Solo Travel through Central Europe for 11 weeks - Itinery help

First impressions is that it looks like a lot of moving around even if it is 11 weeks. Have you done a trip at your proposed pace for an extended period? And did it work okay for you? I would need to build in some down days. Time along the way to relax, recover a bit, do some laundry. I might structure it more along the lines of staying in fewer places for longer.

Sorry to hear about your marital situation. Best of luck to you.

Eleven weeks is a long time, but ten countries is a lot, says this person who recently returned from 4-1/2 months in just 4 countries. And spent 5 weeks in Poland last year. I'm older than you, but I still think you have way, way too many 2-night stops. Two nights just gives you about 1-1/2 days at the destination, and if the transportation is tricky it will be less than that. This is a part of Europe without a lot of super-fast express trains. That Budapest-Belgrade-Kotor-Mostar-Sarajevo-Zagreb stretch...whew.

A series of two-night stops might be manageable on a tour (though I have my doubts about doing it at the end of a long trip like this), but for an independent traveler using public transportation it's not likely to be a sustainable schedule. I would recommend against it even if you were only going to be on the road for 2 weeks.

Most of the countries on your list will be about as easy to manage as those farther west. A great many people speak English and the tourism infrastructure is well developed. Serbia is going to feel a bit more foreign, I think. Maybe also Bosnia-Hercegovina, though it has been ages since I was there. But you'll be fine. The problem, to me, is the sheer number of destinations.

The first place I'd drop for sure, unless you have a very good reason for including it, is Rijeka. It just isn't on the same level as the other spots. I'd add that time to Istria to slow the trip down a bit. I wouldn't go to Istria for just 2 nights even if you had a car (which is handy there, though not absolutely required).

I don't know whether you mean for your list to indicate the route you would take, but it definitely isn't optimum. The biggest problem, though, is that you really, really need to cut a substantial number of destinations so you have a reasonable amount of time in the remaining places and don't spend such a large percentage of your time sitting on buses, trains and ferries.

I don't think you've given yourself enough opportunities for time outside cities.

I agree and realise now after running it all through Rome2Rio, I have way too many stops and would spend too long on transport, thankyou good point. I have never done a trip like this over a long-term with so many stops and do need more time to relax and do things like laundry. I had three weeks a few years ago in London, Paris and Spain and wished I'd just spent the three weeks in one country. I had the thought I'd never go back but I was wrong.

How does this look? Have I given each country long enough/too much time?

Fly into Prague and spend approximately 2 weeks in Czech, 1 week in Poland but only see Krakow, Auschwitz, Tatra Mountains, 2 weeks in Austria, 2 nights in Bratislava, Slovakia, 2 weeks in Hungary, 1 week in Slovenia and 2 weeks in Croatia with a couple of nights each in Kotor and Mostar.

I like your idea of including a Rick Steves tour into the mix. I am both a solo traveler and a tour traveler. They both have unique advantages and disadvantages.

I always learn more about where I am on a tour. There are unique experiences built in that can’t be replicated in solo travel. Finally, there is the value of having a congenial group of people to share the experience with.

In solo travel I end up more likely to interact with locals, have more control over the itinerany, and might stay at more budget properties.

To be honest, I would probably add two tours into the plan if you can swing it. Start off with a tour to gain confidence. Then have a few weeks solo. Try to stay at least 3 nights places while solo travel. You need to give yourself some restful days as well. I’d do another tour at about 6-7 weeks for the fun of traveling with others.

Hello, if it were up to me, I would not cut out so much of Poland, honestly it's my favorite country in Central Europe. If you are interested in castles, Poland has some of the best in Europe, my favourites:

Near Wroclaw - Książ Castle, Otmuchów Castle
Near Krakow - Eagle's Nests Castles, Pszczyna Zamek
Near Zakopane - Niedzica Castle
Near Gdansk (Teutonic) - Kwidzyn Castle, Malbork Castle

Malbork Castle in particular is a top pick, it's actually the largest castle in the world and a UNESCO Heritage Site, as the headquarters of the Teutonic Knights. If you are interested in the history of the Northern Crusades, another interesting day trip from Gdansk would be to the famed Battlefield of Grunwald, the largest medieval battle in Europe.

We have visited most of the places that you listed.
I don't have any strong feelings against your plan, but I do have some suggestions.

While in Poland, I suggest visiting the former concentration camp at Auschwitz. It is important that the World doesn't forget the Holocaust.

You have two nights at Istria and two at Rijeka. I suggest cutting that down to two nights total and add more time to there places in the Balkans. While in Split, be sure to visit nearby Trogir.

Dubrovnik is great, but not sure why you need three nights. We spend a day there and pretty much did the city. Perhaps there is more to see nearby.
You might consider adding Vilnius, Lithuania for a couple of days.

Yup, that's a bunch of travel. At least you chose wisely. I stumbled into Eastern Europe about 20 years ago and have been going back 2 or 3 times a year ever since and have still not seen half the places on your list.

You might consider 3, 4 or 5 camps from which you do day trips or overnight trips. Get a comfortable AirBnb in each and sort of live the city in between travels. Leave the heavy stuff in the apartment and strike out sightseeing and have a home to return to.

For instance, with all the day trip and overnight possibilities both Vienna and Budapest could easily be a week to ten days each.

And trains and busses from my perspective aren't usually that enjoyable or romantic. Dont be adverse to a $50 WizzAir flight from camp to camp when it makes more sense.

I'll just add a few thoughts on the places I've been to. Is it necessary to split your time in Vienna? If you are flying into Vienna, consider going to Bratislava first or doing it as a day trip from Vienna. Both are convenient. Okay, I haven't been to Cesky Krumlov but I've seen most people of the forum say 1N is all that's needed. I went to Gdansk, Warsaw and Krakow. Gdansk was my favorite. 4N there is not too much. The Solidarity Museum is excellent, I missed the WWII museum (bad planning on my part) but it's supposed to be very good. 4N in Budapest is a minimum. I went from Budapest to Pecs 2N, then 1N Szeged, 1N Kecskemet and back to Budapest. Interesting history, wonderful architecture.

The RS tour is a great idea, takes the stress out of travel and after being on your own, it will be nice to be with a group of like-minded, friendly people.

When you're nailing down your route, take into account your flights to/from Australia. Dubrovnik might be a little tricky? You might consider going from the south to the north. April is early spring in northern Europe, it can be cold, rainy and unpleasant. The Adriatic is more likely to be balmy then, and June is summer, maybe hot and humid. You can check past weather conditions day by day at timeanddate.com.

A more direct path might be Poland, Czechia, Austria, Hungary . . .

Thanks, I appreciate all your suggestions. It sounds like I should try and see Poland as I had planned initially. Maybe an efficient way to see Poland is with a group tour that goes to Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow, Zakopane, Tatra Mountains and Auschwitz? and do this at the start of the trip. Thanks for your advice Carol, I did want to mix up my trip with both solo travel and tours. Can you recommend any tours? Thanks Carlos for the castle recommendations! I'm really interested in visiting castles and would love to spend a night or two in one if possible. I like James' suggestion, getting an airbnb for 10 days in both Vienna and Budapest and doing long day trips, more efficient, I'll experience more and have a home to go back to each night.

Chani, I agree, I'll just do day trips to both Bratislava and Cesky Krumlov from Vienna. I'm concerned about the weather in April in Poland but thought it sounded logical to start north and finish south but perhaps I've got it wrong? Does it make sense then to start in Croatia, with day trips into Mostar and Kotor then bus through Croatia up to Slovenia then into Austria, Hungary, Poland and finally Czech and fly back to Sydney from Prague?

Whether the second itinerary will still feel rushed will depend on how many and which places you choose to go in the countries listed. My preference is to have time for smaller towns as well as the major cities, and that usually means longer stays in a country.

When deciding on time requirements in individual cities, I think your interest in museums (art, history, or both) matters a lot, as does how many hours you anticipate spending outdoors, just looking around. Some travelers are interested in one of those activities but not so much in the other; they can travel faster than I do without feeling cheated. I love to feel like I've seen the entire old part of town, and I spend long hours in museums that interest me. The Solidarity Museum in Gdansk, mentioned by Chani? That was about 8 hours because there was so much information translated into English, and I wanted to read it all. The WWII Museum is much larger; that was 20 hours. The Schindler Factory in Krakow took me over half a day.

Are you planning to nail down all hotel bookings and buy all inter-city transportation tickets before leaving home? Many people are only comfortable traveling that way--and it is likely to mean a lower average cost per day--but I prefer a lot more flexibility, especially on a long trip to new territory. I do a lot of research and start with a long list of places I'd like to see in each country, but the actual path is developed as I go. When I find I need more time in a city--as always happens somewhere--I can usually add it by dropping some other place entirely. I end up spending less than most people on transportation since my travel legs tend to be short and I often use buses.

In recent years I've had to drop Paris (twice!), half of Czechia and the entire country of Slovakia from my original itineraries The payoff was that I was able to see just about everything I wanted at most stops on those trips. I don't want to end a trip feeling as if I need to go right back to nearly all the same places because I rushed through them.

Late April/early May is a good time to visit Poland, you can start north and work your way south. Anyways, the Baltic area can be cold and windy on any given day of the summer too.

Regarding Castle Hotels, Poland, unsurprisingly, has a good number of them, they are quite popular with locals, here are a few I have been to or researched about:

Otmuchów Castle - a 3 star hotel, about halfway between Krakow and Wroclaw. Was the residence of the Bishop of Wroclaw and later the powerful von Humboldt family. There is a charming town at the base of this castle, nestled between two lakes. Next door is a fairly good restaurant called Restauracja Pod Zamkiem.

Baranów Sandomierski Castle - also a 3 star hotel, located between Warsaw and Krakow. It's a late Renaissance style castle, built in the late 1500s, a favourite of Jan Sobieski III. I ended up not having enough time to stay here.

Książ Castle - south of Wroclaw, the hotel is in 3 palatial outbuildings on the castle grounds. Książ Castle has played host to German Emperors, Russian Czars, and even Winston Churchill. I visited Książ Castle but did not stay, opted for staying at a nearby spa town of Polanica-Zdrój.

Just a couple of general thoughts. One, don't be in a hurry to tie down your itinerary. Keep looking it over and over and see where you can maximize your stays. Sometimes you can do a day trip and not have to relocate hotels. Check Google maps and look at distances. Check D-Bahn website for the length of train rides. Second, build in loafing days. I again just did 11 weeks and as I learned many years ago, you have to rest during such a long trip. I usually do 2 days every two weeks. During those two days I take some very slow leisurely walks and observe the scenery and people and simply hang out in the hotel room/laundry day/etc. For me it makes a substantial difference. Finally as others have said, try to add more 3 nights instead of 2. You have listed 27 changes of cities. That will equal at least 13 days or more of travel/change of hotel/etc. Assume it will take a minimum of a half a day to travel to your next stop. If you do take an RS Tour at the end, be sure to give yourself a couple of days to be prepared in the beginning (Laundry especially) and think about your flight home from the end of the tour.

I went to Gdansk, Warsaw and Krakow in that order by train. It's very easy on your own. Auschwitz is a day trip from Krakow, go on your own or book a day tour. I don't know if Cesky Krumlov is a reasonable day trip. Most people I've seen here plan it as an overnight between Prague and Vienna.

I just looked at temps in Warsaw for the second half of April, last 3 years. While some days were sunny with highs in mid-20s, there were a lot more with highs in the teens and more than a few in single digits. Mix of sun, cloud, rain. Do more checking here.

A good way to think about Rick Steves tour options and your itinerary is to use the search by departure date feature. Go to “our tours” on the navigation column. Then hit the blue “search” tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the options and find “by departure date”. This will help you know what choices are available at what time. Then read through the itineraries to see what appeals to you.

Have fun!

In 2015 I had about 12 weeks of solo travel in many of the places you mention. I started in Budapest and reserved a 3 night stay. Then Dresden ( amazing museums) and Czech republic. Loved Cesky Krumlov for 2 nights{ a place I had not previously considered- that's why its good to have flexibility and rooms you can cancel if needed!} Prague /Zagreb +Slovenia ( a highlight with my family background) Both Lake Bled and Plitvice are stunning stops. A day tour of Istria ( hard to do with out a car) Split/Hvar/ korcula= all enjoyable and easy to do on your own. Montenegro-day trip. In Dubrovnik. I stayed in a "suburb' in a lovely airbnb and took a cheap and quick bus ride to the walled city. In June the views were marred by massive tour groups and the weather was so hot! I flew back to Chicago from Dubrovnik. I never considered a RS tour on either end since I am a budget traveler, but I did do some great day tours that I got for a good price once I was at the location. I was 75 so I did not want one night stays. I prefer 3-4 nights per destination. I used bus and train- no internal flights. Good luck planning and Enjoy!

Many thanks to all of you for giving your time to help! I'm slowly piecing together my trip using your suggestions and the weather is a huge consideration. I've decided to start south with the RS Adriatic Tour in Mid-April, which looks amazing (I've paid my deposit and still waiting on confirmation). The tour finished in Dubrovnik. I think I'll fly into Zagreb from Sydney. Next, fly from Dubrovnik to a good airbnb in Budapest for about 2 weeks and see as much as I can with rest days in between. Then do the same in Poland, Czech Republic and finally Austria and fly to Sydney from Vienna. I would like to do another tour in maybe Poland, because it's so big and a tour might be more efficient, even though it sounds like I could easily get the train to the different places myself. RS doesn't really have a Poland specific tour. Can anyone recommend a good Poland tour? Should I book that tour from home or could I book while I'm over there? I prefer the flexibility with travel, so I was hoping I didn't have to book the intercity transport until a few days before I needed to travel. Do you think that's possible? or am I better to be safe than sorry? A Eurail pass might not suit me because I'll be reducing train travel by staying longer in fewer cities and I'll probably be doing a lot of my day trips by bus?

I'm so glad that your plans are coming together! I know you will have a wonderful time.

Next, fly from Dubrovnik to a good airbnb in Budapest for about 2
weeks and see as much as I can with rest days in between. Then do the
same in Poland, Czech Republic and finally Austria and fly to Sydney
from Vienna.

Since there isnt an direct economy flight from Dubrovnik to Budapest you might look for an intermediate stop and use it to visit yet another place. There are probalby a number of solutions. I once flew Dubrovnik to Belgrade, spent two nights, then flew on to Budapest. Belgrade is an interesting party town with some pretty vivid 20th century history (and of course older). Fortunately they dont hold a grudge. Each of those flights runs about $100 so its not the cheapest solution. The other option woudl be to take the bus down the coast, visit Kotor or a number of better places along the way, then on to Budva for a night or two, then take a flight out of Podgorica direct to Budapest for about $65.

These intermediate stops have provided a means to see a lot that I otherwise would have missed when traveling.

From Budapest there are direct flights to Krakow so that part is easier.

Thanks James, I like your idea of getting the bus down the coast to visit Kotor, Buva and fly out from Podgorica.

If you travel south to Montenegro, minimize time in Podgorica. By far the most interesting thing about Podgorica is its name.

Podgorica does have a small historic district, a few interesting restaurants and a decent night life. A little better than what you would expect from a town once called Titograd.

kw666 Wizzair flies out of Podgorica to Budapest, but not every day. If you want to allowcate the time, you could camp in Budv or Bar or Ulcinj for a few days and visit up and down the coast. Very, very nice area. All three towns are either beautiful or extremely interesting. Or head inland to the mountains and zip line over the deepest canyon in Europe.

For architecture, spend a little time in the southern Hungarian cities. I did a loop from Budapest, Pecs 2N, Szeged 1N, Kecskemét 1N, the latter two have a lot of Art Deco, Pecs has a little of everything. I took the train where available, one leg was by bus.

I'll say it again, the main cities in Poland are easy on your own. A tour is likely to visit only the highlights. I took "free" walking tours in Warsaw and Krakow that were very good.

You may now want to start threads on each of the countries for specific ideas of what to see, how to allocate your time, where to stay, when to book rooms and train/bus tickets, and help in setting your itinerary.

In each one, remember that some of the people will not have read this thread or will not remember the details, so be sure to include basic information - what your interests are, approx. when you'll be there, where you're arriving from and departing to.

A great idea to start new threads and narrow down my itinery for each country. Also, It's good to know It should be easy for me to travel through Poland on my own, thanks Chani! I'm enjoying the planning, learning about places to visit that I might not have known about if it wasn't for your contributions to this thread, thanks everyone!

I was stunned at how accessible Poland is to English-speakers. There was just one small city where the tourist office folks didn't speak any English. It may have been Bydgoszcz.

And I'll second Chani's recommendation for the architecture-rich cities in southern Hungary.

I would recommend Kwidzyn Castle too based only importance and significance of that town.

The original castle, Schloss Marienwerder as part of West Prussia did not survived the war intact, sustained war damage in 1944. It was rebuilt as Kwidzyn Castle.

For a town in that lower Vistula area that did survive the war intact, basically was bypassed in 1944, go to Gniew, the former Mewe.

I didn't go anywhere like Bydgoszcz. My rule (at least in retrospect) was if I can't pronounce it, I ain't goin' there :-)
At least in Hungary the town names were easy to pronounce after I learned to ignore the to-my-eyes odd spelling.

Both those languages hurt my eyes. If Polish were written with the Cyrillic alphabet, life would be so much easier. (For me; it's all about me.)

Oh, but the Polish Language is Poland's greatest secret weapon! :)

An example from a very funny Polish movie called "How I started WWII" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-fcrn1Edik

@ Carlos.. In regards to the Polish language, the Mrs in 2001 (at 50) finally decided to learn Polish with a tutor not only for the purpose of knowing how to speak it, at least, at a conversational level but also as an intellectual exercise.

By the time of our third trip to Poland (going to Torun and Chelmno on the Vistula) in 2005, some of that effort paid off. When tackling Polish, keep in mind that it has 7 cases when you're used to seeing and dealing with 4 cases in German.

@Fred, I commend you for learning Polish! I mean, just look at this tongue twister:

Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz usłyszał szczebrzeszyńskiego chrząszcza brzmiącego w trzcinie na stole z powyłamywanymi nogami

No wonder all the various invaders of Poland eventually lost their respective wars, they must all get lost with the road signs in crazy Polish! lol

Thanks, Carlos, but the credit goes to my wife who tackled Polish, not me. I can't imagine dealing with 7 cases in the grammar.

I once had a history professor from Poland who had some interesting theories based on anatomy. One of them was that as a young child, the language you learn to speak affects how your mouth develops. Polish has sounds that most people can only utter (correctly or easily) if they learned Polish before they started school.

There may something to that. The French "u" as in "du" totally defeats me. And many non-native speakers of English seem to have a hard time with "th".

Perhaps someone should write a bunch of catchy nonsense songs that could be taught to young children--songs that would incorporate the problematic sounds from a lot of key languages.