The Balkan Peninsula is one of the most incredible and cheapest routes you can do in Europe. It is made up of 13 countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. Here I explain how to take a route through this area.
Country 1 – Italy
In my case, the route began in Rome, the capital of Italy where I flew from Mexico, to gradually climb north until arriving by train to Venice and Trieste. The latter may not be such a well-known city in Italy, but it is an excellent land departure point to get to know the Balkans and begin to delve into Eastern Europe.
The coin is the euro. If you want to know how to take money to Europe, click here.
Being a country in the European Union, if you have a SIM card from another of these countries, you will continue to be connected. More information here.
It is part of the Schengen area, but you still need to meet certain requirements. More details here.
The language is Italian, in tourist areas you can find someone who speaks to you in Spanish.
To visit Italy and the rest of the countries in the Schengen area it is required to carry travel insurance, click here for more information.
Travel tip. You can consult the complete Italy route with costs here.
How to get from Trieste to Ljubljana?
From Trieste you can take a bus to, in less than 2 hours, reach Ljubljana (timetables and prices in detail here), the capital of Slovenia. The approximate price is 20 euros.
Country 2 – Slovenia
It is one of the most charming cities I have ever known. It has a small and picturesque historic center, a castle and several points of interest. Its proximity to Italy makes it a perfect getaway from this country.
The coin is the euro. If you want to know how to take money to Europe, click here.
Being a country in the European Union, if you have a SIM card from another of these countries, you will continue to be connected. More information here.
It is part of the Schengen area, but you still need to meet certain requirements. More details here.
The language is Slovenian and due to its proximity to Italy you can find people who speak this language.
To visit Slovenia and the rest of the countries in the Schengen area, travel insurance is required, click here for more information.
Guide to Ljubljana here.
Complete your trip!
How to get from Ljubljana to Zagreb?
To go from Ljubljana to Zagreb you can take the trip in 3 hours and 15 minutes by bus for approximately 10 euros.
Country 3 – Croatia
From Ljubljana, the next stop was Zagreb, the capital of Croatia (click here to see routes and costs). A small, quite picturesque destination, worth at least one day. If you want to know what to do in Zagreb click here.
It is not part of the euro zone. Their currency is the kuna and although you can pay for many services with a card, you should change some money or withdraw from the ATM.
Being a country in the European Union, if you have a SIM card from another of these countries, you will continue to be connected. More information here.
It is not part of the Schengen area, but Mexicans do not require a visa. More details here.
Zagreb guide here.
The language is Croatian, in tourist areas you can find people who speak English, but I don’t speak the country.
To visit Croatia it is required to carry travel insurance, click here for more information.
How to get from Zagreb to Budapest?
The journey from Zagreb to Budapest can be done by bus in 4 hours and 40 minutes. The approximate cost is 17 euros.
Country 4 – Hungary
From Croatia I left what would officially be the Balkans to spend a few days in Budapest. I recommend spending at least 3 days in the capital of Hungary.
Travel tip. Hungary is often combined in a route that goes to Bratislava, Vienna, Prague and that can continue to northern Europe and end in Germany or Poland. You can find the details of this route here.
It is not part of the euro zone, but this currency is widely accepted and you can also pay by card in many places. Its currency is the florin.
Being a country in the European Union, if you have a SIM card from another of these countries, you will continue to be connected. More information here.
It is part of the Schengen area, but Mexicans do not require a visa.
Budapest guide here.
The language is Hungarian, in tourist areas you can find people who speak English.
To visit Hungary you are required to carry travel insurance, click here for more information.
How to get from Budapest to Belgrade?
I paid 25 euros and a bus ride of almost 7 hours to travel from Budapest to Belgrade (September 2019). There are two buses that make this route: one during the day and one at night. There are those who decide to do it at night, but consider that you have to cross the border to leave the Schengen Area, which means getting off the bus, standing in line and waiting for your bus on the other side of the border.
Country 5 – Serbia
The tour continued through Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Europe’s “white city” is overlooked by many travelers, yet it is an excellent connection point for the Balkan route. If you want to know what you can do in this city click here.
It is not part of the euro zone, but this currency is widely accepted and you can also pay by card in many places. The currency is the Serbian dinar. During my trip I did not need to change to the local currency.
It is not part of the European Union, so if you have a SIM card from this area it will not work for you. More information here.
It is not part of the Schengen area, but Mexicans do not require a visa.
Belgrade guide here.
The language is Serbian and it was one of the places where it has been most difficult for me to find people who speak English.
To visit Serbia you are required to carry travel insurance, click here for more information.
How to get from Belgrade to Bucharest?
From Serbia it is common to continue towards Romania or Bulgaria. In this case, to cover the largest number of countries we will go to Romania. Since these countries do not have such good connections between their capitals, it is best to take a trip from Sofia – Timisoara – Bucharest if we want to do it by land. My recommendation is to use the buses since the train system is not that efficient.
If you want to go between capitals quickly, it would be easier to take a flight that costs from 50 euros.
Country 6 – Romania
It is not part of the euro zone, but this currency is widely accepted and you can also pay by card in many places.
Being a country in the European Union, if you have a SIM card from another of these countries, you will continue to be connected. More information here.
It is not part of the Schengen area, but Mexicans do not require a visa.
Bucharest guide here.
The language is Romanian, a Latin language with words similar to Italian and, to a lesser extent, Spanish.
To visit Romania it is required to carry travel insurance, click here for more information.
How to get from Bucharest to Istanbul?
Although there is a way to do this route by land, it will undoubtedly be more efficient to do it by plane. It is an 80-minute flight that costs from 50 euros.
Country 7 – Türkiye
From Bucharest the best option is to take a flight to Istanbul, although with time you could visit small towns in Romania until you reach the capital of Turkey. Istanbul is worth spending at least 4 days because there is a lot to see and do in the most touristic city in Turkey. Istanbul guide available here.
It is not part of the euro zone. The currency is the Turkish lira and although the euro will be accepted in many places such as the Grand Bazaar, it is best to have some local money upon your arrival for purchases in local places. You can withdraw from an ATM or simply exchange dollars or euros.
It is not part of the European Union, so if you have a SIM card from this area it will not work for you. More information here.
It is not part of the Schengen area and Mexicans require an electronic visa.
Istanbul guide available here.
To visit Turkey you are required to carry travel insurance, click here for more information.
Country 8 – Bulgaria
Istanbul and Sofia are two cities perfectly well connected by train, so you could easily take this route. The other alternative is to take a plane. If you want to know what to do in Sofia click here.
It is not part of the euro zone, and although you can pay by card in many places for local restaurants it is better to bring cash. The coin is
Being a country in the European Union, if you have a SIM card from another of these countries, you will continue to be connected. More information here.
It is not part of the Schengen area, but Mexicans do not require a visa.
Sofia’s guide here.
The language is Bulgarian, a Latin language with words similar to Italian and, to a lesser extent, Spanish. English is only spoken in certain tourist areas, but there are many people who can help you if you speak slowly, due to the similarity with Spanish.
It is a cheap city. The budget per day is 28 USD. If you want to know which other cities in Europe are very cheap, click here.
To visit Romania it is required to carry travel insurance, click here for more information.
Country 9 – North Macedonia
From Sofia the next stop is Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. A city that I must confess that I fell in love with from the first moment I arrived. It is not very big and has been criticized a lot due to government renovations, however, the reality is that its monuments (although they have little history are beautiful), it is full of very friendly people, with a good level of English and it is very economical.
It is not part of the euro zone, but this currency is widely accepted and you can also pay by card in many places.
It is not part of the European Union, so if you have a SIM card from this area it will not work for you. More information here.
It is not part of the Schengen area, but Mexicans do not require a visa.
Guide to North Macedonia here.
How much does it cost to travel through the Balkans?
For costs we will eliminate Italy, which is a route in itself and you can check here. We will start by measuring the expenses from Slovenia to Macedonia, which was my route. For 25 days of travel the cost was 875 euros which includes:
- Transport between cities
- Round trip excursions to see the surroundings of the capitals
- Accommodation (private room hostel sharing with one person)
- Food. Consider that eating in these cities is really cheap
- Most important attractions
How to extend the Balkan route?
If you have more time, from North Macedonia you can continue to Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally return to Croatia. With which you would have a very complete circuit. So it would be as follows.
⚠️It is mandatory to travel with insurance
Insurance is an essential requirement to travel to many countries in the world such as those in the Schengen Area. You can get it from 20 USD and if you use my code you receive 20% discount. Get an insurance quote here.