I was asked if I wanted to work or take off for 6 weeks. I chose the latter of course. Though this happened much later than my plan to visit the balkans. This time I decided to write down my experiences. I am doing this for the first time after visiting 22 countries. Realised that there are always people looking for info on the internet before they travel and me jotting down stuff can help.
So why the balkans? Well I remember reading the blog of some traveler who drove through some of the countries in the Balkans and I guess the idea stuck to my mind. And the possibility of visiting multiple countries within a short time was appealing as well. While creating my list of countries and visa requirements I had noticed that the Balkan countries were now allowing people in with a Schengen visa.
It is no secret that extensive research can ensure that the holiday goes according to plan. There are of course people who just pack up a bag and go around without a plan, but I am not that guy anyway. I spent hours on the internet finding out stuff about what I can visit in 16 days. Turns out there are a lot of countries in the Balkans and I wanted to do sufficient justice to the ones I visit. I had to land in one of the Schengen countries close to the region and I had a choice between Slovenia and Greece. Of course I could land in one of the central or west European countries but that would cost me more. I chose Slovenia. I had to check on the internet on how I should pronounce the capital Ljubljana!
I chose to visit Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Romania. I formed a day to day plan and noticed that the TripIt app can help a lot in maintaining my itinerary.
Coming to the flight ticket, found that makemytrip gave me the cheapest and best option to reach Ljubljana. Monitored the ticket for a couple of weeks to see if there is any fluctuation. Finally booked the connection BLR -> BOM -> Zurich -> Ljubljana on Swiss airlines and the connection Ljubljana -> Munich -> Frankfurt -> BLR on Lufthansa. I paid Rs 60k. Felt it was a decent deal.
The car was a bit more difficult. Actually the car also helped me determine which countries I could visit. Apparently not all car rental companies allow to travel to all the Balkan countries. Some of them do not allow you to visit Albania or Macedonia or Bosnia. I needed to find the one rental guy who could arrange for insurance for the countries I wanted to visit. Booked on Economy Car Rentals and gave them the requirement. I had to pay extra for a document called a Green Card, which indicates which countries I could visit and provide the necessary permit and insurance. They finally found a rental company Avant Car which could meet all my requirements. I communicated with them a couple of times over email to ensure that they will prepare the documents for the countries I wanted to visit. Got reassuring replies. The total charge would be 400 Euros for 2 weeks. Was a good deal as well.
Coming to hotels. One of the options was to look for cheap accommodation - like hostels and dorms. But after a bit of research felt that I am no longer cut out for hostels. I wanted a room of my own. Found that hotels in Slovenia and Croatia were priced close to the ones in west Europe. Montenegro, Serbia and Romania were much cheaper. As usual used tripadvisor to find the appropriate hotels to stay in. Made most of the bookings on bookings.com. There were only 2 places that I needed to communicate on email to book. I planned to spend one night in a rafting center in the border of Montenegro and Bosnia. And I wanted to spend one night in a monastery in Serbia. Both of them responded promptly and I could make the booking without a problem.
Some people on the internet did talk about the International Drivers Permit. There was some mixed opinion and not many people indicated that they were asked to show one. I did contemplate for a while if I should get one as well. But it was finally laziness that won. I didnt get it.
I did use wikitravel, tripadvisor and google maps extensively to make a day to day plan. I had to see the distances to travel each day and the places to see. I even checked out a video on youtube to see how border control happens while driving a car! I had decided not to visit any big cities. Actually I didnt visit the capitals of any of the countries. I decided to stick to the countryside and national parks.
With all this I guess I was ready!
So why the balkans? Well I remember reading the blog of some traveler who drove through some of the countries in the Balkans and I guess the idea stuck to my mind. And the possibility of visiting multiple countries within a short time was appealing as well. While creating my list of countries and visa requirements I had noticed that the Balkan countries were now allowing people in with a Schengen visa.
It is no secret that extensive research can ensure that the holiday goes according to plan. There are of course people who just pack up a bag and go around without a plan, but I am not that guy anyway. I spent hours on the internet finding out stuff about what I can visit in 16 days. Turns out there are a lot of countries in the Balkans and I wanted to do sufficient justice to the ones I visit. I had to land in one of the Schengen countries close to the region and I had a choice between Slovenia and Greece. Of course I could land in one of the central or west European countries but that would cost me more. I chose Slovenia. I had to check on the internet on how I should pronounce the capital Ljubljana!
I chose to visit Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Romania. I formed a day to day plan and noticed that the TripIt app can help a lot in maintaining my itinerary.
Coming to the flight ticket, found that makemytrip gave me the cheapest and best option to reach Ljubljana. Monitored the ticket for a couple of weeks to see if there is any fluctuation. Finally booked the connection BLR -> BOM -> Zurich -> Ljubljana on Swiss airlines and the connection Ljubljana -> Munich -> Frankfurt -> BLR on Lufthansa. I paid Rs 60k. Felt it was a decent deal.
The car was a bit more difficult. Actually the car also helped me determine which countries I could visit. Apparently not all car rental companies allow to travel to all the Balkan countries. Some of them do not allow you to visit Albania or Macedonia or Bosnia. I needed to find the one rental guy who could arrange for insurance for the countries I wanted to visit. Booked on Economy Car Rentals and gave them the requirement. I had to pay extra for a document called a Green Card, which indicates which countries I could visit and provide the necessary permit and insurance. They finally found a rental company Avant Car which could meet all my requirements. I communicated with them a couple of times over email to ensure that they will prepare the documents for the countries I wanted to visit. Got reassuring replies. The total charge would be 400 Euros for 2 weeks. Was a good deal as well.
Coming to hotels. One of the options was to look for cheap accommodation - like hostels and dorms. But after a bit of research felt that I am no longer cut out for hostels. I wanted a room of my own. Found that hotels in Slovenia and Croatia were priced close to the ones in west Europe. Montenegro, Serbia and Romania were much cheaper. As usual used tripadvisor to find the appropriate hotels to stay in. Made most of the bookings on bookings.com. There were only 2 places that I needed to communicate on email to book. I planned to spend one night in a rafting center in the border of Montenegro and Bosnia. And I wanted to spend one night in a monastery in Serbia. Both of them responded promptly and I could make the booking without a problem.
Some people on the internet did talk about the International Drivers Permit. There was some mixed opinion and not many people indicated that they were asked to show one. I did contemplate for a while if I should get one as well. But it was finally laziness that won. I didnt get it.
I did use wikitravel, tripadvisor and google maps extensively to make a day to day plan. I had to see the distances to travel each day and the places to see. I even checked out a video on youtube to see how border control happens while driving a car! I had decided not to visit any big cities. Actually I didnt visit the capitals of any of the countries. I decided to stick to the countryside and national parks.
With all this I guess I was ready!
No comments:
Post a Comment