Please Critique My Eastern Europe Itinerary
 

HI everyone. My planned trip for spring 2020 is to Eastern Europe as I need a cultural break from all of the Mediterranean travel I've done over the past 8 years. I've done quite a bit of research on Eastern European destinations and have come up with the following draft itinerary. I have not booked flights yet and probably won't until the summer time period. I am limiting myself to 14-15 night (16-17 days total) since being a solo traveler, I find that longer trips start to become less enjoyable for me after this long of a period. My plan is to go in mid-April to early May 2020. All destinations seem quite doable by air, train or bus from each other, so I am most interested in whether I am missing something spectacular in this region that I should substitute for something below. Here is what I'm thinking a this point:

Day 0: Fly from Minneapolis to Budapest, Hungary
NIghts 1-4: Budapest
Fly to Sarajevo
Nights 5-7: Sarajevo, BiH
Train to Mostar, BiH
Nights 8-9 Mostar (with a 1/2 day trip to either Medugorje or Pocitelj)
Train to Trebinje
Night 10: Trebinje, BiH
Taxi to Dubrovnik
Nights 11-12: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Fly to Prague
NIghts 13-15: Prague, Czech Republic
Fly Home: Prague to Minneapolis

Thank you for all input!

I would add more Croatia to this itinerary but I might be biased since I live in Croatia :) I think the islands near Dubrovnik are worth a visit for a few days.

BiH looks fine, though the longer you allow for Sarajevo the more you will learn about it's recent sad bloody history.....

The train between Sarajevo and Mostar is up there with the best. The trip only takes 2.5 hours and is really dreamy. Take the early morning train, leaves Sarajevo @ 0700. Allow plenty of time to get your ticket, as they are individually written out!

Medugorje is a bit wacky, but well worth the trip up there by public bus from Mostar. THe bus takes about 50 minutes. The bus station in Mostar is next to the train station. We're not Roman Catholic or religious, so went there as interested sceptics, and left as interested sceptics. In fact we went up there twice, though mainly for the scenic bus trip on the 2nd occasion. It was amazing to see 1,000s of pilgrims from all over the World.

That seems like a lot of jumping around. I would start in the south and work north, or vice versa.

I loved Sarajevo and wasn't that impressed with Mostar but agree that the trip between the two is good - I did it by bus.

Any special reason you are going to Trebinje? There is a direct bus from Mostar to Dubrovnik.

I agree that there is a lot more to the area than Dubrovnik, which while super-cute is now an over-hyped and very over-crowded tourist trap. It was so crowded even back in 2011 I had to queue to get into the old town and that was before the GoT publicity. If you do go, see if you can check the cruise ship arrivals (the site I used to use doesn't seem to be working). I would consider dropping Prague (also very crowded) in exchange for more time in the Balkans.

Budapest is one of my favorite cities, I'd recommend staying in one of these apartments: Six Very Special Apartments in the Heart of Budapest

For my 2011 trip including Sarajevo start here (links at the top of the page, Budapest is a bit further on): https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...22/busy-budva/

I reckon Trebinje is a really worthwhile stop.....

https://wikitravel.org/en/Trebinje

Quite possibly a hidden gem.

I had intended to visit Trebinje in 2011, but at least at that time the buses from Kotor only ran on the weekends and I wound up going back to Dubrovnik instead.

After visiting Prague I wrote: " Between the heat, the crowds, and a couple of rain storms, Prague was something of a disappointment ... "Now I did visit in August, but also it was 2004, and from what I hear the crowds have gotten a lot worse in the fifteen years since. I also wrote: " My guide said that the crowds had started at Easter ... and would probably last until October. Getting up early helped some. Staying up late did not: the famous Charles Bridge was still a river of tourists at 11:00 p.m. Moving a few blocks away from the center didn't help either - by the time I lost the crowds I had also run out of interesting buildings."

I had looked forward to Prague because I am a big Art Nouveau fan, and the half day tour I had arranged with a private guide was good, but I had already seen most of the exhibits in the Mucha Museum. I thought the castle overrated, and while I found the Jewish quarter both interesting and moving, I was unable to view the exhibition of children's art from the Terezin concentration camp, as it was crammed into a room that could maybe hold a dozen people in comfort.

Of course, the city is well preserved and I'm not necessarily sorry I went, but I have no plans to return, and I wouldn't advise going out of the way to get there on a short trip. There is so much else to see! (I am starting to think that places with a lot of photos on Instagram, or similar sites, are exactly the places to avoid.)

'Wacky' and ''Tacky' I'm afraid. Tacky souvenir stalls abound, you can buy practically anything with the Virgin Mary's name or image stuck on it.

The whole place, and it's well spread out, had an aura of religious Theme Park about it.

The area where the Apparition was supposed to have been sighted is on very challenging ground for anyone with less than reasonable mobility.....steep, rocky and uneven underfoot.

There were hundred of pilgrims there on the two occasions we visited, most of whom seemed to be enjoying the experience.

Several decent looking places to eat, though probably overpriced.

The surrounding scenery is very easy on the eye, so it's well worth investing a few hours of your time.

I know that your comment was directed at Thursdaysd, however, have you looked into roughly how much it is going to cost you to return to Prague as opposed to flying home out of the smaller city? While I agree that flying out of a larger city does help with the price, it does nothing for your overall budget if you spend the money to get there.... you may find it to be roughly the same overall.

As far as Prague is concerned, I have been twice: January 2003 and July 2010. Of course no one was there in January (burrrr!) and my July trip 9 years ago was unbearable with the crowds. I have heard, and imagine, it has only worsened.

It is worth going, of course, I enjoyed the city but two trips is enough for me.

Once again, MinnBeef, I can understand why you want to see these placs, but honestly, I think you are setting an unforgiving pace – and I say that as someone who travels hard and fast!

FWIW, I could have managed minimums of
3-4 full days in Budapest;
at least 2.5 days in Sarajevo (I wish I’d given it more);
1 day in Mostar per se, meaning about 24 hours and definitely includng an overnight
1.5 days in Dubrovnik
3 days in Prague (which I’m glad I visited in the 1990s).

I know our interests diverge at points, so take what you know of me into consideration. And enjoy another fascinating part of the world!

Sorry I wasn't clear! As I read your itinerary, you have 3 days in Budapest (during which you will be dealing with jet lag); 2 in Sarajevo; 1 in Mostar, during which you plan a half day trip; 1 in Dubrovnik; and 2 in Prague. I realize that you have bits of days on either side, but not much. So you are close to (maybe a bit shy of) what I consider to be absolute bare minimums if you are planning a trip that involves being up and about pretty much every possible moment. Maybe it will work for you, but I think your plan is ambitious and perhaps overly so.

Much as I love Dubrovnik, you might consider deferring it until you can include a bit more of Croatia. Or wait until another trip to see either Budapest or Prague. Just some ideas to consider.

You'll have some wonderful experiences no matter what you choose!

Dubrovnik is now said to be like Venice - overflowing with tour boats and other tourists - takes away its romance - agree with kja why.

We just returned from a 5 week trip to the Balkans. Dubrovnik now limits the # of cruise ships allowed to 2 per day and the number of people on the ships. I imagine that has helped to some degree. It was crowded, but not any worse or less crowded than Prague some 15 years ago. It's an adorable little city, almost Disneylandish. We walked the walls late in the afternoon to avoid the crowds. We stopped in Mostar only for a few hours and it was also heaving with tourists. As someone posted the train ride between Mostar and Sarajevo is spectacular. Sarajevo left an impression with me that will be with me for a long time. I suggest a tour on the war sites to get a better understanding. We did this tour and were the only 2 people. Guide/driver was in the war. He had fascinating stories and info. https://meetbosnia.com/tour/fall-yug...vo-siege-tour/

IMO, dropping Dubrovnik would make your trip much more manageable. :)

If you include Dubrovnik on this trip, definitely check the cruise schedule, plan your time around the assumption that there will be daytrippers (walk the walls as late in the day as possible), and don't skip the Buza Bar. :)

I don't know if it's still true, but the main tourist information office in Sarajevo used to offer an excellent tour that included the Tunel and various other places involved in or affected by the war, always led by one or two people who had lived there during the war. My two guides included a soldier who moved through the tunnel almost nightly and a man who had been a boy during the siege and ultimately escaped through the tunnel. Very moving, very informative.

KJA and Yestravel, when you suggest walking the walls in the late afternoon, do you mean, for example, around 4PM?
Thank you!

@ KarenWoo: I'm not sure it matters that much -- just go late enough that most day trippers will have to leave soon, if they haven't already left. I went 2 hours before they closed, leaving me plenty of time to stop for photos and to admire.

I don't think you'll regret making that change, MinnBeef!
And I think you'll find so much worth seeing in Croatia that you might not even make it to Venice when you do go. :)

KJA and Yestravel, thank you very much. That's the kind of information I was looking for.

Hard to answer!

Like yestravel, the word "romantic" would not capture my experience of Sarajevo, although "exotic" makes sense to me for the very small part of the city around the old silversmith's street. I think you'll see a similarity to Istanbul in that very small (and very interesting, IMO), area.

The words that come to my mind when I think of Sarajevo are "fascinating" and, perhaps oddly, "laid back." Fascinating because of the many signs of the ways that multiple religious groups lived together and created a productive synergy for so very long before devolving into neighbor-against-neighbor war; and the many ways in which the city has moved beyond the war, even as some buildings can't be renovated from war damage because documentation of property rights were destroyed during the war; and the many contrasts between cultures and ages and ethnic groups that still pervade this city; etc. And against all of that, I found it surprisingly laid back, with leisurely cafes scattered about and a welcoming friendliness that seemed less about tourism than about hospitality. I was there in 2009, so things could have changed.

One other thing I would note: Sarajevo is, at least for me, substantially more difficult to reach than Budapest, so if you have any doubt about whether you can see what you want in the time you have, adding it to Sarajevo might make sense. As I said, I gave it only 2.5 days, and wish I'd given it more.

I would also agree that the list of things to see in Budapest easily justifies adding your time there.

No bad choice (now that you've decided to defer Dubrovnik to a later trip), just a difficult one.

Hope that helps!

Do you have any flexibility with your time in the days immediately after Sarajevo?

Let me test my understanding of your latest itinerary. I think it is:

Day 0: Fly from Minneapolis to Budapest, Hungary
NIghts 1-5: Budapest
Fly to Sarajevo
Nights 6-9: Sarajevo, BiH
Train to Mostar, BiH
Nights 10-11 Mostar (with a 1/2 day trip to either Medugorje or Pocitelj)
Train to Trebinje
Night 12: Trebinje, BiH
Taxi to Dubrovnik airport
Fly to Prague
NIghts 13-15: Prague, Czech Republic
Fly Home: Prague to Minneapolis

Your itinerary is a little different in that you are spending your last night in Trebinje (18 miles from Dubrovnik) and then the next day flying out of Dubrovnik airport.
"Dubrovnik: Pearl of the Adriatic.Perched in the brilliant blue waters of the Adriatic, the medieval and beautifully restored city of Dubrovnik is undeniably gorgeous and always beguiling"-National Geographic.
But you are not going to see it.
Wait till next time you say. There may not be a next time.
Minneapolis is 5,083 miles from Dubrovnik. Spend your last night in Dubrovnik old town.

Better yet.Yes you are missing something spectacular. Vienna and Bratislava are spectacular. Located between Prague and Budapest.

I would do this ( 2-1/2 days(3 nights) is about enough time for Eastern European capitals):

Day 0: Fly from Minneapolis to Sarajevo. Train to Mostar(2-1/2 hrs).
Nights 1-2: Mostar (with a 1/2 day trip to either Medugorje or Pocitelj)
Train to Sarajevo (2-1/2 hrs)
Nights 3-5: Sarajevo
Fly to Budapest
Nights 6-8:Budapest
Train to Vienna (2 hrs 40 min)
Nights 9-12: Vienna ( Day trip: train to Bratislava- 1 hr each way)
Train to Prague(4 hrs)
Nights 13-15:Prague
Fly Home Prague to Minneapolis

Notes
If you must have more days in any city increase the number of days on your trip.
This itinerary reduces the number of flights, no flight to Prague.
No jet lag issues in Budapest
Saves Dubrovnik and Trebinje for the next trip.
Adds 2 blockbuster cities.
If you have been to Vienna. Drop Vienna. Do 2 nights in Bratislava and add a night to both Sarajevo and Budapest.

Interesting! Even with the extra time, I'd add it to Prague, Budapest, and/or Sarajevo. With this plan, you'll have enough time for Dubrovnik, but only a taste of Split -- and you'll be skipping much of what many of us consider Croatia's highlights and skimming many of the other places you visit. But that's JMO and, as already said, you'll have a great trip no matter what you choose..

I agree about the bus - it's 80 miles from Mostar to Dubrovnik. Also, look into taking a ferry to Split.

I'm going to do something I rarely do, which is to disagree with thursdaysd: For the trip from Dubrovnik to Split, I thought the views out over the water and islands from the bus far more stunning than the views of the hills from the water. BUT if you're taking the bus from Mostar, you'll get that view, so going back by ferry might make sense.

I tend to get bored on boats, but some people like them. I also figured that the bus ride from Mostar would cover some of the same ground. According to Rome2Rio they take about the same amount of time, and you get to see some of the islands on the boat. Plus you could move around.

The boat operating Dubrovnik to Split in April-May is the Catamaran Krilo Star (Kapetan Luka Line).
The schedule is Leave Dubrovnik 16:30, Arrive Split 20:45 (4-1/2 hr Duration) with short stops (passengers on/off) islands of Mljet, Korcula, Hvar, and Brac).

https://www.krilo.hr/en/

We went on the ferry in the opposite direction a few weeks ago -- Split to Korcula and then Korcula to Dubrovnik. Like thursday, I'm not a boat person, although I do enjoy traveling by ferry places. The ferry ride got crowded and while you could move around certainly more than on a bus, it was not as enjoyable as other ferry rides I have gone on. If you can get a seat next to the window, the views are nice. There is no way to go outside while on the ferry. I've not driven that stretch other than the portion mentioned that you will see coming from Mostar and that is quite nice. A ferry would be a nice change.