lindacormier

A friend and I would like to spend a month traveling in Eastern Europe. We would begin our trip in either Austria or Poland and would like to explore the highlights of the following countries: Bulgaria; Croatia; Czeck Republic; Estonia; Hungary; Lithuania; Poland; Romania; Russia;Slovakia; Slovenia and Ukraine. Does anyone have ideas for an itinerary we might follow for 30 days? Thanks!

Palenque

going by train, plane or car?

lindacormier

We're beginning our trip in the US and flying to either Austria or Poland. Once in Europe, we'll travel by train, bus and car if we hire a private guide in certain areas.

thursdaysd

12 countries in 30 days? That's less than three days per country, not counting travel time. You need to cut that list down a bit. And either start in the south and finish in the north or vice versa, flying open jaw.

yorkshire

thursdayd is right--my suggestion is to move west-east (Poland to Russia, through the Baltics) OR move north to south (Poland to Croatia). That is more convenient geographically as well as somewhat thematic historically speaking.
Which appeals more? What time of year?
First, try to book an open jaw ticket or plan a circular route to avoid backtracking.
All major cities are well connected, so once you narrow that down you can pick some rural places to visit and balance out the trip.

bratsandbeer

If you need to hire a private guide in Bulgaria I have a friend in Sofia. She has visited me here in the states. She has a small travel agency and would be good choice to take you to anywhere in Bulgaria and possibly Romania.
She could also could recommend s person to contact in Romania that does 2 and 3 day tours.

Palenque

If going by train much in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria then investigate the European East Railpass and for lots on trains in Eastern Europe i always highlight these info-laden sites -www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com - train travel in Eastern Europe is much cheaper than in western Europe as the pass prices reflect and in the Balkans trains do not seem to go right to where many tourists want to (like along the Adriatic shore - Dubrovnik, etc.) But there is regular boat service along the coast- not cruises but regular passenger boats that are cheap and hit several fine places on the coast and a few islands to boot.

thursdaysd

Agree that the sites Palenque lists are great, but I doubt a pass will be worth it in Eastern Europe - point-to-point fares are cheap. This site might help: http://www.railsaver.com/

christycruz

We did a similar trip in 2006 although in about six weeks and did less countries.

I used Rick Steves' Eastern Europe book as a template, and found it extremely useful if a bit fast paced. It has itineraries. I'm not a huge Steve's fan, but this book is especially good.

We used trains, usually buying tickets for our next departure when we arrived.

nytraveler

Your giving every place very short shrift - barely time to see parts of one city in each country - never mind other cities and nay of the countryside. Plus, a couple of the places you're going are not the eaasist traveling and you need to build in some time for little problems to occur.

In 30 days (4 weeks) hitting 6 countries is a rush, 12 is ust really not doable; half your time would be spent in transit.

Just as one example - in Austria do you just want to spend 2 days in vienna? Don;y you want to see any of the mountains? Salzburg? Innsbruck? And of the lake country? Vienna is not my favorite city, but IMHO needs at lest 3 days (4 nights) if you're going to see the major sights, visit Melk Abbey and see a little of the Vienna woods.

If you look at each country and make a list of what you want to see/do there you will realize how totally overpacked your itinerary is.

Bagbabe53

I agree with the last poster; allow some time for countryside meanderings; It can be a day just here and there in your itinerary. I'm thinking mountainous landscapes in Austria (Alpine vilages), Poland, and Slovakia (Carpathian mountains for both). Plus, part of the serendipity of travel is driving through tiny villages, if even only for a day in a rental car. You don't mention if either of you are descended from folks in any of these countries. If you are, you may want to do a bit of genealogical research prior to the trip to check for ancestral villages. The Ellis Island website can do searches on ancestors (even if all you have is a name and some idea of what year they arrived). When you find the manifests (I have done this myself) you find out which towns are their birthplaces (manifests have a column for it). It's also free to do searches. Major cities are wonderful--- everybody should see places like Vienna, Krakow, and Prague for example; but do take a day to wander the countrysides; you won't regret it, I promise!

Palenque

In Vienna i too think that a great day out in the country would be to take the Danube boats between Melk and Krems, getting off at the proverbial wine towns dotting the Wachau Valley- as awesomely gorgeous vineyard-studded valley- like Durnstein, with its ruined castle above it - where Richard-the-Lionhearted once was imprisoned for ransom when nabbed returning from some Crusades.

The boat company also provides bikes to folks that want to bike along the Danube bike paths between boat stops adding a whole new dimension to your travels. Indeed this is one of Europe's very finest cycling venues.