Rate my itinerary - is it too ambitious?
Posted by Adogg03@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 16 comments
Hello all,
My trip to the Balkans is coming up, and I’m very excited! I’d appreciate some feeedback on my current travel itinerary. I plan to travel between places on public transport busses.
I’m flying to Tiranë from Rome on May 1st and plan to fly back to Rome from Sarajevo on May 19th. Be brutally honest - if I should cut out a place, definitely tell me!
Tiranë -> Durres (day trip) -> Tiranë -> Ohrid -> Skopje -> Prizren -> Pristina -> Podgorica -> Budva -> Kotor -> Dubrovnik -> Mostar -> Sarajevo
Hefty_Jaguar4305@reddit
What are your reasons for traveling to the Balkans?
Stormrage44@reddit
I know the feeling when one wants to jump between tiny pretty countries and get a bit essence from each of them. Especially if there is an ocean in between, but it's no fun when you're on the run. So I would remove at least half of them with 3-4 iterations.
Walking around a town is never the same if you have bus that evening or you have nothing else to do that day.
Adogg03@reddit (OP)
So you think focus on like 3-4 of these destinations?
relaksirano@reddit
Ohrid and Mostar as daytrips make zero sense as you are passing through them anyway
Stormrage44@reddit
Mostar and Ohrid can be day trips, but both was a 2-3 hours drive, when in Mostar note a place called blagaj tekke, if you can have means to go then go for it dinner time. They had nice food especially fish soup. Ohrid is also a big lake, there is an eastern roman church next to the lake south of the city, you can take a short ferry trip there, I would say it's a must.
relaksirano@reddit
14 stops for 18 days?
cut Durres, Pristina, Podgorica and Budva
Adogg03@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I guess if the water is still cold Durres doesn’t really make a ton of sense, which is why should also cut Budva. I really do want to go to Pristina though. Do you see cuts anywhere else?
relaksirano@reddit
cut Prizren then. Do Pristina as a daytrip form Skopje and take the Ganić nightbus from Skopje to Montenegro coast (stops at Budva, Kotor and Tivat=
Adogg03@reddit (OP)
So you think: Tiranë -> Ohrid -> Skopje -> Pristina -> Kotor -> Dubrovnik -> Mostar -> Sarajevo is optimal? Honestly, if I could get from Kotor to Mostar on a bus, I would cut Dubrovnik.
relaksirano@reddit
Of course you can take a direct bus from Kotor to Mostar. I personally prefere the flat worakround via Dubrovnik though but yeh you can go directly (there is only one bus in the morning though)
Yes I think that itinerary looks feasible. The daytrip to Pristina is very easy to do as lots of buses and minibuses do that route and that "Ganić" (bus company name) nightbus Skopje-Kotor will save you a day
AdrianOfRivia@reddit
Yeah there is pretty much nothing to do in Podgorica, but I think he has to take the buss to Podgorica so he can continue to Budva since he is using busses
relaksirano@reddit
you are right, in May there are only buses from Kosovo to Podgorica. Alternatively he can do Kosovo as a sidetrip from Skopje and take the daily Ganić Skopje-Tivat night bus that stops in both Budva and Kotor
Adogg03@reddit (OP)
This is an interesting option. I really only wanted to go to Kosovo for a few key landmarks, so maybe it does make sense to make it more of a day trip.
Adogg03@reddit (OP)
This is more or less why. It’s also why I included Dubrovnik (id like to save Croatia for a different trip).
Jazzlike-Moose3123@reddit
Well you are coming a long way and want to see a lot but in 19 days you can only take photos for instagram in these places. You got to walk in the streets, look around, breathe, follow the music etc. Its a matter of taste i suppose. I like just sitting at a coffee wathcing people go by their lives or just walk in the city center without knowing where i am going.
I would cut it in half and plan another trip.
Pro tip: Dont get pickpocketed in Rome. Its like a tradition over there. If you lose your passport whole trip goes out the window.
Adventurous-Sport-45@reddit
Last year, I started in Rome and went more or less from there to Istanbul, going to pretty much every country along the way (15 or so). It took me around 36 days, and it was still a bit rushed (and I wasn't the one driving). It's true that there were a few day trips by train involved while I was in Austria, and I stayed a single night in two small countries, but I mostly stayed around two to three days in each country. Your plan has only slightly fewer stops in half the time. I would consider it too hectic, particularly if you plan to be driving yourself instead of on a bus, train or flight where you can rest.