Balkan Summer: My Road Trip Through Each of the 8 Balkan Countries (Part 1)

In July 2022 I completed a personal travel milestone: A road trip through the Balkans spending time in every Balkan country for a total of just under three weeks.

It was exhausting and challenging rather than relaxing, but it was worth it as it gave me the chance to get an insight into every single Balkan nation, from the beauty of their cities and landscapes to the cost of living, the food and the nightlife.

The Balkans have become one of my favourite regions in Europe, if not the world, due to the breathtaking landscapes, the kindness of the people and the sheer diversity of these countries.

I am going to present them in the same order in which I visited these countries, and having entered the Balkans via the Hungary-Serbia border, I’ll start off with Serbia and its capital city Belgrade.

Serbia — Belgrade

Belgrade is actually a place that had always tempted me, mainly because of its pro-Eastern and rather anti-Western stance. I always expected something unique in terms of architecture and atmosphere. I kind of always imagined Belgrade as being a smaller version of Moscow.

Well, it’s fair to say that Belgrade, as I expected, has a very very anti-Western and pro-Russian vibe about it, which is a bit shocking at times in the current political climate surrounding the ongoing war, especially as a Western person. It’s also fair to say that some people, especially the older ones, really don’t seem to like it when you speak English and are not the most welcoming when they realize you’re from a Western country. I’ve actually met some very nice people there, but the rather obvious anti-western vibe is surely a negative point and a reason to, at least currently, avoid Serbia and Belgrade.

But, having outlined this negative point about Belgrade, let’s get to the main positive ones which are clear reasons to visit the city: first of all it’s a much much prettier and greener city than I expected. In terms of beauty and landscapes, Belgrade surprised me in a very positive way. When you look at Belgrade on a map, you don’t really know what to expect in terms of landscapes. I personally always imagined Belgrade to be a bit of a grey and rundown city, but it’s actually got stunning landscapes and viewpoints. When you visit Belgrade, you should definitely go to the stunning Belgrade Fortress from which you get absolutely outstanding views over the whole city.

The Serbians love going out and Belgrade’s nightlife is absolutely worth a weekend trip to Serbia’s capital! All of Belgrade’s nightlife scene is stretched across the main river creating stunning nightlife scenery even if you don’t end up drinking and partying in a club.

For me, Serbia was not the warmest and most welcoming country but it’s clearly worth a visit. I personally don’t know whether I will be back, but I am surely happy to have seen Belgrade.

Next up on my road trip was Macedonia, or officially called Republic of North Macedonia.

North Macedonia — Skopje

As you might know, the small Republic of Macedonia recently had to change its name under pressure from its big neighbour Greece and the EU to the Republic of North Macedonia.

And I already have to apologize to all Macedonians reading this, because obviously, your country has much much more to offer than Skopje, but I, unfortunately, didn’t get to see more of your country than the capital city and frankly, I have to admit that it wasn’t the nicest of places I’ve ever been to.

One of the things I really didn’t like about Skopje was that, especially for a capital city of a potential future EU country, it is clearly not the cleanest, most developed and organized place. To be brutally honest it is one of the most rundown and undeveloped cities I’ve ever visited in Europe. Also, I’ve got to say that the people in Skopje weren’t the friendliest I met on my Balkan road trip, but still, in the 2 days I spent there, I also met some very lovely and welcoming people.

One of the positives I took from my stay in Skopje is its authenticity and sheer diversity. You’ve got the Muslim quarter of the City in which I stayed and where you don’t really feel like you’re in a European country. It was more like Turkey. If you walk a few hundred metres out of the Muslim part of the city, you get into the Orthodox Christian Centre of the City which looks totally different and in terms of the architecture and atmosphere, feels like a different country.

Also, the Macedonian Square, with the eye-catching Monument of Alexander The Great, who was originally from Skopje, as well as its pretty amazing communist monuments and buildings from the ex-Yugoslav era are definitely worth a visit or day trip to Skopje.

Finally, another big plus about Skopje: the prices. Macedonia’s capital was one of the cheapest places I’ve ever been to, you can eat at a good restaurant for easily under 5 euros, drinks included. Regarding the cost of living, Skopje, and probably Macedonia in general, are definitely worth a visit.

All in all, I wouldn’t recommend only staying in Skopje when you visit Macedonia, but it’s surely worth a day trip. I would consider Skopje a must if you like authenticity and old communist architecture!

My next stop on my Balkan road trip was Europe’s youngest country: Kosovo.

Kosovo — Pristina

Having visited many countries on this planet already, I have to admit one thing about Kosovo: I didn’t have many expectations, or rather didn’t know what exactly to expect, but as such it was one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve ever had while visiting a new country!

Actually, I would suggest that Kosovo, or Pristina the capital city at which I spent the day, is one of the world’s unknown MUST VISIT places and you want to know why? The answer is: the people. Yes, they make it a must-visit place. The people of Kosovo are one of the friendliest and most welcoming bunch of people I’ve ever witnessed anywhere in the world. But Kosovo was special maybe due to the fact that I didn’t really know what to expect from Europe’s youngest country.

I have only good things to say about Kosovo: the people are open, friendly, warm, super kind and helpful, the vibe of the city is very laid-back and open-minded, the streets and buildings are clean and you don’t really feel like walking through a not so long ago war zone when you walk through Pristina in one of Europe’s poorest countries.

The mountainous landscapes of the country are mesmerizing and even make it a potential winter ski resort destination.

In Pristina like in Macedonia, the prices are really cheap: you can have a decent meal at a good restaurant, drinks included, for under 5 euros.

Regarding tourist attractions, from the city’s Cathedral tower you have an amazing eagle-eye view over the whole city, and one of the main tourist landmarks of Pristina is the Bill Clinton Monument which is quite easy to find as it is just down the road on the Bill Clinton Boulevard!

Kosovo, and Pristina, in general, is one of those places where I’ll definitely be back at some point in the future, because if I have one regret about my short but impeccable stay there, it is that I was pretty knackered that day and such didn’t get to witness the nightlife of Pristina, which is surely great considering the laid-back and open-minded vibe in the city!

As you can tell, I didn’t even mention one single negative point about Pristina or Kosovo in general.The size of the country and Pristina, in general, may be a negative: it’s pretty small and probably not worth a stay of more than 3 days. Pristina, if you go there for the tourist sites, can be easily done on a day trip if you don’t want to spend the night as it is a very small city.

After a short but amazing stay in Pristina, I continued my journey to Kosovo’s neighbour and big brother Albania.

Albania — Tirana, Berat, Vlore, Sarrande

Spoiler alert: out of all the Balkan countries, Albania is my absolute number 1! Better still, it might even be one of my favourite countries in Europe.

As I have to keep things short here in this particular article, I’ll soon publish another detailed article about Albania in which I will get into more detail about why you should absolutely visit this country!

I started my Albanian adventure in the capital Tirana, which I have to say is one of the cleanest cities I’ve ever seen in Europe. It is also pretty authentic and its architecture is a mixture of its communist past and its modern present. It still feels like a pretty new and young city when you walk through Tirana’s centre as the country was until 1991 completely isolated from the rest of the world. The city also reflects the religious diversity of Albania, as you’ll find stunning Mosques right next to stunning Churches.

One of the main tourist attractions of Tirana is the Bunkers from back in the communist days which are spread all over the City. One of them, namely Bunk ART 2, has been transformed into an amazing underground Museum, and is a must-visit.

The nightlife in Tirana is pretty amazing and bustling as well, and I also had the chance to visit the country’s National Football Stadium which is one of the most modern stadiums I’ve ever visited, built into a shopping mall.

If there is one thing to moan about Tirana it’s the traffic, which is pretty chaotic, and I definitely would not recommend driving in Tirana as I did!

After Tirana, I continued my journey through the country down South and stopped in the eye-catching village of Berat, which actually is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s an amazing village overlooked by a small castle and absolutely idyllic scenery along a beautiful river which makes you never want to leave. When you’re in Albania, you have to see Berat. You might have to rent a car to get there but it’s absolutely worth it.

From there, my journey continued to the beach town of Vlore, which could be called Albania’s most touristic centre as it is already quite popular among Albanians around the globe. Despite being a bit more touristy than the other places I had been to in Albania, it’s still as cheap as the rest of the country, and the beaches of Vlore are without a doubt among the best I’ve been to in the whole of Europe. So if you want to have a tropical, relaxing but cheap holiday on a beautiful sandy beach, then this is your place to be!

My final destination in Albania was the picturesque southern city of Sarrande, which is not yet as popular as Vlore for tourists but it’s just as beautiful as Vlore, if not even prettier.

The best thing though about my trip from Vlore to Sarrande was the absolutely breathtaking landscapes I saw on the mountainous road. The whole road from Vlore to Sarrande is a roadtrip I’d recommend to anyone, as it is filled with stunning viewpoints where you can safely stop for a rest, take in the mesmerizing views and obviously take beautiful pictures.

Albania’s landscapes were definitely the highlight of my whole Balkan road trip and when you visit Albania, you should definitely rent a car and drive through the country as it is the only way to see these amazing spots.

Apart from its amazing landscapes and nature, Albania’s people, just like Kosovo’s, are amazing, welcoming, friendly and always helpful. I would even say that the people in Albania are so warm and friendly that along with Kosovo, it is the country in Europe where I felt the safest! Surely, the hospitality of the Albanian people is second to none!

Finally, the cheap prices in Albania make it probably the most underrated tourist destination in Europe, as such, you can get a big beer in a bar for about 1 euro, and a delicious pizza at a good restaurant along the beach for 5 euros. You can spend a night at a 3-star hotel for about 20 euros a night, breakfast included.

Albanian food is also delicious and worth a try, I surely wasn’t starving back in Albania!

So after all these positives about Albania, do I have a negative about the country? Well if I really had to name one it would be the language barrier. People in general really don’t speak the best English, and it sometimes amounts to a challenge to properly communicate, especially with older people.

But apart from that, Albania is absolutely worth a visit and a country I’d recommend to anyone. It’s my favourite Balkan country!

After Albania, I started my return journey back up north, with the first stop in beautiful Montenegro. (See Part 2 of my Balkan Road trip.)