Looking for options - Edited 10/11/26

There are interesting things to do almost anywhere… depending on who is asking and what they’re into. I would recommend watching some videos, reading up on these many places and coming back with specific questions and sharing some more detailed information to get replies that can assist you. At current you’re asking for a lot but not providing enough to go off of. Interests, ages, special considerations, length of trip; etc

Such a broad question with so many countries. Have you checked through any travel/guide books at all, to narrow things down? And what kind of things do you like or want to get from your travels? Cultural activities, churches, castles, historical sights, big cities, villages, the countryside, mountains/rivers/scenery, outdoor activities, biking, hiking, food experiences? Please give some parameters for best responses. How did you arrive at this list? Were you intrigued by a movie you saw, a book you read, a television or radio interview or travel show? Some more context would be helpful.

All of these are great choices. Baltics the most budget friendly.

Twenty-one years ago, we visited Bulgaria, then took a train to Bucharest, Romania. We had a flight later that day, so only spent a few hours in Romania’s capital. Rick Steves had an Eastern Europe guidebook at the time (now titled Central Europe, I believe), and we also used a Lonely Planet guidebook for Bulgaria. The best salads in the world are in Bulgaria. Rick warned about roving packs of vicious dogs in Bucharest at the time, but we didn’t encounter any in 2005. Hopefully, there’s no concern about that now.

From Bucharest, we flew to Venice, and picked up a car there, driving around to Slovenia for a week, then Croatia for several days, then back to Venice for a few days. With all of this, I will definitely personally recommend Bulgaria, Romania (Bucharest, at least), Slovenia, and Croatia, even though we’ve not made it back to any of them since that first trip.

Last year, we stayed in several places in Poland. We’re thinking about Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania for next year. I’m glad we saw Poland when we did, and the opportunity for those Baltic countries might be fading, if Russia continues advancing its aggression there. Go while you can.

Absolutely they are interesting. I’ve been to all except Bulgaria (well, I was only there a couple of days). In my profile, you will find a link to my trip reports, in case they are helpful.

They are all great places for a holiday for the right sort of people. If you are 96 maybe one is better, if you are 26 and a daredevil explorer, then maybe another is the best. If you like cities or hiking in the mountains, then yet another list of great ideas.

Transportation in the places on your list that I have been to is somewhat limited. Some are brave and have the time to figure out the buses, but I try and put more into the day and that means stopping a lot to see things between bus stops. For that I need a car … but I don’t drive on holiday, so I need a car and driver which is cheap in Bulgaria and Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina and Albania. Not so cheap in the rest of the list.

I do know good guide/travel planners in Bulgaria and in Romania and one that does the entire of the Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania). I will put websites here because they have great photos and some ideas of what people see.
Balkans: https://docleatravel.com/
Romania: https://covinnus.com/
Bulgaria: https://www.easybulgariatravel.com/

So, for me, not young and not as old as I will be someday sort of guy who enjoys cities where they are best of what they are and enjoys nature when it is the most beautiful and offers me a way to interact with it. My input:

Romania: Interesting history, a few interesting towns and a few overhyped towns. Bucharest as a city is good for me for a few days for the culture, theater nice restaurants. Lots of RS folks are finding Romania so there is a lot written and a lot of recommendations on the forum. I might go back to Bucharest (for maybe the 5th time), but the rest. I dont know. Just isnt calling me after my 2 trips in the country.

Bulgaria: A few of my top 10 stops from all of my travels are in Bulgaria (Plovdiv and Nessebar for instance). A few others that I didn’t spend enough time in to fall in love with but bet I would have if I had. A few of my favorite “funky” stops like Devils Throat and a forest train ride. I’ve been back twice and have a tour guide I trust; and I really should return, I still have a lot to see.

Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia: Never been and still trying to get excited about changing that but just haven’t yet.

Slovenia: Never been to Slovenia. Another I just can’t get excited about. Maybe for a fly-fishing trip someday. The nature is good I hear, but beyond that … Remember, I need to interact. I can only sit and admire it for so long. When I do it, and I will someday, I will probably pair it with Italy and Austria and maybe Switzerland.

Croatia: After 4 visits I keep asking myself, why again? But friends and such keep wanting to go so I tag along. To be fair, Split is very interesting for 2 days and Dubrovnik despite being the Disneyland of the Balkans is amazing, and some of the islands are pretty good. But that’s very much a time of year sort of decision and I have to be mentally prepared for the cost and, over tourism, and commercialization that has grown since my first trip 15 years ago. Summer, no way.

You didnt list the best: So, you have mentioned as far as Croatia and then you stopped. Keep heading south and you will find the real beauties of the Balkans:

Montenegro
Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH)
Albania

How much do I enjoy them? Bosnia four times and Montenegro six times and Albania twice: with anticipation to return to two or three of them in the Spring. Here are some photos from recent trips: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1z4-CwCkZCAlH36M42Ul_r9Ae1Dq3xYO_?usp=drive_link

If you go to this post you will find dozens of links to videos of the sights in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/bosnia/10-days-of-independent-travel-after-best-of-adriatic-tour

We have visited all the countries that you mentioned.
I would not try to cover all of them in one trip unless you had a month.

Our most recent trip was two years ago we did a Danube cruise from Regensburg, Germany to Budapest that was wonderful, and after the cruise did a six day bus trip of Romania.
Romania was great, but highly recommend Hungary and Austria. Budapest and Vienna are great.
Croatia is great, especially Split and Dubrovnik, we did them on a cruise, that is a great way too see those places.

The Baltic countries we did in 2011 after a Russian River cruise, and it was amazing how more modern those countries were than Russia.

I’ve visited Croatia and Slovenia, and both have lovely places to explore

Slovenia is great. One of my favorite countries. What I did with 25 days there: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/25-days-in-slovenia

The Baltics also are very nice.

I have not been to Romania or Bulgaria... but am interested in seeing them.

I've been to all those countries since 2015, and I had previously made a couple of trips to Croatia. I've spent over two weeks in each of those countries except for Slovenia (I'm not counting the five days I was ill during my stay there). They are all very interesting. I'd say the terrain in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is less exciting than in the other places you list, but those three have their own positive aspects, including very interesting 20th-century histories and generally reasonable prices. The three Baltic capitals are quite different from each other architecturally.

Transportation isn't as speedy in that part of Europe as it is between major cities in countries like France, Spain and Italy; some city pairs aren't connected by trains, requiring use of buses if you aren't renting a car. Knowing this is important for deciding how much time to allot to each country--or, alternatively, how many countries you can visit on a trip of a fixed length.

Castles:
Romania has a few, but “castle” is widely defined. For instance, is a 19th century manor house a castle? https://romaniatourism.com/castles-fortresses.html Its such a large country, you might get to two.

Bulgaria, mostly ruins of castles. https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/destinations/bulgaria/best-castles-in-bulgaria/ Again a massive country with things spread out.

Slovenia has two legitimate castles. Predjama Castle is pretty spectacular.

Croatia, Montenegro, Albania: Mostly fortified Venetian cities like Dubrovnik, Budva, Kotor, Ulcinj. I think there is a link above to videos of these places.

Historical sights:
All of them. Different regions and different countries will put emphasis on different periods in history.

Churches:
What you might find new and interesting are the orthodox churches of Montenegro and Bulgaria. Many dating to the 11th and 12th century. The bear little resemblance to western churches. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTbIFdW9fVzOhWWz0o4-XLSfizCCJacYWp3D2CqynOz3Ve7IXiRdGAh0hE&s=10 and https://images.myguide-cdn.com/md/common/large/5de791e02ffd4-638620.jpg

The lower Balkans and Bulgaria also open up the opportunity to explore mosques. https://i.redd.it/awmvoygshfl71.jpg and https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYs5V6UaOG9mP1oDHFBdbDAuE2Y8PaoGql6wDux6eUXv_WX7Yc13awz8NR&s=10

Museums (one art museum per location):
You would be hard pressed not to find museums in any of these locations. Its about what type I guess. Less art, more lifestyle and history.

Day trip options:
That sort of implies you want to stay in one place for extended periods rather than tour the region. For me that would be more difficult in Romania and Bulgaria as the pointes of interest are spread over a large area.

Interesting small towns
To some degree this has a lot to do with how you travel. I you do it on the bus or train you will wizz right past the good stuff. You see more with a car (I don’t drive either) so look towards the more affordable destinations where the cost of a nice hotel room and a guide for the day is about equal to a hotel alone in a Western European country. I love the small towns. Some are in my photos above.

Maybe 1 winery (my wife enjoys a little wine).

Small or large, hill top of near the coast. The Balkans are covered with wineries. This is among my favorites: https://winerygarnet.com/

But since you are on the subject of locally produced food and drink: My favorite Balkan prosciutto house https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gps-cs-s/ANWiy9QDB9LYZndyhcXP4G1jMPSwHmD2wHWqqbzAApfn_UrpQp8jki9g5N2WRAOYI_I8BFPT7i_jTHuV7BqUciQoEh4drf4ABWrLlumVBUqP-DDe4Jf9Xf0zfNDczGO-J1YTIsOQzGW_gw=s1360-w1360-h1020-rw My favorite oysters https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/2d/b2/c1/0d/caption.jpg?w=1400&h=800&s=1 And then there is cheese and Rakija.

Good public transportation
Good public transportation exists in cities. Where you are talking about going it’s the bus or a hired car.

I would add one more thing to your list. A location with the cost and support and information that will help ensure that you get the maximum of what ever it is you desire, out of the trip.