After my first time to Europe and visiting only the popular cities in the West, I was dreaming of Eastern Europe the whole next year in University waiting for summer to come around. It took ages to plan my sample Eastern Europe itinerary – and I’m going to detail it all here for you now that it’s said and done.

I’ve written about all these cities before so there will be links throughout with proper guides. As I mentioned in my sample western Europe itinerary, I didn’t have the funds at the time to go to Ireland and Spain as they would have required flying with my time constraints. Therefore, I made sure to hit those up first before heading East.

I mentioned Ireland and Spain in my Western Europe itinerary and as I said you could do Ireland first, then the Western Itinerary I wrote about, ending in Spain, then flying to Greece so start this “Eastern Europe” itinerary. So, I will start with Greece now!

Sample Eastern Europe Itinerary for Backpackers

1. Athens, Greece. Flying into Athens was exciting, but nerve-wrecking as my backpack didn’t make it and I didn’t have anything but almonds and my journal in my carry-on. First thing to know about Athens, is in July and hot months no one is there. They are on vacation because it’s so hot! The city was a little dirty and desolate to be honest, but interesting and of course seeing the ancient ruins at Acropolis was very cool. Tips for travel to Athens.

2. Mykonos, Greece. Mykonos is a party island. From Athens, you need to take a ferry to the closest port and you’ll want to find a travel agent in town to book your ferry tickets. They’re a little pricey if you’re comparing to Thailand islands. Mykonos was gorgeous, expensive, had delicious food, and there are quiet areas if you know where to look; we found a cute apartment in a secluded area. Read more: The Best of Mykonos Greece

3. Santorini, Greece. In terms or partying and gorgeousness, Santorini takes the cake. There’s no question as to why this is the most tourist island. It’s stunning. You have the famous sunsets and that white on blue rounded architecture everywhere you look. Food was a little pricey but scrumptious and the shops were full of the cutest stuff. I couchsurfed here mainly to save money and also because we hadn’t experienced Greece like a local. We stayed with a model/scuba instructor and had a blast club hopping the whole time and exploring the island on bikes. Read on for tips: What I love about Santorini Greece: Scuba and the Gods

4. Corfu, Greece. Corfu is the “green” island. The water is so clear, but with lush green forests in the background. Actually, it looks a lot like Thailand. We stayed at popular party hostel the Pink Palace, which is retrospect was a mistake as they trap you a bit from seeing the local parts of the island.

5. Tirana, Albania. So Albania was a bit of an accident. We pretty much were stuck in Santorini and told we had to go to Italy in order to get to our next city (Dubrovnik). The only other option was taking a ferry to the southern bit of Albania and going via taxi north, as local buses are hit and miss. We did take local buses / hitchhike through Albania through Montenegro to Croatia. We started via local bus to Tirana and met a cool chick, Bena, who shared all the secret local hotspots of Albania with us, from beaches and bars to UNESCO sites.

6. Dubrovnik, Croatia. After a couple of days of unplanned travel, we made it to Dubrovnik and I was overwhelmed with how much I loved this city. If there was one place I wanted to go back to and take Ben, it would be this town. I know it’s become more touristy partially with help from Game of Thrones filming on the castle. It’s a medieval wonderful town. Fabulous food and so gorgeous overlooking the sea that I didn’t mind the small crowds. We stayed at a Sobe in the Old Town which I 100% recommend. They will find you at the bus station.

7. Sarajevo, Bosnia. Sarajevo was a bit of a culture shock after being in beach party towns, not to say we didn’t party in Sarajevo (I was only 20 after all). A place not so long ago destroyed by war, you can still see the destruction today and learning about the history of that war is very important. This was the first place I’d been that had a call to prayer, but was interesting in that there were also Christian churches and Synagogues in the same intersection. Also, the food was incredible as well as the coffee! Definitely buy a coffee set here.

8. Belgrade, Serbia. Not only interesting, but affordable. It’s a cool town to see but I was there only a short time. There was a beer festival in Belgrade happening so you can only imagine what I was up to. We found a hotel online and it was 3 bucks a night with breakfast. How is that possible!?

9. Budapest, Hungary. The first thing I learned about Budapest is that one side of the river is Buda and one side is called pest. I recommend doing a walking tour of the city to learn, and I also couchsurfed here. Mostly, we learned about what happened there during world war 2, which has always interested me. Make sure to visit the famous Szechyeni baths, which is a highlight of a trip to Budapest.

10. Krakow, Poland. Although I liked the walking tour and learned a lot, I found the city a bit boring. Perhaps the weather had something to do with it. I did enjoy the town fair and markets. I’m sure it was a fluke that I didn’t have a blast, but I would go back. Read more tips for visiting Krakow.

11. Prague, Czech Republic. Prague is incredible! Spend as much time here as you can. Affordable, great food, amazing history and architecture, and a fun nightlife. I couchsurfed here and loved seeing the city from a locals view. Read for some tips on Prague.

12. Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic. This place is about 4 hours from Prague by a cheap bus that offers hot chocolate and a movie! The town is the “last bohemian town” with a castle uniquely hand-painted to look like it’s more fancy architecture than it really is. There is a moat with beers, lots of little homey bars, and your hostel will possibly offer you a joint fix on arrival.

So, there you have it, my sample Eastern Europe itinerary based on my own trip. All in all I started the trip flying into Irelend, then flying to Spain, then onward via flight to Greece. The rest is as you read, then after Cesky, we took a bus back to Prague to fly to Ireland to catch the roundtrip flight home.

I had more fun on my trip to Eastern Europe than Western Europe, and although some people think it’s not as easy to travel, I found that wasn’t true except lack of buses in Northern Albania and Montenegro. It was very affordable and I learned a lot.

I hope you found this Eastern European backpacking itinerary helpful! Remember to find a cheap flight using my tips and get some travel insurance that covers adventure sports. If you’re planning a trip, check out my tips on how to plan a trip from scratch.

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After a whirlwind weekend with new friends in vintage Sarajevo, we were off with them on a train to a beer festival in Belgrade, Serbia. Our mission was the “biggest European beer festival”. I’m still not sure I believe those stats, hello Oktoberfest?? The train to Belgrade cost 17 Euro and takes about 8 hours to arrive. We were eager to start tasting beer at Belgrade’s Beer festival.

Intro to the White City, “Beograd”

Belgrade, the “white city” is the capital of Serbia (and used to be the capital of Yugoslavia) and has the Sava and Danube Rivers rippling through it, with many side rivers and beaches to lounge on. No stranger to war, the city has been battled for over 115 times, was bombed terribly during the Kosovo war by NATO (where they say U.S. was the villain, and after the 2000 elections had millions of people in the street rioting. Many refugees live in Belgrade now from Bosnia and Croatia due to the “Great Serbia war” I have taught you all about before! This was when Serbia was the villain. I think because I had just spent so much time in Gorgeous seaside Dubrovnik and Bosnia, who were all but destroyed by Serbia, it was hard to happily explore. PS: Good luck reading the Cyrillic street signs!

where are we?

but really though… where is this bus going?

What to See/Do

Although most people come to Serbia seeking underground parties and inexpensive booze, the city does have attractions worth seeing. It has an alternative Berlin feel both because of the reminder of war, but also the graffiti and just overall seriousness of the city.

you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing an art exhibition

The most popular tourist attractions include: the National Museum, the Old Palace, Saint Petka’s Chapel, beach Ada Ciganlija (it’s rated high from guides, but I didn’t find it to be all that), Skardarlija (the bohemian quarter), Knez Mihailova Street (I bought an awesome spray painted world here… which I then had to carry forever!), and Kalemegdan Fortress with a walkway by the river where you’ll see women selling trinkets. There are loads more you can check your guidebook for. Nightlife is cheap and booming on the floating river bars. Because we were there during a large influx of backpackers, there were many street food stalls set up (hamburgers and corn on the cob); that was all we ate.  You can also get some fruit and veg (and culture!) at the Zeleni Venac market.

Like most European cities there are free walking tours- just ask your hostel for the best one. You should take one; we didn’t and obviously we spend a lot of the time lost. Travel is easiest by either walking or bus. To be honest, I have seen so many European buildings at this point it wasn’t all that. I found Serbia to be fun because of the festival, but without it, it definitely wasn’t my favorite city, nor was it breathtakingly beautiful. But now on to the important information…

The Beer Festival

The annual festival started in 2003, lasts 4-5 days, and has concerts, roller coasters and bumper cars too! There were 900,000 people there, and it’s FREE. A band called “Van Gogh” was the headliner. The concert was very hardcore heavy rock with insane mosh pits and guys ripping their shirts off. Everyone was so alternative, it really does remind me of Berlin.

meat. yum.

I tried to tell this guy the Browns were my hometown team, what are the chances??!

We had been a little over-budget so we looked up hostels online and chose the least expensive one, which had absolutely zero reviews. How exciting!  Going cheapo on a hostel when I’m over budget is my easy way to get back on track. We figured 1. How bad can it be and 2. We’re spending the evening at a beer festival so we aren’t going to care what it looks like.

Pleasantly surprised by an awesome little guesthouse, Hostel 12, with a nice owner, and a shower with water pressure to die for we got ready for our big night of guzzling booze. Cost: 8 euro including coffee on arrival, cab, generous hospitality, and breakfast. Oh yeah, the owner sent a free cab to get us from the train station and walked us to the festival- like 2 little kids on the first day of school, except it was 2 slightly sleazily dressed girls off to have drinking contests. Keep in mind: Everyone and their mother is opening a hostel in Belgrade because of the new influx of tourists (the war wasn’t that long ago), so they are all struggling a little making money due to the flooded market. Be happy you got a good deal, but don’t try to haggle them too much to lower it!

The festival was pretty cool. I pretty much hate all beer except Budweiser, so it was a shame when I would lose our contest and have to chug a mug of something dark. Gag! I did find a favorite at the festival called Bip. I’m sure that’s a crap beer I’ll get made fun of for naming, but I liked it! I’ve only been to two festivals so I’m not the best judge; the other one was India so my “good festival” radar might be off. Best part about staying at a hostel with no other guests… no one kicking me out at noon the next day! Plently of time to recover from the beer chugging before another train ride to Budapest.

Did you like Belgrade? Was there something I must have been missing to be so “mehh” about it?

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