hkchemsir

Hello All,

I am planning to visit the Balkans and also the Black sea.

Do you have any idea which places are worth to visit and to stay?

My schedule is about 30 days journey with my wife and 2 children.

Hope to hear your travelling experience.

Thanks so much.

Gavin

kja

30 days is a lot, but will nonetheless give you time to just barely scratch the surface of this fascinating and beautiful part of the world.

I urge you and your family to spend some time at a library with guidebooks that offer lots of high-quality photographs (e.g., the National Geographic Traveler, Insight Guides, or Eyewitness Guides) and more time with books that provide good coverage of sightseeing options and transportation information (e.g., the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet).

You can also search this travel forum for trip reports, and don't neglect the many planning threads, which are often IMO even more informative.

Once you have a better sense of the kinds of things you would like to see and experience, come back to us so we can help you fine-tune your trip!

Enjoy your planning

Becks16

I'm no expert on the Balkans, but I just returned from a five week trip there. In Bulgaria I would highly recommend Plovdiv: it is a beautiful city with lots to see and do. I much prefer it over the capital, Sofia. Sarajevo in Bosnia is amazing, one of my favorite places, and again you will have no shortage of things to keep you busy. I only went to Belgrade in Serbia, and it was nice, but I wish I had travelled around a bit more, as Serbians were some of the nicest people I have met in Europe. Novi Sad and Nis come highly recommended. And if you make it as far as Croatia, there are many wonderful places: dubrovnik (though expensive), Zadar, and Rovinj are all wonderful.

I'm not sure what you're interested in, but there's a handful of places as a jumping off point for your research! Happy travels!

neckervd

What do you mean with "the Balkans":
Romania, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, FYROM, Bulgaria, Moldova, Transnistria?
You can never visit seriously all these countries in only 1 month.

hkchemsir

Yes, I know there are many counties in Balkans regions.

So, Do you have good ideal route that you can introduce to me if my trip starts from Budapest.

Thanks in advance.

thursdaysd

Which is it, Romania or Budapest?

I traveled through several Balkan countries, finishing in Budapest, a couple of years back. Click on my name for my "B" trip TRs. Also, my Romania TR is currently in progress.

I would recommend skipping the Black Sea - I have seen it in Georgia, the Crimea and Bulgaria and was unimpressed all three times, plus it is quite a distance from the more interesting parts of Romania and Bulgaria.

Unless you provide some information on your interests it is impossible to recommend specific places. I agree, of course, with kja that some quality time with the picture guidebooks is needed. Once you have a rough idea of WHERE you want to go, it will be time to consider HOW.

Thirty days is a short time for a large area, you will need to be selective.

kja

@ thursdaysd:

CounterClifton

We did a trip that started and ended in Budapest, but was mostly Romania. We found method of transport dictated plans. We wanted to drive and no company allowed dropping a car across that border. Train might be an option but you would have to plan day trip spurs by driver or bus for some of the most interesting stuff.

30 days is a lot - you could do a good mix of city and village (and IMO, you should) and catch a bit of Hungary coming and going.

hkchemsir

The flight tickets were booked.
My main target countries are Romania, Bulgaria and some.... are still considering.

I will end up my trip in Istanbul ans will stay 3 days there.

If you have some best places the worth to visit, just share your experience here.

Thanks so much.

kja

Only 3 days in Istanbul? You will need to be VERY selective.

CounterClifton

Maramures, Sibiu, Bukovina, Transfagarean Pass


Enjoy your trip!

thursdaysd

Brasov rather than Sibiu.

Click on my name for my Romania and Bulgaria TRs.

CounterClifton

Funny how people see things differently. Brasov didn't end up interesting us that much, but felt Sibiu looked different than any place different than any place else I'd been before (and both were similarly buzzy and authentic and Romanian otherwise).

thursdaysd

Brasov felt "warmer" to me, I found the squares in Sibiu too big and empty. Plus Brasov was a good base for Sinaia and Prejmer. (and Bran but I would advise skipping Bran).

CounterClifton

<i>and Bran but I would advise skipping Bran</i>

Yeah, same here. Liked both Sinaia and Prejmer and would add Harmann to that. Beirtan too. And wouldn't miss Sighisoara, even with obvious annoyances. Still pretty one of a kind.

Liked Medias, but can't explain what we saw that recommends it... just experiential, probably.

Had mixed feelings on Rasnov. Don't like what they've done to theme park it, but it IS in such a cool place and the little buildings themselves are interesting.

hkchemsir

Also, I prefer hiking. Are there any mountains that can hike? Please share.