Photographic trip to Sarajevo & Croatian-Kotor coast 16 days in June.

[zoossh]

From Clubsnap. http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4722763#post4722763
Photographic trip in mind, so the pace is considered very slow, and locations interested are targetted at photography.

Summary
Currently 4 people interested, awaiting confirmation
Type of travel: Photographic, Backpacking F&E, Co-planning
Accom: as cheap as possible, room for safety, proximity to old towns.
Itinerary is only tentative. Partners interested will co-plan and everything is negotiable.

Currently waiting for partner to share the GV2 flight (two to go, cheaper by S$300 each), local transport and accom (twin doubles if male... if female, up to you).

Dates and duration
Tentatively in june as interested members prefered, weather is summer at abt 18-26C. tentatively thinking of leaving on Fri and returning on Sun over 2 weeks, or about 16 days over 3 weekends. excluding night of departure from sg.

Depending on availability of one of the member, the trip duration may be from
5th to 21st June, or
12th to 28th June
including the midnight flight at 11pm on 5th and 12th (fri) and arrival back in sg at 4pm (sun). 

Cost
Cost of flight + major transport + accomodation abt S$2000 (plus 200 just in case)
Food and minor transport hopefully <S$600
Total S$2300-2800

Itinerary
i have got some advices from sgtravel and although some suggested travelling down albania, i have tentatively reserved the croatian leg becos i wanted to see the diocletian palace at split and the sea organ at zadar, but that is negotiable if any partner joins and thinking otherwise. Target to travel via sarajevo (bosnia) and kotor in montenegro then along the south dalmatian coast and islands of the adriatics from dubrovnik to zadar, and back to sarajevo.

pls ignore the dates. further amendments will be in email for those interested.

contact
PM me at clubsnap or email me at zoossh@starhub.net.sg. or msn me at zoossh@starhub.net.sg.

Any discussion about this area is also welcomed.

[paapoopa]

wow this is great, though i wont be able to join in for this trip
but i do hope there will  be more photographic trip in future and
wanted to be kept notify

[the19trier]

I am thinking of going to Marcedonia in early July.

[zingzingla]

>actually u may want to consider flyin via Turkish Airline-Star Alliance affliated.
May (?) be cheaper.
>Do consider the other Balkan nations like Albania,Montenegro ( Kotor wall -city) n Bosnia cos they r easily acessible n no need visa for S'poreans.
Kotor to Dubrovnik is only half day by car n it's spectacular along the Dalmatian coast .Plus Mostar in Bosnia is only a few hours by bus from Dubrovnik n then u can go to Sarajevo from Mostar . Sarajevo is very rich with history n it's full of beautiful Ottoman architecture.
>Dubrovnik is absolutely stunning but the most touristy n the other places i mentioned esp in Bosnia n Albania has hardly many backpackers.Most places offer homestays-many aunties n huse wives will wait at the bus terminals to offer u accom n it's usually frm 15-25 euros per pax plus breakfast.
>May's  a great time to go co the hordes are hardly 'invading' yet but t may be a little chilly at some places.

[Matt]

Do S'pore passport holders still need visa for Bosnia ?

[zingzingla]

Do S'pore passport holders still need visa for Bosnia ?

>Not anymore but i did need one last May .

[zoossh]

>actually u may want to consider flyin via Turkish Airline-Star Alliance affliated.
May (?) be cheaper.
>Do consider the other Balkan nations like Albania,Montenegro ( Kotor wall -city) n Bosnia cos they r easily acessible n no need visa for S'poreans.
Kotor to Dubrovnik is only half day by car n it's spectacular along the Dalmatian coast .Plus Mostar in Bosnia is only a few hours by bus from Dubrovnik n then u can go to Sarajevo from Mostar . Sarajevo is very rich with history n it's full of beautiful Ottoman architecture.
>Dubrovnik is absolutely stunning but the most touristy n the other places i mentioned esp in Bosnia n Albania has hardly many backpackers.Most places offer homestays-many aunties n huse wives will wait at the bus terminals to offer u accom n it's usually frm 15-25 euros per pax plus breakfast.
>May's  a great time to go co the hordes are hardly 'invading' yet but t may be a little chilly at some places.

i also heard from a friend who has an aquintance from croatia that he travel via turkey. but some checks that there is no direct flight from istanbul to dubrovnik.
http://www.balkanology.com/croatia/faq.html#a4

likely have to go via the land route you have said if i'm to take that route, or via multiple flights which will be costly. i would like to minimise the cost...

also as you can see my itinerary is fairly spaced. i could not understand how people travel 3-4 countries in less than 2 weeks and i'm trying to cover within 2 weeks. i'm also trying to see if i can get a triangular route, ie. sg - Pt A - dubrovnik - zagreb (or zadar if i skip zagreb) - Pt A - sg. an alternative trip may require me more days and i probably have to drop zagreb. i have considered istanbul - sarajevo - dubrovnik..... but the return limb of zagreb-istanbul is a problem (i think i saw somewhere 500 euros...) or unless i can find an overnite bus from zagreb back to sarajevo, i may not mind. have not checked on istanbul-sarajevo flight to see how much they cost...

if by albania, i probably have to replan the whole route... but it sounds more interesting. i will try to see if the transport duration (preferably <3hrs per trip, tpt every other day or less frequent), cost and time works out or not. i would want to minimise distance and time of transport as i find my previous trips rather tiring.

actually still wondering whether can get photographic partners. i know it is not easy to find one becos of the duration and cost. cos so far, i have limited my expense per trip <1.5k per trip including flights, this time europe have to stretch the budget. and i have noticed most photographic trips only reach as far as china and india... but i would like to change the region and try something different...

[zoossh]

I am thinking of going to Marcedonia in early July.

is there a festival or is it due to your availability?

[zoossh]

Most places offer homestays-many aunties n huse wives will wait at the bus terminals to offer u accom n it's usually frm 15-25 euros per pax plus breakfast.

would that be the rate if i travel alone, or would it become double if i get a room (cos have photographic equipment and laptop)

>May's  a great time to go co the hordes are hardly 'invading' yet but t may be a little chilly at some places.

that's fine. i like temperature of 10-20C, though luggage would be heavier for clothing.

[nuts]

Should be no problem getting kaki lah.... just need to find one more ....

Consider getting a flight from SG to Munich instead. Then take train to Zagreb. May save you a day...

[zoossh]

Should be no problem getting kaki lah.... just need to find one more ....

Consider getting a flight from SG to Munich instead. Then take train to Zagreb. May save you a day...

overnite train?

well, i'm fickled minded, and so i can't travel on my own... zingzingla now got me hooked to another route (sarajevo-dubrovnik-split). almost thought i strike lottery (sg-sarajevo at $1270 with tax, then realise promotion until end of the month only)...

http://www.airfares.com.sg/flights/FareCatalog/Economy/Return/Bosnia+And+Herzegovina/Sarajevo.aspx

[nuts]

no, don't think its an overnight train...
http://www.seat61.com/

wait for another promo by turkish airlines lor

overnite train?

well, i'm fickled minded, and so i can't travel on my own... zingzingla now got me hooked to another route (sarajevo-dubrovnik-split). almost thought i strike lottery (sg-sarajevo at $1270 with tax, then realise promotion until end of the month only)...

http://www.airfares.com.sg/flights/FareCatalog/Economy/Return/Bosnia+And+Herzegovina/Sarajevo.aspx

[zingzingla]

Actually ,with careful research ,u can skip some places n just go to some of the more interesting ones. That's what I did! I know it's crazy but a few of us went to a few countries ( 4) in slightly more than 2 weeks. Not that we are kiasu but we decided that we just want to see a few places like Albania,Kotor,Dubrovnik,Mostar n Sarajevo n our leave was really limited at that time .This was the 1st time we kinda speed-travel although i wouldn't do it again but it's all conveniently connected and easy to get to one country from another.It was a sort of a recce trip for us to get a feel of another part of Europe that's abit off the tourist radar.With time we will defintiely be back to slowly explore the many places we'd missed.

>Albanians were the most friendly n Tirana has superb Soviet -styled architecture if u r into that sort of thing.

>Sarajevo was a stunning city with European flair n Ottoman influences plus the tragic Balkan war to boot.
>Montenegrins i felt were very aloof n abit suspicious of outsiders ( of coz subjective impression) but Kotor is such a lovely walled town to walk around n the view from the top is simply quite amazing .
>Mostar was a real gem -the Old Bridge is really an icon n the town's small plus there;s not alot of tourists but that cld change real soon!!
>Dubrovnik is possibly the only place where we saw Asian tourists other than the usual big big crowd but still it's so so magnificent esp the walk along the defence wall.These are some of the highlights n there are lots more coz they are all pretty close to each other.

A superb website is www.balkanology.com -that's where we did most of our research. It's filled with fotos so u can roughly see what the places are like.We also almost went to macedonia but visa was a problem but do check out the visa situation as it may have changed.


Most places offer homestays-many aunties n huse wives will wait at the bus terminals to offer u accom n it's usually frm 15-25 euros per pax plus breakfast.
would that be the rate if i travel alone, or would it become double if i get a room (cos have photographic equipment and laptop)

> U cld bargain but best u have 3 pax as u can easily bunk in a room.

May's  a great time to go co the hordes are hardly 'invading' yet but t may be a little chilly at some places.[/color]

that's fine. i like temperature of 10-20C, though luggage would be heavier for clothing.

> U just need a fleece as it won't go down below 10C

[zoossh]

no, don't think its an overnight train...
http://www.seat61.com/

wait for another promo by turkish airlines lor

probably will wait till end of the month while waiting for interested party too.

[zoossh]

Actually ,with careful research ,u can skip some places n just go to some of the more interesting ones. That's what I did! I know it's crazy but a few of us went to a few countries ( 4) in slightly more than 2 weeks. Not that we are kiasu but we decided that we just want to see a few places like Albania,Kotor,Dubrovnik,Mostar n Sarajevo n our leave was really limited at that time .This was the 1st time we kinda speed-travel although i wouldn't do it again but it's all conveniently connected and easy to get to one country from another.It was a sort of a recce trip for us to get a feel of another part of Europe that's abit off the tourist radar.With time we will defintiely be back to slowly explore the many places we'd missed.

>Albanians were the most friendly n Tirana has superb Soviet -styled architecture if u r into that sort of thing.

yah, after you recommended mostar, saw a few pics and yah, that's what i like. it seems that i would like tirana too... and maybe i'll switch my trip in the other direction. i was kind of keen to see the sea organ at zadar, the diocletian palace at split, the coast of hvar or korcula, and the wall of dubrovnik, line in a single file to minimise the transport. and best if can make a loop. but now it is an inverted T - sarajevo down south to dubrovnik, can go west towards split and pula (and return via zagreb to sarajevo), or to go east to albania.

i'm into friendly people, old towns and places of old traces. will check out tirana. anything else is interesting between kotor and tirana? so you travel from sarajevo down to tirana, and fly back to sarajevo, all in slightly more than 2 weeks? that isn't too rush actually, just that the distance to tirana seems a little further than my original route.