Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Planning Your Trip to
Eastern Europe
W
hen the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the iron curtain slowly lifted to give the world
its first unobstructed view of Eastern Europe since World War II. What they saw was
a region numbed by economic disaster, iron-fisted suppression of the individual, and
the neglect of the aesthetic. Almost 2 decades later Eastern Europe's fortunes have
changed dramatically, but most North Americans still picture the region east of Berlin
and the Adriatic in grim, forbidding Cold War terms and eliminate it from their lists
of desirable vacation destinations. Western Europeans, however, have always viewed
Eastern European countries as places to explore and relax, and as soon as they were
free to travel there without much restriction, they returned in droves to Croatia's Adri-
atic resorts, the Czech Republic's majestic churches, Hungary's intriguing spa towns,
Slovenia's picturesque Alpine villages, Romania's Carpathian mountains, Russia's his-
toric cities, and Poland's bustling markets. North Americans' long-held preconcep-
tions of Eastern Europe are gradually dissipating and more and more English-speaking
folks are riding the tourism wave that is sweeping the region. Eastern Europe has
finally emerged as a trendy travel frontier where friendly people, stunning natural
beauty, compelling history, and relatively low prices are drawing a crowd of savvy trav-
elers. If you go, you'll find an “open” sign on these formerly restricted destinations and
you'll wonder why it took you so long to get there.
1 Visitor Information
The country chapters in this guide pro-
vide specific information on traveling to
and getting around individual Eastern
European countries. In this chapter we
offer region-wide tips and general infor-
mation that will help you plan your trip.
2 Entry Requirements & Customs
The information in this section is for
quick reference; see individual country
chapters for complete details about the
entry requirements for your destination.
PASSPORTS & VISAS
For information on how to get a passport,
go to “Getting Your Passport in Order” ear-
lier in this chapter—the websites listed pro-
vide downloadable passport applications
as well as the current fees for processing
passport applications. For an up-to-date,
country-by-country listing of passport
requirements around the world, go to the
“Foreign Entry Requirement” Web page
of the U.S. State Department at
http://
travel.state.gov
. For children under 14,
both
parents/legal guardians must con-
sent to the passport application either in
writing or in person. Parents with sole
