Eastern Europe Rough Itenary - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**marc873** · 08-10-2007, 12:00 PM

Ok, so I know I just posted a itenary for Central America, but we are working 2 different trips right now. Looks like the Eastern Europe one will happen first, and Central America after we move to Cali. Anyway, We would LOVE!!! opinions and knowledge on any of the locations, or routes to get there etc...

Prague - 4 nights
Budapest - 3 nights
Trieste (Italy)- 2 nights - we want to ferry to Venice from there
Venice - 3 nights
Pula (Croatia) - 3-4 nights
Zadar - 4 nights
Split - 3 nights
Dubrovinik - 3-4 nights
Bar (Serbia n Mont.) - 2-3 nights
Arad (Romania) - 2 nights
Sighisoara - 3 nights
Brasov - 3 nights
Bucherest - 3 nights
Constanta - 3 nights
Varna (Bulgaria)- 2-3 nights
Burgas - 2-3 nights
Istanbul - 4-5 nights

54-58 nights
8 Countries
17 Legs

**freespiritz** · 08-10-2007, 04:07 PM

you guys are crazy! eastern europe, a cross country roadtrip and then central america? I just want to say that I´m jealous.

**Delaney** · 08-10-2007, 04:59 PM

Awesome!
If you have time, hit up Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic. It is a popular destination, so it can be crowded, but its well worth it. It's a great little town with good food, beer, and a river to float, it's so relaxing. If you are staying in hostels I recommend Hostel Merlin (I think that's what its called).
Also if you go there check out the vegetarian restaurant. I can't remember the name but there is only one. It was great.
Sorry, I am rambling!

**marc873** · 08-10-2007, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freespiritz

you guys are crazy! eastern europe, a cross country roadtrip and then central america? I just want to say that I´m jealous.

Um Crazy? You are the one whos only been home like 4 weeks in the last 6 months. We're jealous

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delaney

Awesome!
If you have time, hit up Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic. It is a popular destination, so it can be crowded, but its well worth it. It's a great little town with good food, beer, and a river to float, it's so relaxing. If you are staying in hostels I recommend Hostel Merlin (I think that's what its called).
Also if you go there check out the vegetarian restaurant. I can't remember the name but there is only one. It was great.
Sorry, I am rambling!

Sweet stuff, do you think Cesky Krumlov could be a day trip? Or would it be better to have a night or two?

**joe7f** · 08-11-2007, 06:50 AM

Great itinerary guys! I have only been to Budapest as a day trip from Munich so my advice is going to be somewhat limited.

I ate at the Great Market Hall which looks a little like a rail station a mix of about 50/50 tourists and locals. Very cool though

Fisherman's bastion is a great place to get a view of Parliament (imo, one of the coolest structures in Europe). They have a park (never made it) where they host all the communist era statues which sounded kind of cool.

If you take a taxi, make sure it is metered (same as in any country).

I think I am going to in Istanbul at the same time you two are

--Joey

**Esterina** · 08-11-2007, 12:34 PM

As an Eastern Europe lover, I'll start by saying : I HATE YOU !!!!

Hehehe... I hope you'll enjoy this part of the world as much as I did.

As far as your itinerary goes, it's very well built the way you did it. But you have to know how slow the e.e. rapid trains are

and that the leg between the ex-yougoslavia and the rest of central europe is not direct and difficult. I'm not saying not to go, but to be aware of that difficulty. It's a long ride. I haven't been there, but I wanted to. And when I got to Central Europe, I understood how "painful" it would be to integrate ex-youg. into my itinerary, so I let it go.

Also, I'm assuming you are flying from Budapest to Italy ?

3 nights in Sighisoara and Brasov and Arad and Bucharest seems a lot to me, because the first three are all in the same area. All there is to do is to visit the surrounding villages and 9 days for all that is a lot. If you want to spend 9 days out of Bucharest, base yourself for 3 days in Transylvania (either Brasov or Sighisoara) from where you make day trips + one day in Brasov for sure, and add a 3-4 stay in moldavia, the northeast part, very interesting and gorgeous. You can take the night train to Bucharest. If you are interested, I could give the specifics for this.

This was a two-minute walk from my room, in Vatra Moltovitei (Moldavia). My pictures are two heavy for the site, I had to "borrow" this one...

Constanza and Varna are pretty much the same, so I'd suggest you skip either of them. Itineraray wise, counting Contanza out of your trip is easier, because otherwise you'll have to take the train back to Bucharest then Varna, and take more time to discover Bulgaria. I only went to Varna, but I've read good things about backpacking in that country.

I was wondering why you chose Arad ?

For now, one tip : bring toilet paper with you for the train rides, especially in Romania and Bulgaria !!!!!!

**marc873** · 08-11-2007, 04:33 PM

Sweet Esther, you and I are going to have to chat more about the details of this trip. We actually decided to drop Italy off the list, as I have been twice and Roxy once already. But I totally want to pick your brain, so get ready

**mbo108** · 08-12-2007, 03:03 PM

I spent some time in Dubrovnik back in June of this year. I've posted info about where we stayed --> http://www.travelpunk.com/boards/sho...ight=dubrovnik

If you have any specific questions, let me know.

**Esterina** · 08-12-2007, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marc873

But I totally want to pick your brain, so get ready

I am !

**Elizabeth** · 08-12-2007, 09:30 PM

How about Poland? In April its not that bad with tourists. How about Ukraine? Its like a whole other world but I love it.

Lviv Opera House. You can catch a show here for only like 2 dollars I've been told, but I never went. This is a popular meeting spot for Leopolitans. This is at one extreme of the Svbody Prospect, the main drag of Lviv. Behind me is the rest of it. Its a great place to chill out and just relax with an ice cream cone from Mickey D's which is located just to the right (ok I know some of you are mortally opposed to Mickey D's but you can't beat a 30 cent cone!).

When you're done you can check out the Old Town and Rynok Square. The marshrutka drivers will teach you how to really cross a street!

This is Town Hall in Rynok Square. You can't see it but there is a tower and you can climb to the top to get a better view. From here you can wander the Old Town and check out the numerous all equally as beautiful churches.

This is in Kyiv taken at Maidan Nezalezhnosti (translates as Independence Square). Its gone through a couple name changes but it got its current one after Ukraine became independent from Russia. There is an underground mall for the rich people of Ukraine just under the fountain. During the weekend this and Khreschatyk Street (which leads up to NM) are closed to traffic so it makes a great opportunity for people watching (and crossing the street safely lol).

This is St. Andrew's Cathedral at the top of the Andriyivskyy Descent. Just around the corner is an art gallery if you are interested in picking up some art. Going down the hill, there a great many vendors selling all kinds of things, but mostly things tourists would be interested in. Soviet memorobilia, things that say "Ukraine" and various cloth stuff. There are of course more churches. Hidropark, which has alot of water activities. Besarabsky Market, which as the name implies is a huge market. There are dozens of things to do! Just writing this makes me think about all the stuff I missed!

Other places I went to included Odesa, but I don't really have any good pics as I was having a lot of fun! Things to see there are Arkadia beach, famous for its nightlife. This is not Arkadia beach, and its a little dead because when I was there the water was still cold. However behind me was a steep grassy area where the locals were all having family cookouts. You can also get out by marshrutka to the 7 KM market, which is HUGE and sells everything imaginable. Odesa itself doesn't have too much to see but its a great place to chill out and relax for a few days.

If you're into mountains you could check out Ivano-Frankovisk, which is the gateway to the Carpathian mountains. A couple guys who were staying at the hostel in Lviv actually rented a car to better explore the area. The Crimea has mountains too, and beautiful beaches, but I haven't gone yet.

The people are very friendly and there are hardly any tourists so if you're meeting someone (and you're not in a hostel =] of course) its probably a local. Everything is so inexpensive (half price or one third the price in the USA) and you will find it impossible to leave!

**MeTurk** · 08-15-2007, 05:53 AM

I think Cesky Krumlov is about 3 hours (and a bit) from Prague by bus (they do have a train station) 3 hours is more than enough time to spend on a bus per day (the buses are packed so you'll be standing most the way) so I'd say stay the night. I really liked the places the locals are good craic it's small town nightlife (pub crawls) which ment I felt right at home. It's kinda on the way to Bratislava I was going to Vienna from there by train and had to make two stops.

**marc873** · 08-15-2007, 02:24 PM

ALRIGHT, now thats some great info so far. Thanks everyone.

I, after convincing Roxy? added a few days in the Ukraine. Starting in Odessa by Ferry from Romania. Not too sure if we will head inland, or if we will just chill in Odessa for a few days, then head on to Turkey.

Lizz - What do you think would be a good place to get out of Odessa and head inland for a couple days, don't want to go to far in as we will be leaving Odessa by ferry.

As for Cesky Krumlov, I'm pretty sure thats been added to the list as well.

My hardest decision currently is Croatia. Rox and I both are very excited about going there, and it has been on our list for sometime. But how long to stay?! We are going to be coming in from Budapest via train, hoping to bypass Zagreb (heard its a shithole) and try to get to Pula in one day. Anyone made it from Budapest to the Croatian coast in 1 day? It looks easy, but not if the trains are too slow. But we wanted to go from Pula to Zadar, to Split, to Dubrovnik. We both like spending atleast 3 nights in a city, but that makes it close to 2 weeks in Croatia alone. Thats my problem! Do I want to spend a whole two weeks in Croatia alone, or should I maybe drop Zadar, and go short in Dubrovnik. We will have 7-8 weeks to play with.

Esther - I was thinking Arad because we will be leaving by train from Bar to Romania. We have thought of stopping in Belgrade on the way, but not sure about it yet. So Arad looked like a good stopping point after a long train ride from the coast on the way to Sighasoara. I liked your numbers on that leg, so now looking like: Sighisoara 2 nights, Brasov 1 night, Bucherest 2-3 nights, train to Constanta 2 nights, Ferry to Odessa, Ferry to Varna 2 nights, Ferry to Istanbul. I've already checked the ferry maps, and these routes connect directly. I like to spend atleast one night everywhere I go, so thats why theres one night in Brasov as well.

Moldavia!!! I know nothing, But VERY curious. Time to impress. Don't worry about the heavy pics, I just want vibe and knowledge....

**Elizabeth** · 08-15-2007, 06:17 PM

You could check out the breakaway republic of Transdnister, take a day or two trip to its capital Tirasapol. I didn't actually go myself (another thing I regret) but I heard loads of great stories in Odesa about doing the border crossing and visiting. One Japanese guy, he was a pretty strange fellow, spoke very little English and was pretty naive, let the guards take 200 euros off him. Most other people I talked to didn't pay more than 10 dollars. When they ask you for some stupid amount you just gotta laugh in their face. You can get some of their currency which if course is worthless outside of the "country" but makes a great souvineer. Worse comes to worse and they don't let you in I'd bet they've got marshrutkas going back to Odesa frequently, prolly every hour.

**marc873** · 08-15-2007, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizz

You could check out the breakaway republic of Transdnister, take a day or two trip to its capital Tirasapol. I didn't actually go myself (another thing I regret) but I heard loads of great stories in Odesa about doing the border crossing and visiting. One Japanese guy, he was a pretty strange fellow, spoke very little English and was pretty naive, let the guards take 200 euros off him. Most other people I talked to didn't pay more than 10 dollars. When they ask you for some stupid amount you just gotta laugh in their face. You can get some of their currency which if course is worthless outside of the "country" but makes a great souvineer. Worse comes to worse and they don't let you in I'd bet they've got marshrutkas going back to Odesa frequently, prolly every hour.

Damn girl!!! Thats a ballsy suggestion. I do like the adventure aspect though

**Esterina** · 08-17-2007, 08:51 AM

My last post in your thread was erased during the boards maintenance. Maybe it's a good thing because I was viciously attempting to convince you to travel to Ukraine and Moldova. Unethical I know...

BUT, only since this year the visa is no longer a requirement to enter those countries. Ukraine and Moldova are now opening up to a greater flux of tourists, which means their culture has remained so far pretty much "intact", not westernized yet. There's a huge difference between Ukraine and Poland.

This said, I've never been to those countries. Hahaha ! Lizz and adam (ajb) did, she already gave great tips. Moldova is one of my biggest dream, because I loved Romania so much, and they share similar cultures. Plus it's the poorest country of Europe. Maybe it isn't attractive to you, but in my own travel goals, seeing the diversity of a continent is important.

So in short, the real Eastern Europe spirit starts in the Hungarian, Belarus and Russia. The further east you go, the less western culture you see.

Marc, I'm not sure you'll be pleased with the ferry thing to Odessa, because coming from Constanta and going to Varna, you'll find it's a long travel to see something similar. Reading about your stay in Greece, I assume you love beaches and water, but it's a long ride for little. Just my two cents. Lizz, what do you think ?

If you want to go to Moldavia : night train from Bucharest to either Vatra Moltovita, Sucevita or Gura Humorului. The area is in the Carpates mountains which go into Ukraine and Russia. What's neat about Romania, is that rooms in private homes are easy to find (not in Bucharest though). So knowing that, when I got to Vatra Moldovita, I just walked in the village convenient store and said I was looking for a room. The employee yelled to the neighbour and the discussed outloud from both sides of the street. Then the employee asked me "15 Euros ok" ? And bingo ! This place and especially the grandma where I was staying at are among the best memories of my travel ! But of course you can book ahead also, no hostel though there. You can camp out too.

More pictures of Moldavia, still not from me.

Too bad my scanner isn't working, because I wanted to show you a photo of the market in Vatra Moldovita. People came by horse carts with their merchandise, the scene looked like coming out of a century ago !

From there, you could cross the border to Moldova. The capital, Chisinau, isn't very far, and I believe you can take the bus or tain to Iasi then Chisinau.

In Sighioara, rent a bike and discover the surrounding villages.

* tip number 2 : do not buy a railpass for eatern europe, if you're on a tight budget.

It's long I have to stop here, or I'll go on forever !

**marc873** · 08-17-2007, 09:27 AM

Alright, I am loving this!!! Hope I'm not bugging you too much Esther, but I know that you have soooo much to share. You are blowing my original itenary away, and I LOVE it. The whole ferry idea was just to shoot up and down the coast, and looked like a good option, but I was worried about the cities being quite similar. Mainly I started looking at ferry's because I wanted to end my trip in Isntabul, and I'm trying not to fly so much this trip, (14 flights on the last one). The more I get into Romania, the more time I want to spend there. I have a good friend at work from Bucherest, and she is soo excited and full of info. I also just made a new friend at work from the Ukraine, and she can't believe I am going. She is also giving me a lot of info. Its going to be really interesting to see how this itenary (damnit I've been spelling that wrong the whole time heehee) changes over the next few months. The more Rox and I talk about things the more we want to get deeper into E.E. So Esther, I need to go research some more of your suggestions, and see where things go.
Once again thanks everyone, and I love how this thread is going so far. I'm hoping it will eventually help out other Tpunks too

**Esterina** · 08-17-2007, 10:51 AM

I managed to upload a few pictures of my trips on this thread ! The one at the market I was talking about is the last one from the Romania's serie. I've found it on an yahoo photo album, I had forgotten about...

Seems like you have a whole team working on your iti-ne-ra-ry

! I wonder how it's going to turn out. When are you going by the way ? This might change your route, based on the weather. And if you're going during the off season, then you'll be able to bargain your room, except in hostels (but some hotels yes !) !

**marc873** · 08-17-2007, 11:29 AM

When are we going? Thats a good question. We have to wait till March 24th to close on our house, to avoid capitol gains taxes, so we are planning on listing on Feb 15 and hopefully sell in 3-4 weeks. We live in the hottest housing market in Charlotte, so we are confident in a quick sale. So I'm hoping for a departure around April 1 starting in Prague. It will probably still be a bit chilly etc... but thats how the timing is looking so far.

**Elizabeth** · 08-17-2007, 12:02 PM

I did not make it to Bulgaria yet so I have no idea about the ferries. I did meet a girl who was taking a ferry down to Istanbul from Odesa for about $100 dollars. I'm not sure if this was the best price, but it would have been an attractive option for me if I had not been so set on going back to Lviv.

I would be extremely jealous if you were to get a visa for Belarus. Its only about 45 or 60 dollars and it doesn't seem too complicated. I've heard its got this whole time warp thing going on because its still an authoritarian state, and apparently the KGB is still active. I didn't go myself because I was concerned with getting back into Western Europe to try and make good use with what was left of my rail pass. Also much jealousy if you went to Russia. I wasn't able to get the visa because I decided "OK I have enough money its time to go" and BAM a month later I was on a plane to Europe. Plus I do not understand for the life of me how to get a tourist visa. When I'm serious about going I'll go to an expat forum and have them break it down for me.

Not to throw out ANOTHER destination at you lol, but how about some more of Serbia? I was really impressed with Beograd, but unfortunately I was only able to stay 2 nights. There is loads to see and not that many tourists. I will definately be going back before all the tourists discover it. I didn't take that many pics because I was inside a lot finalizing my travel plans to return to the States.

They kept these two (can't see the other in this pic) bombed out buildings as a reminder of the war.

This is a beautiful church and outside it was a park-like area with a lot of children and families spending time, but...

On the inside it is still under construction. They had to stop building it because of the war. They are just starting back up again. These pictures I have are kinda depressing but it is a lively city. They have a beautiful shopping/eating district near the hostel and there was some kind of street festival/concert going on as I was leaving.

While Budapest is a choice destination I don't really consider it the real Eastern Europe. I visited in mid May and it was overrun with tour groups and people speaking English. I swear there were more old people (tourists of course, not locals) there than in a nursing home. I overheard more English conversations than Magyar ones. On one hand I really admire the older people for getting out of their house and country even if it is on a tour, but on the other hand its really shocking when you've been away from the crowds for so long. The point of this is to get the touristy places out of the way before it all goes to hell around mid May.

PS Marc I always spell itinerary wrong, and my spelling varies day to day =)

**marc873** · 08-17-2007, 12:32 PM

You're funny as hell Lizz. Intenary heehee. Anyways, I'm pretty positive Belgrade is going to happen. As we will be heading to Romania from Bar, and the only train from Bar stops in Belgrade. I figure I'd be dumb not too!!! What hostel did you stay at and any other good train, local transport etc.. knowledge? I have to run to work, but I got more questions later for sure.