Balkan countries aren’t the first place that people might consider as destination spots, an exception being Greece which is widely known to be an amazing country. Because of that, it was even more exciting to travel to the Balkan countries and see it ourselves – what it’s like there, what the cultures are like, see the many beautiful places and spots, and prove to ourselves that these countries deserve much more recognition. And we were true – every country offers so much to explore, unique culture, inexpensive travels, and the best memories.
We decided to travel with a motorhome and actually, that was the first time we ever ventured somewhere with it. We felt like traveling in your vehicle, much more in one where you can comfortably sleep, cook and shower, can make the traveling so much easier and comfortable and we found the expectations to be totally true.
The countries that we, unfortunately, didn’t manage to explore are Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo. But that only means that we will need to plan another Balkan tour because although we traveled a lot and saw a lot, we still have so much left to see.
Route
We started our journey from Latvia, where we are from, and the route to get to the first Balkan country, Croatia, took us through Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. We didn’t stay too long in these places since the main destination and idea was to explore Balkan countries and we had 6 months to do so since we needed to make it back in time for our motorhome’s technical check-up.
When we reached Hungary, we spent a fantastic week in Budapest and after that, we drove through the rest of Hungary, to Croatia. Although Croatia is a Balkan country and we would love to explore it one day, on this trip we decided not to since there are quite a lot of restrictions about camping and overall Croatia seems like a wonderful destination in the summertime. So after driving through a small portion of Croatia, we entered Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
To be completely honest, we were a bit anxious to drive to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The media portrays the country still as an unsafe place to visit and we didn’t know what to expect. And frankly, Bosnia and Herzegovina was such a beautiful and welcoming country. True, there are a lot of buildings both outside cities and in cities that are still damaged by the war, and also true that you need to be cautious from pickpocketers and breaking into cars but as I always say to myself and anyone who speaks of these concerns – you need to be cautious everywhere you go.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, we ended up visiting 5 places – Banja Luka, Jajce, Sarajevo, Mostar, and Dervish House in Blagaj.
Despite the stereotypes about the country, we felt safe and welcome and I highly recommend everyone to visit this magnificent country. We didn’t make it to the national parks and the famous Kravica Waterfalls since it was getting so chilly outside at the beginning of December and we decided to head towards Montenegro.
Read here more about the places that we visited in Bosnia and Herzegovina and here about the 8 things to know before traveling there.
Montenegro
Surprisingly, I had heard very little of Montenegro before we decided to visit it. And because of that, I was so shocked to find out how beautiful the landscapes are, and how magical Kotor is, one of the most beautiful towns in Montenegro, laying on the Adriatic coast and providing breathtaking views of the hills around. The drive from Bosnia and Herzegovina felt like in the movies taking us through mountain passes and getting closer to the cities, revealing Adriatic Sea waters. If you visit Kotor, make sure to not miss the fortified old town that dates back to medieval times and San Giovanni, the medieval fortress located on the top of the hill that overlooks the town of Kotor.
After that, we managed to visit Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro but sadly the city was hit by a massive rainstorm that wasn’t bearable so our city’s exploring was put to a pause. After two days, we decided to leave and go to Albania in the hopes of better weather. It is a shame since Montenegro has not only beautiful towns and seaside resorts but impressive national parks as well that we will need to visit next time there.
Albania
Albania was a highly anticipated place to visit for us. Although when we told close friends and family members that we are planning on visiting Albania, not one of them was certain that it was a good idea. So if you believe that Albania isn’t a safe place to travel to, I highly recommend researching the places you are intending on visiting, not going somewhere that doesn’t feel safe but certainly giving this country a chance – it is such a wonderful place!
In our journey there, we spent time in about 6 places although in one of them, in Kruje, we had technical problems with our motorhome so altogether we fully explored only 5 places – Shkoder, Tirana, Berat, Gjirokaster and Benja Hot Springs. Because we were a little short on time, we didn’t explore many more amazing spots but that’s for another time.
Albania absolutely blew my mind away with how colorful it is, how the nature is just outstanding, people are so kind and cities so vibrant. And most of all, the feeling of freedom that you have while traveling – you can park in a lot of places, stay overnight, and just enjoy yourself and the many beautiful places.
Read more here about the 5 places we visited in Albania and here about the 10 things to know before traveling there!
Greece
We were so excited to visit Greece that we couldn’t wait any longer. After our last spot in Albania, we immediately drove to our first destination in Greece – the town of Ioannina. We spent a couple of nights there, again thrown into a different culture than in the previous countries. And after a month we spent traveling through the mainland of Greece, I can say that it is such a picturesque country, with unimaginably beautiful places to visit, delicious foods, and unique culture and history.
Greece is certainly a country that is without a doubt a place that everyone should visit at least once in their lives. It is a little bit more expensive to travel there than in other Balkan countries – groceries are more expensive, admission fees to popular spots can be pricey, and driving with a larger vehicle, although not in the means of weight, can be expensive since there are toll roads that calculate the price based on the size of the vehicle. But overall, it is worth it. In Greece, we saw historical places, magical landscapes, soaked in hot springs, and saw many wild animals, even a few sharks that can be found in the Aegean Sea. I mean, what a surreal experience!
Make sure to check out more about the places that we visited in Greece here and about the 8 things to know before traveling there!
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, similarly to Montenegro, was a country that I knew very little of before researching it. And it turned out to be one of my favorites in the sense of calmness since not a lot of tourists go there, how cheap it was to travel there, and how astounding the country is. In North Macedonia, we faced major cold temperatures, even to -10 Celsius at night which we weren’t prepared for and so we managed to visit only 6 places in North Macedonia, leaving national parks for warmer weather. The places that we visited were Skopje, the capital, Matka Canyon, the Painted Mosque, Lake Ohrid and the city of Ohrid, and finally the Bay of Bones.
If you are planning a trip through Balkan countries, make sure to not miss North Macedonia. I can’t emphasize enough how beautiful it is there, and how much there is to see and if you are not convinced yet, read here about the 6 places that we visited there and here about the 8 things to know before traveling to North Macedonia!
Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a perfect country for beach holidays, embracing the history of the country and enjoying the beautiful sights that the country offers. Both North Macedonia and Bulgaria felt more calming than other Balkan countries but that’s probably because it was still winter season and the tourism hadn’t started yet. But overall, we had the best two weeks traveling through the country, visiting both Sofia, the capital, and Varna, the seaside’s biggest city, as well as some main attraction points in the middle of the country where the sights get more mountainous terrain.
Make sure to read here about the places that we visited in Bulgaria and here about the 10 things to know before traveling to Bulgaria!
Romania
I can’t say for certain, because I loved our time in all of the countries that we visited on our trip through the Balkans, but Romania captured my heart like no other one.
It might be because of how unique the places in Romania are, such as mud volcanoes, a mystical forest, or Dracula’s Castle. And although we spent two weeks and visited 9 different places in the country, there is still so much that we didn’t manage to see and explore. If that doesn’t sound intriguing, read here about the places that we visited in Romania more thoroughly.
I found that in Romania people were so welcoming, helpful and kind, the food was so delicious and it was, as in the Balkans, very inexpensive to travel there. I would love to visit Romania again and explore some other places that are on my bucket list of places to see there (and the list is pretty long).
Before moving on to how the border crossing experience was to us, make sure to read here about the 12 things to know before traveling to Romania.
Border crossing
Crossing the borders in the Balkans can be an interesting experience – at most of the points your documents get checked, also the car gets checked and not in a very subtle way but we had experiences where the officers went into our motorhome and asked to open some cabinets, toilet and even checked the floors by knocking on the panels. It might feel strange but since it’s only for the safety of the people overall, it’s necessary.
We heard that in the Balkans you can travel only with a passport, but since we have both passports and IDs, both forms of identification were accepted at most places. But in case you take only one identification form, I still would advise you to take a passport.
When entering a country, make sure you have insurance that covers the country that you want to travel to. We had a problem with our insurance company when entering North Macedonia where we couldn’t get our insurance for that country over the phone or fill out a form online therefore we needed to buy a Green Card on the spot for 50 Euros that was active for 15 days.
Best places in every country
This is meant to be a quick not-to-miss checklist but if you have time, make sure to visit the countries fully as they are filled with wonderful and unique spots.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo and Mostar
- Montenegro – Kotor
- Albania – Berat and Benja Hot Springs
- Greece – Meteora, Nafplion, and Thermopylae Hot Springs
- North Macedonia – Lake Ohrid, the Bay of Bones and Skopje
- Bulgaria – Devetashka Cave, Nessebar, and Varna
- Romania – Berca Mud Volcanoes, Bucharest and Sighișoara
How easy was it to vanlife?
Parking for free and staying overnight in the Balkan countries was very easy. We mostly used the Park4Night App where we carefully selected spots in every place that we decided to visit to feel both safe and have a decent view outside the window. Inside the cities of course the main thing we focused on was safety, especially in capitals.
In Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, we stayed for two nights at a campsite that was a local man’s backyard and where we had a very good time and the man was very helpful and kind, even gave us some tips on what to see in the city and how to get to the center easier. In Tirana, Albania, we booked a room at a hotel with a parking lot and felt very safe there as well. Other than that, we stayed at parking spots that were free of cost. There were times that I felt anxious to leave our motorhome or the place didn’t feel quite right but at those times we just found another spot and drove away.
Water was a problem in most of the places, maybe because it was wintertime and water was closed but only in Greece we had unlimited water access at gas stations. In Albania, for example, I wouldn’t advise drinking the water that is available on the streets, but rather to buy water in bottles, usually at grocery stores there are 5-liter ones.
Finally, Balkan countries are a perfect destination for anyone who wants to freely vanlife, stay at beautiful spots without any cost and live with fewer expenses. Of course, make sure to throw garbage at places that are meant for that and overall make your visit decent for other vanlifers to also enjoy these perks and amazing parking spots without many restrictions.
Strange incidents
I can’t write about our trip without talking about some strange incidents. One of them is a very strange way of purchasing SIM cards in Montenegro – to buy prepaid SIM cards for internet usage, we found the nearest kiosk in Kotor where a woman asked for a passport or ID, and when given a passport, she took a photo of it on the mobile phone that she seemed to be using for her needs. It felt very strange and unsafe to have your passport photographed but otherwise, we couldn’t get the SIM card.
Another strange experience was in Greece when we were parked by a beach in a place where only a few people were around, mostly because it was off-season time. At one point a car stopped by our motorhome and beeped a few times. When we got outside to see what was happening, there was a car full of guys that started asking for cigarettes, money, and gas. When we said that we didn’t have any, they stared at us very strangely and then drove away. We got a very unpleasant feeling from that and also immediately left the spot. Maybe we read the situation the wrong way but it didn’t feel safe at all and this story may be a good reminder that even though Greece is considered one of the best destinations in Europe, safety is something that you should consider everywhere you go.
Tips
- If you travel with your vehicle, make sure it is well-insulated and ready for some coldness. We left for our journey certain that the winters are warmer than in, for example in north-eastern Europe, where we are originally from. And for the most part, it was true, in Albania and Greece the temperatures went up to 20 degrees Celsius during the day but at night it can be a little over zero degrees. In the beginning, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we faced rain and cold that didn’t stop for a month until we got to Albania. And as I wrote earlier, in North Macedonia we had even minus 10 Celsius at night so heating and a well-insulated vehicle is a must. The same goes for clothing – make sure to grab garments that are suitable for both rainy and cold weather as well as warmer days.
- If you are someone who travels on a budget and plans on cooking and preparing food yourself, in Balkan countries it is very inexpensive to eat out so I advise you to embrace the chance and taste local foods, you will not be disappointed.
- Research into which ATMs allow you to withdraw cash with little to no fees, since a lot of places don’t accept credit cards as a payment method and cash is more common to use.
- Driving can be crazy. If you drive with your vehicle or plan on renting a car, keep in mind that driving culture in the Balkans can be a bit chaotic. We had the wildest experiences in Albania and Romania where overtaking can happen even if a car is right in front at the opposite lane and in Romania on roads where there are only two lanes, drivers make four. Now it’s amusing to remember that but at that moment it felt a bit stressful.
How expensive was it?
This is one of the most asked questions when we tell someone that we travel full time and spent some time traveling through the Balkan countries. And I’m happy to say that it was very inexpensive. Gas, depending on the country or region, was cheaper than in other European countries. Food, both in restaurants or cafes or in grocery stores, was so cheap and delicious that it was sometimes cheaper to go out somewhere to eat rather than cook something ourselves. The admission fees to museums or other tourist spots were very cheap as well, therefore traveling there is so convenient and you get to experience more than in some places where the prices can be higher and not so affordable for some.
An exception might be Greece since it’s in the European Union and prices for museums or places such as the Acropolis of Athens can be higher. But I would advise you to travel in the off-season if you are a budget traveler since a lot of places are half the price than in the season (the off-season usually is in late autumn, winter and early spring).
Considering that all, Balkan countries are the perfect stop for anyone who wants to explore unique cultures, breathtaking views, and remarkable cities – and everything so inexpensively that it’s like heaven on earth for anyone on a budget.
I hope that this blog post helped first of all to overcome stereotypes about the Balkan countries and not be afraid to get lost in the beauty of these gorgeous places. I also hope that this helps to see what places are worth visiting and maybe earn a good tip for a journey there if you are planning on visiting the Balkans yourself. But mostly I just want to inspire you to travel more and explore less known cultures since it might leave you with a different outlook on these countries, people, and maybe even life altogether. This trip certainly changed my view of the world, the countries that we spent some time in and even traveling – now I want to focus more on the different cultures, adventure side of traveling and learn as much as I can.
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