Travel Questions for our Honeymoon
So, we’re planning our honeymoon. We’re hoping to travel from London, where we live, to Istanbul, where Ian proposed, in a one month long jaunt.
We’ve currently come up with a loose plan of where we want to go but we’re asking for some help with working out how to get places and for some recommendations on what we should do when we get there.
Also, if anyone has any good travel resources to share with us regarding overland travel through Europe we’d be very glad of it. We’re already aware of, and avid users of, The Man in Seat 61.
We’ve created a map of all of the castles along the route, as well as where our main target cities are. I’ve publicly shared it, so feel free to add suggestions or simply use it to get your bearings.
We’ve got no more than 3 days in each country if we’re going to make it all the way to Istanbul in our allotted month.
If you need some guidance about whether to suggest an activity, these are probably some good interest points to light your way
- We love castles
- We love walking
- We love history
- We love science
- We love nature
- We love technology
- We love food
- We love wine
- We love beer
If your suggested falls into one of these interest points, it’s definitely worth suggesting. If it doesn’t, it’s probably suggesting anyway as we’re a fairly adventurous couple.
France
Paris
Lyon
Switzerland
Lake Geneva
Zurich
CERN
Chillon Castle
Anything else worth going to see in Switzerland on our way through?
Lichtenstein
Is there anything worth going to see here?
Germany
Neuschwanstein Castle
Lichtenstein Castle
Munich
What other Bavarian Castles are there worth going to see?
Are there any other cities worth seeing while we are in the area?
Austria
Vienna
What else is in Austria that is worth going to see?
Slovakia
Bratislava
What’s good in Slovakia?
What’s the best way of getting around?
Hungary
Budapest
Mor
Tokaj
Lake Balaton
Romania
Bucharest
Peles Castle
Corvinesti Castle
Bran Castle
Which other castles are worth visiting?
We’ve heard that getting around may be hard. What are the best options?
Bulgaria
Sofia
We’ve heard that getting around may be hard. What are the best options?
What else is worth going to see in Bulgaria?
Turkey
Istanbul
@fluffyemily if there a chance of Slovenia I can hit a few of your items in one go
Caves, olm, bats, castles… But very far out your way.
You should talk to JT. He has some good travel connections in Istanbul
@fluffyemily Are you planning on going straight after the wedding or later in the year?
I was hoping to get some good Bulgaria recommendations from you Daniela Tzvetkova!
Only if you’re going to Bulgaria. If you plan to be in Istanbul and thereabouts, why don’t you try “The other tour” – http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293974-d2073918-Reviews-The_Other_Tour-Istanbul.html#REVIEWS
@fluffyemily Bock Bistro in Budapest is a delicious restaurant and while you’re in Hungary try out the Bock wines.
Annecy in the French Alps is worth a look
Daniela Tzvetkova yes, we’re travelling through Romania & Bulgaria on our way to Turkey. If you have any recommendations of things to do round there we’d be super grateful.
Sure thing. If you tell me what sort of things you like to do and places to see I’ll find out for you. Also, are you driving or taking busses?
Thanks. Everything you need to know is on the blog post above http://emilytoop.com/2013/02/19/travel-questions-for-our-honeymoon/
From what I hear best way is to travel by bus. You can buy your ticket to Istanbul from the central bus/train station in Sofia. It’s a 9 hour trip depending on traffic in Istanbul. The trip from Bucharest to Sofia is 5 hours by bus. There are also cheap flights between these cities. Suggestions of things to do – Sofia (for all things city, food, drink, history, music, etc); the mountain next to it, Vitosha for some hiking. You can take the lift to it, it’s very convenient. The 7 Rila lakes in the Rila mountain (there’s a new lift that takes you to the 5th lake) and Rila is not too far from Sofia. If you like skiing you can go to any of the resorts there including in Rila. You can also go to the Rila monastery which is one of the nicest ones. There’s also the Boyana church near Sofia which I hear is worth visiting. There’s also a few traditional villages that are quite nice and not too far from Sofia, one of them Etara – it’s like a cultural place with houses from the Bulgarian renaissance; they have workshops where you could do some arts and crafts, like iron forging, weaving, bread making, etc. There’s also Arbanasi with nice monasteries and churches there. There’s also the Tsarevets fortress if you’re into that kind of thing (dating form the Second Bulgarian empire period). You can also stay on the Iskar lake in one of their spa hotels. I was there this summer and it was awesome. It might be worth considering renting a car if you want to be independent. Or I can find out a travel agency for you which can arrange all the bus trips to the various places. My friend Viara lives in Sofia and she’ll be more than happy to help if you have any questions when you’re there or if you want to meet a cool “local” to hang out with.
thats fantastic Daniela. We had a big knowledge black hole in that are and you’ve really helped
Certainly agree with Mary about Annecy – beautiful scenery, lake and surrounding mountains and the train from Lyon travels through the valley. Called the Venice of the Alps. Plus en route to Geneva.