If you’ve decided to backpack around the Balkans, you’ve come to the right place.
My friend and I had a month backpacking together – the first three weeks of which were spent in the Balkans. We both fell utterly in love with the Balkans: the food, the friendliness of the people and the fact it was a little further off the tourist track than some other places that we were used to.
Our itinerary involved going to cities that were touristy enough to have good tourist links, but not overly so. We had a mix of capital cities and more traditional places to vary the experience. Apart from one section of the trip, our transport to and from everywhere here was on buses. The buses were of varying lengths (I’m not sure I can fully recommend the 8 hour one we had from Kotor to Sarajevo) but always cheap, a good chance to grab some sleep and mostly on time to depart.
Below, I’ve complied the cities we went to, a little about them, and a brief description of the transport to the next destination. As always, everyone has different preferences and some may suit you more than others. Use this as a guide – but by no means comprehensive!
Starting Point: Sofia, Bulgaria
Time here: 2-3 days
What to do:
- Walk down Vitosha Boulevard
- Go on a trip to the Rila Monastery in the Mountains
- St Alexander Nevski Cathedral
Bulgaria was a great starting point for us: flights are relatively cheap as it’s a large city, it’s established enough in tourism that most people can speak a little English, feels relatively safe and not too expensive. It also has very good transport links. We got from Bulgaria to our next destination by a morning (7am!) bus.
The most underrated destination: Skopje, North Macedonia
Time here: 3 days
What to do:
- Eat out at the small restaurants AS MUCH as you can
- Take a trip to Matka Canyon to go hiking and kayaking
- Hike up the fortress for sunset
- Explore the old town streets and markets
Skopje was my joint favourite place of the entire trip. We added it into our travel itinerary as a wildcard – both not knowing much about North Macedonia. And we both loved it (definitely intending to come back)! If you take anything from this post, you NEED to have Skopje on your list to visit – and maybe even add in another destination in North Macedonia like Ohrid. Unfortunately, not knowing how much we would come to love the country, we only stopped here for 3 days before getting another bus (quite a long one with a lot of winding roads) into Albania.
Stop with the most confusing bus system: Tirana, Albania
Time here: 3 days
What to do:
- House of Leaves Museum
- Learn the history of Albania under the communist regime
- Go for a Michelin Star meal at Mullhixiu
Tirana was probably one place that you could 1/2 days in rather than 3: it was a great transport hub for Albania and really interesting however you can definitely see all you need to see in a couple of days. We took a bus out to the coast on one of our 3 days.
Note for Albania: the bus system is a little confusing to start but people are more than willing to explain it to you if you just ask! You also do not need to book any buses in advance in Albania and they are so cheap. We arrived at the regional bus terminal in the morning to take a bus up the fourth place: a city in northern Albania.
Our first non-capital city destination: Shkoder, Albania
Time here: 2 days
What to do:
- Walk to and swim in Lake Skadar (between Albania and Montenegro)
- Visit the historical prisons in Shkoder
- Rozafa Castle
Much like Skopje, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from Shkoder but it by far exceeded expectations. Shkoder felt much more like a large town than a city. It was stunning (featured photo at the top of this post) and the walk to lake Skadar can be a full afternoon/day activity depending on how much time you have. We got a bus from Shokder to leave Albania – these you should book online in advance. However, you can book these the night before.
Moving up north a bit to swim in a river: Podgorica, Montenegro
Time here: 1 day
What to do:
- Swim in the river
- Explore the bridges in the city
- Chill!
We did wish we had another day here as our hostel was so lovely. There isn’t too much to do in Podgorica as a capital city however it’s the perfect place to take a day or two to relax a little. Especially after a week and a half into your trip, make sure you’ve got a bit of recuperation time. Again, bus to the next place!
The surprise party destination: Kotor, Montenegro
Time here: 3 days (honestly could have spent longer though!)
What to do:
- Beach
- Visit other local towns
- Europe’s highest Cheese Shop
- Explore the old town
- Fortress
- Party at Letrika!
Kotor was amazing. Joint with Skopje, it was my favourite destination on the trip. I will admit, during the daytime, cruise ships do come in so it can get a little touristy and you will need to buy your own food rather than eating out. However at night, the streets become a hub of backpackers and local at bars and music bars in the streets such as Letrika. The beach is also so close and beautiful to sit and watch the stars on. From Kotor, we headed into Bosnia and Herzegovina. This bus journey was necessary (and cheap) however do brace yourself for what we found one of the most difficult travel days of the month.
Stop 7 with all the history and culture: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Time here: 2 days
What to do:
- Museums
- Try Cevapi at street restaurants
- Walk around city centre – so much history
- Go to ‘meeting point of cultures’ line
This was such an interesting place to visit and I’m so glad we had it in our itinerary. It was definitely a change from Kotor, but so interesting. A warning in advance that some of the museums can be quite hard hitting such as the Bosnian genocide museum. However, I do think they were a really needed experience to understand the history and culture of this beautiful country.
To get to Mostar, we took the train (around 6 euros per person) as it had been recommended to us by someone we met in Albania for the views. If you’re travelling from Sarajevo to Mostar, the train is quicker, relatively cheap and well worth it for the views.
The one with the famous bridge: Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Time here: 3 days
What to do:
- Shopping a local shops
- Mostar Bridge
You don’t really need three days here – you can probably stay one night and see it all. However, the sunsets were so pretty, the food was so good and we spent so the days (during a heatwave) sat by the river reading. This was another chilled out break for us. We then got the bus into Croatia.
The planned party destination: Split, Croatia
Time here: 3 days
What to do:
- Boat party
- Clubbing
- Old town
- Walk around Marjan Park
- Buses out to local fishing towns
- Ancient Salona city visit
- Beach days
This was our planned party destination (before we left the Balkans to go to Italy and Spain, all of which will be on a separate post). Split was amazing and so pretty – an amazing destination to have been to before leaving the Balkans. However, please be aware that as Split is much more well known and touristy than some previously mentioned destinations, the prices DO reflect this! We were told by someone that Kotor is like the less expensive version of Split and although they are very different, I can see where they were coming from.
In saying that, Split is still amazing and the architecture is well worth going. Not to mention the boat party.
Next?
We then took an overnight ferry to Italy (saving money on accommodation). However all of that will be in a different post. I will also update each and every destination with a much more in depth look at what to do, food, culture, packing lists etc. Come back soon to have a look at them! I will link them with each description above.
For now, good luck planning your Balkan backpacking trip!
Have a read of my advice to first-time backpackers fore more advice and travel tips on your way!
