Lonely Planet puts Macedonia in top 10 countries to visit for 2014

Populat tourist guide Lonely Planet has put Macedonia as the in the top best countries to visit for 2014. It's #9 to be precise, while the top spot went to Brazil.

In its guide, Lonely Planet describes the Macedonian capital as becoming increasingly visitor-friendly, with a bevy of cool new hostels, upscale wine bars and bistros, and one of southeastern Europe’s best club scenes.

Beyond Skopje and the more established tourist sites such as Lake Ohrid, Mavrovo ski area and ancient Stobi, new things are happening elsewhere. Quiet Berovo, near the border with Bulgaria, is an up-and-coming contender on the spa-hotel scene.

- Also in Macedonia’s idyllic eastern half, sturdy old Kratovo – with Ottoman-era stone bridges and cobblestone lanes – is revitalising previously derelict Turkish mansions, attesting the bygone wealth of this old mining town. And in the arid central vineyard region of Tikveš, new quality wineries are catering to thirsty visitors - concludes Lonely Planet.

Lazy Holidays

The film was made in the town of Ohrid in Macedonia (Ohrid). In our travels we bring a few photos;). The best way to preserve memories is shooting video. In this way, better get to know the country and people, we establish direct contact easier. We remember an elderly couple, resulting in a small shop with regional products, Sanja sculpture, street vendors corn, cotton candy, and ... hairdressers, who opened their bets after dark.
But Ohrid is primarily a city full of monuments which have been inscribed in 1980 on UNESCO World Heritage List.
In the film, left for the church of St. Sophia, in which are preserved frescoes of the eleventh century, the ancient theater, the church of St. John at Kaneo of the fourteenth century, the church of St. Panteleimon, the walk ends at the fortress of Tsar Samuel, resulting in the X-XI centuries. However, the city has much more to offer. With beautiful Ohrydu soon show you a few more production. Stay tuned!

TraWell (Skopje) - Android App

TraWell is an application designed to be an intelligent and touristic guide which can provide you

simple but very fun navigation in the town of Skopje, the capital city of Macedonia.

This application is easy to use and it can provide complete and organized visit through all the places in
the old town: cafes, museums, galleries, churches, mosques, monuments, traditional Turkish Hamas,
restaurants, bars.. and many more places to see in this particular traditional old part of Skopje.

Once the user starts using this application, he can get full insight of a complete and fun visit which
includes gallery of pictures, maps, description of the places and rankings and comments from other
users. But what it makes this application even more interesting to use is its features such as:

-Reality +, a location based and augmented reality service that can provide you information of places
that are in your surroundings including distance and orientation.

-E-Card, service providing creating e-post cards and their sharing online vie social networks and mailing.
The pictures taken can also be saved in a personalized gallery.

-Tour Plan, a personalized catalogue of the placed the user wants to visit including map, orientation and
agenda (with time and dates) for the chosen places to visit.

This application can also be used offline. Once you download the application the user can get full guide
with pictures, maps and description of the places.

Download from: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codewell.skctg

Macedonia, Qatar sign deals on investment, tourism

Macedonian authorities say Qatar and Macedonia have agreed to mutually protect and promote investments, as well as to cooperate on tourism.
The office of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has not made public any details on the treaties signed Monday during a visit to Macedonia by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Macedonia and Qatar also inked agreements on culture, education and health following talks between Al Thani and Ivanov.
The Qatari leader, who is accompanied by a 100-member business delegation, will meet Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on Tuesday.

Lets go to Venice! Skopje - Venice Flight 25.99 Euros

Starting from September 20, you can fly from Skopje to Venice with one-way fares starting at 25.99 EUR, all taxes and fees included, Hungarian low cost airline Wizz-air said in a statement. 

‘This is only the beginning. We plan to introduce other flight routes’, Commercial Director of Wizz Air, Gyorgy Abran said at today’s press conference. 

WizzAir has launched flights from Skopje to London, as of June 19. So far, WizzAir has sold about 8250 one-way tickets to London. 

The company expects that by the end of the year at least 25.000 people will book flights to London or Venice. 

You can book tickets easily by paying online using your credit or debit card. You can get a cheaper deal by booking your flight early.

NY Times picks Macedonia one of world's top travel destinations

Macedonia has been placed among the 31 world's top travel destinations, which the "New York Times" recommends for 2010.
"One of the deepest lakes on the planet, with a dazzling Unesco World Heritage site of ancient dwellings rising high above its shores, Lake Ohrid in Macedonia is a local vacation star poised for greater international acclaim. In the tiered, terra-cotta-roofed city of Ohrid, 18 miles from the Albanian border, a lakefront settlement dating back to Neolithic times, Macedonians boast that on their side of the lake is a church, monastery or mosque for every day of the year, each full of resplendent frescoes, mosaics and icons.
Notable attractions include the recently renovated church of St. Clement and St. Panteleimon at Plaosnik, an epic Byzantine masterpiece, and the 13th-century St. John of Kaneo, a limestone and brick monastery that juts out over transparent blue waters. An estimated $50 million renovation of the Ohrid Airport is planned for 2010, with more international flights expected by summer, and up to six new luxury hotels are in the works, including a $33 million property with construction scheduled to begin in March.
Tourist attractions on Ohrid’s beaches were upgraded last year with swank bars and dining spots complimented by bamboo and leather couchettes, with the hot spot Cuba Libre (www.cubalibreohrid.com) leading the way.
Meanwhile, new government-financed archaeological digs around the lake regularly unearth treasures, like the 17 fifth-century tombs discovered last July. The find follows the 2008 opening of the Museum on Water, a re-created Bronze Age village built on stilts incorporating Ohrid artifacts", reads the "New York Times" text on Macedonia.

MACEDONIAN CITIZENS ON FIRST VISA-FREE TRIP

A total of 100 citizens of Macedonia will be picked at lottery Thursday evening for cost-free trip to Paris on Saturday, when EU's decision to scrap visa requirements enters into effect. Macedonian state television will broadcast the lottery.
Some 10,000 citizens with biometrical passports have applied for the trip. All the selected lucky winners will get free air tickets to Paris. The government organized the trip to mark the EU's decision to scarp visa obligations for the citizens of Macedonia. Deputy Prime Minister in charge of EU Integration Vasko Naumovski and Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska, as well as 20 best students, will accompany the lucky winners.
The travelers will have a unique opportunity to land in a country, member of the White Schengen zone, without visa requirements. They will enjoy a sightseeing tour of French capital. The one-day travel also will include a reception at the Macedonian Embassy in Paris. The European Union lifted the visa obligations for the citizens of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro. The holders of biometric passports will be entitled to visa-free travel to 25 members of the 27-nation bloc - except for Britain and Ireland - as well as in Norway, Switzerland and Iceland Finally, the time has come, VISA free regime.
For most of the readers from Europe and USA its normal to travel where you want, when you want. But, it can do no harm to imagine how hard it was for Macedonians to be cut in their freedom like this, especially when in the past ( before the nineties) they were free to go and then suddenly they got a blockade.