When folks consider Europe, the primary locations that usually come to thoughts are France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and perhaps Switzerland. Nonetheless, Europe is house to dozens of nations, and one of the crucial underrated areas for vacationers is the Balkans. Whereas there’s no common settlement on which nations belong to the Balkans, the area usually contains Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, with Romania and Slovenia generally thought of a part of it as properly.

Regardless of being ignored by many vacationers, the Balkans provide gorgeous landscapes, wealthy historical past, and vibrant cultures — all at a fraction of the fee in comparison with Western Europe. Whereas some locations should be expensive by Filipino requirements, they’re usually extra budget-friendly than their Western European counterparts. If visiting the Balkans is in your journey bucket listing, preserve studying as we share how we deliberate our unforgettable Balkan journey on this article!

1. Safe the correct visas.

As talked about earlier, the Balkan area usually consists of 11 nations. Nonetheless, not all of them are a part of the Schengen Space.

Schengen Balkan Nations

Solely 5 nations within the Balkan area are included within the Schengen Space. These are the next:

• Greece
• Croatia
• Slovenia
• Bulgaria
• Romania

Observe: Bulgaria and Romania at present solely settle for Schengen visas at their sea and air borders.

Among the many Schengen nations within the Balkans, Greece is essentially the most sensible selection for Filipino vacationers. Listed here are the explanations:

• Greece has its personal embassy within the Philippines, making visa processing extra simple.
• Athens Airport is well-connected, with inexpensive flights out there from many locations.
• Greece is a surprising journey vacation spot, so it’s properly price including to your itinerary!

Alternatively, you can even apply for a Schengen visa by way of Slovenia, which is processed by the Belgian Embassy within the Philippines.

TIP! Design an itinerary that requires a number of Schengen entries, making your multiple-entry visa utility extra justifiable. See pattern itinerary within the subsequent part.

Non-Schengen Balkan Nations

Listed here are the Balkan nations outdoors of the Schengen Space:

• Albania
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Kosovo
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Serbia

In the event you’re touring to any of those nations, you’ll want a separate visa particular to that nation. For example, for those who’re solely visiting Albania, you’ll want to use for an Albanian visa. Thankfully, there’s a workaround: in case you have a multiple-entry Schengen visa, you gained’t want a separate visa for a lot of Balkan states.

To benefit from this, you may apply for a multiple-entry Schengen visa by way of Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, or Romania — so long as your itinerary justifies a number of entries. Moreover, many non-Schengen Balkan nations settle for a used multiple-entry Schengen visa, that means it’s essential to enter a Schengen nation no less than as soon as earlier than utilizing it to go to different Balkan states.

2. Plan your route correctly.

Cautious route planning is crucial — not solely to avoid wasting time, cash, and power but in addition to justify the necessity for a multiple-entry Schengen visa.

Creating Your Itinerary

As talked about earlier, solely 5 Balkan nations are a part of the Schengen Space, whereas the remainder require separate visas. Nonetheless, with a multiple-entry Schengen visa, you may enter many non-Schengen Balkan nations without having extra visas.

That is why the itinerary you undergo the embassy is essential. Beneath is a simplified model of our Balkan journey route. It was extra difficult in actuality, however this provides you an instance of how one can plan your itinerary.

1. Greece
2. Romania
3. Bulgaria
4. North Macedonia
5. Kosovo
6. Albania
7. Montenegro
8. Croatia
9. Bosnia and Herzegovina
10. Croatia
11. Spain

This itinerary required us to enter the Schengen Space 3 times, which strengthened our justification for a multiple-entry visa.

• First Entry: Arriving in Greece (Schengen).
• Second Entry: Exiting the Schengen Space from Bulgaria to North Macedonia, then re-entering when arriving in Croatia.
• Third Entry: Taking a aspect journey to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, then re-entering Croatia.

With three Schengen entries, a multiple-entry visa was justified, permitting us to journey by way of the non-Schengen Balkan nations without having separate visas.

Selecting the Finest Mode of Transportation

Past visas, planning your route correctly additionally means contemplating transportation availability. Google Maps is a superb instrument to test essentially the most logical route between the nations you need to go to. Researching bus routes may also help you keep away from pointless flights, making your journey extra budget-friendly and environment friendly.

Throughout our Balkan backpacking journey, we primarily traveled by bus. Not solely was it essentially the most inexpensive choice, but it surely additionally made for a extra immersive and adventurous expertise.

Checking the Political Panorama

One other vital issue when planning your itinerary is the political panorama of the Balkan area, as some nations have border restrictions because of diplomatic conflicts. For instance, Serbia apparently doesn’t enable entry from Kosovo because of conflicts. Whereas this coverage might change over time, we took further precautions when planning our route. As an alternative of touring from Kosovo to Serbia, we entered Serbia from Bulgaria first, then later traveled to Kosovo from North Macedonia to keep away from potential points.

By being strategic along with your route, you can also make your Balkan journey smoother, cheaper, and visa-efficient — all whereas having fun with the unimaginable variety of this fascinating area!

3. Seek for inexpensive flights.

When planning our Balkans journey, we selected Greece as our entry level as a result of it provided the most affordable flights. In the event you’re reserving properly upfront or throughout seat gross sales, one of the crucial budget-friendly choices from Manila to Athens is SCOOT, which operates flights with a stopover in Singapore. In actual fact, we’ve flown to Greece with Scoot on earlier journeys.

Nonetheless, don’t restrict your search to simply price range airways. It’s all the time price checking full-service carriers too. Generally, you’ll discover flights which might be both cheaper or solely barely dearer than low-cost airways however include added advantages. For instance, once we booked our flight for our Balkans journey, we selected Etihad with a cease in Abu Dhabi. On the time, it was solely about ₱5,000 dearer than Scoot, however that value already included add-ons.

In the event you observed in our pattern itinerary, our closing cease earlier than returning to the Philippines was Spain, though it’s not a part of the Balkan area. The explanation? Flight costs. On the time, the most affordable flight again to Manila was from Barcelona. Even after factoring in the price of a connecting flight from Croatia to Barcelona, the entire expense was nonetheless decrease than flying immediately from the Balkans. That’s why we determined to incorporate Spain in our route!

It’s essential to notice that when making use of for a Schengen visa, you don’t must ebook your flights but. As an alternative, you’ll want a flight reservation, which serves as a short lived reserving with out requiring full cost. Some folks confer with it as a “dummy ticket”, it sounds phony so we keep away from utilizing that time period. However no matter you name it, what’s essential is that embassies acknowledge flight reservations.

For our visa purposes, we get our flight reservations from Gazelle Journey and Excursions. In the event you want one, you may go to this web page, fill out the order kind, and test the pricing and turnaround time. As soon as your visa is authorised, you may proceed with finalizing your precise flight reserving.

4. Think about the season and the climate.

Timing performs a vital function when planning a visit to Europe, together with the Balkan area. We’ve traveled to the Balkans throughout late spring to early summer season and once more from late summer season to autumn, and we are able to confidently say — the distinction in value is large.

The summer season months (June to September) are thought of peak season, that means increased costs for flights, lodging, and excursions. For instance, once we visited Croatia, we observed that as quickly as October arrived, tour costs dropped considerably. This development applies to accommodations and flights as properly.

Out of all of the seasons we’ve skilled, autumn was essentially the most breathtaking. The climate was comfortably cool — neither too sizzling nor too chilly — and the landscapes had been painted in gorgeous fall colours, making it an unforgettable sight.

Past pricing and surroundings, seasonal climate additionally determines what it is advisable pack. The Balkans have numerous climates, so temperatures can differ enormously relying on the place you go. For instance, the climate in Romania is totally different from Croatia’s Dalmatia Area.

In the meantime, coastal cities alongside the Adriatic and Aegean Seas — like Cut up and Dubrovnik in Croatia — have a Mediterranean local weather. Inland areas, corresponding to Sofia in Bulgaria and Brașov in Romania, expertise a moist continental local weather, that means colder winters and extra important seasonal adjustments.

In the event you’re backpacking by way of a number of nations, count on the climate to shift from place to position. Make sure to analysis every vacation spot’s local weather upfront and pack accordingly to remain comfy all through your journey.

5. Don’t assume all the things’s the identical.

The Balkan area is extremely numerous, not simply when it comes to local weather but in addition in tradition, language, historical past, and governance. Whereas there are similarities between nations, every nation has its personal distinct identification. The alphabet, faith, political programs, and even cuisines can differ dramatically as you cross borders.

Historical past

This variety can also be mirrored within the area’s advanced historical past. Many neighboring nations have long-standing political tensions, which generally change into evident when talking with locals. Even historic excursions can current conflicting narratives, relying on the place you might be. For instance, North Macedonia and Bulgaria, Serbia and Bulgaria, Serbia and Kosovo, and even Bosnia and Herzegovina all have totally different views on historic occasions — and also you’ll seemingly sense this when visiting heritage websites or partaking in conversations.

Delicacies

Every nation within the Balkans gives a singular delicacies as properly. For instance, in Dubrovnik and Montenegro, seafood dominates the delicacies, whereas Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia favor meat-heavy dishes.

Faith

Relating to faith, nations like Kosovo and Albania are predominantly Muslim, whereas Croatia is basically Catholic. In the meantime, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania comply with Jap Orthodox Christianity, every with their very own branches — Greek Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox, and Serbian Orthodox.

Language

The linguistic variety can also be fascinating. For instance, Romanian is a Latin-based language that makes use of the Latin alphabet, whereas Bulgarian is a Slavic language that makes use of the Cyrillic script. Greek, in fact, has its personal distinct Greek alphabet.

Vibe and Persona

Each vacation spot has its personal character. Past cultural variations, every metropolis or city exudes its personal distinctive appeal. Brașov (Romania) appears like a quaint, fairy-tale city. Sofia (Bulgaria) and Tirana (Albania) have the bustling power of huge cities. In the meantime, Cut up and Dubrovnik (Croatia) are straight out of Sport of Thrones, serving critical King’s Touchdown vibes. And Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Prizren (Kosovo) appear to be large, open-air museums with their well-preserved historic websites.

Affordability

Costs additionally differ between locations. Whereas a lot of the Balkans is understood for being budget-friendly, there are notable exceptions. Dubrovnik and Cut up are among the many most costly cities within the area. After we first visited these elements of Croatia a number of years in the past, they had been already expensive, however throughout our most up-to-date journey, we observed costs had skyrocketed, seemingly because of the inflow of vacationers. In the event you plan to go to, be ready to spend extra in comparison with different Balkan locations.

The extra locations you discover, the extra you’ll admire the area’s unimaginable variety. Each cease reveals one thing new, making the Balkans a very fascinating place to go to.

6. Examine your lodging on-line.

Top-of-the-line issues about touring within the Balkans is the abundance of budget-friendly lodging. Nonetheless, value isn’t the one issue to contemplate when selecting the place to remain. We all the time use two key standards when reserving: central location and accessibility.

We want lodging close to the Outdated City or metropolis heart, inside strolling distance of key sights and beginning factors for strolling excursions. It’s additionally essential that our lodging is near main transportation hubs, corresponding to prepare stations or bus terminals, for simpler transfers between locations.

Discovering lodging that match these standards was pretty straightforward, besides in Dubrovnik, the place we confronted a singular problem: most budget-friendly rooms solely accommodated two folks — we had been a gaggle of three. Consequently, we ended up reserving residences for many of our keep.

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Past location and affordability, it’s additionally essential to test the constructing’s amenities, particularly for those who’re staying in an condo throughout the Outdated City. Some buildings are older and lack elevators, which generally is a drawback for those who’re carrying heavy baggage or have mobility issues.

For instance, in Brașov, Romania, we stayed at Zinne Flats, an enthralling place simply two blocks from the primary sq.. Nonetheless, it was on the second ground, which is third ground for us Pinoys, and because it was in an older constructing, there was no elevator. Equally, in Skopje, North Macedonia, we booked Residence Emilija, which had a tremendous location — we may see the primary sq. proper from our window. The unit itself was spacious and cozy, but it surely was on the fourth ground, which is fifth ground by our requirements, with no elevator.

Earlier than finalizing your lodging, all the time test which ground your unit is on and whether or not the constructing has an elevator. This small element could make a giant distinction in your consolation, particularly after a protracted day of exploring. And, once more:

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7. Watch out for scams and safe necessary journey insurance coverage.

Like many main cities in Europe, scams exist within the Balkans. Though they aren’t as rampant as in Paris, Barcelona, or Berlin, scams nonetheless exist right here. The most typical kind of rip-off vacationers encounter right here often entails taxis.

We personally skilled a taxi rip-off in North Macedonia. We often want public transportation, however generally, particularly when arriving late at night time, taking a taxi is the one choice. Since there have been three of us, we figured splitting the fare wouldn’t be too unhealthy.

Earlier than getting within the taxi, we agreed on a value with the driving force. Nonetheless, once we arrived at our vacation spot, he instantly demanded more cash. After we refused, different taxi drivers surrounded us, making an attempt to intimidate us.

Sadly, taxi scams occur in different cities too. In the event you suspect a driver is overcharging, stroll away and discover one other taxi. To keep away from this, you may ask your lodging host for an estimate of the same old fare from the station to your keep. Many hosts even advocate a trusted switch service to make sure you’re not overcharged. For instance, our host in Skopje went the additional mile to personally take us to the bus station so we wouldn’t should cope with taxi scams.

In our six weeks of touring within the Balkans, we solely encountered two scams and fell for one. Nonetheless, there are different scams that vacationers have reported, corresponding to because the cash collector rip-off and overpriced menu rip-off. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter these, however researching frequent scams earlier than your journey may also help you acknowledge and keep away from them.

Since we’re speaking about security, do not forget that when making use of for a Schengen visa, having journey insurance coverage is necessary. Not simply any insurance coverage — it have to be Schengen-accredited. For dependable protection, you may ebook TravelJoy Plus by way of PGA Sompo. This ensures you’re protected all through your journey.

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2025 7 21 – First uploaded