Affiliate Disclosure
Last updated: August 15, 2026
Balkan Guide is a reader-supported website. We participate in affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn commissions when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase or booking. This comes at no additional cost to you — the price you pay is exactly the same whether you use our link or go directly to the provider.
What Are Affiliate Links?
Affiliate links are special URLs that contain a tracking ID. When you click an affiliate link and complete a purchase or booking, the merchant recognizes that we referred you and pays us a small commission. Think of it as a referral fee — the merchant pays us a thank-you for sending a customer their way, and your price doesn't change at all.
Our Affiliate Partners
We currently participate in the following affiliate programs:
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
| Partner | What We Link To | Network |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Associates | Travel gear, guidebooks, essentials | Direct |
| Travelpayouts Programs | ||
| Airalo, Yesim, GigSky, Drimsim, Saily | eSIMs & mobile data | Travelpayouts |
| Kiwitaxi, Welcome Pickups, GetTransfer, intui.travel | Airport transfers & ride booking | Travelpayouts |
| Localrent, GetRentacar, AutoEurope, Economybookings, BikesBooking | Car & bike rentals | Travelpayouts |
| Klook, Tiqets, WeGoTrip, Go City, TicketNetwork | Tours, attraction tickets, audio guides, city passes | Travelpayouts |
| AirHelp, Compensair | Flight delay/cancellation compensation | Travelpayouts |
| Kiwi.com | Flights & multi-city bookings | Travelpayouts |
| EKTA Travel Insurance | Travel insurance | Travelpayouts |
| Radical Storage | Luggage storage | Travelpayouts |
| Vrbo | Vacation rentals & homes | CJ Affiliate |
| World Nomads | Travel insurance | CJ Affiliate |
| VIP Cars | Airport transfers & car hire | CJ Affiliate |
Our Commitment to Honest Recommendations
Affiliate commissions do not influence our content, recommendations, or destination guides. We recommend places, restaurants, and services because we genuinely believe they're worth your time and money — not because someone is paying us to say so.
Specifically:
- We don't accept payment for positive reviews. No hotel, restaurant, or tourism board can buy a favorable mention on Balkan Guide.
- We don't use affiliate links to products we haven't tried or wouldn't recommend. If we link to a travel insurance provider, it's because we've used them ourselves.
- Affiliate links don't increase your price. The commission is paid by the merchant from their marketing budget, not added to your bill.
- You're never obligated to use our links. If you'd prefer not to, simply search for the provider directly — you'll get the same price.
Why We Use Affiliate Links
Running Balkan Guide costs real money — hosting, CDN, domain, content creation, travel for research, and the time it takes to maintain 286 destination pages and a database of 750+ restaurants. Affiliate commissions are how we cover those costs without charging readers, putting up paywalls, or running intrusive ads.
When you book a hotel through our Vrbo link or buy a guidebook through our Amazon link, you're directly supporting our ability to keep creating free, detailed Balkan travel resources.
Identifying Affiliate Links
Not all links on Balkan Guide are affiliate links. Many are regular links to official tourism websites, Wikipedia, or other resources. Affiliate links are typically found in:
- Hotel and accommodation recommendations
- Restaurant booking links
- Flight and transport booking links
- Travel gear and guidebook product links
- Travel insurance recommendations
Questions?
If you have any questions about our affiliate relationships or how we make money, we're happy to discuss it. Transparency matters to us. Contact us →
For more information about how we handle your data, see our Privacy Policy.