I%26#39;ll be landing in Sofia at the end of September and would like to visit Skopje, Lake Ohrid, Tirana, the Black Sea, Bucharest, and I have to leave from Sofia.
Is this possible in 2 weeks? What would be the best method of transportation? Car? Train?
Any advice would be appreciated.
|||
I advise you to travel by car. It is possible by train, but you have two weeks for the Balkans. If you want not to rush - take the car, the quality of the train services is different in each country. Two weeks should be enough for these sights.
|||
Thanks. I%26#39;ll have a GPS too in case the rental doesn%26#39;t have one.
Can you recommend a travel route for which to visit these different sites? I%26#39;m also open to suggestions to other places that are along the way.
I was thinking of Sofia -%26gt; Skopje -%26gt; Ohrid -%26gt; Tirana -%26gt; back through Skopje -%26gt; Varna/Burgas -%26gt; Bucharest -%26gt; Sofia
Or maybe I should go to Thessaloniki instead of back through Skopje? That would only add a couple hours.
|||
Sofia %26gt; Skopje %26gt; Tirana %26gt; Ohrid %26gt; Thessaloniki %26gt; Melnik %26gt; Plovdiv %26gt; Burgas %26gt; Varna %26gt; Bucharest %26gt; Sofia.
There are two roads - through and around the mountains. My vote is for the mountains, it%26#39;s more picturesque.
|||
That sounds very ambitious. I only have 12 nights there.
Sofia (2 nights) %26gt; Skopje (2 nights) %26gt; Tirana (1 night) %26gt; Ohrid %26gt; Thessaloniki (2 nights) %26gt; Melnik %26gt; Plovdiv (1 night) %26gt; Burgas %26gt; Varna (1 night) %26gt; Bucharest (2 nights) %26gt; Sofia (1 night).
What do you think of that? Or is it too much?
|||
Skopje - 1 night, Ohrid - 1( the stay in a hotel next to the lake is a must ;)
|||
I%26#39;ve read that driving into and around Albania is difficult. Is there a way I can leave my rental car in Ohrid and take a bus into Tirana and then go back to pick up my car a few days later? At a hotel or something? Would this be safe? Or even in Struga?
|||
Just a thought!
You might not be able to take a rental car out of the country. I would check with your rental company.
Caroline
|||
Hi,
Quite an ambitious program :]
First, of course you can take a rental car out of the country, but you must contact the rent-a-car company in advance especially if you take it to a non-EU country(an issue with insurances i think). Trains are not a good idea. I do not want to be a wet blanket, but if I were you I would skip the Tirana part. Mainly because of the roads - awful. I am looking at a map right now - being in Macedonia - Tirana is a mountain away from you all %26quot;yellow%26quot; road - I%26#39;ve heard road is terrible from the a few people that went there. Awful I mean dangerous,narrow, mountain road winding over abysses. I fear this stop could take all a man%26#39;s energy. So, what I suggest is (number indicates a night spent):
1.(Sofia) - an afternoon is quite enough to see the city - walk on %26quot;yellow pavement%26quot; blvd - %26quot;Tsar Osvoboditel%26quot; the Russian church is a must see
2.Take E79 to Kyustendil with a stop to Rilski monastery - (Skopie)
3.Skopie - Ohrid (Ohrid lake)
4.Ohrid - (Meteora) - one of most interesting places in Greece for me
5.Meteora - (Thessaloniki) - most beutiful greek city
6.Thessalinoki - (Melnik) - I suggest a sleep over in Melnik famous for it%26#39;s wine and Melnik pyramids - natural soil formations, also smallest town in Bulgaria about 400 inhabitants
7.Melnik - Bansko -[the famous ski resort and old village with unique architecture you may prefer to sleep there instead of Melnik - in this case I recommend a very nice hotel Rimska bania in the village of Bania 5 km away from Bansko - they have a pool with warm mineral water if you are a pool person - a place to dine is hotel Mehomia in Razlog - best BBQ in region] - Yakoruda - (Plovdiv) (road is cutting through Rila, Pirin and Rhodopi mountain foot)
8.Plovdiv (the old town is a must see, also there is a roman acropolis) - Burgas(the highway is now extended to the town of Stara Zagora also a segment prior to Burgas). Here I would sleep in the town of (Sozopol) - the old part is very beautiful OR Nesebur also an old part there %26quot;St. Stefan Hotel%26quot; in Nesebur is a small boutique place to stay overlooking an ancient church
9.Sozopol/Nesebar - (Varna) - take the road closer to the coast line - it is picturesque and you avoid cutting through the Stara planina skirts which are on the west.
10.Varna( to the north of Varna is the town of Balchik with its botanikal garden and also I recommend the clam farm in Dulboka near Kavarna with a wide variety of fresh clam meals) - (Bukuresti) - the center is very beautiful, but gps is a must as you get easily confused (Rousse/Ruse - Bukuresti is newly built highway Varna - Shumen is a highway as well. Near the town of Madara is %26quot;Madarski konnik%26quot; rock relief which may be of interest to you.Another option is Silistra with pelikan park %26quot;Sreburna%26quot; if you are a bird person. If you decide to drop by Bucuresti mey be too far so you may sleep in the town of Rousse - Bistra and Galina Hotel is one of the options there. Town of Rousse is of interest it was called %26quot;Small Vienna%26quot; with baroque buildings in the centre walking distance from most hotels. Also TV rower with panorama bar at the top communist replica of Moskva%26#39;s TV tower. Also a museum of transportation %26quot;Musei na transporta%26quot; with some old fasioned richly decorated royal wagons.
11.Rousse/Bucuresti - (Bucuresti)
12.Bucuresti - Rousse - Ivanovo ( it is on your way - famous Ivanovo rock monastery - an UNESCO site since 70%26#39;s) a must see - (Veliko Turnovo) - Bojentsi - Bojentsi is another architectural reserve with lots of souveniers for tourists - very authentic place
13.Veliko Turnovo old capital of Bulgaria with Tsarevets height - I would not recomment actually going to Tsarevets as the restoration works are awful and it is best to admire it from distance - (Sofia)
At the end I suggest the site www.viamichelin.com/ which me and my husband find very helpful when planning a trip. In the above so-to-say program you have just one day to stay if you get tired it is as I said quite ambitious, but I believe it%26#39;s possible and I hope you plan going to places that are of interest TO YOU and enjoy your time!
|||
Wow, thanks for the great and detailed itinerary. We have been debating whether or not to drop Albania from our list and now it is likely we will. I will definitely be using your suggested itinerary as a basis for our trip (or even following it exactly!) as it includes everywhere we want to visit. We may add in Brasov if possible.
A couple more questions I have are whether or not Mt Olympus or Halkidiki are worth visiting with our limited time frame, and can anyone recommend a good car rental company in Sofia?
|||
We flew into Sofia in June and hired a car for our 3week stay.
Excellent service and a good price so try www.economycarrentals.com
The car was actually provided by ThriftyCar rental in Sofia though.
It is important that you check with the rental company that you are allowed to take the car out of Bulgaria though.
No comments:
Post a Comment