East or West

>>1201669

I think that most all of western Europe is a wash, so I'm right there with you. Most normies will ask excitedly when I get back from a europe trip if I saw the eiffel tower. To me Central Europe has never failed to dissapoint, the baltics and balkans as well. If you're new to this sort of thing, I'd go from CZ and work my way down to croatia or even further south, given interest. I've hit most every major city in central Europe, and if I've never been there my girl has, so if you have any specific questions, ask away.

Depends what you're looking to do and what you're interested in. Food? Nightlife? Art? History? Just make friends?

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There's plenty of merits to both.

>Eastern Europe would be a good idea for first time visits to Europe who are also budget conscious.

Yes. I would recommend any country in the Balkans.

>Dollar goes a very long way
>Way safer than any W. Europe nation
>Rougher and gives you a more tactile travel feeling

In my opinion (and the opinion of most travellers I've met in Europe), the Balkans are by far the most interesting part of Europe. Amazing nature, varied and interesting history, modern history, diverse, cheap, super friendly people, much fewer tourists.

>>1201684
Not OP but I've been playing around with a 6 week itinerary for this coming Summer and would like some guidance from someone like you.

I'm wanting to start in Rome, go north to Florence and see Cinque Terre, cross over to Slovenia for Ljubljana and Bled(not sure if this logistically makes sense), go down Croatia for Split/Dubrovnik and see Mostar between them, down to Budva+Kotor, stay in Tirana for a night, then to Ohrid and make my way down to Greece to do Athens, Santorini, Mykonos and end there.

Alternatively I've been thinking about doing a Berlin-Prague(Already been)-Vienna-Budapest-Belgrade-Sarajevo-Dubrovnik-Split-Ferry over the Adriatic-Rome type trip as well.

What do you think? Too much on the first one? Landscape and good social hostels matter to me most when traveling.

>>1201669
As someone who is constantly travelling through Hungary and Slovakia I would suggest you to leave these countries off you radar and visit them only with a tour guide

You should go to Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Tyrol Italy, (watch out of Rome it is a mess)

>>1201684
OP here thanks for the detailed response! I actually did have a few questions.

Have you ever had any safety issues in the Balkans? Eastern Europe being unsafe is a meme I constantly hear but I'm wondering if it has any merit.

Are there any cities in particular you would recommend?

>>1201698
What is the reason for avoiding Hungary? I have heard great things about Budapest.

>>1201690
Critiques on the first one are mainly I'm not sure if you can stretch that out over 6 weeks. Great locations. If you go to bled go to Triglav national park and see vintgar gorge, absolute must. You can learn to cut the top off of champagne bottles in Bled castle. The capital is great, see the city castle and try the market during the day at the foot of its hill before the water. If possible, take the train to Rijeka when you're done, I've been told it's scenic and beats a bus. If you can't take the train there's a large military museum somewhere not far from the main route, if you're into that sort. I was on a schedule and missed it. Rijeka is a good hub but other than that there's not too much to speak for. Great city for getting around the bay to Lovran and other tinier towns, both north and South. Split and dubrovnik are getting a lot of travelers these days and they are very interesting, but Croatia has so many beautiful towns nestled in the islands that you'd be spoiled for choice if you wanted to get away from the main touristy parts.

On the second I'd spend less time in Serbia and more time in Croatia Plitvice national park is very doable for you. Also maybe try Brno instead of Prague if you've been? Or do the Sedlec Ossuary, something you missed the first time. Also book more time in Budapest than you expect. Go see Gödöllő or Szentendre. Spend some time soaking in the danube north of Budapest. It's my hub city whenever I go out there and I love it for so many reasons. Reason number one, I've never seen a tourist group being led by a goddamn red umbrella or flag.

Cont'd

>>1201744

with regards to
>>1201710

Slovakia has a lot to offer if you're the right kind of person for it. Great hunting opportunities like Hungary, but for the most part anything you'd want to do that's not visiting ruins or hiking would be done on the west border by Vienna.

The greater Budapest area is rife with stuff to do, I'm not sure why anyone would leave it off a travel itinerary. Much like Slovakia, it gets pretty rural pretty quickly the more South and East you go.

I've not encountered any hostility even once when I was traveling inside or outside the Schengen area in central Europe. That being said, your mileage may vary. I look capably violent and don't dress like an easy mark so that might put off the ruffians waiting to stab the next backpacker that comes round the bend. People are affable, mind their own business when you'd expect them to. More than anything I meet people who can't wait to for me to try their local alcoholic drink. I drink, I tell them my comparatively crazy stories, and we all have a laugh. That being said, though, I did always carry a very distinctly american and high quality box of cigarettes when I went around if I had to ingratiate myself, though I don't partake myself a lot of people in these areas do. Never had to use it yet.

Czech Republic is definitively a must do. hungary and romania are nice too, especially if you like hiking.
There's no safety concerns in europe, other than being pickpocketed in Paris and Rome.

I must recommand not skipping Italy, it's full of tourists in the summer, but it is worth seeing.
Rome & Vatican, the adriatic coast, even to a lesser extend, Venice.

So depending on the time you have, i'd say starts in rome, go up to slovenia by the north coast of italy & venice, cross slovenia, visit the south of hungary, then romania (skip bucharest, it's not worth it) , go back by the north of romania , then budapest, back to vienna in Austria (it's a cleaner, less touristy version of paris), finish with czech republic ( and probably then berlin for a cheap flight back )

>>1201669
I'd recommend the Balkans, they're pretty neat. If you're going in Summer I'd recommend going to Croatia (GOAT coast) or Greece, Montenegro is surprisingly expensive and there isn't much to see. Serbia and Slovenia are your choice in Winter and Spring, it's gorgeous then.

About safety, to be honest all those Yugo countries are pretty safe, although try to avoid the Albanian areas if you go to Macedonia for example, and avoid the gypsy areas in every country. As for people, surprisingly it was the Serbs who were the most friendly, it was so much fun.

>>1201744
>>1201754
Thank you anon, this is insightful. I'd heard quite a lot about Slovenia being the "gem of Europe" and regret not visiting it while I was in that area in May (Along with Budapest). I have 3 trips under my belt and I feel that the last two have been incredibly rushed (hopping countries every 5 days).

With regards to the first itinerary, would a modified one that discludes Albania/Montenegro/Greece/Macedonia replaced with Budapest be more viable? My reason for choosing those Balkan countries was to soak up beach life in cheap countries and experience some more interesting cultures- but I feel like Croatia will already fulfill half that anyways.

>>1201842
Slovenia is great, but be warned your money won't always stretch as far as you think it will.

I know for sure that Croatia will yield the best overall coastline experience on the east side of the Adriatic. It'll certainly be harder to get bored there than its southern neighbors.

I like the revised itinerary. It leaves you with much more time to see all the neat stuff that's within a couple hours of the Vienna/Bratislava/Budapest triangle. Also check out Skojcan(sp) caverns in Slovenia, the country is so small you can do just about anything within its borders and be back in the capital for the night.

>>1202129
Not the person you were responding to but I thought Slovenia was one of the cheaper European countries where the American dollar is strong?