Hey, looking for advice on hiking in Eastern Europe in May. I'm a solo female traveler and haven't found a ton of information on the internet regarding hiking solo in this region so looking for personal experiences and tips. Is it easy to do alone? Do I need to plan ahead or can I show up in a region and easily do some hiking? Expensive/cheap? TIA!
Posted by
Washington DC Region, USA
7054 posts
Below is a link for some ideas in Bulgaria. Did you try Lonely Planet books? I'm sure it's not super hard to do alone but you have to make sure you have the logistics covered. How are you planning on getting to get the trailheads, especially if they're in the mountains (are you driving?) I don't know how well the trails are marked or how you can actually get good maps without being on the ground first. I'm an avid hiker but I try not to go solo just for safety's sake in case of injuries or whatnot. And if you don't know the terrain, it's best to have good navigational skills and being prepared.
With the Balkan countries, there's a lot of good (but random) info on a variety of blogs. Google will lead you there. I find some blogs to be more helpful in setting expectations than anything else.
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
All of the countries you named are in Europe not Beyond Europe.You would probably get more answers if you put your question under General Europe instead of Beyond Europe. Besides citizen of those countries would not be pleased to find out they are considered to be beyond Europe.
You are brave to consider hiking there as a solo female traveler. I hiked extensively in Bulgaria and Romania but not solo and I am a male. Outside of big cities English is not widely spoken and maybe I should not put that word "widely" there. It is "macho" culture there. They are not used to see solo female travelers. Traveling in your mentioned countries is very cheap. For example in Bulgaria me and my friend hired a guide plus a guy with horses who took our big luggage and hiked in Rila and Pirin for 14 days. All cost including accommodation and food was $800 per person. Bottle of wine in a bar cost 1 to 2 dollars. That was 15 years ago. Now it's little bit more but still cheap.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you for the information Ilja and Agnes! I appreciate it. I have traveled solo quite a bit so I am not to worried about it, more worried about being able to get to hiking destinations easily and how safe it is once I'm out on the trails if I do end up alone. Often you'll meet people along the way, but if by the off chance I don't I'd like to be prepared. I've found lots of information, but none on solo travel. I just don't want to show up in these countries and find that it is difficult, or even impossible, to do alone. I chose to post in "Beyond Europe" because Serbia and Romania were not listed as options...which I thought strange. Looking back, I now see a "General Europe" tab that I probably should have chosen! I was planning on cross-posting if I did not find the answers I was looking for. Thanks again!