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Old 02-23-2006, 05:20 PM   #1
californiabeachboy
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I'll be traveling to Eastern Europe in late May early June '06. We were planning to end in either Romania or Bulgaria. I'm wondering which would be better. Key criteria:

2 26 year old bachelors looking to end our vacation with some partying on the black sea. Hoping for a cheap holiday. Also would be cool to experience some interesting culture. I'd like to go to a place where Americans are in the minority. In a lot of my travels i run into more americans and canadians then foreigners.

Thanks for the help!
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Old 02-23-2006, 06:56 PM   #2
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Hi and welcome to travelpunk !

From my experience, I'd say that in both countries, you won't find that many North American by the Black Sea, and party ambiance just about everywhere.

However, in Bulgaria, lots and lots of Germans, and very few Bulgarians (well in Varna, where I stayed, and that is the most popular beach) !

In Romania, the Black Sea coast welcomes mostly Romanians and Ukrainians.

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Old 02-24-2006, 06:43 AM   #3
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I found Romania better for clubbing to be honest, but didn't go to the coast. If you go to Bucharest be sure to check out Club Maxx (popular student club, it's massive and has erotic pole dancing shows during the night), and if in Brasov you have to visit Tequila Bowling (it's a bowling alley come nightclub come billiards room).

In Varna, Bulgaria, I found next to no-one speaks english and the clubs were fairly mediocre, although Bulgaria is cheaper than Romania, and of course it all depends which clubs you go to and who you're with as to how much fun you have.
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Old 02-24-2006, 05:05 PM   #4
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Does anyone know if early June is a good time to go to the Black Sea (Bulgaria or Romania)? Is this too early?

Also how cheap is it really?
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Old 02-25-2006, 01:53 AM   #5
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Well to give you an idea, here are some prices I paid in Bulgaria (Varna) last summer:

Bottle of local Beer (from corner shop): 18p
Bottle of Beer (from nightclub): 90p
2-course meal + drinks in a restaurant: £5
Train journey from the black sea to sofia (7 hours): £6

Romania was slightly more expensive but not a huge amount.

I went in early July and it was packed with tourists, so early June will probably be ok.
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Old 03-01-2006, 07:02 AM   #6
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Last June I went to just Romania and Bulgaria for a few weeks....I love both of these countries with a passion...All in all though I would reccommend going to Bulgaria if you HAD to choose one or the other...Bulgaria just astounded me with the amount of beautiful women...EVERYWHERE....the clubs are pretty good and the price is right...Varna is an excellent place...probably the most popular beach town in Bulgaria...if you can you should also go to Sofia, Plovdidv, Shipka Monastery, and DEFINATELY go to VELIKO TURNOVA...this city is fairly small but its GREAT!!! Stay at Hikers Hostel there...probably one of my favorite places EVER...there is a fortress that is really cool to check out during the day and the staff of this hostel are awesome...they don't get many Americans...when we went they invited us out to this party with the locals...so we are walking for like an hour through these woods, up this mountain, its dark, I have no idea where we are going and then all of a sudden there is this huge party with this giant bondfire next to this waterfall...amazing....Sorry about the tangent....anyways...if you are pressed on time then definately go to Varna for a few days and enjoy the beach and also stop by Veliko Turnova which is fairly close to Varna and stay at Hikers Hostel for some culture and fun.....
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Old 03-01-2006, 09:21 AM   #7
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Hey, I agree on Plovdiv, Veliko Turnovo, and also that Bulgarian women are quite attractive. Check on my travelog (click on the link in my signature).



Go for it!

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Old 03-01-2006, 08:57 PM   #8
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What are some good cities in Romania, other than Bucharest that would be cool to visit? I was thinking of making my way from Budapest to Bucharest and am not sure where to stop along the way. I'd like to see Transylvania but where exactly?


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Old 03-02-2006, 01:31 AM   #9
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Brasov, from which you can take a day trip to Bran to see Dracula's Castle. Sighisoara is also supposed to be a really nice old medieval town. The Budapest-Bucharest train goes through both as well.
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Old 03-02-2006, 07:26 AM   #10
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Oh do stop in both Sighisoara and Brasov ! The train ticket from Budapest to Bucharest (which is a retur ticket by the way) allows you as many FREE stopovers as you please. And both cities, like ajb said, are on that line.

Sighisoara is a gorgeus place, the citadelle in magically beautiful ! The birthtown of Dracula , his birth house is now a restaurant. One image walking up to the citadelle :Sighisoara

Both cities have hostels, and private rooms as well, which is I believe the best to know more about the culture. For a private room, expect to pay around 15 Euros with breakfast. There are people at train stations offering rooms in their home, prefer one in the old city (the citadelle), and don't hesitate to ask to see the place before agreeing to stay.

If you have time, enjoy the whole Transylvania area. Wander from town to town.
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Old 03-02-2006, 06:03 PM   #11
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To get from Hungary to Romania, how long does the train take to get from Budapest to Sighisoara then to Brasov and Bucharest? I think I will end up visiting Sighisoara and Brasov, Im just trying to figure out if Budapest to Sighisoara is an overnight trip or not?

As far as the Black sea goes, is Constanta worth visiting or should I just go from Bucharest to Varna? And how long does it take to travel from Sofia to Belgrade and then Belgrade to Sarajevo?

This is my itinerary so far, leaving early June and travelling for 6 weeks. 1 month on the road and 2 weeks in Dubrovnik. Any advice on how to make it better is always appreciated


Krakow
Budapest
Sighisoara
Brasov
Bucharest
Varna
Sofia
Belgrade
Sarajevo/Mostar
Dubrovnik

This is on about 2000 - 2500 EU

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Old 03-02-2006, 07:31 PM   #12
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Niiiiiiiice itinerary !

It is an overnight journey from Budapest to Sighisoara, from about 11:00 p.m. to I think 9:00 a.m.
It's probably around one or two hours to travel from there to Brasov.

About Constanta, I personally don't know. Tpunk Tumblezweedz is planning on going there this summer, but I believe after you....

If you want a bit of infos, here's the link to a thread on the subject : Romanian Summer.

Varna is great though, and less of a detour in your itinerary.
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Old 03-03-2006, 03:58 AM   #13
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Mate, with the exception of Krakow and Sighisoara, you're trip is 100% identical to a trip I took last summer. Check out my photos here.

You can travel overnight by train from Budapest to Sighisoara, Bucharest to Varna (watch this one, it's a Russian train and they try to scam you), Varna to Sofia and Sofia to Belgrade. You can get an overnight bus from Belgrade to Sarajevo (no train lines), then there is a bus that goes from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik via Mostar which leaves really early in the morning.
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Old 03-03-2006, 11:59 AM   #14
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Sounds good, can you recommend any places to stay along the way?

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Old 03-03-2006, 01:40 PM   #15
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In Brasov I stayed in Kismet Dao, highly recommended, great atmosphere and you get a free beer every day of your stay.

In Varna you have to stay at Club Varna if you like a party atmosphere, the owners came out clubbing with us a lot and it's generally great fun.

Those are the only two that stick out as "must stay" hostels. In Mostar and Dubrovnik I stayed in Pansions (with locals I met at the bus station), otherwise I looked up a hostel on the net or picked up a leaflet with directions from a previous hostel.
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Old 03-12-2006, 12:38 PM   #16
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i also stayed at Kismet Dao in Brasov, it is a good hostel. i loved Brasov, i would recommend spending more time there than in Bucharest. Sighishoara was also nice and the cheapest hostel i have stayed in Europe something like $4 a night. i ahve also heard good things about Cluj-napoca it is a college town and supposedly a big party, it is also on the way from Buda. i also went to Timishoara. it was nice, but not worth going out of the way for, i only went there to visit some friends on my way from Beograd.
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Old 03-12-2006, 03:32 PM   #17
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SLCBLADE can you tell me about your experiences in Belgrade? Its probably the city Im looking forward to the most.
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Old 03-13-2006, 06:00 AM   #18
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My husband's going to Constanta later this month, maybe I can give you some info about that when he gets back.

Just talked with a friend who's going to work in Bulgaria in about a year's time. We've all heard conflicting info, but none of us has been there, so those of you who've seen both, would you say Romania is less well developed (infrastructure, buildings, post-Communist decay, etc) than Bulgaria? I'm not talking about the beauty of the women, tell me about the country!

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Old 03-13-2006, 06:26 AM   #19
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I'd say Bulgaria is less well developed than Romania, everything is cheaper in Bulgaria and services (such as trains etc.) generally aren't as good, although from what I remember their buildings are in a better condition.
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Old 03-13-2006, 03:21 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally posted by AdamTheCultured@Mar 1 2006, 07:02 AM
...so we are walking for like an hour through these woods, up this mountain, its dark, I have no idea where we are going and then all of a sudden there is this huge party with this giant bondfire next to this waterfall...
[snapback]104752[/snapback]
Sounds incredible, but I have to ask, did you ever think "holy crap, I wonder if they are really taking me to a party?"?
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