Buzzing Round The Balkans

I have loved my 10 days on this whistle-stop tour of the Balkans area. In some ways it was a lot to pack into one trip, and there were times when I wished I could stop and stay a bit longer in one place. However, the plan was to do a quick ‘recce’, with a view to deciding which places I would like to return to. I have enjoyed a fabulous experience of visiting areas with a dark and troubled past, and seeing how they have emerged from oppressive Communist regimes to more open, welcoming places.

If you are thinking of travelling to this fascinating and beautiful area, I would certainly encourage you to do so, I have listed a few things which hopefully might be of assistance to you in planning your trip:

In spite of preconceived notions, I found the Balkans area to be very safe and open to visitors. Although travelling alone, I never felt threatened or intimidated - indeed I felt completely safe throughout. I found it useful to have a detailed plan worked out, to include transport, accommodation details etc, and was pleased when this all actually worked out in practice. With hindsight, I might not have chosen to travel in August as it was very hot, and the main tourist areas were very busy.

Bus and train stations are rarely in the city centre - they are often quite a distance out and will require a local bus / taxi to get to the centre. It is handy to have small amounts of the local currency for transport / toilets etc. Some places will accept Euros but many won’t. Most of the countries I visited had their own currency which was frustrating having to change money regularly. It’s good to take a pre paid debit card to avoid foreign currency transaction fees. When withdrawing cash however, most ATMs make a service charge. I understand some banks don’t, but I’ve yet to find one.

Locals were generally friendly and helpful - if generally quite dour looking. Fellow travellers were eager to chat and share knowledge and information about the best places to go. One Swedish guy let me access his personal hotspot so I could access the internet to download a bus ticket. Others looked out for fellow passengers who were late back on a bus after a break, and who otherwise could have been left behind.

I found that prices were generally cheaper, often considerably, than other more popular countries / resorts.

All hotels will let you leave luggage free of charge if you are not travelling until later in the day. Most bus / train stations have left luggage places available for a small fee. Otherwise there are left luggage facilities in most city centres and tourist resorts.

A good guide book is essential - I found Lonely Planet’s Western Balkans book to be invaluable, and it came with an electronic version which I could access via my phone / iPad.

Most of the countries I visited were not in the EU and so I was unable to use my mobile as I would at home. I did access an amount of calls/ data for a fixed daily fee, but this didn’t last long, and I tried to use Wi-Fi wherever possible. All hotels and most restaurants and cafés have free Wi-Fi, so it was worth buying a coffee for unlimited free access to the internet.

Toilet facilities on trains and in bus stations left a lot to be desired. Best to bring your own supply of tissues / wipes / hand gel. Even in some good restaurants and certain airports the standard of facilities was lower than we might be used to.
It pays to be patient - buses and trains rarely run on time, and service in restaurants can be slow, but there’s no point in getting annoyed or frustrated. Just chill and enjoy the actual experience of travel - I’m still buzzing!Read more