7-day balkan roadtrip
Posted by Wally4Ever@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 66 comments
Hello dear Balkan brothers (sorry Greeks but I've been there already)
Me and a couple friends will be embarking on a road trip the night of august 7th from Romania, returning on the 16th. We've no idea where to yet!
There's just soooo many options and we can't decide (a week just isn't that much). And here I am thinking that y'all might have some suggestions for a great time.
We wanna do 1 or 2 nights of camping along with 1 or 2 hikes (nothing extreme, 6-7 hours tops), see some cities, national parks and spend a day or two tops at the beach.
Wouldn't want to spend most of our days driving either, so going to the beach in South Albania and also visiting Plitvice National Park in Croatia isn't really an option.
It'd be great to hear from some of you who have already done roadtrips through the Balkans, or suggestions for places to go. I'd rather ask the people of Reddit than an LLM to help me plan this trip. Yes, letting Claude decide our faith is on the table if we can't make our minds up...
SuspiciousShock8294@reddit
This is too much space to cover in 7 days. I lnow because it is my job to travel around these places.
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
No, I know. I've just circled the area of where we'd want to go. (Already been to Greece, Hungary is just flat, not interested in going further north and Italy is just too far to roadtrip) It's obvious we'll only go to 1 or 2 countries, but even that leaves so many options.
SuspiciousShock8294@reddit
I'm in Kotor at the moment. Kinda drunk. Going to Dubrovnik in the morning. But i should be free in 2-3 days, and would be happy to help you then. I hope i remember. I prolly will.
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Cheers dude š» have fun! Come back any time, we ain't leaving for another couple of months so we got time
NNredE@reddit
Day 1. Drive along the Danube. Sleep in Sremska Mitrovica or some other smaller city, you don't have time for Belgrade.
Day 2. Drive to Ljubljana. Night at Ljubljana.
Day 3. Bled Lake, maybe Postojana Jama, drive to Rovinj or some other place in Istria. Sleep there.
Day 4, Drive to Split, evening in Split.
Day 5. Drive to Dubrovnik, evening in Dubrovnik
Day 6. Drive to Sarajevo, stop in Mostar.
Day 7. Drive back to Romania would probably take you the whole day.
Will you see something along the way, I don't know, but you will cover the bigest area.
tiktakwoe@reddit
be prepared that Dubrovnik in summer is suuuper overcrowded and overall not a pleasant experience
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Damn, planned the whole thing. Just missing links for hotels lol. Thank you!
NNredE@reddit
Well, I do love to plan road trips, so if I need to take this trip, there will already be accommodations booked on Booking.
The problem with this above is that there is at least 5h drive each day, so not much time left for other things, but at the same time, 7 days are really not that much time to cover everything.
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
It's a bit much, will probably end up picking just a couple of locations and be sad that I'm unable to see everything
NNredE@reddit
Pick the main priority and organize the rest accordingly.
CypriotGreek@reddit
Bro wants to go EVEYWHERE
tiktakwoe@reddit
Just not Bulgaria+Greece
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Just not Greece lol
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
I loved Greece, just we've all been there. We're open to anything inside the red circle, but it's obvious we can't go everywhere and will have to limit ourselves to one or two countries unfortunately. Otherwise we'd be driving non-stop
No_Idea_479@reddit
Montenegro, trust me
CypriotGreek@reddit
Dont worry man lol, we dont get upset if you prefer a country other than Greece. There are many different types of tourists out there, a lot I'd say prefer the land more than the sea. But we are always open for all to visit, we have a little bit for everyone.
etre1337@reddit
Of all the countries I have traveled to in Europe, in Greece I feel the most comfortable. Just the proper combination of rustic and modern convenience.Ā
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
I feel like are you really Romanian if you've never been to Greece in the summer
rydolf_shabe@reddit
Bros trynna draw the borders* of Illyrian tribes by car
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Pls elaborate :))
rydolf_shabe@reddit
Your route looks like one of those proposed maps of Illyrian tribes borders*
pitogyros@reddit
Not sure why this is downvoted , those are generally agreed tribes that we call Illyrian
rydolf_shabe@reddit
probably people think im saying some nationalistic thing, thats why i added the "*" at the word "borders"
oh well OP enjoyed my joke so
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Maybe I'm part Illyrian and I just found out
amerikani@reddit
Skip Serbia and spend time in Montenegro instead
BeatnologicalMNE@reddit
Some places that you must have on the list.
Croatia:
- Istria
- Plitvice lakes
- Dubrovnik (not just old town but whole area nearby to Dubrovnik)
Bosnia:
- Mostar & Kravice (nearby)
- Sarajevo
- If you like nature and hiking nothing beats Tjentiste area and hikes to various parts of Perucica prehistoric forest
Montenegro:
- Bay of Kotor (everything > Herceg Novi, Perast, Kotor, Tivat, boat tour around the bay, cable car to the Lovcen mountain)
- If you like nature and hiking goes without saying that you need to spend couple of days in Zabljak and visit Durmitor mountain ranges (and lakes, especially Black lake)
- If you like very, very extreme hiking and can spend 4-5 days hiking then Prokletije mountain range is amazing, however you can visit this from Albania as well (think they have better hiking tours as well)
Noth Macedonia:
- Lake Ohrid, it's amazing
- Skopje if nothing else then for some walking tours while you're on your way to Serbia
Serbia:
- Belgrade, if nothing else then for night life
- Novi Sad & Subotica are also "nice to see"
Albania:
- Have not visited much of Albania so I don't have full experience but I really liked Tirana and think it's worth a visit
iheartloud420@reddit
Why does everyone list belgrade only for the nightlife, theres much more to see in belgrade and serbia out of belgrade than just that
BeatnologicalMNE@reddit
If you've been across the world you'll quickly realize that, sadly, best thing Belgrade has to offer is nightlife. That's why.
Does that mean there are no other things to see? Absolutely not! Plenty of museums, plenty of historical sights too, but nothing extraordinary special (still nice though).
---
Serbia absolutely has to offer many other places, especially if you are into nature. Sine you are from Serbia maybe jump in and give some input to the OP? š
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Now that's a list and then some. I wanna go to all of them, shame about the limited time
BeatnologicalMNE@reddit
You can combine some of those places, I'll give you an example.
If you make Herceg Novi in Kotor Bay your 'base for Montenegro' you can reach all of the below rather easily (heavily depends on time of the year though).
- Dubrovnik in Croatia is \~40 minutes drive
- Trebinje in Bosnia is \~40 minutes drive and then add another \~2 hours if you want to continue to Mostar
- Zabljak/Durmitor is \~2 and a half hours away, however I would definitely recommend you spend at least two days in Zabljak
In Istria if you make Rovinj or Porec your base you have whole Istria within range, also some parts of Slovenia are super close ( \~2 - 3 hours drive to Ljubljana / Lake Bled). You can visit Koper easily, Trieste in Italy too etc. Even Plitvice lake is rather close ( \~3 hour drive ).
vivaervis@reddit
As someone from Albania I think we have much more to offer than Tirana. I would totally skip the capital and focus on landscapes, mountains, beaches and historical cities like Berat and Gjirokaster.
BeatnologicalMNE@reddit
I can bet! Sadly only places I've been to in Albania are Tirana & Durres. I know Prokletije range is amazing as I've been there (but through Montenegro side), only heard positive things about side in Albania (apparently much more interesting).
MomcheMusic@reddit
Great idea. Except that the road along Dalmatian coast is gonna be hell. Traffic insane in summer and itās a road meant for donkey riders still .. not for all of Europe to go driving to beaches is southern Europe
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
We aren't gonna trip the whole red area. Just looking for roadtrip suggestions within the red area, there's no way to cover even 1/10 of it in just 7 days
MomcheMusic@reddit
Thereās lots of stuff to see. Probably makes more sense to split it up into northern countries. And separate trip in southern countries.
jay_altair@reddit
Hah, I had big ambitions for my short Balkan road trip a couple years back. Ended up revising it down twice, to the following itinerary:
Day 1 - fly in to Zagreb, rent car, drive to Pula, overnight in Pula Day 2 - explore Pula & Istria, drive to Predjama Castle in Slovenia, drive to Ljubljana, overnight in Ljubljana Day 3 - excursion to Bled, Bohinj, and Skofja Loka, overnight in Ljubljana Day 4 - Ljubljana Castle, Lasko thermal spa, return to Zagreb, overnight in Zagreb Day 5 - I was supposed to go to Plitvice but there was a serious storm in the mountains which looked like it was gonna cause flooding (it did) so I stayed in Zagreb and visited 7 museums Day 6 - fly back
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Hmm š¤ we own cars so it wouldn't make sense to rent one. Think they'd let a Ford focus on the plane?
Just kidding, that does sound like a nice trip
jay_altair@reddit
Yeah it was a bit of a whirlwind but quite manageable as a solo traveler. I'd never considered road tripping in Europe until a couple years ago when a German friend told me it was the best way to see the Balkans. Since then I've had a great time doing solo road trips in Europe that, had most anyone else been with me, probably would have been miserable for the both of us. You have to enjoy a certain weird combination of fast-paced but also laid-back travel so that you get to see a lot but don't stress about not seeing everything.
My general strategy is I'll outline out a driving route, make hotel reservations along the way, and highlight like one big thing I want to do each day, considering anything else I squeeze in or happen across to be a bonus. And I also try to build in chill/relaxing days or city days so I'm not on the road all day every day.
Did another solo road trip in the Baltics about a year ago, after meeting up with some friends in Copenhagen for memorial day weekend. This trip was designed to determine where in Lithuania I'd like to spend more time in. Unfortunately the answer was everywhere, which you may often find to be the case with this kind of frenetic travel.
People will tell you this kind of travel is crazy and stupid, and I'm not saying they're wrong, but if you are the right kind of crazy you might just have an excellent time like me
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
It's the best kind of travel. Initially the vacation plans started with like 15 people going to the beach probably Ʈn Greece for the whole week. But you know, good old story of people being flaky so it ended up being just 6 of us. And all of a sudden, it's a manageable number of people for a proper road trip. I much prefer this, seeing a bunch of places plus the drive itself, rather than spending a whole week in one place. I really am not cut out for a trip to an all-inclusive resort, I'll do that when I'm 60
jay_altair@reddit
Legit. Spending a week based in one place can be nice as well. If that place is a city like Paris or London. I swing back and forth but have very much been on a fast travel kick lately.
Inductiekookplaat@reddit
Peaks of the Balkan trial
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
That's a bucket list thing for sure, but it won't happen this time around. I'm too fat for that lol
Clear-Spring1856@reddit
If you leave out Serbia, youāre doing it wrong
ElectionParticular76@reddit
You are super close to Romania, try to visit the Iron Gates and the Rock Sculpture of Decebalus. Its a nice place.
sonnygreen42@reddit
With existing roads you will need a year to cover that.
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
I'm not looking to trip ALL of it. You'd need multiple cars to finish such a roadtrip considering road quality
DChrisSLO@reddit
honestly its a bit too much for a 7 day trip.
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
No, I know. I've just circled the area of where we'd want to go. It's obvious we'll only go to 1 or 2 countries, but even that leaves so many options. Trip through Croatia? Drive through Bosnia? See Albania and North Macedonia? You'd need a whole summer to actually trip the whole red circle lol
DChrisSLO@reddit
if i were you i would do just a trip around the whole sea cost. Croatias sea cost and its roads are beautiful, same goes with albania.
Fishibish@reddit
Nobody has mentioned this... on the southwest side of N. Macedonia go to Ohrid Lake :) one of the oldest lakes in the world!
creepy009@reddit
Bojan997@reddit
I recommend visiting FruŔka Gora National Park in the Srem region of Vojvodina, Serbia.
The hiking there is fairly easy, the trails are not too demanding, and there is a nice 5.5 km fitness trail with plenty of benches where you can rest and enjoy nature. There are also many good spots for camping.
You can also visit LedinaÄko Lake, which is a very beautiful place.
If you like monasteries, FruÅ”ka Gora is often called the āSerbian Holy Mountainā because it has 16 monasteries, all truly beautiful and worth visiting.
FruŔka Gora is also well known for its excellent wines.
And finally, Novi Sad is very close by ā a beautiful city that is definitely worth visiting. Be sure not to miss Petrovaradin Fortress.
I only gave you the basics, so if you decide to go there, definitely do a bit more research.
I hope you have an amazing trip!
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Is that lake full of Gatorade? It's sooo blue
Bojan997@reddit
Ledinci Lake has a unique and interesting past. It was formed relatively recently, during the 1990s. Its history began with stone exploitation at the Ledinci quarry. During the war in the nineties, when the quarry was abandoned, groundwater began to fill the depression created by the excavation. This is how Ledinci Lake was formed, which today covers an area of about 4 hectares, with a maximum depth of around 50 meters, while its average depth is about 15 meters.
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Great to hear it's just ground water, and not a toxic slurry of chemicals like GeamÄna lake in Romania, which was just the dumping ground for some mining operation that created a very beautiful blue lake that is insanely toxic and is in no danger of poisoning half the country, that would be crazy ...
StepBackJanez@reddit
I am Slovene, but based on your wishes I would do the following trip:
Belgrade - Tara national park - Sarajevo - Mostar - Albania beaches (for example Kotor) - Lake Ohrid - back home.
After Mostar you could also go to Durmitor national park before crossing to Albania.
I would skip Slovenia (too far away), Croatia coast and especially Plitvice (too crowded ij summer).
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
This one does sound pretty good. Will look into it!
ISmellLikeBlackTea@reddit
Whatever you do, make sure to visit Plitvice
Live-Method-219@reddit
One question, do you like bears?
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
I've been hiking and camping in Romania in the FÄgÄraČ mountains. They're scary beasts, but we've got bear spray and a death wish so it's no biggie. Last year we got to our campsite at 11pm before hiking up Moldoveanu peak and the people there told us they seen a bear on the other side of the creek just 3 hours prior. So two of us slept with cans of bear spray in hand, the other cuddled with an ax
Live-Method-219@reddit
There is a pair of tamed ones in northern Bosnia. I think that it's really unusual experience to come that close and feed or cuddle them. Surrounding nature is also beautiful
Wild_cmpt6406@reddit
Jan Claude Van Damme is overrated.
Go to Golubac then along Danube to Belgrade, then over Zlatibor to Montenegro and end up in Budva. Then drive back š
Maybe better to make it 2 weeks.
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
I'd make it 2 months if money and paid vacation weren't an issue :(
Wild_cmpt6406@reddit
Western Serbia has great camping spots along Drina and in the hills and mountains nearby. But the drive is slow once you get off the highway and head uphill the curvy roads.
Problem is the time limit. ā
Pijlmans@reddit
For hiking opportunities in Macedonia, you can have a look at my website if you want, the link is in my profile. Happy to answer any specific questions you have!
Wally4Ever@reddit (OP)
Will for sure have a look and get back at you, thanks!