Eastern Europe – a Road Trip

This is an account of a trip from Prague, Czech Republic to … Prague! I am sharing some experiences and recommendations on how to make it easier for potential travelers and visitors. The full itinerary includes Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.

I will start by briefly outlining my impressions for the easiest road trip in this part of Europe. Some considerations before you go:

1. Stay current on maps – GPS navigation systems can only be trusted so much in Eastern Europe. I ran the updates on my Tom Tom and Romania was barely on the map. The combination atlases normally do a good job. Mine was lacking details so I had to get a map on the road – this is also fine. Try to get one before you get lost!

2. Check the weather – I drove through mostly rain and faced many road-closed signs. These got me lost a few times in Hungary and Czech Republic.

3. Have some small bills in euro. Twenties will not work – try to get fives and even some of the singles and twos which are coins.

4. I used booking.com for the hotels where I stayed and was very happy with the places in Cluj Napoca, Porec and Vienna.

5. Road conditions (except for the floods) were decent everywhere. Romania and Bulgaria lack highways – the major roads are fine – sometimes busy with trucks and international traffic so plan some extra time.

6. Vignettes (or road toll stickers) have to be purchased everywhere once you cross into the country – there normally are these little shops which sell them or at a gas station. Vignettes are stickers which are placed on the right-hand side of the windshield. In Hungary, you only get a receipt with the dates. In Serbia and Croatia tolls are like in the US – you drive up to a toll booth, get a ticket and pay at the other end. All places accepted credit cards and euros.

7. Try not to get gas in Hungary – too expensive. Hungarians have one of the newest and finest highways – driving there is nice. Try to stay out of any trouble here – the local language is as strange as any African dialect or Mandarin.

8. Northern Romania was marked excellently with proper road signs. It was also really nice to drive along the windy Transylvanian roads. The area around and in Bucharest lacked any signs and since the GPS did not work – I had some trouble. Chances are that if you stop at a gas station and walk up to a young person – they will speak English and you will be back on the road.

9. My friend who came to visit had a brochure on Czech and Slovak Republics. It does help in rainy days.

Trip details: starting point was Prague. Here are the places visited on the way:

Oswiecim, Poland – this is a former concentration campsite built during WW2 the size of a small city. It carries a piece of history which mankind is not proud of. The number of buses and visitors almost made me feel like I am in Niagara Falls. The place is very interesting and taking the guided tour is worth it.

Zakopane, Poland – an old ski resort close to the Slovak border. It was sizzling with life – the shops were quite busy and welcoming. It is a few kilometers out of the way – Zakopane is great for a coffee break or even to stay overnight and enjoy the outdoors in good weather.

Poprad, Slovakia – great hub for many hikes in the High Tatras region. In our case, under never-ending rain, the local Aquapark came in handy! It has all bells and whistles including a swim-to bar!

Liptovský, Mikuláš, Slovakia – great little place to stop for lunch.

Podbrezová, Slovakia – this is where we stayed for the night and then drove on. My local friend from there was greatly hospitable and accommodating.

Cluj-Napoca, Romania was the surprise of my trip! I did not expect to see such a nice European city bursting with life and good-looking people. It is the home of a few universities and there are many places to visit and hang out.

Pleven, Bulgaria – this is my home town. I spent some time with family.

Poreč, Croatia – a wonderful place on the Adriatic Sea which could get touristy in high-season. Beaches are rocky, many alleys for sports, tennis, even golf. All water sport plus daily boat trips to Italy etc.

Ljubljana, Slovenia – arguably the home of the most beautiful women I have seen or at least so many per square kilometer. Ljubljanica river flows through the heart of the city with many shops and outside restaurants. Ljubljana is not very touristy and is well worth to stay overnight.

Vienna, Austria – there is so much written on the might of Vienna. It is all true so I will skip this part.

Znojmo, Czech Republic – this a town close to the Austrian border. I am sure it has many sights to see. What I thought was interesting is the huge shopping zone right between the two border checkpoints! They take both euros and Czech crowns.

Prague, Czech Republic – this is where home is at this time.

A great trip overall. The only thing I would have changed would be the weather!

Driving directions to Prague, Czech Republic:

3,827km – about 2 days 1 hour – I did it in about two weeks since I was using the occasion to visit friends and family.

I picked up a nice sunglasses case from a local shop in Croatia! Also, if anyone is interested in more details on hotels etc, I can look them up and post back.