I would like to fly to Istanbul, then, by either bus or train go to (from Istanbul): Sofia > Bucharest > Chisinau > Kiev > Minsk > Vilnius > Riga > fly home.
Can anyone give me an insight into how much this will cost, if I stayed in cheap, but decent hotels and ate out in cheap, traditional restaurants (so no McDonalds)! I have a fairly low budget and also info on if my travel insurance would cover this (ie are these places covered in general in most standard policies).
Thanks in advance!
My Eastern European experiences are only limited to Kiev, and that was a flight from there to Simferopol, Ukraine, then a bus ride from there to Feodosia, Ukraine. I do know this..the train is by far the best way to travel in Ukraine and throughout Europe. You may want to stay in hostels as opposed to hotels, or check google for flats/apartments in Ukraine. I.E. http://www.rentmyflatinfeodosia.com/ is a place in Feodosia Ukraine. Get some books on the countries you plan on visiting, I found them very useful. Also believe it or not, some of the mail order bride sites have good info about the culture of the particular countries, specifically Ukraine one I found useful was http://www.loveme.com another was reccommended by the US embassy website; http://www.womenrussia.com/ believe it or not. Lastly check the state department website for any warnings for tourists at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_1168.html
Also check the Embassy for each respective country. http://kiev.usembassy.gov/
http://ankara.usembassy.gov/
hey, with a low budget u can rely on hospitalityclub.org – people host u for free, show u around, so u r not really a tourist but a guest, sort of, u get to see more then regular tourists would. and u can always ask locals for the best ways to travel, they would know the cheapest fares. good luck!