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Kosovo

Europe's Youngest State

The Economist’s Balkans Correspondent, Tim Judah and former New York Times Balkans Correspondent, Nicholas Wood, examine Kosovo’s fortunes amid scandal and debate over its recognition.

This tour is set to take place in the autumn of 2012. It is expected to cost £2500. Bespoke trips for smaller groups are also possible.

Kosovo - From War to Independence - A slideshow by: Andrew Testa

Tours for 2012

From Libya to North Korea It’s been a great year for Political Tours with trips to North Korea, Georgia, Bosnia and Turkey. In the...

The impact was immense and far exceeded our expectations. It took us completely out of our comfort zone but because of the organisational capability we felt very safe at the same time.

Jacob Whittingham

Director of SE1 United, a South London NGO working with inner-city youth

Experts

Tim Judah

Tim Judah covers the Balkans for the Economist and its online column, Eastern Approaches. He is the author of three books on the region: The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia and Kosovo:...

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Nicholas Wood

Director of Political Tours Nicholas Wood set up the company in 2009 after ten years’ experience working as a reporter in the Balkans. Most recently he was the New York Times Correspondent for the...

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Tour Manager

Ardian Arifaj

Ardian Arifaj is an analyst and member of Kosovo’s Foreign Policy Club, the region’s leading foreign affairs think tank. He began his professional career as a journalist and member of the team that...

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Tour

Three years after its initial declaration of independence Kosovo’s reputation appears sullied as its government fights persistent allegations of corruption and its prime minister has been tainted by an organ trafficking scandal.

It is an inauspicious start for Europe’s youngest nation as it seeks international recognition all the while opposed by a vocal Serbia. Tour experts, Tim Judah, and Nicholas Wood, explore Kosovo’s recent history and analyse one of the most ambitious nation-building projects undertaken in recent history. Aided by local experts, politicians, and analysts, the tour explores the origins of the conflict in Kosovo and looks at the enormous changes that have taken place since 1999.

We look at Kosovo’s government and the complex array of international bodies that continue to play a role in the region. The tour studies the deep social and economic problems Kosovo faces as well as its potential with visits to both rural and urban areas. We examine the changing relationship between Kosovo’s Albanian and Serbian communities and visit Mitrovica, the ethnically divided city that remains a source of tension in the rest of Kosovo. Lastly we explore the possibilities of a settlement with Serbia, including the controversial option of a re-division of territory in the region.

Participants number between 8 and 18 people. If we do not reach the minimum number of passengers on a tour it may be cancelled and your deposit will be returned.

Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Arrival and Welcome. Optional guided walk around the capital, Pristina, before dinner. Frequently described as the ugliest city in the Balkans, it still has Ottoman-era houses and mosques. Since 1999 it has experienced enormous change, and is undergoing a construction boom. Dinner with tour experts and Political Tours staff.

Day 2 Competing Historical Claims. Depart from Pristina to Decani – home to Kosovo’s most spectacular monastery built by the medieval Serbian King Stefan. An introduction to the medieval empire of the Serbs. Lunch in a Kula, a ancient fortified Albanian home: an introduction to medieval Albanian law and family structures. Prizren – The League of Prizren and 1872 Albanian aspirations for statehood. Dinner by the river and return to Pristina.

Day 3 The 1990s and its Legacy. Gazemestan – From 1389 to 1989. The Battle of Kosovo and Milosevic’s rise to power. The Drenica Valley – Prekaz and the birth of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Packed lunch. Rural Kosovo today – profile of a rural Albanian village, its history, how people survive, the role of migration and the need for agricultural reform. 70% of Kosovars still live in the countryside. Dinner in Pristina plus guests.

Day 4 Intervention and Supervision. Pristina – briefing by UN officials: The war and its aftermath. Briefing by Nicholas Wood, Political Tours’ Director and former New York Times Correspondent: the March 2004 riots and how they reversed international policy on Kosovo. Briefing by international officials: “Supervised independence and the road ahead for Kosovo.” Mitrovica – the divided city. Divided since the end of the war, this city remains the focal point for ethnic divisions. Meetings with international officials. Walk across bridge to the Serb dominated north of the city. Meeting Serbian representative in the north. Walk around city. Talks with Serbian refugees who have come to live in north. Dinner in Pristina.

Day 5 The Economy. Briefing by local and international economists. Meeting with international investors. The obstacles to investment in Kosovo, local and international. Plus international community’s lack of development policy. Lunch with investors. Alternative visits to major locations of foreign investment.

Day 6 Government for all? Gracanica. Meeting with mayor of newly created Serbian municipality. How well is Kosovo’s government living up to its post independence promises? Meeting with rival Serbian muncipal authority, backed by the Serbian state. Lunch in Pristina. Meetings and briefings with government officials. Briefing by Kosovo NGO on corruption. Another view – Vetevendosja, Kosovo’s “self-determination” movement that opposes continued international supervision, and vocal opponent of the government and international community. Free time in Pristina followed by dinner.

Day 7 What lies ahead? Briefings with EULEX, the European Union’s Law and Order mission, and a visit to the courts. Kosovo’s European Perspective – talks by European Commission and government, and updates on the status of talks between Pristina and Belgrade. Briefing from representatives of non-recognising states. Dinner in Pristina.

Day 9 Return Breakfast and travel to airport.

For those who would like to further explore Kosovo after the tour we can arrange stays in villages as well as excursions into the countryside and mountains.

If you would like to book a tour please fill in the booking form, which can be obtained by clicking the Book Tour button. Or call us on 0843 289 2349 to find out more.

Essential information

How to make your booking.

You can make a booking by contacting Political Tours directly by phone on 0834 289 2349 or by filling the booking form on the Book Tour button.

To confirm your booking you need to send a non-refundable deposit of 15% of the total holiday cost or £250 per person (whichever is the greater) made payable to Political Tours Limited.

If you are booking less than 8 weeks prior to departure the full cost of the tour is payable.

If you would like to contact Political Tours’ Director, Nicholas Wood, he can be reached by email at nicholaswood@politicatours.com or by mobile phone on +44 7855 266 151.

What is included in the tour.

The price includes accommodation in 3 star hotels in Pristina as well as all meals during the visit. All the accommodation includes private bathrooms. (Where there is a possibility of staying over night in a village local standards will prevail.)

Please be aware that Political Tours is a land only tour operator. Our clients travel from many countries and the costs of flights to and from the destination are not included in the price.

How to reach the destination.

There are regular daily flights between Pristina, and Vienna, Istanbul, Frankfurt Berlin, London and Zurich. See Pristina Airport’s website for a full list of destinations. http://www.airportpristina.com/en/page/sub/id/c1/s27/

Easyjet also flies to Kosovo via Geneva. A taxi from Pristina Airport to the city centre costs around 15 Euros.

Climate + Clothing suggestions

Kosovo has a continental climate, and is surrounded by mountains to the South and West. It experiences extremes of temperature in both summer and winter. Temperatures can peak in the 30s during the summer months. Higher up in the mountainous regions you can expect temperatures to be a few degrees lower. Snow falls in Kosovo from between November to March and temperatures can drop to well below zero. Both spring and autumn can be rainy.

Passports, Visa and Health

All clients are personally responsible for ensuring that they have a valid passport, relevant visa/s and conform to the health regulations required by the country/s that will be visited during the tour.

Foreign nationals presently do not need visas for Kosovo, and can stay for up to three months in the country. See the Kosovo government’s web portal for further information.

http://rks-gov.net/en-US/Qytetaret/InfoPerTeTuajt/Pages/LejeteQendrimitDhePunes.aspx

The health system in Kosovo is severely under-funded. Hospitals lack specialist equipment and there is a widespread shortage of medicines and other essentials. Many in the medical profession lack training in modern techniques and practices.

There are some outbreaks of Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) during the summer in rural areas Kosovo. This is a tick borne disease. In 2010 there were 84 suspected cases, and 18 confirmed. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit the websites of the NaTHNaC or NHS Scotland’s Fit for Travel or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

Personal Safety

Crime is well below the European average in Kosovo, however some foreigners have been the target of street crime and break in over the past decade. However tourists are safe to walk around the city. You are much more likely to be invited into someone’s home for tea of coffee than be the victim of crime.

The exceptions to this are when there are increased political tensions, and periods of civil unrest.

Currently the UK’s foreign office advises against all but essential travel to the north of Mitrovica. This is a key part of our tour as the city’s divisions are integral to understanding the broader political dynamics of Kosovo. Please consult the Foreign Office’s Travel Advice site below. http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/europe/kosovo

You are also required to take out insurance that will cover travel to north Mitrovica or areas where the foreign office has recommended essential travel only. Please see the following section for more details.

Insurance

Appropriate and adequate travel insurance is essential and is a condition of travelling with us. Your policy must include comprehensive medical cover including the cost of evacuation and repatriation from the remote destinations included in your tour in the event of illness or accident in addition to other medical requirements.

Please provide us with confirmation of the name of your insurance company, the policy number and the insurers’ emergency contact telephone number for use in a medical emergency no later than 8 weeks prior to the tour departure. If you fail to do so, we are entitled to cancel your booking and apply the cancellation charges shown below.

You must also ensure that the policy will protect you in the event that you travel to an area against the advice of the Foreign Office.

Hazards Inherent in Our Tours

It is in the nature of the itineraries we offer that the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office may have issued advice against all travel or all but essential travel in relation to the country or parts of the country we are intending to visit prior to confirmation of your booking. Where the FCO issues such advice, we may as a result cancel your tour or make changes so as to avoid the area concerned (see clauses 10 and 12 of our Terms and Booking Conditions). Alternatively, we may ask you to sign a form confirming you wish to proceed with the tour notwithstanding the FCO advice.

Our Cancellation Charges

If you feel you need to cancel a tour before departure we reserve the right to make the following charges.

Period before departure within which written notification of cancellation is received by us, and charges per person cancelling.

Up to 56 days Deposit

55 to 28 days 50%

27 to 15 days 75%

14 days or less 100%

On receipt of your booking form and deposit we will confirm your booking in writing, then approximately 8 weeks before departure we shall send you further information relevant to your tour together with a final invoice.

Please pay the invoice within 10 days of the invoice date otherwise we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled and apply the cancellation conditions as set out below. Your travel documents are dispatched about 7/10 days before the tour departs.

Booking Terms and Conditions

Full details of our terms and conditions can be viewed by clicking this link.

UK: 0843 289 2349 | Int: +44 843 289 2349