Balkan Tour by Car: Route and Planning
- berfinozelsel
- Apr 6
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 13
7 COUNTRIES IN 2 WEEKS, ROUTE STARTING FROM ISTANBUL AND RETURNING TO ISTANBUL AND ALL DETAILS
VISA-FREE EUROPE
Roadtrip is the fastest and most comfortable way to travel and explore, I think, the pleasure of watching the sunrise and sunset while discovering different countries with your favorite music in your car is priceless. That's why we plan most of our trips this way, we usually rent a car when we go to distant countries, I will talk about these when I write about other countries.
First of all, when we started this route, we asked, can we visit 7 countries in 14 days? It sounds crazy, but we knew it would be extremely fun if we planned it well, and we started by listing the countries first. We detailed which cities we wanted to see in which country and how many days we should spend on those countries. We came up with such a program that we had to change 3 countries in one day of our travel route, and since we thought this route was very fun, I will share all the details with you. I am sure you will find useful information when you want to do a Balkan Tour. I also wrote the places to visit in each country separately, you can find them in the blog section. You will need a Schengen visa for this route because Bulgaria is no longer visa-free. You can also do it by removing Bulgaria from the route and renting a car from Macedonia or Albania.
Which countries did we visit?
Bulgaria (Sofia and Plovdiv)
Macedonia (Skopje)
Kosovo (Pristina)
Albania (Tirana)
Montenegro (Kotor, Budva, Tivat, Perast, Herceg Novi)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Mostar, Sarajevo)
Serbia (Belgrade)
Balkan Tour Travel Route
The 3400 km Balkan tour route starting and ending in Istanbul;
ISTANBUL-PLOVDIV-SOFIA-SKOPJE-PRISTINY-TIRANA-BUDVA-KOTOR,TIVAT-PERAST-HERCEG NOVI-MOSTAR-SARAY BOSNIA-BELGRADE-ISTANBUL
Day 1:
We set off from Istanbul towards Plovdiv at 06:30 in the morning. We crossed the Edirne-Kapıkule border at around 09:30 and after crossing the border we traveled for about 2 more hours, we arrived in Plovdiv at around 11:30, we set aside today for Plovdiv and toured here in one day, since the places to be visited were close to each other, we toured Plovdiv in about 5 hours by seeing everywhere, not quickly, and then we reached Sofia after a 1 hour and 45 minute journey. We stayed the first night in Sofia. We spent the 2nd and 3rd days in Sofia, staying in Sofia for a total of 3 nights.
Day 4:
We set off from Sofia towards Skopje at 07.30 in the morning and arrived in Skopje at 3.30. After settling into our house, we started exploring the city. During the day, we went to Matka Canyon, which is half an hour away from Skopje. We stayed in Skopje tonight.
Day 5:
The day we pushed our limits by being in 3 different countries in one day
We set off from Skopje to Pristina at 11:30 in the morning. This journey also took 1:30 hours. We spent this day touring Kosovo until 5:00 in the evening, then we set off from Pristina to Tirana. We set off at 5 and arrived in Tirana at around 8:30 after a 3:30 hour journey. We stayed in Tirana for the night. We spent our 6th day in Tirana and stayed in Tirana for a total of 2 nights.
Day 7:
We set off from Tirana this morning and reached the Montenegro border in 2.30 hours. This may have been the border gate we waited the longest for. Detailed vehicle checks were being carried out both because of the holiday and because renting a car in Albania and doing a Balkan tour is a very common choice. After reaching Montenegro, we visited the places I mentioned in my Montenegro blog posts. We spent 3 nights in Montenegro on Day 8 and Day 9 .
Day 10:
We set off early in the morning on the Kotor-Perast-Herceg Novi road towards Mostar. We reached the Montenegro-Bosnia-Herzegovina border in about 1.30 hours. We arrived in Mostar after a 2-hour journey. After touring Mostar during the day, we set off from Mostar towards Sarajevo in the evening. This journey also took about 2 hours. We stayed the night in Sarajevo. We spent the 11th day in Sarajevo, and stayed in Bosnia-Herzegovina for a total of 2 nights.
Day 12:
We set off on the Bosnia-Belgrade road in the morning, after a journey of approximately 4.30 hours, we arrived in Belgrade and settled into the hotel, we spent the 12th and 13th days staying in Belgrade.
Day 14
We traveled from Belgrade to Sofia for about 4 hours. Since the Belgrade-Istanbul road was long and tiring, we stayed in Sofia that night and the next morning we checked out of the hotel and returned to Istanbul after about 6.30 hours of travel.
BORDER CROSSINGS AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
At all border crossings, we first exited by stamping our passports from the country we were in, then we entered from the border gate of the country we were entering from a very close distance after passport and necessary document checks were done again. We did not experience any problems at any of the crossings.
Our first point of passage was exiting Türkiye, we exited without any problems after passport control and entered Bulgaria after the necessary document checks.
When we exited the Bulgarian border gate, they only checked the luggage, otherwise we easily exited without waiting, After exiting, when we entered the Macedonian border gate, they asked for and checked our passports, green paper, vehicle registration and driver's licenses and checked our luggage. They asked how many days we would stay in Macedonia and where we would go after Macedonia, then there was a police check, they checked our passports again and we entered. They charged a 1 euro toll fee when entering Macedonia.
Since green insurance is not valid when crossing the Kosovo border from Macedonia, they made us take out extra insurance for the vehicle. We paid 15 euros.
There is no concrete border crossing to facilitate the Kosovo-Albania border crossing. There is no check again after exiting Kosovo.
There is only one border gate when crossing from Montenegro to Bosnia. After giving permission to exit, the Montenegrin police hand the passports directly to the Bosnian police, who check them and stamp the entry.
How are the roads in the Balkan countries? Is it difficult to drive?
The roads are not as bad as they say, but they are not very comfortable either. After passing from Bulgaria to Macedonia, there are bends, do not go too fast, it is better to drive slowly. The roads in Tirana are very narrow, due to the nature of Montenegro, the roads are very winding and narrow. Do not speed and obey the traffic rules, as speeding fines are high.
We used Google Maps to find our way. We had recorded the route as Offline, which was very useful.
We spent 62 hours in the car during this trip. 🚗🛣️
Things to Consider When Traveling Abroad with Your Vehicle
Documents You Must Have When Traveling Abroad by Private Vehicle
You have decided to set off with your own vehicle to explore the Balkans, great! However, in order to avoid problems at the border gates and to complete your journey without any problems, you need to take some important documents with you. Here are the documents you must have for your vehicle when going on a Balkan tour:
✅ Vehicle License – The most important document that proves that the vehicle belongs to you. If the vehicle is not in your name, you must obtain a notarized power of attorney!
✅ International Insurance (Green Card) – You cannot enter many Balkan countries without this. You can also get it at the border gates, but it is usually more affordable to get it in advance. Since it is mandatory, you can easily get it from any insurance agency
✅ Car Insurance Policy + Overseas Coverage – Check whether your insurance is valid abroad and add additional coverage if necessary.
✅ Valid Driving License – New chip driving licenses issued in Turkey after 2016 are valid in the Balkan countries . If you have an old driving license, you may need to get an international driving license (IDP).
✅ Compulsory Traffic Insurance – Check that your compulsory traffic insurance valid in Turkey has not expired.
✅ Passport & Visa (If Required) – Visa-free entry to many Balkan countries is possible for Turkish citizens, but be sure to check the current visa status before you travel.
✅ Vehicle Inspection Certificate – Make sure your vehicle inspection is valid. Some countries may ask for this at the border.
✅ Travel Health Insurance – Not mandatory, but can be a lifesaver in case you encounter a possible health problem.
✅ Spare Key & Roadside Assistance Service – Technically not a document, but don't let a lost key or an unexpected breakdown leave you stranded on the road.
🚦 Extra Note: In some countries, it is mandatory to carry equipment that complies with traffic rules . For example, you may need to carry equipment such as a reflective vest, first aid kit, and fire extinguisher.
Now that you have completed all the documents, you are ready to hop in your vehicle and embark on an unforgettable Balkan adventure! 🚘✨
🚗 Balkan Road Trip Tips 🎶✨
🔹 Hotels are always full of surprises! If you are leaving without a reservation, be careful about unpleasant surprises. Throw a pillow and a sheet in the car, just in case! Saying “We fell asleep under the stars” may not always be a romantic experience. 😅
🔹 Mini fridge = Travel MVP! Line up ice cube trays, add your water and drink cool water along the way. We made it free by buying it from the market and replenishing the stock without spending any money on water! 🚰❄️
🔹 Road snacks are a must. Long journeys are not worth taking on an empty stomach! Keep plenty of snacks, snacks and snacks in your bag. Otherwise, you may end up paying a fortune for a packet of cookies at the gas stations on the road. 🥨🍫
🔹 Carrying a suitcase? What's that? If you're going to stay in a different hotel every night, carrying all your suitcases to the rooms can be torture. This is where the "Passenger Bag" comes in! Put your daily clothes in it and travel beautifully. 🎒
🔹 What would a road trip be without music? Prepare your Spotify playlist before the trip. Make a playlist that will both make you nostalgic and sing out loud on the road. A “Legendary Road Songs” playlist is a must! 🎶
📍 Our BEST in the Balkans! 💙✨
(While reading this list, you can start packing your bags 😉)
🔹 The most entertaining nightlife: Belgrade
🔹 The most delicious breakfast we had: Sarajevo- Sac börek
🔹 Most photogenic: Montenegro
🔹 The most hospitable people: Macedonia
🔹 The place with the most nostalgic atmosphere: Macedonia
🔹 The place we eat the most dessert: Montenegro- Goddo
🔹 The place we got lost the most but loved the most: Belgrade
🔹 Most expensive: Belgrade
🔹 Cheapest : Kosovo
🔹 Bluest: Montenegro
🔹 Most liveable: Belgrade
🔹 The most natural wonder: Montenegro
🔹 Our favourite: Sofia
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