budapest to istanbul along danube then down through bulgaria

[Ross Mayberry]

Heading from Australia to do this ride may June , has anyone done this using hotels and some camping Aalso with camping i have read it is illegal in Serbia any info appreciated

 

[bob c]

Heading from Australia to do this ride may June , has anyone done this using hotels and some camping Aalso with camping i have read it is illegal in Serbia any info appreciated

Hello Ross, Rode one version of your route this year and found good camping through Hungary but very little in Serbia,Romania or Bulgaria.Rooms however were cheap apart from Romania which surprised me.
If on a budget you could stay on the Bulgarian side all the way though you would miss the friendliness of
the Romanians
I dont know about wild camping in Serbia being illegal but I stayed on one site just short of Belgrade which was basic but OK and legal.
Stayed in Serbia to the Bulgarian border at Bregovo then crossed by ferry at Vidin/Calafat into Romania.
Left the Danube at Silistra to head south to Istanbul via Varna.
The whole ride was magic. I used Bikeline maps and guides which are good for the danube but I should have bought maps of Silisra-Istanbul before leaving home as they may have helped in avoiding traffic especially on the approach to Istanbul.Im sure you'll enjoy your ride.

 

[Bodhbh]

I couldn't see much in the way of campsites in Romania, but wild camping is legal there. Serbia wild camping is not legal and I didn't do it, but I was told they are very easy going on about it. *Lots* of stray dogs in both countries not sure if they ever cause much nuisance to the wild camper - it was late Oct/early Nov when I was there and always tried to get a room due to lack of daylight.

As bob c said, I found it easy to get cheap rooms in Hungary/Serbia (8-20euro) but oddly not Romania. They just don't seem geared up for people travelling about.

 

[steveindenmark]

Ross have you looked at Warmshowers.com, Hostelworld.com, Airbnb.com and Couchsurfers. There is plenty of accomodation chances there.

Steve

 

[Ross Mayberry]

Thanks everyone am new to this forum . Our plan is to only camp when necessary but mainly use cheap accommodation . Steve slowly finding those sites and you have ,made me aware of couple of new ones . Cheers from crown under

 

[robjh]

with camping i have read it is illegal in Serbia any info appreciated

I slept in my bivvy bag along the Danube gorge in Serbia a couple of times - I had no idea about the (il)legality of it but was never bothered, but I chose fairly 'stealthy' places as is natural when you're wild camping. I wouldn't worry, I don't think anyone will be too bothered or surprised. Fishermen certainly stop overnight in cars and vans. I was however warned about poisonous snakes, after I'd camped there.

I can vouch for Romania and Bulgaria being OK with wild camping too, though in parts of Romania it may be hard to find somewhere as every bit of flat land seems to be cultivated.

Rob

 

[BalkanExpress]

Heading from Australia to do this ride may June , has anyone done this using hotels and some camping Aalso with camping i have read it is illegal in Serbia any info appreciated

Ross

good luck with the trip.

There is is quite a lot of information on this site:

http://www.donau-info.org/donau.php?pg=0&lg=en

It may not be 100% up to date and there is less info on the Bulgarian part. For Romania campsites seem not to be under accomodation but are included on the daily routes under "travel offer". I am not sure if this is true for the other countries as well.

 

[Creamcrackered]

We wild camped in Serbia and nobody was in the least bothered.