[youngbuck]

I'd like to travel this august, probably at least for one month.

I've already been to Scandinavia, Baltics, Poland, and few more, but still haven't been to Ukraine, Russia, Romania, and the Balkans, and I know on August temperatures would be convenient, so theses places are on my mind.

What would be a good route? I was thinking to see Kiev and Odessa, and then somehow get to the Balkans, but it doesn't seem like there are any good direct cheap flight.

Perhaps Kiev-Odessa-Bucharest-Belgrade-Montenegro-Dubrovnik-Split-Zagreb? With about 4 days in each, unless I get thrilled and decide to stay longer.

Is it possible and comfortable to do it by bus/trains?
I'm especially not sure about a good route from Odessa or Kiev to Bucharest.

Also, is there anything that isn't worthwhile visiting, or anything around these places that I'm missing from my list? maybe something more second tier?

Would there be something to do there in middle of the week? I know for a fact that in many cities in Europe, even on August, venues may be totally empty in mid-week.

I know Russian on an average level, so Ukraine game will probably be easier, but it doesn't sounds too interesting to see, as opposed to beach cities in the Balkan area, and also, I almost never met any Balkan girls and am kinda curious.

[brat]

There is a direct flight between Kiev and Bucharest 3 or 4 times a week whit Dniproavia.

[Merengues]

From Odessa you can take a train to Chisinau in Moldova and continue to Bucharest.

[youngbuck]

(06-13-2017 11:02 AM)Merengues Wrote:  

From Odessa you can take a train to Chisinau in Moldova and continue to Bucharest.

This is something I have thought about as I don't really like flights too much, but I'm probably travelling solo and don't know if a place like Chisinau is a good idea when travelling solo.
I imagine it pretty poor and gloomy.

[Nowak]

Balkans will be empty in August. Just go to Ukraine

[youngbuck]

(06-14-2017 03:13 AM)Nowak Wrote:  

Balkans will be empty in August. Just go to Ukraine

Balakans is quite a broad area - When I say Balkans, I also mean places like Montenegro, and Beaches of Croatia, which I'm sure will be loaded with both locals and some Russian tourists, wouldn't they?

But even if you're referring to non-resort places like Belgrade and Zagreb, I'm not sure about this theory - as I especially went to the Baltics and Belarus on September, rather than August (when the students come back), and in the middle of the week there was almost nothing to do, venues were empty, and prospects from online game were often preoccupied with school or the work that they will have the next day, and in general, weather was already cold which also didn't contribute to the willingness of people to hang out outside. So I think it taught me some lesson.

I'm looking for spots where middle of the week can be fun too. I'll probably check out Ukraine but it doesn't sound like a place I'd want to be at for more than a week. I would like to get a glimpse of various destinations.

[NomadicDrunk]

(06-13-2017 09:11 AM)youngbuck Wrote:  

Is it possible and comfortable to do it by bus/trains?
I'm especially not sure about a good route from Odessa or Kiev to Bucharest.

You can connect through most of those cities (maybe all) by bus for around 30 Euros or less each way. Contact your hotels/hostels for information because they usually have fliers advertising these buses. You can definitely get to Bucharest by bus from Belgrade (some of my friends did this). The only ones I'm not sure about are Odessa and Kiev, but I'm sure there are options.