Well lads, I just bought a ticket to Sofia for three months.

>>1286734

Out of interest, what made you choose Sofia?

I've been there before and it's hardly the most inspiring place in Europe... I mean, it's got enough to occupy you for a few days and it's pretty central for the Balkan Peninsula, but for a first trip outside of the USA?

>>1286737
Fair question.

A) It's cheaper than most large cities in Europe
B) It's not really a major tourist destination
C) As you mentioned, it's in the Balkans. I am passionate about Roman and Thracian history, and it seems like a good "home base," because I also want to travel up through Romania.

Also I fucking love slavs

You should be able to travel dirt cheap to those destinations.

Consider buses. There's gonna be a shitload of them to choose from.

>>1286744
And you've got plenty of other places you can easily get to if you want.

There is an overnight train to and from Istanbul if you want some Turkey. Plus both Romania, Greece and Serbia.

Good choice. Especially if this is your first Europe trip.

>>1286754
The Man In Seat 61 is a good place to start for Sofia train travel.

https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Sofia.htm

And check out Rick Steve's Bulgaria episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uZ038_15Fc

Heads up, I've heard the locals attitude in Sofia can be quite solem. Not rude, but not super dooper friendly.

Thanks for the tips all.

>>1286755
Rick Steves is the man, I haven't seen this one.

>>1286743

Fair enough.

I'm not the same fellow you responded to, but out of curiosity, why didn't you fly into Istanbul? I have to imagine the fare would have been cheaper than Sofia.

Anyway, to address the question:

I hitchhiked from London to Istanbul in the summer of 2014. Due to having to catch a flight, I wound up taking a bus for the last leg of my journey, which was Sofia to Istanbul.

Firstly, you could very easily hitchhike from Sofia to either Istanbul or Bucharest in a matter of two or three days. Eastern Europe and Turkey are fantastic locales for thumbing.

Since you didn't ask about that: I recall the bus from Sofia to Istanbul costing somewhere in the neighborhood of $35-$45 USD. I don't know what your budget is, but there are a lot of decent, fairly inexpensive bus companies in the Balkans as well as Turkey. Bucharest to Athens is about 50 Euros, for instance; I remember Istanbul to Athens in 2013 was the same cost.

Consider hitchhiking if you're young enough to take stupid risks and also a poorfag - it'll be very easy to do in that region and you'll meet lots of local people who will probably invite you to stay with them and get wasted at their place.

Expect nicer capitals in literally every direction.
Istanbul is amazing if you're into architecture. Bucharest for clubbing and some food.
Carpathians (any part, really) for hiking.
Sarajevo and Mostar I also enjoyed for architecture and the amazing springs, but the mountains around are even better. Southern Croatia for beaches.
Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pecs, Budapest...
Idk if you can get cheap tickets to Vienna or Prague, but those are also nice. Or Rome...

I really enjoy Bulgarian food for some reason, I guess it's just that the ingredients are pretty high quality, not many additives.

>>1286770

>Rick Steves is the man,
He sure is. He's like a 1990s Sitcom Father.

And he's so nice as well. Almost too nice. I have a conspiracy theory that in his spare time he does evil things like kicking kittens or making pigs smoke.

>>1286967

Not at all, he's just a massive stoner.

>>1286734
That was a weird choice for your first international trip.

Just saying

>>1286734
Hey can I have your email or some other contact? I want to write you a letter.

>>1286734
Local here. ama. Yes. I was in Istanbul a few months back. Went by bus and it was $50 return ticket, 8 hour in each direction due to slower border control and not direct busses. Dunno bout Bucharest but it should be similar. Sofia is a nice city and a great base.

Let me know if you have other questions.

>>1286743
> It's cheaper than most large cities in Europe

Just for a tip then next time you leave the States try Budapest, stupid cheap and shockingly beautiful. Just as cheap as Sofia.

And don't forget Ryanair! They normally have some super cheap flights from Sofia, so a good option if you wanted to spend some time further out of Europe.

Just looking now, they've got flights for as little as 13 euros. They're covered in various threads and blog posts, but for the money a good cheap escape.

>>1286734
There's a brand new edition of the Lonely Planet Romania & Bulgaria guide you can buy for around $20 as different ebook formats. It came out last month so it's totally up-to-date. You should also download the In Your Pocket guide for Sofia and other places in the region.

Constanta has a good museum and the National Museum in Bucharest has a small but good collection, too. There's a full size replica of Trajan's column broken down and placed around the central room that you can explore.

As other anons said, buses are the cheapest way to get around but trains are also pretty cheap.

Just remember that the real world isn't /int/. Don't expect people or cultures to resemble your memes. (OK sometimes they do...)

>>1288452
>And don't forget Ryanair
Wizzair and Blue Air are better for SE Europe, but you need to book ahead to get good deals.