Is it possible to travel around the Balkans in a rental car?
Hello fellow travelers! Between July and August, we embarked on a 22-day tour of the Balkan countries, a journey we put together with patience and enthusiasm. Today, we want to share with you in this video our experience with the route, border crossings, car rentals, and the required documents.
Tips for renting a car for a road trip
For this trip, we needed a large car that could fit four people, four large suitcases, three small ones, and our backpacks. Our first option, as always, was to rent a car from Discovercars, where we’ve found some great deals.
Then, due to the cancellation of our flight, we had to change plans, but I confirmed what I already knew: booking in advance means you get a better price.
Attention!! This is a route that varies a lot from country to country, so when this happens, the first thing to do is check the specifications to see which countries the rental car can travel to. Once you’ve checked, be aware that this has an extra cost and make sure you note this when you pick up the car. Be careful with this because it can get complicated later if you don’t.
The other important thing is to have the reservation and a credit card in the name of the main driver.
The next step is to purchase comprehensive car insurance. You can purchase deductible coverage on the Discovercars website or purchase comprehensive insurance at the rental company.
And last but not least: the international driver’s permit, which must be shown along with your country’s driver’s license. We applied for it in Uruguay at libretainternacional.com. It was a great success because they asked for it when we picked up the car and then asked for it again at the border crossings we made, which were several.
It was very easy to process; everything is done online, and you can then request it be sent to your home or pick it up yourself. I’m speaking to Uruguayans, but each country has its own agency that handles this process.
So checking then:
- Check countries where you can travel
- Full car insurance or deductible coverage
- Credit card in the name of the main driver
- International driving license (along with your national license)
- As for tolls, those in Romania already had the sticker for highway travel; always check that. I’ll provide details for other countries.
It’s time to search for the car with your dates. Everything’s ready to start the trip!
We were connected with Holafly eSIMs to ensure mobile data coverage throughout the trip. You can use them for the exact number of days you need them, the internet is unlimited, and you can share a certain amount of daily data with your travel companion. They continue to accompany us on all our trips and are one of the things we definitely include in our travel budget.
If your road trip is through Italy, I’m leaving you this post with all the information and itinerary!
Our itinerary through the Balkan countries, Eastern Europe
We started in Bucharest, as we mentioned, spending three days in this city. I’ll just leave the itinerary here, but there will be a special video about each place soon. Bucharest was one of our favorite cities, although we can’t choose just one because the entire trip was beautiful and interesting.
Then we headed to Brasov, also in Romania, but first taking one of the most beautiful roads in the world, the Transfagarasan Highway, known as the Bear Road, because bears come out onto the side of the road and can be seen up close.
We arrived in Brasov, in Transylvania, to spend two nights. It was a beautiful, charming city, and we would take advantage of the opportunity to visit two castles: Bran Castle, known as Dracula’s Castle, and Peles Castle.
Still in Romania, en route we visited a fortified church in Biertan and continued our journey to spend a night in Sighisoara, a beauty.
Travel insurance is another essential. It’s a requirement for entry to Europe. Beyond that, always remember that it doesn’t affect your overall travel budget, and if something happens, the costs can be very high. so you can compare what each one includes and see which one best suits I’ll give you two different options your needs, both in terms of coverage and age, etc. Iati travel insurence. Go Assistance travel assistance
And then another night in Sibiu, also beautiful. Romania left us wanting to explore further, as this was just a taste, a very small part of the country. To say goodbye before crossing the border, we visited Corvin Castle and Timisoara, also a beautiful city.
We crossed the border into Serbia, which, as it’s not a member of the European Union, requires customs clearance. Tolls are handled by a toll booth. We continued along this tour of the Balkan countries.
Our destination in Serbia was Belgrade, a city we were able to enjoy for two days. I should clarify that in each country we left a lot undone, but we had the few days we had, and on top of that, we lost a few more due to the flight delay.
We continued our route through the Balkans until we reached the next border crossing, this time with Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country that dazzled us. The toll booths were also there.
From the blending of cultures and its strong recent history, Bosnia, Serbia before it, and Montenegro after it were all part of what was once Yugoslavia.
The first city was Sarajevo, a city that impressed us from the moment we arrived, and which we hope to capture in a good video in a few weeks. Then we continued on to Mostar, which is absolutely beautiful, and in both, we took free tours that were very, very good.
And we set off again to cross the border into Montenegro. What can I say about this country? If you love natural landscapes, you can’t miss this country and include it in your Balkan tour.
Durmitor National Park, Tara Canyon, Kotor, where we stayed for three nights to take a boat tour and visit Perast and also relax, was wonderful.
We then added two more nights in Budva to hit the beach a bit, but I assure you that wherever you look, you’ll be amazed by the scenery.
Payment for the highway connecting to Serbia is via a toll booth.
Upon entering Bulgaria, you must affix the vignette to drive, but upon reaching the border, you will see plenty of stalls selling them.
We had little time, just one full day because we only arrived to sleep on the first night. We missed the Rila Monastery, which was a real shame, but these things happen when traveling. We returned the car here and then headed to Madrid for a couple of days before catching the flight back to Montevideo.
Countries like Macedonia and Kosovo were left out, not to mention Albania, Croatia, and Slovenia, but these last ones deserve a special trip all to themselves.
If you’re planning another road trip through Western Europe instead of the Balkans, here’s a post about car rental in France!
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience and is completely objective. This article contains affiliate links.
