Alison and I decided early on that we would try to travel by train as much as possible. We haven't relented from that, and I thought I would share our reasons why.
Trains are generally the cheapest form of transportation in the Balkans.
Most of the countries have networks that link the major cities, with the Montenegro/Croatian coast being the exception due to its exceptionally awkward geography, so when we shifted base cities we did so by train. We also used them for day trips
On the plus side for trains: 1) train stations are easy to find and there's only one, 2) they tend to be close to the centres of towns, so schlepping our bags there is much less hassle, 3) train stations are more pleasant to wait at than bus stations or airports, 4) trains are a reliable smooth ride, 5) you can have quite a civilised meal on them, 6) they have toilets, 7) the views tend to be better, and it's possible to take photos from them if they have opening windows, on both sides, and 8) you can shift carriages if your neighbours are particularly irritating.
On the downside, trains are often slow. This is made worse if you have to wait for a connection, and we quite often need to do that.
We found that the trains kept to scheduled departures and rarely arrived very late.
Buses are not generally much more expensive, except Montenegro. We use them for day trips to distant towns if the trains don't go there or run too irregularly.
On the plus side for buses 1) there are far more extensive networks, so that it has so far not been necessary to change mid-route, and 2) they go to a lot of the smaller towns and villages that don't have railway stations.
On the downside: 1) often cities have multiple companies with different stations, and it can be quite hard to work out which company and which station to go to (in a couple of cases, basically impossible), 2) bus stations are often quite a long way from where we have been staying, 3) are often really quite skeevy places to wait at, 4) the quality of bus varies wildly, with some of them being really quite nasty rides, although others are air-conditioned and comfortable 5) eating on them is often frowned on, 6) they don't have toilets, which can be irritating on a six hour trip, 7) you can almost never take decent pictures from them due to window reflections, and even if you can it is only one side, (see photo below) and 8) when you are stuck beside three obnoxious teenage boys on the way to the beach in Sutomore, as much as you would like to move away from them, you can't.
Buses have tended to be on time too.
Their timetables are more difficult to find than trains, change more often, and many are unclear about where they stop along the route.
Planes are a last resort for me. Generally much more expensive obviously, although not always for longer distances. And what with getting and from to the airports not necessarily all that much quicker.
The killer though is that they aren't very scenic. Half the point of travelling this slowly is to see the places in between the big name towns.
Automobiles haven't featured much. We have hired ones briefly in Jordan, Romania and Serbia.
While I drive faster than the average bus or train, in the end cars tended not to give as much more time as you might expect. Firstly, you have to spend an hour or more finding a rental place close enough to where you are staying and booking them. On the day of the rental we had to wait for opening time, then inspect them and sign the paperwork, meaning a reasonably late start. Then we had to get the car back in working hours, and in a big city that means quite a lot of time allowed for crossing it in traffic. If you keep them overnight, you need to find somewhere to park (which in many European cities isn't a trivial task).
On the days we took them, the hire cars did allow us to get to places that public transport were awkward for. But we found that we were, if anything, more pressed for time there than in places where we could reach by bus or train.
Sometimes things were really awkward. We declined to hire a car in Cyprus because everyone basically insisted on three days as a minimum, which we weren't interested in. We have no idea how much they cost in Brasov, because no-one was in the offices when we visited (four times!).
For us, changing cities and countries on a regular basis, and wanting to be staying downtown, it generally isn't worth the bother to hire cars. A 30 minute wait at the bus station may seem a hassle, but it is actually much less time than walking across town to the agency and organising a vehicle. And if we want to return late, then we can just catch a later train, rather than have to fret about return times.
If you are visiting one place for a while, then hiring a car becomes effective. You pick it up at the airport and return it there. That means you can stay a bit further out of town too, which can be cheaper. (But before you do that, remember that driving in these countries can be pretty rough. The road surfaces in Romania and Jordan were terrible, and Serbia was marginal. Everywhere the locals overtake with glee at the first opportunity, happily doing so into the face of oncoming traffic on a narrow road, because there are no passing lanes. If you want to drive slowly, expect to be overtaken by everyone all day, including heavy trucks and buses. Driving in the Balkans and Arab countries is not for the faint-hearted!)
And, of course, hiring a car for a week seems reasonable, but over six months that would really start to add up!
So, it's trains for us, wherever possible.
Trains are generally the cheapest form of transportation in the Balkans.
Most of the countries have networks that link the major cities, with the Montenegro/Croatian coast being the exception due to its exceptionally awkward geography, so when we shifted base cities we did so by train. We also used them for day trips
On the plus side for trains: 1) train stations are easy to find and there's only one, 2) they tend to be close to the centres of towns, so schlepping our bags there is much less hassle, 3) train stations are more pleasant to wait at than bus stations or airports, 4) trains are a reliable smooth ride, 5) you can have quite a civilised meal on them, 6) they have toilets, 7) the views tend to be better, and it's possible to take photos from them if they have opening windows, on both sides, and 8) you can shift carriages if your neighbours are particularly irritating.
On the downside, trains are often slow. This is made worse if you have to wait for a connection, and we quite often need to do that.
We found that the trains kept to scheduled departures and rarely arrived very late.
Cute Hungarian short distance train. I like trains.
Buses are not generally much more expensive, except Montenegro. We use them for day trips to distant towns if the trains don't go there or run too irregularly.
On the plus side for buses 1) there are far more extensive networks, so that it has so far not been necessary to change mid-route, and 2) they go to a lot of the smaller towns and villages that don't have railway stations.
On the downside: 1) often cities have multiple companies with different stations, and it can be quite hard to work out which company and which station to go to (in a couple of cases, basically impossible), 2) bus stations are often quite a long way from where we have been staying, 3) are often really quite skeevy places to wait at, 4) the quality of bus varies wildly, with some of them being really quite nasty rides, although others are air-conditioned and comfortable 5) eating on them is often frowned on, 6) they don't have toilets, which can be irritating on a six hour trip, 7) you can almost never take decent pictures from them due to window reflections, and even if you can it is only one side, (see photo below) and 8) when you are stuck beside three obnoxious teenage boys on the way to the beach in Sutomore, as much as you would like to move away from them, you can't.
So they take the good side to view the sea, and then pull the curtains!
Buses have tended to be on time too.
Their timetables are more difficult to find than trains, change more often, and many are unclear about where they stop along the route.
Planes are a last resort for me. Generally much more expensive obviously, although not always for longer distances. And what with getting and from to the airports not necessarily all that much quicker.
The killer though is that they aren't very scenic. Half the point of travelling this slowly is to see the places in between the big name towns.
Automobiles haven't featured much. We have hired ones briefly in Jordan, Romania and Serbia.
While I drive faster than the average bus or train, in the end cars tended not to give as much more time as you might expect. Firstly, you have to spend an hour or more finding a rental place close enough to where you are staying and booking them. On the day of the rental we had to wait for opening time, then inspect them and sign the paperwork, meaning a reasonably late start. Then we had to get the car back in working hours, and in a big city that means quite a lot of time allowed for crossing it in traffic. If you keep them overnight, you need to find somewhere to park (which in many European cities isn't a trivial task).
On the days we took them, the hire cars did allow us to get to places that public transport were awkward for. But we found that we were, if anything, more pressed for time there than in places where we could reach by bus or train.
Sometimes things were really awkward. We declined to hire a car in Cyprus because everyone basically insisted on three days as a minimum, which we weren't interested in. We have no idea how much they cost in Brasov, because no-one was in the offices when we visited (four times!).
For us, changing cities and countries on a regular basis, and wanting to be staying downtown, it generally isn't worth the bother to hire cars. A 30 minute wait at the bus station may seem a hassle, but it is actually much less time than walking across town to the agency and organising a vehicle. And if we want to return late, then we can just catch a later train, rather than have to fret about return times.
And, of course, hiring a car for a week seems reasonable, but over six months that would really start to add up!
So, it's trains for us, wherever possible.
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