Eastern Europe covers Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Ukraine. 

Not much holds the amorphous region known as Eastern Europe together anymore. Countries that once lived on the same Bloc today have little in common and, in some cases, little to do with each other. The Baltics have lost touch with their Balkan cousins, Central Europe has shed her Soviet skin more quickly than her step-sisters Belarus and Ukraine, and Russia has kept herself audacious, unpredictable, and isolated from most of her neighbors. Perhaps all that can be said of all the countries in the region is that, after over a decade of transformation, they’re still changing.   Undiscovered cities, pristine national parks, empty hostel beds, and ridiculously cheap items lure seekers of adventure, culture, and bargains to this vast and varied expanse. Prague, St. Petersburg, Budapest, and Kraków can charm the heart  of any urbanite, while the jagged peaks of the Tatras, the dazzling beaches of the Dalmatian Coast, and the isolated marvels of Siberia can stagger even the most experienced outdoor adventurers.

The distances are great and the dilapidating bureaucracies often infuriating, but hitting the road here is always rewarding. Your senses will be bombarded and, more likely than not, your conceptions of rationality challenged: you can’t use a few dollars as a visa just anywhere, after all, let alone take the same train across seven time zones, riding the whole way with family pets. Should the absurdity of the post-Soviet world ever get you down, take a deep breath and know that for every stony border guard and badgering babushka (grandmotherly old women common in the region), there are countless locals willing to give you a bed, a taste of homemade borscht, and a ride to the next town. If you bring along your flexibility, patience, and resilience, you’ll have an incredible jaunt through one of the most geographically varied, historically rich, and culturally dynamic areas of the world.

Facts and Figures

Total population: 330 million Eastern Europeans, 50,000 American expats.

Oldest university: Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.

World’s largest bust: of Lenin, in Ulan Ude, RUS.

Number of islands in St. Petersburg: 101.

Tallest building never built: Stalin’s Palace of Soviets, designed to have a 100m statue of Lenin on top.

Number of exiled Eastern European monarchs re-elected in 2001: 1. Bulgaria’s King Simeon II.)

Number of stray Romanian dogs actress Bridget Bardot saved in 2001: 100,000.

Number of fake Adidas track suits per capita: 1.4.

When To Go

Summer is Eastern Europe’s high season. What high season means, however, varies for each country and region. In Prague, Kraków, and Budapest, everything is swarmed with backpackers. In the countryside, high season simply means that hotels might actually have guests staying in them. In Croatia and along the Baltic and Black Sea Coasts, things fill up as soon as it is warm enough to lounge on the beach, usually from June to September. In the Tatras, Julian Alps, and Transylvanian Alps, there is both a summer high season for hiking (usually July and August) and a winter season for skiing (November to March). In the low season, you’ll often be the only tourist in town. While securing accommodations and walking down the street will be easier in low season, high season brings with it an entire subculture of young backpackers. You decide whether that’s a good thing.