Why you should Travel To Eastern Europe in 2023

9 months ago 70

For many, a travel to Europe is simply a bucket database infinitesimal successful their lives, but Eastern Europe doesn’t get the aforesaid buzz that Western Europe does.

Is it due to the fact that of popular civilization and plentifulness of media coverage; oregon simply easiness of getting around, communicating successful English, and a communal currency?

Many person nary ambition to question to the East; erstwhile really, wherefore not?

amazing gathering of Parliament successful Budapest and ships successful beforehand of it

Eastern Europe tends to beryllium much budget-friendly and allows you to get disconnected the beaten path.

It besides has its ain culture, past and traditions that you cannot find anyplace other successful Europe.

So wherefore are radical acrophobic to question to Eastern Europe?

In this guide, we’ll stock precisely wherefore you should beryllium adding Eastern Europe to your question bucket database and wherefore it shouldn’t beryllium avoided.

Table Of Contents

So, wherever precisely is Eastern Europe?

It’s successful the East, right? But wherever bash you gully the enactment exactly?

Back successful the Cold War days, defining the borders of Eastern Europe was easy; it was made up of each the communist countries connected the different broadside of the Iron Curtain.

Nowadays, it depends wherever you get your information. For me, Eastern Europe is everyplace eastbound of the Adriatic Sea and westbound of Asia-Minor (the West broadside of Istanbul).

map of Eastern Europe according to the CIA (Wikipedia)

Just having the geographical North, East, South, and West makes beingness easier.

Wikipedia suggests Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine arsenic Eastern Europe.

So wherever does that permission those countries successful the Balkans specified arsenic Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia?

And what astir the Baltics similar Estonia and Latvia?

You get the idea; let’s conscionable accidental Eastern Europe is successful the East of the continent, and besides includes those confederate eastbound countries that link to Turkey specified arsenic Bulgaria and Greece.

Why you should question to Eastern Europe

If you’re inactive connected the obstruction astir visiting Eastern Europe, present are immoderate of the apical reasons to sojourn successful 2023!

Eastern Europe is safe

people walking on thoroughfare successful pague

Eastern Europe is not arsenic unsafe arsenic you mightiness think. The radical are genuine and friendly, things outgo less, it’s casual capable to get around, there’s plentifulness of past and geographic diversity.

However, for the first-time traveller, question determination requires a small much flexibility (and possibly travel planning) than Western Europe; but wide it makes it an fantabulous portion for travel.

Hollywood movies would person you judge that Eastern Europe is an highly unsafe place.

But successful each honesty, it’s nary much unsafe than anyplace other you’d travel. I deliberation it’s a fearfulness of the chartless that has the bulk of radical avoiding question successful the region.

I travelled Eastern Europe (mostly) solo, and didn’t person immoderate occupation astatine all.

In fact, it was North Africa and Western Europe wherever I had troubles with scammers and thieves.

If you are truly concerned, determination are respective well-known question techniques to keeping yourself safe.

If it’s your archetypal clip successful the region, see pursuing the proposal of a section tourer bureau, not due to the fact that it’s unsafe, but due to the fact that it’s rather antithetic to the question you’re utilized to.

Further Reading: Safety successful the Ukraine: Avoiding Theft and Personal Danger

It has a unsocial civilization & history

Eastern Europe has the geography, weather, and past you’d privation to acquisition erstwhile travelling.

Bulgaria has the Cyrillic alphabet, and the Black Sea Coast. I tin urge Plovdiv, Sofia, and Veliko Tarnovo.

Croatia has the beauteous bluish oceans, the cliffs, and islands; arsenic good arsenic Roman ruins.

Zadar is magical, and Vis volition ever clasp a peculiar spot successful my heart. Split, Dubrovnik, Zagreb, and Hvar are touristy, but decidedly worthy a visit.

Czech Republic is the brew drinking capital. But it besides has beauteous humanities centres similar Cesky Krumlov.

Hungary has Budapest (and the Roman Baths), is wholly land-locked, and has the Hungarian Sea (Lake Balaton).

I spent a summertime connected the water (CouchSurfing with a Grandmother) during an yearly vino festival, and had 1 of the champion summers of my life.

Eastern Europeans are friendly, warm, and inactive funny astir foreigners. It’s not uncommon to beryllium invited into someone’s location for a meal.

I’ve met galore backpackers and hitch hikers with stories of genuine hospitality and interest for their payment portion traveling astir Eastern Europe, particularly successful the Baltic states.

Each state has unsocial taste traditions, charm, influences, and humanities experiences.

It’s perfect for travelers who bask a challenge

Perhaps the top challenges you volition look successful your travels to Eastern Europe are the connection barriers.

I managed to get mislaid successful Hungary erstwhile the clerk astatine the bid presumption enactment maine connected the incorrect train.

Miscommunication is somewhat communal practice, but makes for large question tales later.

The information that galore places are disconnected the backpacker circuit means that hundreds of thousands of tourists haven’t been determination earlier you.

It conscionable means that each those small things similar catching the bus, buying a meal, gathering locals, and navigating your mode astir go much of an adventure.

It has little tourists

people enjoying formation successful albania

One of the biggest gully cards to Eastern European question would person to beryllium the deficiency of Western tourists.

In galore places you tin determination astir freely without proceeding English chatter, but for the hostels and bars obviously.

It’s a large “off the beaten path” feeling erstwhile you person to effort and pass with breached English oregon the section language.

However, determination are inactive a fewer well-trodden tourer places similar Split and Dubrovnik successful Croatia, Krakow and Warsaw successful Poland, Tallinn successful Estonia, Bratislava successful Slovenia, and Istanbul successful Turkey.

Further Reading: (listening) Why You Should Visit Eastern Europe Now>

It’s inexpensive and casual to get around

Flying into Eastern Europe is reasonably straightforward, with fund airlines servicing large cities.

Once there, bid question is simply a large low-cost option; though not everyplace supports the precocious velocity Eurail web — truthful cheque earlier utilizing Eurail passes. But, section trains are galore and precise cheap.

You tin cheque Eastern Europe bid schedules connected the German Train tract DB Bahn.

Buses are besides predominant and low-cost.

It’s Budget Friendly

Eastern Europe is considerably much casual connected the fund than Western Europe.

With the objection of those countries connected the borderline betwixt East and West, specified arsenic Vienna successful Austria oregon Prague successful Czech Republic, you tin expect to wage little connected food, accommodation, and attractions.

If you are a student, oregon if you person a pupil ID, galore museums and different attractions successful Eastern Europe connection a pupil discount erstwhile an ID is presented.

Remember, Eastern European countries usually aren’t connected the Euro (except Greece), truthful you person to marque usage of currency exchanges.

Be definite to support yourself and your finances by going to authoritative exchanges, but debar utilizing airports and hotels (they complaint a higher speech rate).

Do your probe first, and found the rates & each costs earlier handing implicit your cash.

Either walk each your cash, oregon speech it earlier leaving the country.

If you’re adding a fewer countries to an Eastern Europe itinerary, past beryllium definite to publication long-distance buses oregon trains to prevention wealth connected flights.

Further Reading: The Cost of Traveling Far-Eastern Europe via @NomadicMatt

It’s not rather portion of The Global Village

The fig 1 crushed to get to Eastern Europe now, is that the satellite is shrinking astatine a phenomenal rate.

Eastern Europe is not westernized yet, and adjacent though it covers a ample onshore mass, it inactive feels rather small.

But who knows successful a fewer years from now? Cities successful the East are growing, and agrarian areas are becoming urbanized.

You’ll find Internet cafes common-place, McDonald’s here-and-there, but for the astir portion you tin inactive find large off-the-beaten-track destinations.

I retrieve walking down the thoroughfare successful Hvar, I approached radical asking for rooms to rent, and beauteous soon recovered a large 3 chamber spot overlooking the municipality astatine a precise tenable terms (less than a dorm furniture successful the West).

Approaching locals for accommodation is not truthful communal spot successful Western Europe, with the abundance of hostels and campsites.