Trips to Croatia and Greece: The Balkans

If you decide to take a trip to Greece or to Croatia, you will, of course, want to see the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum in Ancient Athens. If that is your specific interest, we recommend you view our separate post just on Greece.

And, in Croatia you will want to visit the city walls and the other wonders of Dubrovnik. If that is the case, then we recommend you visit our specific post on Croatia.

However, you may want to explore other countries with rich history in the Balkans as well. We did just that during a cruise in 2022, when we were able to visit Montenegro as well as Croatia and the Greek Islands. We also drove from Venice to visit Slovenia that same year.

However, even better, more recently, in 2024 we visited North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo as well as returning to Greece, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Our 2024 exploration of the Balkans was done with a private tour using a local guide. We usually take this approach to travel when entering an area which is entirely new to us. We also believe that visiting new places from a cruise ship might be a good way to first learn about a place. But you need to stay there for a few days to really get to know it. So we did, spending a total of four weeks touring the Balkans.

We covered the majority of the Balkans trip with a private tour led by the travel company ChooseBalkans.com. Our tour guide, Gentjan Dervishaj, was very knowledgeable. He led us to a few places that were off the standard tour itinerary.

Please contact us at cos@cosguide4travel.com if you might be interested in the ChooseBalkans.com tour. We can help you with your booking,

Trips to Croatia and Greece: What are the Balkans?

The Balkans comprise a peninsula that consists of eleven countries, if you count Slovenia as a Balkan Country. Seven of them, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia, were once part of Yugoslavia. Because of Yugoslavia’s strongman leader Marshal Tito, these former Yugoslavian countries managed to be less influenced by Russia than other communist countries. This was because Yugoslavia was not part of the Soviet bloc, but rather a sovereign and independent state that pursued its own interests and identity. However, Yugoslavia also maintained some ties and cooperation with Russia based on shared history, culture, and geopolitics.

The other four Balkan, non-Yugoslavian countries are Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova. They were all Communist Countries as well, but with more direct ties back to Russia. Albania, where we spent the most time during our journey, was perhaps the most communistic of all the countries. Albania was a totally closed down country and was successful in eliminating religious influence during that time. Today, in Albania religion is once again making a strong comeback. In addition, Albania has become a strong ally of the West and a member of NATO. If you want to learn more specifically about Albania, please go to our Albania Post.

Best Time to Visit Croatia Greece and the Balkans

Both of our visits to Greece and the Balkans was during the month of May. We find this to be the best time to travel as the weather has gotten nice and the really large crowds are still not there. It is a little crowded in certain key places (Athens Parthenon and Acropolis Museum as well as Dubrovnik in Croatia), but generally we were not overwhelmed by the crowds.

Trips to Croatia and Greece: Getting There and Hotel Accommodations

One challenge about visiting this part of the world, is getting valid international carriers to take you from place to place. It is easy to get a flight into Athens or Dubrovnik, but it can be a challenge into the smaller tourist destinations. Therefore, we recommend hiring an expert guide (local guide) who can arrange a guided tour for you around the islands. This can definitely be the best way to get around. We used Tour Balkans for a private tour which we would be glad to put you in contact with. Please send us an email at Cos@cosguide4travel.com if interested.

Hotel accomodations in the Balkan States can also be a challenge, particularly in the hidden gem cities that we visited. In many of the cities a three-star hotel room or bed and breakfast is probably the best you will get.

Trips to Croatia and Greece: Southeastern Europe

The Balkans are part of a region that is also referred to as Southeastern Europe. Southeastern Europe includes 14 countries including the 11 previously mentioned countries, plus Greece and Cyprus in the South and Hungary in the North. Here are some facts about each of these countries showing their unique characteristics.

It is interesting to note that five of the countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova and North Macedonia) all have GDP/Capita less than $10,000. We traveled to all these countries, except Moldova, and it was very obvious to us during our visit how each country can provide you with a great value vacation package. The following chart shows some background information about each country. We have individual posts for all the underlined countries, just click the links.

Country	# Times Visited	Balkans?	Yugoslavia?	European Union?	EURO?	NATO?	GDP/Capita (IMF-2024)	Primary Religion
Albania	1	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	$8924	Muslim
Bosnia & Herzegovina	1	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	$8416	Muslim
Bulgaria	0	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	$16,943	Orthodox
Croatia	2	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	$22,966	Catholic
Cyprus	0	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	$37,149	Orthodox
Greece	2	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	$23,966	Orthodox
Hungary	2	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	$23,319	Catholic & Calvinism
Kosovo	1	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	$6389	Muslim
Moldova	0	No	No	No	No	No	$7488	Orthodox
Montenegro	2	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	$12,646	Orthodox
North Macedonia	1	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	$8847	Orthodox
Romania	0	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	$19,530	Orthodox
Serbia	0	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	$12,384	Orthodox
Slovenia	2	Yes?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	$34,026	Catholic

Exchange Rates of Each Country

As can be seen from the chart, not all the countries are using the Euro as their base currency. However, most if not all, of the countries accept the Euro. This makes needing to worry about exchange rates not that important. The only problem is if you want change from a large bill you probably will get the change in the local currency. Then you need to understand the exchange rate and figure a strategy to use the local currency.

Trips to Croatia and Greece: Where we Have Visited

As you can see from the above chart, we have visited 9 of the 14 Southeastern Europe Countries. We have provided a short description of each of the countries that we visited and included links to more detailed information. We believe you will find many of these countries to be the perfect place to visit with some great vacation prices in many of the countries.

We also plan on returning to visit the 5 remaining countries in the next couple of years. Despite the Balkan Wars of the past, and some continuing ethnic cultural challenges, we find all these countries to be a safe and interesting place to visit.

The Balkans – Albania

Not only is Albania the first country we visited after Greece, physically, but it is also the first one alphabetically. Which reminds us of a story from the TV Series, Cheers, which motivated us to visit Albania, but you will need to visit our Albanian Post to get the full details. We spent a full week visiting a number of historic cities in Albania, including Tirana, the Capital, Berat, Shkoder, Gjirokaster, and the coastal town of Sarande on the Albania Riviera. Frankly, we never thought we would visit this beautiful country, but by taking a walking tour thru the narrow streets and city bazaars was a real joy. Both Gjirokaster and Berat are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Shkoder we took a great boat trip on Lake Shkoder. This is the largest lake in the Balkans and creates a border with Montenegro. It has crystal clear waters.

The Balkans – Bosnia and Herzegovina

Perhaps the most interesting places we visited during our tour of the Balkans were the cities of Mostar and Sarajevo. This country is a true blend of three religions (Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim) and their associated ethnic cultures. The war history from Sarajevo was very well preserved and documented. Not only The Balkan Wars of the 1990s but the start of WWI in Sarajevo. Please visit our Bosnia & Herzegovina Post for more details.

The Balkans -Trips to Croatia

If you wish to travel to Croatia from the US, most likely you will be either taking a cruise in the Adriatic from Athens, Venice or Rome or fly to another city before you get to Dubrovnik or Split. The one exception that we found is that United does offer a direct flight, at least in the summer, from Newark to Dubrovnik. There are plenty of one stop options either through London, Paris, Frankfort or other European cities.

Like Montenegro, Croatia borders the Adriatic, but with a much longer coastline. From a religious perspective, the country is mostly Roman Catholic. Tourism is very important to the economy. As a result, Croatia appears in the top 20 tourist destinations in the world. Our cruise ship made stops in Dubrovnik and Split.

However, to really see and enjoy Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast it is best to take a smaller boat and visit some of the 1,246 islands that make up the coastline. Hvar and Korcula are two of the more popular islands to visit. We are returning to Croatia in 2024 to visit those islands, in addition to returning to Dubrovnik and Split and seeing the rest of Croatia. We are particularly looking forward to seeing more of the National Parks.

Trips to Croatia to see Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is in the southern part of the country bordering Montenegro. Dubrovnik has a true historic feel to it. A main feature of the city are the walls which run almost two kilometers around the city. Despite having been attacked during The Balkan Wars of the 1990’s, the city is amazingly preserved. We particularly enjoyed walking the wall, the old town city center, and visiting the many churches. The Franciscan Monastery, The Catholic Cathedral and the Orthodox Church were all very interesting places to visit.

Recently the Peljesac Bridge that crosses the Neretva Channel opened for automobile traffic on July 26, 2022 .

Trips to Croatia to see Split!

Our next stop on our journey up the Adriatic Sea brought us to the port of Split. Split is the second largest city in Croatia after the capital, Zagreb. A little more than an hour from Split is the Krka National Park. It is an absolutely beautiful park with wonderful waterfalls, well worth the trip.

Trips to Croatia to See Plitvice Lakes National Park

While our visit to see Krka National Park near Split was wonderful, our visit to Plitvice Lakes National Park in the Center of Croatia was incredibly beautiful.

Trips to Greece

Because of the ancient history, ancient ruins, and natural beauty, most people who travel to Southeast Europe either start or end their trip in Greece . We visited the Greek Island of Santorini, one of the picturesque islands n the Aegean Sea. The panoramic views were amazing. We also visited Corfu on the same cruise in 2022, and came back in 2024 to really explore the country. Greece has so many ancient sites and historic cities that it is impossible even in a two week Greece Itinerary tour to see them all. In addition, to a return visit to Santorini, we did also visit Mykonos, Athens, Piraeus, the port of Athens, Delphi, Meteora and Ioannina.

Greece claims to have the best olive oils in the world. This is easily supported by the acres and acres of olive groves that we passed. Also we really enjoyed the good food that we found at every local restaurant that we visited. The Greek Salads, without lettuce, were the best.

Mykonos was a bit of a surprise, as everything was much more expensive than elsewhere in Greece. Please see our Traveling to Greece post for details. Nevertheless, the island is renown for a vibrant nightlife focused in the LIttle Venice section of town.

In Ioannina we learned about a famous Ottoman leader, Ali Pisha, who was a hero to the ethnic Albanians. While there, we took a boat ride, to a small island to see where he was killed by the Ottoman Sultan. All in all, you need to consider a Greece vacation. For more information about Greece, please see our Post on Traveling to Greece..

Visit Hungary

Cos visited hungary twice and Robin once. Both times it was the start of a Viking River cruise departing from Budapest. The second visit was with two of our college friends which made that trip even more enjoyable. For a complete update on our visits to Hungary please see our post on Budapest and Hungary or our post on the river cruise on the Danube and the Rhine.

The Balkans – Kosovo

Robin and I were in our early 40s when the Balkans Wars of the 1990s were taking place. We knew very little about Kosovo, but we knew that there was a horrible event taking place there. As a result, I never thought I would visit there. But, like our visits to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina traveling to this part of the world was eye-opening and very educational. For more information please see our post Kosovo: Muslim Population and Orthodox Christianity.

The Balkans – Montenegro

Montenegro borders the Adriatic Sea and is in the southeastern part of the Balkans. Given the proximity to Greece, Montenegro is predominately a Greek Orthodox country. However, given its closeness to Bosnia and the historic role of the Ottoman Empire there is also a Muslim influence.

We visited Montenegro while on a Royal Caribbean Cruise and docked in Kotor. You can appreciate the steep landscape of the country, as evidenced from our picture looking down at the Bay of Kotor. This road, with 30 hairpin turns, is one of the most famous in the world. And hope that you do not meet a bus or construction vehicle. The views are spectacular; it’s not surprising that high-end auto commercials photograph here. Robin appears to be a little terrified.

The Balkans – North Macedonia

Why is this country called North Macedonia? Good question. Please see our post on Albania where you will get the full story. Meanwhile, here is a picture from Lake Ohrid which is the divider between the two countries. We had a great dinner at this lovely local restaurant. Robin had the trout which was unique to this lake.

Trips to Slovenia

During our first visit to the Balkans, our final visit was the country of Slovenia. Slovenia is a short drive from Venice. However, given our limited time, we were only able to visit the western part of the country. The Soca River, shown below, is an example of the absolute natural wonders of the region. During our visit, we stayed overnight in Kobarid at the Hisa Franko resort and restaurant in the Soca Valley. Hisa Franko is a two-star Michelin restaurant and is considered one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. The chef, Ana Ros, is self-taught and is incredibly creative. See our favorite restaurant post for more information.

During our visit in 2024 we went to the Capital Ljubljana and to Lake Bled. Please see our post on Slovenia for many more details about our visit.