Train Tours Around Eastern Europe

This is more an account of several train tours undertaken between 2006 and 2014, some of which are featured in my book about train tours in the Balkans.

2006, Istanbul – Thessaloniki – Meteora – Skopje – Lake Ohrid – Nis – Sofia

We were due to take a October train across Turkey to Syria, but had to postpone that due to violence in Lebanon, so travelled West from Istanbul instead on an overnight train. Having taking a side trip from Greece’s second city to the amazing monasteries of Meteora, we returned to the waterfront city for Greece’s Oxi (No) day parades.

Meteora, Greece

From there we took another train to the capital of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (now officially North Macedonia), followed by a bus trip to beautiful Lake Ohrid situated very close to the Albanian border, back north to Nis in Serbia and finally we undertook the coldest train journey west of Siberia, on to Sofia.

Lake Ohrid, Macedonia

A splendid two weeks where we were also introduced to the finest dark beer we had (and still have) ever tasted, called, Nikšićko brewed in Montenegro.

Nikšićko Dark Beer

The trip did have a few dramas, including nearly freezing to death on the train from Nis to Sofia. The train was six hours late and the heating & lighting both packed up. With sub-zero temperatures outside, we were soon wearing almost the entire contents of our rucksacks to try and stay warm!

Five get cold on the Nis to Sofia ‘Express’

This reminds me, packing the right stuff for your trip is absolutely vital. Forgetting your thermals in Siberia or your jar of peanut butter anywhere, can be the stuff of nightmares!

Check out this handy packing advice from foreign lemonade.

2007 Albania (Tirana, Durres, Shkodra) – Kosovo (car) – Montenegro (Bar, Podgorica, Kotor) – Dubrovnik (bus) – Mostar (bus)

This was one of the most eagerly awaited trips ever, such was the mystique that Albania conjured as I was growing up. We were not to be disappointed with the country providing some fabulous memories (and Korca, the second best dark beer ever!).

Skanderbeg Square, Tirana, Albania

The amazing day trip to Kosovo, the awesome setting of Kotor, the beauty of Dubrovnik and the historic bridge and river setting of Mostar made the whole trip wonderful. I recommend all of it!

Kotor, Montenegro

Diving From The Bridge, Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina

2011 Budapest – Bucharest – Chisinau – Odessa – Sevastopol – Lviv – Kiev

The main thrust of this journey was Ukraine (as it all undisputedly was back then), but as ever we made a meal of getting there via the capitals of Hungary, Romania and Moldova, including two memorable overnight journeys.

The Crimea and the the northern cities of Lviv & Kiev were all superb. The 27 hour journey from Sevastopol to Lviv becoming my longest ever journey (just eclipsing Narvik to Nice).

Kiev Monastery, Ukraine

The absolute highlight was the visit to the former nuclear submarine base at Balaklava – a boy’s own experience if ever there was one.

Submarine Base Entrance Balaclava, Crimea, Ukraine

2012 Zagreb – Split – Ploce (bus) – Sarajevo – Belgrade – Sofia – Veliko Tărnovo

Our trip started in the Croatian capital and ended with the Bulgarian version via Bosnia’s & Serbia’s premier cities.

The Adriatic city of Split and the charming Bulgarian town of Veliko Tarnovo were brilliant places to visit, but Sarajevo was top of the pile.

Archduke Ferdinand’s Least Favourite Bridge, Sarajevo, Bosnia

Europe’s Jerusalem as Sarajevo is known has recovered physically if not yet mentally from the atrocities of the ’90s and once more one of Europe’s foremost old towns, where churches, synagogues and mosques all stand in close proximity is bustling again.

Veliko Tărnovo is home to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Tsarevets, a mediaeval fortification complex, whilst the iconic waterfront and old town of Split offer a great short break, easily coupled with the likes of Dubrovnik or Ljubljana as well as Zagreb.

View Of Tsarevets From Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

2013 Gdansk – Kaliningrad (bus) – Minsk – Vilnius

From the historic shipyards of Gdansk with its fine cobbled centre, we took a bus over the border to Russia. That is to the enclave of Kaliningrad, home of the Great Bear’s Baltic fleet. It was an unusual place most memorable for its maritime museum complete with foxtrot submarine that you were allowed to clamber around.

Kaliningrad, Russia – Maritime Museum At Sunset

From there we took a twelve hour train journey to Minsk in Belarus via Lithuania. Minsk felt very Soviet and certainly dealing with officialdom seemed is difficult as it had ever been. The visit to the state circus was a highlight, as were the fab statues that fronted the circus building.

Outside Minsk Circus, Belarus

We finished with a night in Vilnius for a whistle stop tour of the Baltic state, a fitting end to another great trip.

2014 Istanbul – Erzurum – Batumi (Georgia – bus) – Yerevan – Tbilisi

Once more we found ourselves in Turkey’s best known city. This time we stayed on the Asian side in Pendik, meaning that we took the new train under the Bosphorus.

The journey east via Ankara to the Kurdish part of Turkey was an epic train ride, featuring one of my favourite venues in the world – a restaurant car!

From Erzurum we took a bus to Hopa on the Black Sea and then a taxi to the Georgian border, where we walked into our latest new country.

Batumi itself has more rainfall than Iceland and sure enough it tipped down for our entire stay. The coastal resort is still remarkably popular despite the precipitation.

From there we took an overnight train to Yerevan in Armenia via Tbilisi. We shared our train compartment with a blind cat for part of the way, one of our more unusual travelling companions.

Church Near Yerevan, Armenia

Both Yerevan and Tbilisi and their environs were all really wonderful and definitely worth the effort of a visit. We flew home via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines.

Tbilisi Skyline, Georgia

The whole region is perfect to visit by train and brilliant value for money. If you do, downloading my book could be an excellent accompaniment.

Travelling By Train Across The Balkans

My book featuring more details about some of the journeys mentioned as well as many more are contained in my book available on Amazon.