juanito
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 11 years ago
Hi all,
I've been interested in going interrailing for a while now, and this summer I'll finally have the time and money to do so - so have been planning the trip!
I've travelled loads in Western Europe so am looking to do something completely different and end up in countries a little less visited. Because such countries are less visited, there doesn't appear to be as much advice floating about - so I thought I would start a thread to ask advice. I have done plenty of research but it can't help to have a few more opinions!
My current plan is to arrive in Budapest (flights are cheap), and then get a Balkan Flexipass in Belgrade before travelling south through Bulgaria and all the way to Istanbul before looping back through Bulgaria and Romania and then back to Budapest. I don't want to spend too much money (don't we all!) - and am looking to travel for about three to four weeks in mid-August to mid-September. Here is a preliminary route:
Budapest-Belgrade
Belgrade-Sofia
Sofia-Plovdiv
Plovdiv-Istanbul
Istanbul-Bucharest
Bucharest-Brasov
Brasov-Budapest
Is this a feasible route? I know that connections are not always great in the east; are there any legs of this trip that seem illogical/impossible? Is 3-4 weeks too little/too much for this journey? My other idea was very similar to this, but involved spending more money and an extra flight...
Budapest-Belgrade
Belgrade-Skopje
Skopje-Thessaloniki (bus)
Tessaloniki-Athens
Athens-Istanbul (€50 flight with pegasus)
Istanbul-Plovdiv
Plovdiv-Sofia
Sofia-Bucharest
Bucharest-Brasov
Brasov-Budapest
Which of these two routes looks best? I like the idea of going to Greece, as it allows me to see another two countries and makes getting to Istanbul less hassle. Nonetheless I'd lose flexibility with dates and I'd end up spending more money. Is it worth making these adjustments to head to Greece?
Many thanks in advance for any advice whatsoever. You've got a great site here; keep up the amazing work. :)
jonny
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hej Jonny,
glad you like the website, thank you! :)
I did exactly the trip you have in mind in February, have a look at my travel report on the blog:
[u]https://rail.cc/blog/bucharest-sofia-istanbul-train/[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/blog/to-istanbul-by-train-part-2/[/u]
This is a pretty straightforward route without big issues - except from the situation when travelling to Istanbul as expained in the blog. Anyway, since you have a full month, I would definitely think of adding extra stops. You should consider Montenegro as well...if you decide to visit Greece keep in mind that there are no international trains there at the moment.
There are several stops that you could add in Bulgaria as well...Veliko Tarnovo, Varna and/or Burgas at the Black Sea; also in Romania there are many other great cities to visit. :)
Regarding the Balkan Flexi Pass there is a lot of debate at the moment regarding the country of residence rule. My BFP purchased in Belgrade in February states that the country in which the pass is issued is regarded as country of residence of the pass holder allowing only travel to/from the border.
Flo 8)
juanito
Traveller
2 comments
Hi Flow !
Thanks for the advice. I had actually just read your blog posts, and it seems like you had a great time! I've got the LP to Eastern Europe in the post so I'll start having a look through it for inspiration for places like Montenegro. I really want to go to Bosnia but the connections are so tricky there. Do you think it would be easy to go from Bar to Skopje by bus via Albania?
Thanks for your tips on Bulgaria and Romania as well, it's definitely hard to know where is worth going in countries that are a little off the beaten track! :)
As for the BFP rules, I guess if that is the case, it's best to buy it in Serbia rather than Romania for example, as I'll get more use out of it in Romania what with the long distances etc.
ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments
Hi Jonny (again)
I have just read your earlier posts and for what they are worth offer my comments.
By all means go to Montenegro. (My mission in May-July was to visit every European capital accessible by night train when available using Eurail and Balkans Flexi passes. So Podgorica was definitely a place I had to go.) I was a little disappointed with Podgorica itself after having visited Skopje, Sofia, Sarajevo and Zagreb first, but was pleased that I got there. I went on to visit Bar and Sutimore (on a 37 degree day) and both of those places were worth the extra distance.
As a rail fan I didn't try the Bar to Skopje by bus via Albania trip and only visited Skopje and Bar by train (and Albania not at all!)
I didn't visit Greece because of the current lack of international trains. (It didn't fit in with my groud rules').
I also cancelled my intended trip to Istanbul because the Budapest-Belgrade afternoon train failed to make the connection with the Belgrade-Sofia night train (it ran two hours late into Belgrade) and I lost a valuable day from my itinerary. (As I wrote at the time I withdrew from including Istanbul because: 1. There are riots, 2. Istanbul although in Europe is not Turkey's capital [Ankara which is, is not in Europe], 3. The connecting train to Istanbul was late and missed the ongoing train, 4. You have to get off the train at the Turkish border at 2:00 am to enable everyone to get onto the platform and buy a visa for $65, 5. They are building a new rail tunnel before Istanbul and at 4:30 am you have to transfer to buses. Sounds like the perfect recipe for a broken sleep, there also being no guarantee of a sleeper car. I think that's enough justification.)
But every cloud has a silver lining and, as well as having an extra day in Belgrade, I was able to spend nearly 24 hours in Plovdiv as a consolation prize later. Plovdiv was well worth the effort and I would recommend it if you can fit it into your schedule.
But don't give up on Istanbul. It just didn't happen for me!
Bosnia was also most worth the effort. I reached Sarajevo via Budapest and Zagreb and returned later to visit Ljubljana. I would rate Sarajevo as the unexpected jewel of my whole European trip and highly recommend it as a destination. Zagreb and Ljubljana were also real surprises for me and I would recommend you fit them in if at all possible.
Again
Happy Travelling
Richard