Hello! We are seeking ideas for a fall European vacation that is OFF the beaten path and one that will not likely be impacted by the war. I do NOT want to rent a car this time, and we are not 5***** travelers! The following are also not in contention: Portugal + Spain (my favorites!) Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Monaco, Prague, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK - because we have been there! Azerbaijan is on my list of places to go from watching the F-1 races. Should I be worried about proximity? Wondering about: Hungary Is Turkey safe for Americans to roam around? Malta - could we spend a week or more there? Cyprus Vienna Austria (we have not been there) it's interesting and has good proximity to Buda-Pest, Czech, Slovakia, Slovenia (been to lake Bled), etc. Montenegro, Albania - Does anyone remember the TV show bikini destinations? If you have been to any cool places that you would love to encourage others to visit please let us know!
I visited Istanbul many times before the war next door got too soupy. Loved it, but it was starting to suffer from Erdogan's vision. My no.1 suggestion would be the Balkans. Croatia, Montenegro and Albania if you're feeling a bit more adventurous. Aside from Kotor and Dubrovnik, still rather cheap and not full of tourists.
Maybe this comes under the heading where not to go. My brother sent this to me. Not P&R...travel humor. In a small town outside of Moscow, a Russian soldier ran up to a nun. Out of breath he asked, “Please Sister, may I hide under your habit?! I'll explain later.” The nun agreed. A moment later two military police ran up and asked, “Sister, have you seen a soldier?” Pointing down the street the nun replied, “He went that way.” After the military police ran off, the soldier crawled out from under her skirt and said, “I can't thank you enough Sister. You see, I don't want to go to Ukraine.” “I understand completely,” said the nun. The soldier added, “I hope I'm not rude, but you have a great pair of legs!” The nun replied, “If you had looked a little higher, you would've seen a great pair of balls. I don't want to go to Ukraine either.”
I highly recommend Vienna. Plus, as you noted, it's not far from a lot of other good stops, most of them probably accessible very easily by a comfortable train.
Sorry it's late in the season to reply.. did you pick a place and go? You've got some good ideas I think. Without a rental car, are you not going to explore the "off the beaten path" place you'll visit? Just stay in the town? It seems difficult to do much exploring without a rental car. What's the mode of transportation - take trains, ferries and busses? Taxis? Anyway - I've heard really good things about the Balkans. Budapest/Hungary and Lake Balaton were very colorful and interesting in the 90's, Haven't been there since. Turkey was easy to travel in, but haven't been there since Erdogan took office. We felt safe, the people were friendly, good food. Flew into Istanbul a few days, then based ourselves in Ayvalik for a week. Visited Bergama, enjoyed the seacoast, archeological ruins, museums, beach, restaurants. My mom loved Malta, you could spend a week there. Cyprus is a great idea. Which side do you choose? The mixed culture and tension between Greece and Turkey is still present. Vienna can fill your week with museums, music, street life, restaurants, parks, and all that a highly civilized capital city can offer. Montenegro I've heard good things about. Not heard good things about Albania, primitive tourist infrastructure and completely unreliable law enforcement.. Other ideas: - You've never been to any Scandinavian countries? - Corsica and Sardenia. - The Pyrenees offer a lot of out-of-the-way villages and a unique cultural bridge between Spanish and French culture... What part(s) of Greece have you been to? Ioannina is up in the Ephesus mountains, near Albania and peppered with villages, great food and great prices.. You can fly into IOA and stay in the Kastro, but after that I'd recommend a rental. Cheers, - Art
Austria is hard to beat. Clean, stunning scenery, tons of culture, less expensive then other areas. Friendly people. Highly recommend.
