Serbia is right in the heart of the Balkans, but sadly it is not on the radar for most climbers and tourists. For example, Spain receives around 120 times more tourists per year than Serbia. Those who make the effort to go will be rewarded with stunning mountains, rivers and serene forests that can be enjoyed in solitude. For climbers, there are already several great crags to choose from, but like most of the Balkans there is the potential for much more development in the future.
Croatia is a Jewel of Europe, a place full of natural beauty. In recent years Croatia has cemented itself as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe and it isn’t hard to see why. Despite the tourist boom, for every packed beach you see there will be a quiet cove nearby for you to enjoy in peace. The crags, mountains and coastline are a feast for anybody who loves the outdoors. Croatia is quite an unusually shaped country and a road trip is the best way to explore what’s on offer.
Bulgaria might not be the first place that springs to mind when you think of a climbing trip abroad. However, anyone that visits is bound to be impressed by the quality and quantity of climbing the country has to offer. Bulgaria has a great landscape for climbing and mountaineering, as well as a strong scene of dedicated local climbers. Aside from climbing, there are lots of interesting and beautiful places to visit and enjoy.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a beautiful country, with relatively few tourists compared to nearby Croatia. Sadly, when some people think about Bosnia and Herzegovina, the war is what comes to mind. What most people don’t think about is gorgeous mountains, crags and crystal clear rivers. So we don’t want to talk about the war, which so many already know of, we want to talk about all the great things on offer for climbers and tourists today.
POST UPDATED 2026
Albania is a beautiful country, often overlooked and underestimated. The landscape has everything from dramatic mountains to white sandy beaches. In recent years, Albania has seen more and more climbing development and many excellent new routes have gone up. The number of climbers visiting has been steadily increasing as word gets out about the quality of the climbing on offer. There are many stunning cliffs across the country, and as well as a lot of climbing to choose from currently, there is also the potential for a lot more. Albania also has a lot to offer aside from climbing, the country has a fascinating history and rich culture, there is a lot to love about Albania. We have now visited Albania a few times, this post is an amalgamation of our different trips, with some new crags and lots of updates from our most recent visit in 2026.
After our bouldering trip to Prilep, we decided to spend the rest of our time in North Macedonia sampling the sport climbing. We bought a small information booklet about the sport climbing along with our bouldering guidebook from Hristo, in Prilep. This guide had the same information as this website. We found that it was easy enough to match the list of route names and grades, from the website, to the ones written under the routes.
Continue readingArriving in North Macedonia, we were dropped off in Skopje with only our bags, no Macedonian dinar and in search of where on earth our rental car company was. With no guidebook but a name of a city and a Petzl RockTrip video from 2014 we set off on our journey.
POST UPDATED 2026
Montenegro is a small country, the 38th smallest in Europe, in fact. However, despite its small size, it has a huge amount of natural beauty and variety. From the stunning coastline to the inspiring high peaks of Durmitor and many, many canyons filled with beautiful cliffs, perfect for sport climbing! The rock quality is generally really good, and in recent years there has been more and more development of climbing areas and the bolting of many new routes. We first visited Montenegro around 5 years ago, and had a great trip, and we really enjoyed the climbing. We have since returned again in 2026, and had an even better trip! The quality and quantity of new routes was amazing and clearly Montenegrin climbing is going from strength to strength. We thought the climbing was excellent and we were so glad we were able to return for another trip, and we would go back for a third time in a heartbeat!
The Crag Journal 