Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Moving up the food chain (pun intended), you'll find a lot of inexpensive eateries. One thing I really
love about this part of the world is that unlike Western Europe, where getting a crepe in Paris or a plate of
pasta in Italy is still expensive, the local food here is super-cheap. You can expect a meal at a small corner
shop to be between $4 USD and $6 USD. For example, eating at local restaurants like Puzata Khata (a de-
licious chain in Kiev) in Ukraine, a typical meal costs less than $4 USD. In Hungary, I would eat at the big
markets, gorging on hearty local dishes for less than $5 USD. To find these places, you just need to ask the
manager of your hotel/hostel, as he or she will know the local spots. I found the place in Ukraine this way.
If you are looking for something nicer, there's a wide selection of international food available in this
region. A nice sit-down restaurant with a drink and a main meal will cost $15 USD and up.
Specific to Bulgaria, stay in Hostel Mostel (hostelmostel.com), which has three locations in the country:
Sofia, Plovdiv, and Velinko Tarnovo. Not only do they offer a free breakfast, but they also offer free pasta
dinner every night. In Krakow, Poland, Greg and Tom's hostel (gregtomhostel.com/intro.html) also provides
free breakfast and dinner. That's two free meals a day, which can really go a long way toward reducing your
food costs. It is very rare that hostels offer free dinner.
Eating in this region of the world is very cheap. You have to really try to spend lots of money on food
here to do so.
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation is inexpensive in this region of the world if you are going to travel within cities, but there is a
lot of variance when traveling between countries. Public transportation, buses, trams, and trains in the cities
cost $1 USD to $2 USD.
Trains
Trains aren't as popular here because they are slow, old, and expensive. Eastern Europe gets the old trains
Western Europe gets rid of when they upgrade to high-speed rail. When I went from Bratislava to Krakow,
I had to change trains twice in Czech Republic and it took me twelve hours. The direct bus from Bratislava
to Krakow is only seven hours. Intercountry trains usually cost between $50 USD and $100 USD when the
ticket is booked last-minute. Short train rides of two to three hours within countries cost about $30 USD.
As a general rule, each hour of travel is around $13 USD, rounding up to the highest hour—for example, a
two-hour-and-thirty-minute train ride will cost between $26 USD and $39 USD.
As in Western Europe, Eurail passes can help save money, but you'll find that not all the countries are
covered. Countries that are covered in the Eurail pass are Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Ro-
mania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. However, unlike Western Europe, which is
covered in one giant pass, Eastern Europe is split among various passes. In the Eastern Europe pass, the only
countries that are covered are Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary. There is also a sep-
arate Balkans pass that includes Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, and Turkey.
The rail pass rules discussed in the Western Europe section apply to Eastern Europe too.
You'll find individual ticket prices are 50 percent off if you book at least a week in advance. In many
countries, when booking tickets, get someone to write the specifics down in the local language, as English
isn't always that well spoken. In Ukraine, I had to ask my hostel receptionist to write the date and time I
needed, because of the lack of English proficiency in the country.
Since train travel isn't very convenient in this part of Europe, I tend to prefer buses throughout this re-
gion, as they are cheaper and often faster due to more direct routes.
