Balkans Tour

Bumping for interest. I plan seeing all of them in the summer. Is there any countries to stay away from?

>>1205189
Not countries, the only places to really stay away from are the old minefileds in bosnia and croatia and maybe some shady parts of Kosovo, but I guess you'd need to try your hardest to wander into one of those.

Atleast put Mostar in there somewhere

>>1205052
>Skip Bulgaria
>Watch out for gypsis
>Don't mention the war
>Watch out for gypsis again
>Don't fall for scams
>Visit Krk national park

>>1205533
Why skip Bulgaria?

>>1205595
Gypsies, probably

>>1205052

Don't bring up the wars. Pristina and Podgorica are shitholes. Not worth going. You should visit Belgrade instead. But don't enter Kosovo through Serbia

>>1206072
Why is it a bad idea to enter Kosovo through Serbia? Will I encounter problems at the border? Or would it be later down the line for whatever reason?

>>1206108

It would be later down the line. Serbia doesn't recognize Kosovo as an independent state, so when travelling from Serbia into Kosovo, you never leave Serbian territory in their eyes. That can you give you a lot of trouble if you ever go back to Serbia, as they will call you out for overstaying your visa, since you never got an exit stamp.

You will need to enter Kosovo from either Montenegro, Macedonia or Albania. Also, the northern part of Kosovo can be tense, so it's better to avoid it.

For another part, Sarajevo is also worth adding to your list. Very interesting place and has much more to see and do compared to Mostar

>>1206072
Really? I skipped Kosovo and it's my biggest regret of my balkans trip

>Serbia
You should definitely visit Belgrade. Old part of the city is beautiful.

>Montenegro
You can see nothing in Podgorica. Literally nothing. If you're going to Montenegro you have to visit towns on the coast, like Kotor. You should definitely visit Kotor. But all the towns on the coast are small and close to each other so you can visit them all.

>Macedonia
Add Ohrid.

>Croatia
You have to add Croatia on your list dude. Dubrovnik and Pula are nice.


As a Serbian guy I don't really like talking about Kosovo as a country buuuut whatever here you go: Pristina is nothing special. If you are into visiting monasteries and churches (not because of religion, they are just beautiful as buildings lol) you should definitely see Gracanica and Decani. And also nature is beautiful on Kosovo.
And yes, enter Kosovo from Macedonia, Montenegro or Albania.


About safety, you are safe anywhere in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia. Idk about the other countries to be honest.

>>1206173
And I forgot Slovenia.
Bled = beautiful

Has anybody here got any experience with traveling in Moldova?

I did a solo trip by train and bus in April 2016. My path was Ljubljana - Zagreb - Sarajevo - Belgrade - Sofia - Skopje - Pristina - Tirana - Podgorica - Dubrovnik

My goal was simply to see a new capitol each day, and see as much as possible on a short time limit while traveling cheap.

Traveling around the Balkans is extremely easy and safe. The major threats are large gatherings of migrants and gypsies. Large groups of feral gypsie children robbing people in the parks of Sofia was the worst I encountered.

I'd change your itinerary a bit though. Sofia is a nice city. Dump Nis and go to Belgrade instead, it's an awesome city. Pristina has very little to offer beside the novelty of being in Kosovo. The main tourist attraction is a statue of Bill Clinton. Tirana is nice and offers a very distinct flavor with a lot of colonial era Italian buildings. Podgorica has absolutely nothing to offer. Nothing at all, do as others have said, visit Kotor. Skopje was interesting, the central plaza area is nice with lots of statues and marble, the rest of the city is a slum. Can't comment on the other cities.

My suggestion for you guys, and I'm assuming that the start and end cities are booked already:

Bucharest - Train to Beograd - Train to Podgorica and then bus to Kotor - Bus from Kotor to Tirana (There was a new company starting a bus service from Kotor via Podgorica to Tirana the week I traveled) - Bus from Tirana to Pristina - Bus from Pristina to Skopje - From there it should be simple enough to get to Sofia - Istanbul - Thessaloniki - Larissa and Athens.

If you have more time I would highly recommend you also go through Bosnia and Herzegovina to see Sarajevo and Mostar and then Dubrovnik on the Croatian coast before Montenegro.

My biggest suggestion though is to not have to strict plans, be open to change if something happens. Delays in travel are very frequent, standards on everything is varied, but the Balkans are so diverse it's a fantastic area to travel.

>>1207040

You should also be very aware that timetables are more like general guidelines rather than set rules. I bus or train might be listed somewhere, but in reality canceled 5 years ago or not listed anywhere and depart daily. Departure times are usually very strict, but border crossing can suddenly take a lot of time so arrival is never precise. People working at the major bus and train stations will do their utmost to help you out, but language can be a major barrier. Just write down the name of the city you want to go to and the date you want to go (i.e. tomorrows date etc.) and show it to the person. They'll give you a selection of departure times if there's a service.

A very decent site to find trains and buses is Balkanviator. Don't trust it too much as services change and most companies to list things online, but it's great for finding out if there's direct service at all between cities.

>>1205052
>Pristina -
Skip it, they will steal your organs.

>>1205052
Here's my opinion.
You're visiting Nis, and Pristina of all places, ffs.
Go Bucharest - Timisoara - Novi Sad - Belgrade - Nis - Sofia - Skopje - Ohrid - and then to Albania

Also, try to put Sarajevo, Mostar and Dubrovnik in there somewhere.
Why you'd visit Nis and not Novi Sad and Belgrade is beyond me. Nis is pretty bad in comparison.

Also, there's really not much to see in Kosovo, unless you're interested in MUH CHURCHES that Serbs always bring up. Pristina is a glorified commieblock with Bill Clinton statues.

If you're going to Montenegro go to some coastal town there is nothing to see in Podgorica. Cetinje, Lovecen (if you want to hike up a mountain to see a tomb), Ostrog and coastal cities are actual destinations.

Missing out on Mostar and Dubrovnik is a sin. And Sarajevo will give you a much more authentic feel of cultural exchange than Pristina.

Also, you didn't bring up Slovenia at all. Consider lake Bled.

>>1207040
We've changed up our plans a small bit to reflect the route you've suggested since it seems to be pretty logical, and it's close enough to our original plans anyway.

Yeah, Podgorica does seem like a bit of a waste of time, and Kotor really looks like a place we could chill out for a day or two, I'd seen about the bus to Tirana already and it seems like a pretty good idea, considering the travel situation in Albania with their famously shitty trains and whatnot.

Revised plan is go north out of Bucharest to see Transylvania, then west to Belgrade, possibly Sarajevo, onto Kotor - Tirana - Prizren/Pristina (I know it's a pointless place to see, but my mate really wants to go to Kosovo because Kosovo or edgy disputed area or w/e) - Skopje - Sofia - Istanbul -Thessaloniki - Larissa - Athens

We'll be pretty lax with our time constraints anyway, we're not expecting everything to go as smoothly as we'd like.

>>1207262
Mostar might be a possibility if we've got a day spare, it would be a really cool place to see.

Slovenia is too far North, I'll be meeting my mate in Bucharest since he'll have come from the North already and we won't have time to backtrack back up there just so I can see it.

>>1207321
Sounds like an awesome trip now. Glad my suggestions could help you out. Most of the cities are very easy to travel to and from. The only city that is a major hassle is Tirana as there's no central bus station. The bus to Pristina leaves and arrives from a very shabby location between two stores a bit outside the city center. Just get the bus tickets from any small travel agency advertising Pristina in their window and have them write a note you can show to a taxi.

Both Podgorica and Pristina are a bit dull, but they are capitol cities worth visiting when passing by if only to say that you've been there. The countryside in Kosovo is beautiful and food is good.

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>>1207046
>You should also be very aware that timetables are more like general guidelines rather than set rules.

I'm German and this unironically triggers me.

I was in Finland last year and plenty of bus stops there had no timetables at all.
Like WHY.

>>1207112
Pristina is completely safe. The problem is that it's just boring and there's very little to do.

Awesome trip. My balkan trip was by far my most favorite ever. Advice though is like others said, skip pristina and podgorica as they are entirely commieblock ghettos.

As for albania, your doing yourself a huge disservice of only visiting tirana. That place is a dump compared to other places there. Try Sarande instead. Its probably albanias only touristy town, but you will really begin to appreciate the concept of tourist infastructure as soon as you cross the border. From sarande you can hit up butrint and gjirokaster, which were both excellent. Also if you have the time, budget, and nerves, you can rent a car and go as far as permet and check out a pretty kick ass hot spring town. If you decide to go that way, stop at some of the random little restaurants on the way and try to get a roast goat meal. Amazing.

As for Serbia, Belgrade can't be missed. I only planned on spending 3 days there but ended up staying over a week, just because the vibe was awesome, fun stuff to do, and good food.

Montenegro was a meh (waayyy yoo many Russian tourists for my liking, but the bay of Kotor definately earns its UNESCO designation. The hike up the hill is brutal (was over 30c when we went) but well worth it.

Sarajevo is excellent. Beautiful city with interesting history and a wicked blend of ottoman, austrian, and commieblock architecture.

If your adventurous, go for a rafting trip on drina tara. Worlds second deepest canyon and beautiful coloured water and scenery. Well worth it.

Enjoy your tour, and have a blast!

PS. Prepare for a lot of 15hr bus rides and accordian music.

>>1207321
I suggest you take a trip through Slovenia in the future. A lot of people have praised it as a hidden jewel. But that's probably just me being biased.

>>1207626
Bled.

>>1206927
Yep, people are friendly and helpful, hitchhiking is easy, it's a fun experience and it's a great place. Go there!

>>1205052
Replace Pristina with Prizren and make sure you go to Sarajevo. If you can, go to the north of Albania (Koman lake etc) and visit Transylvania instead of Bucharest. Honestly, I absolutely love the Balkans, but lots of the big cities there are the same as one another, and they don't give a flavour of what Balkan life is really like. Sofia, for example, though interesting and worth a visit, has a big street with McDonald's and KFC etc, so it's very unlike the rest of the country.

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>>1207888
>Skip Sofia because it has a McDonalds and KFC
Might as well skip half the entire world then, eh?

>but lots of the big cities there are the same as one another
Yes, if you're a complete philistine and lack interest in local culture and history.

>>1207549
>Sarajevo is excellent. Beautiful city with interesting history and a wicked blend of ottoman, austrian, and commieblock architecture.

Oh. Because Sofia isn't.

>>1205533
Completely ignorant digits.

Yeah, skip the historically most influential Balkan nation spanning 1300 years on the same spot.
Who cares the only Balkan song on the Voyager golden record is Bulgarian.
Cyrillic script? More like Bulgarian script.
Just go to recent war zones where everybody is larping as some made up nation with 10 years give or take history.

Just booked my Balkans trip last night, well kind of a Balkans trip.

Flying into Podgorcia, Going to visit Kotor Montengero, Dubrovnik and Split Croatia.. Unfortunately i don't have more time because i want to visit Bosnia too.

Anyone got a good fishing charter/guide?

>>1206131
While tense, I would say that the northern Kosovo border is well worth checking out. I was there this last Summer and if you're an American you'll be fairly well received.

>>1208006
>butthurt bulgarian detected

>>1208006
I've seen McDonalds in two countries colored blue on that map.

>>1207321
You can skip Skopje and go to Ohrid desu, I'm from there and that city has gone downhilllllllll

>>1208006
Bosnia has MCD.

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>>1208006
>according to this map, there's no Mickey D's in Hungary
fucking bullshit

>>1208006
That map is either very old or inaccurate.
McDonald's has been operating in Serbia since 1988. The first communist country to open a McDonald's.
They also operate in Hungary and Romania.
Bosnia got it's first McDonald's in 2011.

>>1207549
Which places don't require 15hr bus rides?

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>>1209173
>>1210237
>>1210245
>>1210288

Yes, it's old. It's the first one I got off the internet, but that only further proves my point that that guy's logic is severely flawed. Hopefully the attached map will sedate you, my autistic fellows.

>>1205052
I am planning something for this summer using EU rail and buses. I am starting from venice.
Venice - Villach - Bled - Ljubljana - Zagreb - Split - Mostar - Sarajevo - Belgrade - Budapest - Vienna - Bratislava.

Likewise if anybody has any advice on any of these places it would be much appreciated. :)

>>1210318
Uhhh, speaking of food, where's the best places to eat in these countries? Any cool or interesting dishes to look out for?

Really cheap food/eating tips appreciated of course, not that I'm expecting to be paying much for meals in the Balkans anyway.

>>1210607
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica

This is _the_ thing in Serbia. I'm sure they have a lot more stuff. Commonly in fast food joints, inexpensive and filling. Ćevapi is also common street food, essentially a meat stick, some bread, some dressing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripe_soups

This is good for cold weather. Warning: Only get it in clean looking places.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banitsa

http://www.balkanbites.bg/
free foud tour

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>>1210607
Best thing i ever tasted. Karadjordje steak. Serbs and their cholesterol... so delicious.
Also, a thing to try around the Balkans is Burek/Borek. Beware, in Bosnia never ask for a specific type of burek, just say burek.

>>1210345
Why would you ever want to go to Villach? At least go to Klagenfurt, you can at least take a dip in the Worthersee and see Mahler's summer house if nothing else.

>>1205533

Skip Bulgaria might be the most retarded advice in this thread.

>>1208006
Found the Bulgarian.
Welcome to one of the poorest, most underdeveloped and simply most backward countries of Europe.

>B-but we wuz nation of culture n shieeet
I straight up hate you dumb fucks. I've met quite a few of you and all of you were cunts. Trying to give your basically failed state any worth by pretending that you made a positive contribution to Europe. Simply pathetic.

And then shitting over Yugoslavia without knowing anything about their history.

>made up natiob with about 10 years of history

Oh my god I can't even find the words for your ignorance you dumb gypsy shit. I really hope that the turks get rid of you next time.

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>>1209120
>>1211180

Yes, I am Bulgarian, friends.
Since you did not and cannot dispute the 681 to 1989 contributions of Bulgaria to the World and Balkans, let me hit you with some contemporary relevance

>no war of any kind or border changes for 70 years
>Bulgarian Ethnic Muslims are friendly and patriotic to the Christian majority
>Built fence along Turk border
>poorest in the European Union sure, but at least not Greece levels of impending collapse
>cost of living is super low, standards are EU

As far as traveling goes, because iirc this is /trv/, there is plenty on offer year-round. You're just salty.