Tips For planning a trip to Eastern Europe

We revealed our travel plans on our YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago, as well as because then, our days as well as thoughts have been consumed with planning this legendary trip.

As with getting ready for a journey anywhere in the world, there are numerous things to believe about, as well as plan for, when embarking on a European adventure!

Η ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ

Deciding which countries you want to go to is the very first step, particularly if you want to make utilize of your train pass (more on that below). try to plan your trip in a circle, to prevent backtracking as well as wasting your valuable travel time.

This is our route:

Turkey ⇒ Bulgaria ⇒ Macedonia ⇒ Albania ⇒ Turkey (for an event) ⇒ Croatia ⇒ Montenegro ⇒ Bosnia & Herzegovina ⇒ Serbia ⇒ Slovenia ⇒ Italy ⇒ Hungary ⇒ Slovakia ⇒ Czech Republic ⇒ Austria ⇒ Poland ⇒ Ukraine ⇒ Romania ⇒ Turkey

17 countries in 22 weeks.

This is the fastest we’ve travelled in a extremely long time.

But, there is an explanation for this. We’re not planning to see the entire country of each destination, however rather, we’ll select 2 – 3 locations to go to for around 5 days each.

When selecting your route, think about the following:

Καιρός:

We’re starting our trip in January, which is certainly not an perfect time to be in the northern hemisphere (unless you’re into skiing). This is why we chose to head to the Mediterranean / Balkan countries first. We wished to be as far south in the region as we could.

Unless you’re a huge fan of the freezing cold, you most likely won’t want to go to the Baltic countries in January, as well as similarly, you many likely will want to prevent the searing 40 degree summertime warm of Bulgaria.

Εποχή:

I don’t imply the weather condition with this one. If you want to prevent the crowds in this part of the world, make sure to travel in the off-season or the take on season.

During Easter, Christmas as well as summertime holidays, numerous of these countries will be packed with tourists, both regional as well as foreign. early spring, autumn as well as winter season are great options (except for Christmas time). having stated that, if you want to experience the festivities of these holidays you should, however expect that there will be crowds.

Festivals: 

You’ll requirement to choose if you want to see the celebrations on offer, or if you want to prevent them. Easter will be incredibly hectic in Italy, however the events will be incredible. The spring celebration in Hungary, the Beer celebration in Czech Republic as well as the different Christmas markets may be events that you don’t want to miss.

Check the dates as well as plan accordingly.

Μεταφορά:

Trains, buses, rental cars, hitchhiking, bicycles and flying, there are various methods to get around. When you’re planning out your route, make sure to inspect out the train lines – some countries are much better linked than others, which will potentially impact the path in which you travel.

Μεταφορά

Once you’ve figured out your route, you’ll want to purchase your train pass, book a rental car, or purchase a flight…or all three.

Τρένο:

For non-Europeans, Eurail is the business you’ll want to book your train pass with. For Europeans, Interrail is what you’re after.

With Eurail, you can purchase a worldwide Pass which enables you to go to 28 countries within a specific time period. We have this pass, which enables us to travel between 28 countries, for 15 days. The pass ends after 2 months.

Another choice is the One country Pass which enables you travel within one country of your choice. For example, you can select Italy as well as choose 3, 4, 5 or 8 travel days within a one month period.

Keep in mind that travelling by train in the Balkans (Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Serbia as well as Romania) isn’t the very best plan, as the trains are rather old, there aren’t numerous routes as well as they can be unreliable.

Travelling by bus is the very best choice in this area of Europe, inspect out this site for comprehensive time tables.

Νοικιασμένο αυτοκίνητο:

Having your own wheels is a fantastic method to see this part of the world, as well as usually there are little villages, ruins or other gems that you’ll want to visit, however the trains or buses won’t run there.

If you have your own car, you’ll be able to have experiences that other tourists may otherwise not.

The Balkans are a fantasticlocation to lease a vehicle as the trains right here aren’t as reliable, or modern. The buses do run, however they are frequently extremely long journeys.

We have vehicles rented in Albania as well as Macedonia with EconomyBookings.com as well as are looking ahead to checking out these two countries independent of the public transfer systems.

If you do choose to lease a car, make sure you discover out whether or not an worldwide Driver’s Licence is required. We don’t requirement one for Macedonia, however we do for Albania.

Αεροπλάνο:

In purchase to save time, or if you discover yourself in Italy as well as requirement to get back to Turkey (for example), think about taking a look at the budget plan airlines in the region.

If flights from one city seem expensive, inspect the neighbouring city / country, as well as so on. Pegasus provides budget-friendly flights in Europe, as does Ryan Air and simple Jet (although they tend to fly from Eastern Europe to Western, instead of within the east). one more choice is Hungary’s low expense carrier, Wizz Air.

These airlines are cheap, as well as offer no frills. keep in mind that frequently you’ll have to pay for luggage with these companies, as well as in some cases you won’t get a designated seat number, you just sit where there is an empty seat!

ΑΣΦΑΛΙΣΗ

Having the appropriate insurance coverage when travelling is a must, particularly if you plan to do adventurous activities.

We suggest world Nomads Insurance, as they cover numerous activities that other business do not. If your possessions are stolen, they will cover that also (always inspect your policy to make sure you understand what is covered, as well as what is not).

Another benefit of going with world Nomads is that you can prolong or modification your policy while you are on the road. With numerous other companies, you should kind out your insurance coverage when you are in your house country.

Pin it ?

Also, if you book your vehicle rental with your credit rating card, you’ll be covered for the damage collision waiver – a charge that you’ll have to pay at the rental company if you don’t book with your credit rating card.

We have a TD very first class unlimited Visa card as well as we are covered on there for this additional insurance.

Κατάλυμα

The lodging choices in Eastern Europe are endless. If you want to stay in a hostel, a guest house, a B&B, a hotel, a resort or a shop hotel, you can.

The value for money is extremely great in this part of the world. You can expect clean spaces with friendly, well-informed staff. Also, breakfast is generally included in the cost of your room.

We’ve been taking a look at HostelsClub.com, HostelWorld.com, Booking.com as well as have likewise been searching travel blogs for lodging options. As you know, blog writers tend to share the very best areas to stay ?

The gorgeous space at the shop hostel Old Plovdiv

If you’re travelling in the cooler months, make sure your hostel has heating in the space as well as hot water showers. If travelling in the summer, make sure air-conditioning is available.

Διαβιβάσεις

Travelling with your wise phone has ended up being the norm rather than the exception these days. being able to browse Google Maps while on your road trip, as well as being able to equate a foreign languages into your native tongue is extremely helpful – as well as there are numerous languages to stumble your method with in Eastern Europe!

Navigating utilizing Google Maps while on the road.

Wi-Fi is offered in many cafes around the region as well.

Visas

By visas, I don’t imply credit rating cards. In purchase to go into a country, you will frequently requirement to purchase a visa – which is essentially a consent stamp / sticker in your passport which enables you to cross the border into the country.

Many nationalities do not requirement visas for this part of the world. As Canadians, we only requirement a visa for Turkey (which can be bought at the flight terminal if showing up by air).

As an example, Canadians do not requirement a visa to go into into the Ukraine, however, Australians do.

Always inspect on the internet to see if you will requirement to acquire a visa in advance, at the border, or not at all.

We’ll be offering as much as date info as well as our suggestions for different countries as well as cities during this trip! We’d like to hearΟι σκέψεις σας καθώς και οι προτάσεις στα παρακάτω σχόλια!

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Αποποίηση ευθυνών: Οι κατσίκες στο δρόμο είναι συνεργάτης του Αμαζονίου, καθώς και μια θυγατρική για μερικούς άλλους λιανοπωλητές. Αυτό υποδηλώνει ότι κάνουμε προμήθειες εάν κάνετε κλικ στο σύνδεσμο στο ιστολόγιό μας καθώς και την αγορά από αυτούς τους λιανοπωλητές.