- Top 5 best health resorts
- Summer vacation in Serbian resorts
- Winter resorts in Serbia
Even without access to the sea, Serbia is becoming more and more popular with foreign tourists every year. There are also enough compatriots among them, especially since a Russian traveler does not need to apply for a visa for a trip for up to a month.
Fans of active and health-improving rest go to the best resorts of Serbia, because the republic is one of the most suitable places for this in Europe. There are several balneological centers in Serbia where you can improve your health and say goodbye to many diseases, including very serious ones.
The winter resorts of the country will appeal to both beginners and confident users of ski slopes and snowboard slopes. And finally, you can also sunbathe and swim in Serbia: in the summer there are several beaches on rivers and lakes.
Top 5 best health resorts
As elsewhere in the Balkan Peninsula, Serbia has a very favorable climate, which in itself is a very valuable healing factor. The comparative proximity of the sea, the mountain ranges in which there are “two thousand” peaks and the abundance of coniferous forests create a special atmosphere that favorably affects the condition of patients in the balneological resorts of Serbia. To all of the above, it is worth adding the waters of mineral and thermal springs, of which there are more than a thousand in the country, and the healing mud of Serbian lakes, which have a beneficial effect on the condition of patients with various pathologies.
All Serbian resorts, whose health programs include treatment with water, mud and air, are called baths. In total, there are about fifty of them in the republic, and the oldest existed already in the days of Ancient Rome. Later, Serbian baths were rebuilt and reorganized, hotels and hospitals were built near the springs, and today the popular health resorts are well known to European connoisseurs.
- In Banja Koviljac, tight-fisted Germans and practical Englishmen were recovering already in the middle of the nineteenth century, when the Serbian king Peter I Karadjordjevic introduced the fashion for the waters of this resort. Then they began to build villas and a hospital in the town, and a park was laid out around the town, which became an excellent example of European landscape design. The thermal waters of local springs contain many useful trace elements that help to alleviate the condition of patients with diseases of the spine and nervous system, lymphatic and skin pathologies. In the medical institutions of Bani-Koviljachi, infertility and osteochondrosis are treated, and postoperative patients receive substantial rehabilitation support at the resort. The cultural program of the guests of the city includes excursions to ancient monasteries, walks in the ethnographic park, visits to concerts and festivals, including the Gathering at Vuk, a cultural Serbian holiday that takes place annually in autumn.
- In the rating of the best, there is always Buyanovachka Banya in the south of Serbia - a resort that is always respected by authoritative luminaries in the world of European medicine. Among the health-improving components of the resort programs are not only the waters of thermal and mineral springs, but also mud of volcanic origin. In the sanatoriums Buyanovachki Bani, they help patients with rheumatism, pathologies of the cardiovascular system and athletes recovering from injuries. Another healing factor is carbon dioxide, procedures based on which facilitate the course and accelerate the rehabilitation of patients with coronary heart disease and pathological changes in large vessels. The thermal waters also have a beneficial effect on guests with hypertension: the combination of trace elements dissolved in the water and the temperature regime offered during the bathing procedure help to normalize blood pressure indicators.
- Golden pines, which gave the name to the Zlatibor resort, emit special phytoncide substances into the air, thanks to which it becomes especially clean and even medicinal. The microclimate of Zlatibor is unique even by Balkan standards, and it is recommended for vacation time to all residents of megacities, exhausted by the city smog. The health resorts of the resort successfully help patients with various pathologies of the respiratory system, people suffering from malfunctions of the thyroid gland, children with anemia and athletes undergoing a course of recovery from injuries. Complexes of procedures for normalizing weight are no less popular among the guests of Zlatibor. The local boarding houses successfully practice healthy eating, outdoor sports and psychological programs aimed at getting rid of eating disorders. The surroundings of the resort are very beautiful, and the picturesque views of the Uvac Gorge or the Tara National Park attract fans of hiking. Local history and national traditions are the subject of the exposition of the Sirogoino ethnopark, where you can go from Zlatibor on an excursion.
- Vrnjacka Banja is often compared to the most famous European resorts. The saturation of its thermal waters with microelements is so high that treatment at the resort helps with very serious pathologies of the digestive system, endocrine glands, kidneys and nervous system. Wellness programs include various procedures based on the waters of the four springs of Vrnjacka Banja. Guests of the sanatoriums get rid of stomach ulcers and cholecystitis, experience significant improvements in the functioning of the endocrine glands, and note a stable remission during such serious diseases as diabetes and pyelonephritis. The resort has several thermal pools where you can take baths at any time of the year, and anti-stress programs developed by the Vrnjachka Banja staff help to significantly improve the condition of patients with adrenal fatigue and insomnia. Guests of Vrnjachka Banja prefer to have fun actively and with health benefits. Cycling and hiking trails are laid out in the resort and in the surrounding area, physical education is available in the sports complex, and many architectural landmarks of world importance have been preserved in the historical part of the city.
- One more bath can be added to the top list of the best resorts in Serbia, where not only thermal waters, but also healing mud, as well as radon gas, are used to heal patients. In Nishka Banya, patients with rheumatological lesions of the joints and heart and patients with vascular pathologies are treated. Wellness programs include baths with radon waters, mud wraps and applications, inhalations with medicinal herbs, massages with minerals and salts, psychotherapy sessions and physiotherapy exercises. Modern research in the field of medicine is successfully combined in the sanatoriums of Nishka Bani with the folk healing traditions that have existed in the resort since the days of Ancient Rome. An institute has been opened in Nishka Banya, which is engaged in development and research in various fields of modern medical science.
Serbian doctors skillfully use a combination of natural healing factors and the latest scientific developments, and therefore health complexes of the best resorts in the country successfully compete with Swiss, German and Czech treatment programs. The cost of services in the sanatoriums of Serbia is much lower than in the resorts of Western Europe, and this is an important argument in their favor for those who are not used to overpaying only for the brand.
Summer vacation in Serbian resorts
The lack of access to the sea does not become an obstacle for a country wishing to develop tourism, and Serbia proves this every year, demonstrating an ever increasing flow of foreign tourists. At its best resorts, you can spend time with benefit and pleasure, moreover, there are plenty of places for swimming, sunbathing, active entertainment and even diving in the country.
You can swim and sunbathe on the beaches, which in Serbia are equipped on the banks of numerous rivers and lakes. In Belgrade, such a summer resort is located on the Ada Tsingaliya Peninsula - a man-made beach formed as a result of reclamation work on the Sava River. The beach is covered with pebbles, its infrastructure is quite suitable for both family holidays and active entertainment. The water in the small reservoir, formed as a result of the construction of the dam, is clean and transparent, and the beach has been awarded a blue flag certificate. Several sports grounds and picnic areas with grills, drinking fountains, tables and gazebos are organized on the shores of the lake. Beach visitors in Belgrade can play volleyball, tennis and football, explore the surroundings on a bike ride, rent a water ski, kayak or surfboard. The beach season on the Ada Tsingalia Peninsula lasts from June to the end of September.
Another pleasant beach can be found in the city of Novi Sad in the north of the country. Here, the banks of the Danube serve as a place for summer recreation by the water. The baths of Novi Sad were famous at the beginning of the last century, when representatives of the local bohemia rested there. The beach in Novi Sad is equipped with everything necessary for tourists. Vacationers can take advantage of the showers and changing rooms, dine or drink a cold drink in any of the restaurants, rent a boat or catamaran and hike along the scenic routes along the Danube banks.
Serbia is unlikely to be of interest to experienced divers, but wreck divers will enjoy exploring the legacy of World War II that lies at the bottom of the Danube. Guided diving services on such sites are offered by dive centers in the country, where you can take several lessons and rent the necessary equipment.
Winter resorts in Serbia
Four mountain systems are located on the territory of the republic, occupying more than half of its territory in the southwest, south and southeast. The peaks of the Serbian mountain ranges cannot boast of a particular height, and the most significant of them, Jeravica, rises 2656 meters above sea level. But for lovers of winter recreation, this is quite enough, especially since there are a couple of ski resorts in the country where it is pleasant to spend time with the whole family. For extremists, Serbia's tracks will seem too simple. If you are not eager to break records, it is her resorts that can become a pleasant discovery in the coming New Year holidays.
Kopaonik resort is the undisputed favorite of all fans of winter holidays in Serbia. This mountain system is located in the southwestern part of the country, and the bulk of its peaks rise into the sky by about 2000 meters. The national park of the same name is located next to the Kopaonik slopes, and the magnificent landscapes are one of the reasons for the popularity of the resort among Serbs and their neighbors from other European countries. On the slopes of the mountains, there are more than two dozen tracks, half of which are intended for beginners, families with children and athletes who prefer to enjoy their vacation without unnecessary adrenaline. However, if you are confident in your abilities, a couple of descents of Kopaonik are quite suitable to hone your skills.
There are enough lifts at the resort for everyone - both children and adults, and therefore there are no queues at the start points even during the peak season. It starts in the best winter resort in Serbia in late November and lasts until early April. The snow cover throughout the entire period of active skiing remains quite stable, due to the stable temperature, which drops during the day at least –8 ° С. The weather pleases the guests of Kopaonik with sunny days, which are enough even in winter to cheer up athletes.
The resort is very attentive to children. In addition to special trails and lifts for young athletes, a children's ski school has been organized and a kindergarten has been opened where parents can leave their baby from the age of three. It will be pleasant for young tourists to change the scenery on the rides and playgrounds. The entertainment program for adults includes excursions to the ancient monastery of Zicha, the architectural ensemble of which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage of Humanity lists, tastings of local dishes in the resort's restaurants and dancing in the nightclubs of Kopaonik.
Over the past few years, Stara Planina has only been developing, but it is already gaining a well-deserved momentum of popularity among European fans of winter sports. The resort is located on the eastern slopes of the mountain of the same name, not far from the Bulgarian border, at an altitude of over 1,700 meters above sea level. The difference in altitude on the slopes of Stara Planina is not too great - only half a kilometer, but this is quite enough for ski lovers. The length of the longest route exceeds 1150 meters, and the total slopes on the slopes of Stara Planina stretch for 13 km. The snow cover of a third of them is supported by modern technical devices and athletes can count on stable skiing throughout the season: from the beginning of winter to the last days of March. The resort has a ski school, where they give the first lessons to all interested beginners. The instructors will help you find the necessary ski equipment, offered for rent in the sports equipment center of Stara Planina.
Ski resorts in Serbia do not yet rank high in the lists of the best in Europe, but their progressive development and annual modernization allow us to hope that in a few years they will turn into modern winter recreation centers.
