Trip report time as I just got home yesterday!
Itinerary: 5 days in Bucharest (Romania), 4 days in Sofia (Bulgaria), 1 day in Skopje (Macedonia), 3 days in Ohrid (Macedonia) and 4 days in Tirana (Albania)
Budget: 2.300 € for the whole trip, everything including flights, busses, hotels, day-trips, food etc etc!
Transportation: flew to Bucharest and home from Tirana, but used FlixBus between cities, went surprisingly smooth! And the longest bus was only 6 hours!
Cities ranked from MY personal experience: 1. Sofia, 2. Ohrid, 3. Tirana, 4. Bucharest, 5. Skopje
My favorite activities: Draculas castle, Palace of Parlament and the salt mine in Romania, The Red Flat, Women’s Market, Rila Monestary and second-hand shopping in Bulgaria, Church of Saint Jovan at Kaneo, swimming in Ohrid lake, views at hotel in Ohrid, Bunk’Art 2, Shala River and the pool at our hotel in Albania.
AWESOME hotels: Villa Varosh in Ohrid and Rogner Hotel in Tirana!
My opinion: Sure, the rest of Europe may be a bit more interesting and beautiful, buuut your money goes much much further in easteurope, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the culture, kind people, good food and since I’m a history nerd I’ve also enjoyed seeing old communist countries, it’s been so interesting!
Picture description in order:
Rila Monastery, Bulgaria
Peles Castle, Romania
Slanic Salt mine, Romania
Women’s market, Sofia
The red flat, Sofia
The Old Bazaar, Skopje
View from Villa Varosh 2nd floor, Ohrid
The dock in Ohrid
Church of Saint Jovan at Kaneo, Ohrid
Old Bazar, Tirana
Namazgja mosque, Tirana
Shala River, Albania
Shala River, Albania
Bunk’Art 2, Tirana