these suppliers so there is no middle man who would get most of the money. We caress our relationship with these suppliers because our interest is long-term partnership. Most of the places we use will also offer something more to our guests – like invitation to wine cellar or in the season our guests can join grape harvest or help feed the farm animals…
Both countries are a culinary delight and offer wide range of cuisines that differ from region to region. It is very important to us that we only use established local eateries and restaurants that offer locally produced seasonal food - run by local people who know traditional food of the area best. Food is one of the most important parts of the travel and we educate our guest of local specialties, the background of the food they eat (where it comes from, why it is important, ingredients & recipes…).
We use locals to help us with the tour. Be it a photographer, a mountain guide or a boatman. Local people know the area intimately and this is very important for us as a photography tours business. Great guide/photography leader is of key importance for us. The right person can make or break the experience of our guests so we work only with best guides and in off season we offer free training, study trips and education on different aspects (one of them is how to travel responsible). Also local photographers know what conduct is acceptable and where is allowed to photograph and where not.
We also promote traditional crafts performed by local people, like wine making at Lake Skadar, copperware in Sarajevo or cooking at various places. All these places supplement their income in this way – we pay for their demonstration plus our guests can buy their products directly from them.
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