UKC

Hi all,

My wife and I are going to take a road trip around Eastern Europe for a few weeks.

Just hoping for a bit of advise. We are hoping to explore a few areas of the beaten track, do a bit of climbing (lower grades) and maybe pop into a few cities.

My questions are:

1. How easy is wild camping there?

2. Where should we go? What should we not miss (food, culture, sites)?

3. How far south is it safe to go at the moment?

4. What should we be careful with in terms of crime?

5. (feel silly asking this last one) When my wife (Indian) was last in Poland (rural areas) she encountered a bit of racism from the local children. She had a great time and probably just a one off but is this something we need to worry about from personal experience/knowledge?

Thanks all

In reply to jasonpather:

For q5 I'm going to tread carefully here, this is just my experience....

In Slovakia many folk, young and old, are quite openly prejudiced against gypsies or 'cigani'. They are usually dark skinned, tend to live in scruffy, ghetto-like areas and the children are a bit feral in appearance whilst the men can be full of bling.

As the majority of Slovakians are light skinned and there is very little diversity in this small country, darker skinned folk tend to stick out. I would be surprised if your wife faced any outward racism travelling as a tourist, but perhaps it's best to know.

I'm afraid that I can't comment on any other countries or your other questions but the High Tatras deserve a visit. I'm fairly certain you're not allowed to wild camp.

In reply to jasonpather:

I'm pretty sure wild camping is off the cards in Poland/Slovakia. In fact you're not even allowed to wander off the path in Poland and will get fined if you do (you'll get dobbed in no doubt - I suspect Brits especially too, due to recent events that we don't need to mention further).

In reply to jasonpather:

When i was younger (98 - 2005) i backpacked (hostels) a lot around Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Mostly ciites. Prague is well developed now, Budapest can be fun. Sarejvo is not to be missed, and a few other people i know also rave about it. Never really had any trouble, other than border officials trying to squeeze me for cash going from Croatia to Bosnia on a night bus.

In terms of mountains and country side I went treking hut to hut in Romania last year and found it excellent. Huts were all less than a 10£er night too, most around 5. Romanians and Bulgarias are a bit more sun kissed too. Varna's (2013) not a bad coastal city.

Poland is really conservative, a heavily tattoed, colourful female mate of mine had a lot of unwanted attention a couple of years ago

In reply to jasonpather:
1. Regulation can vary in each country or national park. In general, I do not suggest you that wild camping except at permitted campsites of national parks. (For example, it is forbidden in High Tatra.) You will not know the local regulations or seasonal restrictions due to hunting, woodcutting, wildlife protection, malvolent owner, bears etc. In case of any misunderstanding you can not expect to easily find anybody to speak English on a random forest edge.
Camping palces and rooms are cheap and usually available.

3-4 Eastern Europe is safe, maybe you could skip Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia. But being turist, you will be who attract the general tourist scams: pickpockets, a little (or very) overpriced taxi, etc.

5. In Eastern Europe much more staring is tolareted than in West. In rural areas, every unknown people get openly stared, inclouded the guys from the next town. Out of the capitals, biggest cities or sights, your wife has a chance to be the first non-white person has been there ever, or at least in this decade, so she will have a double dose of staring. It is very creepy feeling, but harmless, and still not racism.

Actually, there is a lot of prejudice toward gipsy people, who originated from Northern-India (you see where it goes). This racism rather address to directly them, not to the skin color and most people can distinguish an British-Indian tourist from a local gipsy. But misunderstanding could happen