Our two-month trip through the Balkans was one of the most intense and enriching of our lives. If you are planning a trip to this area, this post may be helpful: we are going to give you a few tips for traveling through the Balkans (and not screwing up).
If you are here because you have already made the decision to visit “ the other Europe ”, we envy you very much: you will never forget your first time in the Balkans! We returned home in love with these countries, so close and yet so different… and we don’t know anyone who has been there and didn’t like them.
Tips for traveling in the Balkans
This region, so sadly known for a war that is hard to forget , is today one of the most complete and interesting destinations in Europe: there are cultural cities full of history such as Split , Sofia or Berat ; paradisiacal corners such as Lake Ohrid , Lake Bled or the beaches of Croatia ; curious places such as Tirana , Skopje or Ljubljana and places where you simply leave a little piece of your heart such as Sarajevo or Kotor .
Now, we are going to give you a lot of recommendations and tips for traveling through the Balkans:
1. Learn about the Balkan War
Studying a little about the current situation in the Balkans and especially some of its recent turbulent past will make you much more involved in the trip.
The truth is that fully understanding the history of the former Yugoslavia and its war is a bit complicated, but don't give up: you have to understand the past to understand the present.
Here are a couple of articles that may help you:
- (Not so) brief summary of the Bosnian War
- About Albania and Kosovo
2. How long does it take to travel around the Balkans?
As always, we would say that the more time the better , but if you want to do a more or less complete tour of the Balkans you will need at least a month . And that seems like too little (we were there for a couple of months and we didn't have enough time). If you have less time, we recommend you focus on 2-3 countries.
⭐ If you want to see as much as possible and don't mind giving up exploring the different countries, in this post we leave you with the most optimized itinerary possible to travel to the Balkans in 2-3 weeks.
3. Best time to visit the Balkans
We think that the months of May, June, September and October are the best to visit the Balkans: the weather is nice without being too hot and you will also avoid running into many more tourists.
4. The most beautiful countries in the Balkans
The million dollar question! Obviously the answer is super personal, we stick with Croatia , Bosnia and Montenegro. Although it is not a fair or definitive answer, because it is all a matter of taste. In addition, we are leaving out authentic wonders such as Lake Bled in Slovenia or Lake Ohrid in Macedonia…
⭐ Here is our top 10 of the best things to see and do in the Balkans.
5. Is it expensive to travel in the Balkans?
The Balkans are generally a destination that offers more competitive prices than the rest of Europe , but they are more expensive than Southeast Asia , for example. We would say that if you know how to manage yourself well, the trip can be quite cheap. We are going to detail the most important concepts when planning a budget:
> Transport
For us it was the biggest expense and we didn't find, as many people think, that getting around the Balkans is much cheaper than in other European countries. Allow for around 3-5€ per hour of travel . There are a lot of people who hitchhike, we didn't try it but it seems to work very very very well.
Our advice : Croatia (at least part of it) and Montenegro by car (in Albania they drive like crazy but if you dare it is worth it to drive along the coast!). The other countries by public transport (bus-train depending on the price). Note: some buses charge for leaving luggage in the boot (between €0.50-€1!).
- If you need to search for bus schedules/prices in the Balkans, we recommend you take a look at websites such as Balkanviator , GetByBus or Flixbus .
- If you want to travel by train , we recommend you read our Interrail guide , although to be honest we don't think it's worth it to visit the Balkans: while it's true that in the rest of Europe Interrail means some savings, in the Balkans we don't see it as interesting (and the rail network doesn't reach everywhere). As we said above, for us, the best option is a mix of train/bus/minibus.
> Accommodation
Generally speaking, prices are around €10-15 per bed in a shared dorm, €30-40 for a double room in a hostel, €20-40 for a double room in a sobe (private houses that rent out rooms). Airbnb works pretty well in the Balkans and you can find nice options for around €30-50. Couchsurfing is also very popular, a great way to experience a place from the inside.
We found Croatia to be the most expensive country for accommodation, but even there you can find interesting things. However, make sure you book in advance if you go during the high season. On the other hand, even without a reservation you will not have any problems, as in almost every season there will be people offering ' sobe ' at a good price.
> Meal
Eating out in the Balkans can be very cheap. The pekaras (bakeries) have helped us out in many a tight spot: pizzas, burek, sweets for 0.5-2€! Another very typical dish in the area (and delicious) is cevapi, spiced sausages served with bread, onions and yoghurt sauce. It can be found from 1.50€ (5 pieces) in most Balkan countries.
If you want to eat a typical dish in a normal restaurant, you should expect to spend around €5-7. The price goes up if the destination/restaurant is more touristy, but you can eat well and cheaply without too many headaches.
⭐ By the way, here we tell you what are the typical dishes to eat in the Balkans.
6. Can I cope with English?
Yes and no. In tourist areas it is very common for people to speak a little English and you can make yourself understood. The problem is when you are in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere and they give you a menu in Cyrillic . Well, don't worry, with this post you will learn Cyrillic in no time and you will be able to eat everything!
And today, with Google Translate you will no longer have problems 😉
7. Is it safe to travel in the Balkans?
YES! We never felt unsafe (it's also true that our nightlife is very limited, we're two retired party animals now). There are places that can be a bit impressive, but we found the people very friendly and the only scam we got was at the border between Albania and Macedonia when the driver of a mini-bus charged us €1 more than the other passengers (and with a little more nerve we could have avoided it). But anyway, there was no big drama 😉
Oh, if you are afraid of stray dogs you might get a scare sometimes… during our trip we met sooo many stray dogs but you don’t have to worry at all: they are very sweet, affectionate and super good. They usually have a chip in their ear (we assume that indicates that they have been registered and vaccinated) and really, they are very affectionate, stop and play with them for a while 🙂
8. Passport and visas
Don't forget your passport at home, as many Balkan countries are not part of the Schengen Agreement and you will need it to cross borders. It must be valid for at least 6 months and have 1 blank page where you can put the stamps. Except for border posts, we were never asked for identification, especially in the Republic of Srpska when we didn't have one and they thought we were from the CIA . True story, we'll tell you about it in this travel misadventure.
⭐ Tip : To understand the entry policy for any country better, we always use Wikipedia, where you can search for “Visa policy of [country name]” and you will have all the details.
9. Travel insurance
It is important to know that the European Health Insurance Card covers the Member States of the European Union/European Economic Area + Switzerland, so some of these Balkan countries would be excluded and it would be advisable to take out travel insurance. We always recommend IATI ( with a 5% discount from this link ).
10. Cash or card?
We always recommend using credit cards when travelling, both for payments and for withdrawing money. We don't like carrying large amounts of cash, and even less so having to change it in destinations where the currency is not €. Here we tell you about the solutions for having money abroad .
We are currently using the Revolut card as our first option , one of the most reliable (they also have a €10 promo for new users!) and then the N26 card . They have a free version and offer excellent conditions to save us a lot of money on commissions, but with certain limitations, so they complement each other perfectly. We recommend carrying both, in addition to your regular bank card, in case one fails.
11. Coins
Most Balkan countries use their own currencies, and a few have joined the economic union with the €. These are the currencies of each country:
- Slovenia: €
- Croatia: €
- Bosnia: Bosnian Convertible Mark (1€ = 1.95 BAM)
- Serbia: Dinar (€1 = 117 RSD)
- Montenegro: €
- Albania: Lek (1€ = 112 LEK)
- Macedonia: Denar (1€ = 62 MKD)
- Bulgaria: Lev (€1 = 1.95 LEV)
These are our tips for travelling around the Balkans . We hope they are useful and that you are even more excited than before. And if you have any questions, you know, just leave us a comment and we will answer as soon as possible. We only have one thing left to do: wish you a happy trip.
