BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello,

My two best friends and I are heading to Eastern Europe in early July for one month. We're flying into Budapest, since the tickets were the least expensive at the time. Our goals are to spend a couple of days in Budapest, head to Romania, then end up in Croatia for a bit. We're purposfully leaving Croatia to the end since it will most likely be the most expensive.

I have a list of the places we don't want to miss:

Brasov
Sighisoara
Cluj-Napoca

Hvar
Dubrovnik
Korcula
Mljet


...however, we would really appreciate any recommended off the beaten track areas (or on the track!) of the countries we are visiting. Also, if anyone has taken a similar trip, any suggestions on a route would be great! I'm thinking we will take trains from country to country, maybe stopping off in Bosnia if we can, but this may be unrealistic!

We're also interested in mountain biking in Romania.

Any suggestions in general (interesting restaurants, local bars, places you've stayed for the night, museums, etc.) are welcome!

Thanks so much,

Eva
San Francisco
USA

Have you checked on whether you need to brush up on techniques as listed in "to squat and squirt, or not to squat....."

Ok you could travel into Maramures in the North of Romania from Budapest by bus,it is very beautiful and a place lost in time maybe for fifty years. There are beautiful villages with high wooden churches and most of the agriculture is done useing horses and carts. It is a very nice place to come and will help you escape from the busy city culture.From here you can go by train to Cluj Nepocha which is ok but really a university city with a lot of student activity.From here to Sibieu which should be on your list then on to Sigh and Brasov.You then have to travel through Buch because there isnt much alternative,it isnt a great city and you wont need more than a day there.From Buch there are direct trains to Bulgaria or you could travel to Constanta and take the train on to Vama and cross into Bulgaria there.The coast in Bulgaria is supposed to be very nice but dont bother with the resorts in Romania they are expensive and not very intresting.Have a nice trip and visit us in Maramures if you come this way.

quote:

I have a list of the places we don't want to miss:

Rob, thanks for the advice! That's a great idea for a route....I think that we do want to stop in Maramures, so we will definately visit! I'll contact you closer to the trip. Are you from Romania, or just a transplant?

Regarding "to squat and squirt, or not to squat....." I think I know what you are referring to, but is there a thread referencing this situation that I should check out?!

Eva

I'm doing a somewhat similar trip. I'm also flying into Budapest and would love to visit Transylvania (Sighisoara, Sibiu, Brasov) before moving on to Bosnia, Croatia and other places, but I haven't figured out a realistic way to make it all work.

Here are a few options I've been thinking about. If you (or others) have additional suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

From Romania:
Option #1: Transylvania -> Bucharest (train); Bucharest -> Bratislava, Slovakia (fly via SkyEurope); Bratislava -> Dubrovnik or Split, Croatia (fly via SkyEurope)

Option #2: Transylvania -> Belgrade, Serbia (night train) -> Sarajevo (night train) -> Mostar (train or bus) -> Dubrovnik (bus)

Option #3: Transylvania -> Pecs via Budapest (night train) -> Sarajevo (night train) -> Mostar (train or bus) -> Dubrovnik (bus)

For me, it seems like Transylvania would need about a week or so to be able to take things in without rushing around and really make the travel distance/time worth it. I'm having trouble conceptually rearranging other parts of my itinerary to allow for that kind of time - because it also takes a good chunk of time to work back over to Bosnia/Croatia.

I think option #1 could work out quite cheaply - but going through Bosnia is important to me for this trip.

about that party you mentioned ...the offer still stands?

Yes why not we are busy trying to connect a hot water supply at the moment so you should have all the comforts of home.Actualy that might depend on how your home is.

there'an expresion: there's no place like home. That's why I 'm gonna hit the road.

Eva,
Yes, squatting was top of the chart for near a week on members forum, but about halfway down for an interesting read!

quite interesting the name of this thread. "One month in Eastern Europe" . If I posted it , I would have called it " 28 Years in Eastern Europe".