When individuals consider Europe, the primary locations that usually come to thoughts are France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and possibly Switzerland. Nonetheless, Europe is dwelling to dozens of nations, and one of the underrated areas for vacationers is the Balkans. Whereas there’s no common settlement on which nations belong to the Balkans, the area usually contains Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, with Romania and Slovenia generally thought-about a part of it as nicely.
Regardless of being missed by many vacationers, the Balkans supply beautiful landscapes, wealthy historical past, and vibrant cultures — all at a fraction of the fee in comparison with Western Europe. Whereas some locations should be expensive by Filipino requirements, they’re usually extra budget-friendly than their Western European counterparts. If visiting the Balkans is in your journey bucket listing, hold studying as we share how we deliberate our unforgettable Balkan journey on this article!
1. Safe the correct visas.
As talked about earlier, the Balkan area usually consists of 11 nations. Nonetheless, not all of them are a part of the Schengen Space.
Schengen Balkan Nations
Solely 5 nations within the Balkan area are included within the Schengen Space. These are the next:
- Greece
- Croatia
- Slovenia
- Bulgaria
- Romania
Be aware: Bulgaria and Romania at the moment solely settle for Schengen visas at their sea and air borders.
Among the many Schengen nations within the Balkans, Greece is probably the most sensible selection for Filipino vacationers. Listed below are the explanations:
- Greece has its personal embassy within the Philippines, making visa processing extra simple.
- Athens Airport is well-connected, with reasonably priced flights out there from many locations.
- Greece is a surprising journey vacation spot, so it’s nicely price including to your itinerary!
Alternatively, you can even apply for a Schengen visa by way of Slovenia, which is processed by the Belgian Embassy within the Philippines.
TIP! Design an itinerary that requires a number of Schengen entries, making your multiple-entry visa utility extra justifiable. See pattern itinerary within the subsequent part.
Non-Schengen Balkan Nations
Listed below are the Balkan nations exterior of the Schengen Space:
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Kosovo
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Serbia
In the event you’re touring to any of those nations, you’ll want a separate visa particular to that nation. As an illustration, in case you’re solely visiting Albania, you’ll want to use for an Albanian visa. Happily, there’s a workaround: when you’ve got a multiple-entry Schengen visa, you received’t want a separate visa for a lot of Balkan states.
To benefit from this, you possibly can apply for a multiple-entry Schengen visa by way of Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, or Romania — so long as your itinerary justifies a number of entries. Moreover, many non-Schengen Balkan nations settle for a used multiple-entry Schengen visa, which means you should enter a Schengen nation at the very least as soon as earlier than utilizing it to go to different Balkan states.
2. Plan your route properly.
Cautious route planning is crucial — not solely to save lots of time, cash, and vitality but additionally to justify the necessity for a multiple-entry Schengen visa.
Creating Your Itinerary
As talked about earlier, solely 5 Balkan nations are a part of the Schengen Space, whereas the remaining require separate visas. Nonetheless, with a multiple-entry Schengen visa, you possibly can enter many non-Schengen Balkan nations without having further visas.
Because of this the itinerary you undergo the embassy is essential. Beneath is a simplified model of our Balkan journey route. It was extra difficult in actuality, however this provides you an instance of how one can plan your itinerary.
- Greece
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- North Macedonia
- Kosovo
- Albania
- Montenegro
- Croatia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Croatia
- Spain
This itinerary required us to enter the Schengen Space thrice, which strengthened our justification for a multiple-entry visa.
- First Entry: Arriving in Greece (Schengen).
- Second Entry: Exiting the Schengen Space from Bulgaria to North Macedonia, then re-entering when arriving in Croatia.
- Third Entry: Taking a facet journey to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, then re-entering Croatia.
With three Schengen entries, a multiple-entry visa was justified, permitting us to journey by way of the non-Schengen Balkan nations without having separate visas.
Selecting the Finest Mode of Transportation
Past visas, planning your route properly additionally means contemplating transportation availability. Google Maps is a good software to verify probably the most logical route between the nations you wish to go to. Researching bus routes might help you keep away from pointless flights, making your journey extra budget-friendly and environment friendly.
Throughout our Balkan backpacking journey, we primarily traveled by bus. Not solely was it probably the most reasonably priced possibility, but it surely additionally made for a extra immersive and adventurous expertise.
Checking the Political Panorama
One other crucial issue when planning your itinerary is the political panorama of the Balkan area, as some nations have border restrictions on account of diplomatic conflicts. For instance, Serbia apparently doesn’t enable entry from Kosovo on account of conflicts. Whereas this coverage might change over time, we took further precautions when planning our route. As an alternative of touring from Kosovo to Serbia, we entered Serbia from Bulgaria first, then later traveled to Kosovo from North Macedonia to keep away from potential points.
By being strategic together with your route, you may make your Balkan journey smoother, cheaper, and visa-efficient — all whereas having fun with the unbelievable range of this fascinating area!
3. Seek for reasonably priced flights.
When planning our Balkans journey, we selected Greece as our entry level as a result of it supplied the most cost effective flights. In the event you’re reserving nicely prematurely or throughout seat gross sales, one of the budget-friendly choices from Manila to Athens is SCOOT, which operates flights with a stopover in Singapore. The truth is, we’ve flown to Greece with Scoot on earlier journeys.
Nonetheless, don’t restrict your search to only funds airways. It’s at all times price checking full-service carriers too. Generally, you’ll discover flights which can be both cheaper or solely barely costlier than low-cost airways however include added advantages. For instance, once we booked our flight for our Balkans journey, we selected Etihad with a cease in Abu Dhabi. On the time, it was solely about ₱5,000 costlier than Scoot, however that value already included add-ons.
In the event you observed in our pattern itinerary, our ultimate cease earlier than returning to the Philippines was Spain, regardless that it’s not a part of the Balkan area. The explanation? Flight costs. On the time, the most cost effective flight again to Manila was from Barcelona. Even after factoring in the price of a connecting flight from Croatia to Barcelona, the overall expense was nonetheless decrease than flying instantly from the Balkans. That’s why we determined to incorporate Spain in our route!
It’s necessary to notice that when making use of for a Schengen visa, you don’t have to e book your flights but. As an alternative, you’ll want a flight reservation, which serves as a brief reserving with out requiring full fee. Some individuals check with it as a “dummy ticket”, it sounds phony so we keep away from utilizing that time period. However no matter you name it, what’s necessary is that embassies acknowledge flight reservations.
For our visa purposes, we get our flight reservations from Gazelle Journey and Excursions. In the event you want one, you possibly can go to this web page, fill out the order kind, and verify the pricing and turnaround time. As soon as your visa is accredited, you possibly can proceed with finalizing your precise flight reserving.
4. Contemplate the season and the climate.
Timing performs a vital function when planning a visit to Europe, together with the Balkan area. We’ve traveled to the Balkans throughout late spring to early summer time and once more from late summer time to autumn, and we will confidently say — the distinction in value is big.
The summer time months (June to September) are thought-about peak season, which means increased costs for flights, lodging, and excursions. For instance, once we visited Croatia, we observed that as quickly as October arrived, tour costs dropped considerably. This development applies to accommodations and flights as nicely.
Out of all of the seasons we’ve skilled, autumn was probably the most breathtaking. The climate was comfortably cool — neither too scorching nor too chilly — and the landscapes had been painted in beautiful fall colours, making it an unforgettable sight.
Past pricing and surroundings, seasonal climate additionally determines what it is advisable to pack. The Balkans have numerous climates, so temperatures can range enormously relying on the place you go. For instance, the climate in Romania is completely different from Croatia’s Dalmatia Area.
In the meantime, coastal cities alongside the Adriatic and Aegean Seas — like Break up and Dubrovnik in Croatia — have a Mediterranean local weather. Inland areas, reminiscent of Sofia in Bulgaria and Brașov in Romania, expertise a damp continental local weather, which means colder winters and extra vital seasonal adjustments.
In the event you’re backpacking by way of a number of nations, anticipate the climate to shift from place to put. You should definitely analysis every vacation spot’s local weather prematurely and pack accordingly to remain snug all through your journey.
5. Don’t assume all the things’s the identical.
The Balkan area is extremely numerous, not simply when it comes to local weather but additionally in tradition, language, historical past, and governance. Whereas there are similarities between nations, every nation has its personal distinct id. The alphabet, faith, political methods, and even cuisines can range dramatically as you cross borders.
Historical past
This range can be mirrored within the area’s advanced historical past. Many neighboring nations have long-standing political tensions, which generally grow to be evident when talking with locals. Even historic excursions can current conflicting narratives, relying on the place you might be. For instance, North Macedonia and Bulgaria, Serbia and Bulgaria, Serbia and Kosovo, and even Bosnia and Herzegovina all have completely different views on historic occasions — and also you’ll probably sense this when visiting heritage websites or participating in conversations.
Delicacies
Every nation within the Balkans presents a novel delicacies as nicely. For instance, in Dubrovnik and Montenegro, seafood dominates the delicacies, whereas Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia favor meat-heavy dishes.
Faith
On the subject of faith, nations like Kosovo and Albania are predominantly Muslim, whereas Croatia is essentially Catholic. In the meantime, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania comply with Jap Orthodox Christianity, every with their very own branches — Greek Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox, and Serbian Orthodox.
Language
The linguistic range can be fascinating. For instance, Romanian is a Latin-based language that makes use of the Latin alphabet, whereas Bulgarian is a Slavic language that makes use of the Cyrillic script. Greek, after all, has its personal distinct Greek alphabet.
Vibe and Persona
Each vacation spot has its personal persona. Past cultural variations, every metropolis or city exudes its personal distinctive appeal. Brașov (Romania) seems like a quaint, fairy-tale city. Sofia (Bulgaria) and Tirana (Albania) have the bustling vitality of massive cities. In the meantime, Break up and Dubrovnik (Croatia) are straight out of Recreation of Thrones, serving critical King’s Touchdown vibes. And Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Prizren (Kosovo) appear to be big, open-air museums with their well-preserved historic websites.
Affordability
Costs additionally range between locations. Whereas a lot of the Balkans is understood for being budget-friendly, there are notable exceptions. Dubrovnik and Break up are among the many most costly cities within the area. After we first visited these components of Croatia a number of years in the past, they had been already expensive, however throughout our most up-to-date journey, we observed costs had skyrocketed, probably as a result of inflow of vacationers. In the event you plan to go to, be ready to spend extra in comparison with different Balkan locations.
The extra locations you discover, the extra you’ll recognize the area’s unbelievable range. Each cease reveals one thing new, making the Balkans a very fascinating place to go to.
6. Examine your lodging on-line.
Probably the greatest issues about touring within the Balkans is the abundance of budget-friendly lodging. Nonetheless, value isn’t the one issue to contemplate when selecting the place to remain. We at all times use two key standards when reserving: central location and accessibility.
We want lodging close to the Previous City or metropolis heart, inside strolling distance of key points of interest and beginning factors for strolling excursions. It’s additionally necessary that our lodging is near main transportation hubs, reminiscent of prepare stations or bus terminals, for simpler transfers between locations.
Discovering lodging that match these standards was pretty straightforward, besides in Dubrovnik, the place we confronted a novel problem: most budget-friendly rooms solely accommodated two individuals — we had been a bunch of three. Because of this, we ended up reserving flats for many of our keep.
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Past location and affordability, it’s additionally essential to verify the constructing’s amenities, particularly in case you’re staying in an condominium throughout the Previous City. Some buildings are older and lack elevators, which generally is a drawback in case you’re carrying heavy baggage or have mobility issues.
For instance, in Brașov, Romania, we stayed at Zinne Flats, an enthralling place simply two blocks from the primary sq.. Nonetheless, it was on the second flooring, which is third flooring for us Pinoys, and because it was in an older constructing, there was no elevator. Equally, in Skopje, North Macedonia, we booked Condominium Emilija, which had an incredible location — we might see the primary sq. proper from our window. The unit itself was spacious and cozy, but it surely was on the fourth flooring, which is fifth flooring by our requirements, with no elevator.
Earlier than finalizing your lodging, at all times verify which flooring your unit is on and whether or not the constructing has an elevator. This small element could make a giant distinction in your consolation, particularly after a protracted day of exploring. And, once more:
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7. Watch out for scams and safe obligatory journey insurance coverage.
Like many main cities in Europe, scams exist within the Balkans. Though they don’t seem to be as rampant as in Paris, Barcelona, or Berlin, scams nonetheless exist right here. The most typical sort of rip-off vacationers encounter right here normally includes taxis.
We personally skilled a taxi rip-off in North Macedonia. We normally want public transportation, however generally, particularly when arriving late at night time, taking a taxi is the one possibility. Since there have been three of us, we figured splitting the fare wouldn’t be too dangerous.
Earlier than getting within the taxi, we agreed on a value with the driving force. Nonetheless, once we arrived at our vacation spot, he abruptly demanded more cash. After we refused, different taxi drivers surrounded us, attempting to intimidate us.
Sadly, taxi scams occur in different cities too. In the event you suspect a driver is overcharging, stroll away and discover one other taxi. To keep away from this, you possibly can ask your lodging host for an estimate of the same old fare from the station to your keep. Many hosts even suggest a trusted switch service to make sure you’re not overcharged. For instance, our host in Skopje went the additional mile to personally take us to the bus station so we wouldn’t need to take care of taxi scams.
In our six weeks of touring within the Balkans, we solely encountered two scams and fell for one. Nonetheless, there are different scams that vacationers have reported, reminiscent of because the cash collector rip-off and overpriced menu rip-off. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter these, however researching frequent scams earlier than your journey might help you acknowledge and keep away from them.
Since we’re speaking about security, do not forget that when making use of for a Schengen visa, having journey insurance coverage is obligatory. Not simply any insurance coverage — it have to be Schengen-accredited. For dependable protection, you possibly can e book TravelJoy Plus by way of PGA Sompo. This ensures you’re protected all through your journey.
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