When you think of skiing in Europe, you don’t always think of Serbia, and yet this landlocked country which stands at the crossroads of central and south-eastern Europe offers some great family and beginner skiing holidays at value-for-money prices, which, along with the famous Serbian hospitality, makes it a great choice.
In the seventies and eighties Serbia was renowned as a fine skiing destination, but the political unrest which affected former Yugoslavia during the nineties put paid to Serbia’s tourist industry. However now Serbia, along with Romania, Slovenia and Bulgaria, is putting Eastern Europe back squarely on the map as an area that offers good budget skiing.
The main ski resort of Serbia is Kopaonik, which is in fact the country’s largest mountain with a purpose-built skiing village at its base. The surrounding region is beautiful and has around two hundred days of sun every year, with a good snow coverage from November through to May. The village offers lively après-ski, and also accommodation which is conveniently ski-in/ski-out, getting you onto the piste with the minimum of fuss.
At a height of 1,770m Kopaonik offers over 60 km of piste and 21 lifts, with the 29 runs mainly catering for beginners. For intermediate skiers there are eight runs, and for advanced skiers there are six.
The bars of Kopaonik are buzzing in the evening, and most have live music, two of the popular bars being Prestige and Club Hardy. As well as traditional Serbian cuisine, which takes its influences from Turkey, Greece and Hungary, there is also plenty of international cuisine too, and many of the hotels offer buffets where you can eat all you want from a great choice. Both the bars and the eateries are refreshingly good value for money, and don’t forget to try the national drink Slivovitz, which is distilled from plums.
The resort is not just about skiing and après-ski either, there is also tobogganing, hang-gliding and sleigh-rides, and in the hotels you can find indoor tennis, swimming and other activities.
As well as Kopaonik, other skiing resorts in Serbia are Brezovica and Tara, with some skiing also available at Zlator and Zlatibor. Brezovica has peaks up to 2,500m, with some nice long runs that you can just coast along, and Tara has some interesting skiing terrain, and one of the most beautiful mountains of Serbia.
So with holidaymakers counting their pennies ever more carefully, Serbia could be just the skiing destination you are looking for.
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