balkans/eastern europe -thoughts?

[delirious]

Hello everyone!

I'll be taking a 4 week trip with my brother in May to celebrate both of us finishing school. I have just booked the plane tickets and hope to get some feedback on my itinerary. This is the first time both of us have travelled by train so any suggestions/advice would be much appreciated. We want to keep the trip as flexible as possible.....

May 4 - arrive in Athens
From there we were planning on going to Istanbul -but we're worried about time restrictions (I did not realize how long it would take...flights seem a little expensive for us and we don't know how long we plan on staying in Greece.) -Should we just go on to Bulgaria instead?

Bulgaria -Varna or Sofia? (or Plovdiv?) Then.....
Romania- Bucharest or Brasov?

From there we will travel to Budapest, Vienna, Prague and Berlin.
Our flight leaves June 1 from Berlin.

The trip is still a few months away so things may still change - but this is our idea so far...if you'd like to offer your thoughts, I'd be grateful. (Herrbert -thanks for introducing me to this site. You rock!)

Hona

[speedbird]

Sounds nice thus far, and good to see you aren't trying to push too many cities in your time period. I haven't been yet, but am going to Eastern Europe very shortly. Personally in Romania, I may take Brasov over Bucharest - but it really depends what sort of thing you are into... more citylife or some hiking in the mountains?
As far as Bulgaria goes (really excited about it!) I may recommend Veliko Tarnovo & Sofia as well - could definitely manage a few day trips out of each city.

For more information though, check out www.balkanology.com - a fantastic site loaded with valuable information. I've based some of my itinerary on it.

Good luck!

[madamtrashheap]

Welcome delirious!

Istanbul is an amazing city, so too are the cities mentioned for Bulgaria and Romania (I'm with speedbird in choosing Brasov over Bucharest - glad to see your itinerary is coming along speedbird- not long now!), but they are different to Istanbul so I guess it depends on how much you really want to get there and how the flights fit into your budget. I love Istanbul so would recommend trying to get there, but I see the issue with including it in this itinerary (flying there from Athens is a no-goer due to a little historical issue ). There is a 20hour bus that you can take, but I'd recommend either leaving it out or perhaps flying from Bucharest to Istanbul (with Blue Air www.blueair-web.com ) then back if you really want to include it. That might mean less time somewhere else, so I'll leave it to you to decide.

Another site for eastern Europe is www.inyourpocket.com so have a look there too.

[herrbert]

Hi Hona,

If you can fly into Instabul using Belle Air from Bucharest, you could opt to use Germanwings to fly Istanbul - Berlin. And to do Prague - Budapest - Vienna in an other order.

I compared some other flights (incl. Condor from Sofia, or Budapest, but they are way too expensive.

[delirious]

Thanks everyone for your help, especially the websites. I'll keep you all updated!

[crystal]

Hi
I was in Varna last Sept. It is a really beautiful city with a real friendly atmosphere. The cathedral is also spectacular and worth a look. You are also quite close to the beach if you fancy a trip out. I have never been to Sofia or Veliko Tarnovo so I can't compare but Varna is a really great place to visit.

[delirious]

Hi guys!

So I've been chatting with some friends and they're appalled I'm not planning on seeing any of the greek islands while on my trip. I know my itinerary is pretty full as is, but does anyone have any recommendations or thoughts? should i cut out istanbul and see an island instead? should i do a day trip to something close by? or stay on one of the islands overnight? my brother is very interested in seeing delos (i know that is only possible as a daytrip), has anyone been?

[herrbert]

In my opinion if you want to see the Isles, you need to have a couple of days. If you feel fine about skipping Istanbul (on this trip), and do one of the islands instead, then that is what you have to do. It's your (and your brother's) trip. I say: go to the places, that attract you the most.

I can't tell you anything on Delos, maybe somebody else?

[madamtrashheap]

delirious, it's a shame if you have to cut out Istanbul, but I guess it's a matter of what interests you more and ease of travel. The fact that you're already going to Athens kind of lends itself to skipping over to an island or two, so if you can fit them in instead of Istanbul then go for it. Maybe plan an tour of Istanbul and a few other places in Turkey for the next trip ;D.

If you want to include Delos, then you'll have to spend time on Mykonos, which is not a bad thing as you can find culture and fun on the one island. I'd recommend 3 days, which is one on Delos and the other 2 exploring Mykonos. Delos is an amazing site - have a look here www.greeka.com/cyclades/mykonos/mykonos-delos.htm for some inspiration.

If you have time (another 3 days) I'd head out to Santorini to spend time there too. If not, then you can fly to Mykonos from Athens, go to Delos the next day (hard to fit in from Athens as a day trip, but have a look) and fly back. There are ferries, but the obviously take more time than flying. Aegean Air is the way to go. It would be a shame to not spend more time on an island, so see if you can find some extra days in your schedule.