Kosovo Travel Guide

We found that when we spoke to people about our plans to travel Kosovo, the response was either something about the war, or ‘Where is that?’. With its Ottoman-influenced towns, bustling capital and complex history, this small country should feature on any Balkan itinerary.

We spent six days in Kosovo, exploring each of these three cities for two days: Prizren, Gjakova and Pristina. And while this seems like a short amount of time, this is plenty of time to explore these cities in this small country. We didn’t feel rushed. For me, travelling Kosovo is more about getting a feel for the place, its people, its way of life. There aren’t a huge amount of tourist attractions here, it’s more a case of experiencing the culture.

Kosovo is Europe’s youngest country, having declared independence in 2008. It has a tumultuous recent history in the Kosovo War of the late 90s, from which we are still seeing the fallout even in 2023.

Back in the time of Yugoslavia, Kosovo was recognised as an autonomous province/region of Serbia. The vast majority of Kosovars have ethnic Albanian origin and were looking for Kosovo to have more autonomy, whereas Serbia wanted to have Kosovo remain close to them. Tensions between the two sides grew and war broke out. As the intensity increased, war crimes were committed and NATO stepped in. It was finally agreed for the UN to run an administration in Kosovo in the interim period until 2008, when Kosovo declared their independence. Even though there are many countries that acknowledge Kosovo’s sovereignty, several countries do not, including Serbia.

Kosovo is an alternative European destination with plenty of rich culture and history to be explored. Venture off the beaten path and journey to this vibrant country.

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