Zadar, Riga or Bratislava?? Help!
 

Hi all,

I am going to berlin for two weeks in April, while there we will have 4 or 5 days to be able to get out of Germany and travel bit. I already have plans to spend a couple days in Prague (outside of these 4-5 days). The problem is that I've heard great things about Zadar, Croatia, Riga, Latvia and Bratislava Slovakia, but I'm not sure which place I should visit.
I've already tried to look into flights to and fro all destinations but there don't seem to be many if any at all, and the train is way to long from Riga to Bratislava. Traveling will be two to three all mid-twenties and we would like to be able to go out a little at night, sightsee and experiences during the day.

All suggestions and recommendations are greatly appreciated!

I've not been to Bratislava but have been to Zadar and Riga and liked them both but as it seems the journey to either one is really complicated I would suggest you look for another simpler option.
From Berlin it is very easy, cheap and much quicker to get to Poland, by train to Warsaw and Poznan, by bus to Wroclaw and Krakow. Check out bahn.de for the connections
Wroclaw is a European Capital of Culture this year, and Krakow is a very popular destination for a city-break for people from all over Europe and there's plenty to keep you busy for a few days. Poznan and Warsaw are interesting too but Krakow is the "star"
You could even combine Wroclaw and Krakow or Poznan and Warsaw. Have a look at the online inyourpocket guides to each city.
Prices in Poland are generally quite a bit lower than Berlin. Take euros with you and change at a kantor's once you arrive. Most kantors give better rates than using an ATM (compare rates first though, a few kantors have rip-off rates)

I've not been to Bratislava but have been to Zadar and Riga and liked them both but as it seems the journey to either one is really complicated I would suggest you look for another simpler option.
From Berlin it is very easy, cheap and much quicker to get to Poland, by train to Warsaw and Poznan, by bus to Wroclaw and Krakow. Check out bahn.de for the connections
Wroclaw is a European Capital of Culture this year, and Krakow is a very popular destination for a city-break for people from all over Europe and there's plenty to keep you busy for a few days. Poznan and Warsaw are interesting too but Krakow is the "star"
You could even combine Wroclaw and Krakow or Poznan and Warsaw. Have a look at the online inyourpocket guides to each city.
Prices in Poland are generally quite a bit lower than Berlin. Take euros with you and change at a kantor's once you arrive. Most kantors give better rates than using an ATM (compare rates first though, a few kantors have rip-off rates)

Use rome2rio. Not complicated at all. I am a big fan of Art Nouveau and was underwhelmed by Bratislava, so I would vote for Riga.

We are also big fans of art nouveau architecture and I agree Riga's art nouveau quarter is amazing. We did discover some very nice(albeit less spectacular) art nouveau buildings in Wroclaw though.

Only been to Riga and we enjoyed the city.

inyourpocket.com/riga and

inyourpocket.com/zadar

P.S. inyourpocket.com/prague and

inyourpocket.com/berlin

Zadar is very pretty and a complete contrast with all the rest but it's quite small, I don't think there's enough there to fill 4 or 5 days. Combined with Split there would be (maybe Split is better for flights too?)

I enjoyed a night and part of a day in Zadar. I would not have wanted any longer there. So I, personally, can't imagine that visiting it makes sense given the rest of the proposed itinerary. JMO.

Generally, you get to Bratislava by flying to Vienna. Flights to/from Bratislava are much more limited.

That said, I don't think of Bratislava as having art nouveau architecture. Budapest does, but is a larger city (albeit an inexpensive one).

Take into account also weather forecast. In Zadar it will be warmer for sure and much more pleasant to spend time outside. In Riga (where I live), in April we usually have temperatures +5, maximum +10 C degrees at some days.