Familiarization Tour for NGAM - June 2007

National Geographic Adventure Magazine features Montenegro thanks to CSTI and CHF/USAID support. Having hosted a photographer and journalist team on an extensive tour of Montenegro in the summer of 2007, we eagerly awaited the final product. In March 2008, a four-page article was released showing striking images of Montenegro and Croatia to tens of thousands of readers - and potential visitors - worldwide. The CSTI-founded Montenegro Adventures Travel Agency was prominently mentioned as a primary contact for interested travellers.

After weeks of preparation in coordination with tourism stakeholders and government tourism entities (i.e. local tourism organizations, national parks, National Tourism Organization etc.), CSTI and partners were ready to host National Geographic Adventure journalists. The writer and photographer pair arrived in the beginning of June and immediately plunged into the tour with kayaking on the Moraca River with the Podgorica Kayaking Club. The next day they travelled to the coast for several days, first to Przno for scuba diving, and Boka Kotorska Bay for wreck diving and then to Bar for a cultural tour of the old city and on to Ada Bojana for kite surfing.

After a boat cruise on Lake Skadar and an overnight stay with the Dragisic family in the village of Limljani, the tour ventured north for a hike in the Bjelasica mountains. The journalists stayed in Katun Vranjak, and woke up to the sound of cow bells in the morning and a traditional breakfast of kacamak before beginning a hike to the primeval forest of Biogradska Gora National Park. The next day they proceeded onwards to Durmitor for hiking with the Zabljak Mountaineering Association, mountain-biking with representatives of the Summit Cycling Association and then enjoyed the hospitality of the highest mountain villages in Montenegro - Podgora and Bosaca. They finished the adventure with a two-day rafting trip in the Tara Canyon organized by Tara Tours from Pluzine, interrupted only by a picnic lunch at Camp Grab and an overnight stay in the Radovan Luka Motel.

The journalists left Montenegro with lasting memories of Montenegro's diverse terrain, generous hospitality and abundant opportunity for adventure. Since June 2007, CSTI has been in close contact with them to provide additional information and clarification on the details of the tour. CSTI and partners were looking forward to seeing the article in print. It was published in the March 2008 edition of the magazine with an anticipated circulation of more than 525,000.