Is it easy to find drinking water while hiking in the Balkans?

Many mountain areas in the Balkans are karst, meaning there’s often little or no surface water – this is true for Croatia and Montenegro, and much of the Peaks of the Balkans for example. There are springs, some of which are reliable throughout the hiking season, others less so. In any case I carry a metal flask, as well as one or more collapsible water ‘pouches’ for days when water is more scarce and I need to carry more with me, as well as a water filter. I always carry a small water filter on hikes in the Balkans (and most other places actually) – a Peak Series Collapsible Squeeze Filter from LifeStraw, to be precise. This weighs next to nothing, takes up hardly any space in my pack, and means I can collect water pretty much wherever I find it along the trail. In any case, avoid buying plastic bottled water – many of the plastic bottles will otherwise inevitably end up in landfill.