Girls travelling alone in Eastern Europe - advice needed

Hi everyone,
I'm hoping to travel form Berlin to Istanbul though Hungry, Romania ect.. and would appreciate ANY advice from anyone whos been. How easy is it to get around. How safe is it for a girl traveling alone? Can anyone recommend hostels along the way? Tips? Do you reccommended phrase books??

hey there

i spent 16 days travelling from poland, thru slovakia and hungary, alone, and never felt safer. i found the eastern european ppl to be really friendly and helpful, even tho they dont always look that happy

i can recommend the ginger monkey hostel in zdiar, slovakia. google them, its a GREAT hostel if youre going that way! and in a beautiful area!! check on all the hostel websites, its got pretty much 100% ratings everywhere...

i felt safer travelling in EE than i did in other western european places for sure. and you meet ppl along the way anyway, youll be fine! EE has alot of stereotypes attached to it, but its a wonderful place to travel beacuse the stereotypes are often wrong.

When are you travelling?
I will also be travelling along around Eastern Europe for a few weeks in November/December this year and wouldn't mind someone or many people to share the trip with..
Ofcourse however, I'm not a girl if that doesn't phase you?

[ Edit: Edited on Aug 17, 2008, at 7:13 PM by dann089 ]

I thanks for the advice/encouragement. I hadnt really thought about traveling through Slovakia but now that you mention it I might do.

I'm planning on leaving the UK in med september so unfortunately a bit early cause I would love someone to travel with! Hope you find someone but I am sure both of us will meet plenty of people there too

I did the same route (2 guys)
Berlin to Torun (Poland), Warsaw, Krakow, then into east Slovak - Kosice, Spisky Nova, Levoca, - into Romania - Cluj, Sigisoara, Bucharest - Varna - Istanbul - 30 days
If you have any questions about thsi route ask...iv done this parts of this route 2-3 times since.

If any cities/towns are on ur list ill tel you hostels and places of interest.

Hi, Sadly I dont have 30 days but I do have lots of questions

When you get to Krakow (i assume thats easy?) are tours ect.. expensive? Did you stay there overnight?

Would you reccommend booking a rooms in advance? Best travel guide? Tips for traveling in Romania, places to see ect.. this is the country I have least idea about. Actually no idea about

Do I need to take a sleeping bag or can I get away with a silk inner? It's not my sleeping bag is all that big but every little bit helps.

Thanks!!

in krakau dont bother going with a tour to auschwitz... riiiip off! you can take a bus from the main bus station for a couple of euros which lets you off in front of the main camp, and then you can take a free shuttle bus to auschwitz II (birkenau). its loads cheaper than a tour...

the saltmines i dunno, i didnt go.... but apparently you kinda have to take a tour inside there...

yeah never do tours, theres always local buses that are cheaper. I stayed for 5 wonderful nights in Krakow, at Nathans Villa. Yeah book early, its a stag and hen party town.

Romania
Sigishoara is ur kinda heart of Transylvania, Vlads House, a nice medieval castle ontop of the town. Nice people. Go here!!!

Brasov is a nice bigger town with a medieval center.

Cluj is kinda a University town but its the first major city comin from Slovak or Hungary. Not bad..nothin special.

Dont bother with Bucharest.

Generally its pretty safe, indeed, safer than much of Western Europe...unless of course you get diverted to Kosovo or Georgia or something...then you may want to be more cautious.

Petty crime is rife - so just the usual common sense of keeping personal documents out of sight and money on an inside coat pocket or something.

You do need to watch out for "policemen" who aren't as they often target lone females and offer useful advice, only to con you.

Romania is the most wonderful country. I've only touched on it but I would hugely recomend it (going back there next September on a gap year tour) - Transylvania is not a cliche, its wonderful - I would avoid the cheesy "Dracular tours". Its a very civilised country...for the most part...Bran castle is worth a visit and shrouded in myth, it lives up to Transylvania's romantic image. Its a fairy tale castle and not a Dracular castle so you avoid the tourist hords who think that Romania = Dracular so avoid everything else. But thats all I've really done in Romania...

Phrase books - Lonely Planet do a good one for Europe covering all of the European languages (including Arabic).

As for sleeping bags - depends as to how much you're willing to rough it. Most hostels do not provide bedding and many of the cheaper hostels are not the most...erm...clean...so you may find yourself sharing a bed with a multitude of other erm...creepy crawleys. I personally wouldn't bother with a full sleeping bag, just a thin blanket or something just for extra insulation.

Istanbul - use common sense as it is Muslim country so avoid showing shoulders and wear long skirts/trousers. Visit the blue mosque, I think its called...not been there myself but I've heard its incredible.

iStanbul is very secular. Ul be fine in any western garment, short or long skirts...tee shirts are fine as well. Cant speak for the rest of the country but i think most of the west coast is the same.