Lonely Planet places Serbia among Best in Travel 2015 Top 10

MELBOURNE - Lonely Planet, the world's the largest travel guide book publisher, has named Serbia one of Top 10 most attractive countries to visit in 2015, saying that "this astonishingly inexpensive country is one of Europe's best-kept secrets."

Speaking about trump cards that helped place Serbia seventh among the 10, Lonely Planet mentions "the genre-jumping Exit Festival" which was recently awarded the Best Major European Festival title. It goes on to say that "Belgrade, with its hedonistic floating nightclubs, is being mentioned in the same panting breaths as Berlin and Ibiza," and points to Serbia's "al fresco amusements - killer skiing in Kopaonik, spa-hopping in Vrnjacka Banja and rafting the Drina River."

All of these attractions are "cheap, cheap, cheap - luring thrillseekers away from pricey, played-out playgrounds in ‘the other Europe'," says Tamara Steward, the author of the Lonely Planet's article.

"One secret that hasn't yet been spilled? The Serbs themselves. While famous natives - think Palme d'Or-winning director Emir Kusturica, controversial performance artist Marina Abramovic and a certain Novak Djokovic - steal the spotlight, it's the everyday Serbs that may prove to be the country's greatest drawcard," the author says for Lonely Planet, whose seat is in Melbourne, Australia.

"Forthright, fun-loving and all too ready to welcome visitors with a hearty backslap and a glass of rakija (fiery local moonshine), they're more than the stereotypical scoundrels Hollywood would have us believe.

"But in 2015 Serbia is edging towards EU ascension, meaning big changes - and big crowds - are coming. Go. Now. Before the rakija runs out."

Ms Sheward advises tourists to "head to the hills for a ...

Continue reading on: