Where to sleep in Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania and Slovenia - thx

[chrisvw]

Hi crazy fellow overlanders,

So I will be traveling through Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania and Slovenia back to Germany quite soon (screenshot of Basecamp attached) and was looking for a place to stay in:

Turkey:
- Van
- around Elazig
- Divrigi
- Aksaray
- Denizli
- Bandirma
- Istanbul

Bulgaria:
- Sofia or Plovdiv

Albania:
- Durres , Rinas or Tirane

Slovenia:
- Ljubljana

Any suggestions as for a good Camping grounds, Hotels/Hostels, or maybe someone to contact (!) would be highly appreciated.

-- on a side note, any insider tips in regards to any of these locations would be awesome as well

***Please note that this is not by itinerary - also I started another thread with the same question about Nepal, India, Pakistan and Iran here: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...#post425084***


Thanks so much for your help,

Chris

[Mehmet Zeki Avar]

Merhaba,
Turkey:
- Van
- around Elazig
- Divrigi
- Aksaray
- Denizli
- Bandirma
- Istanbul

Van.........:free camping around van lake...festival and cycling tour around van lake available end of June..All accommondation and meals free...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

Aksaray..:free camping by salt lake or all budget kinds of hotels in capadocia towns.

Denizli.....: Pamukkale and hierapolis highly recommended..

İstanbul...:Sultanahmet area,spice bazaar area for food and shopping or post office street which are preferred by locals..real istanbul,not touristic..

Bandırma..:If you take the early ferry from istanbul to bandırma, you can make it to pamukkale the same day..Industrial area,nothing touristic or interesting..If you must stay there,can recommend seaside pensions at erdek,famous with beaches...

In all small towns Öğretmenevi available and recommmended.(Teachers Home)Safe,cheap,generally have gardens..

If you like natural places and wild science, highly recommend Adıyaman,mount nemrut,malatya,kangal,(town of skin biting and cleaning fishes,famous guard dogs)Then kemaliye stone road and dark canyon..these are between cappadocia and elazığ...Then bingöl,muş,tatvan,van..
You can enter İran from van or doğubeyazıt..

Not sure when you will be in this part of the world but keep updated with political situations in Turkey and Iran...

Hope helps.

All the best.

[Andysr6]

Hi, insted of Divrigithere is a nice cheap hotel in Kemaliye which is also the start of the road of stones. In Sofia I recommend Hostel Mostel which has secure parking. Pamlukkale has plenty of cheap hotels . Andy

[chrisvw]

Originally Posted by Andysr6

Hi, insted of Divrigithere is a nice cheap hotel in Kemaliye which is also the start of the road of stones. In Sofia I recommend Hostel Mostel which has secure parking. Pamlukkale has plenty of cheap hotels . Andy

Hi Andy,

thanks for your answer!

can you by any chance recall the name of the hotel in Kemaliye?

thx,
Chris

[chrisvw]

Originally Posted by Mehmet Zeki Avar

Merhaba,
....

Van.........:free camping around van lake...festival and cycling tour around van lake available end of June..All accommondation and meals free...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

...

Thanks so much for your time in putting together this incredibly useful post!

- Van: Camping
- around Elazig: Öğretmenevi
- Kemaliye (instead of Divrigi - as recommended by Andy): Hostel
- Aksaray: Camping
- Denizli/Pamukkale: ? (pos. Öğretmenevi)
- Bandirma: try to skip or seaside pensions at erdek
- Istanbul: I guess I will find something there

fyi I will enter Turkey in about 1 Month.

Best,
Chris

[EMBEE]

Chrısvw, when do you envısage beıng ın Kemalıye? I shall be ın Dogubayazit by Frıday and then I shall be making my way to Kemalıye.

Anyone out there wıth pointers for the route from Dogubayazit to Kemalıye your advıce would be greatfully recieved:-)

[chrisvw]

Originally Posted by EMBEE

Chrısvw, when do you envısage beıng ın Kemalıye? I shall be ın Dogubayazit by Frıday and then I shall be making my way to Kemalıye.

Anyone out there wıth pointers for the route from Dogubayazit to Kemalıye your advıce would be greatfully recieved:-)

Hi,

it will take me at least 1 more month before I will arrive in Turkey.

Best,
Christopher

[wickychicky]

Hi Chris

We stayed at Sakar hills campground in Bulgaria, it's a basic site but the showers are good and there's a nice little covered area for communal eating.
Local red wine also on sale!

Camping in Bulgaria at Sakar Hills

Have a great trip!

[NejcT]

Hello.

For Ljubljana, I recommend Celica Hostel as a place to stay. It is located close to the railway station and city centre as well. They also have place to park the vehicle or motobike and it's next to one of the best alternative spots (music clubs) in Slovenia.

Ofcourse you have also some good hotels in Ljubljana centre, but ofcourse more expensive, and some hostels and apartments to rent, but a lot of them without parking or out of the city centre, which is complicated, cause then you need to buy special card for the city buses.

Places to see in Ljubljana: City centre, main squares, Castle hill and tower with beautiful view, Riverbanks of Ljubljanica. In saturdays there is a very busy market going on, every sunday you have flea market on the riverbanks. Then you have Tivoli park to chill out.

Places to see in Slovenia: Definetly Bled lake and Postojna cave. If you have time you can also visit the Soča river valley (emerald river in the mountains, which the most beautiful river in Slovenia - place where Chronicles of Narnia were filmed). Also nice mountain road goes through Vršič pass (1611m) in the same direction.

You can also check to stay in Bled. A lot of hotels and hostels there as well.

Web page of the hostel in Ljubljana:Hostel Celica – youth hostel and budget accommodation in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Phone number of the hostel: +386 1 230 97 00
Email: info@hostelcelica.com

Hope it helps!

Cheers
Nejc

[Andysr6]

Hi Chris, it was the Kemaliye hotel. Small but friendly village. The road of stones is worth a visit. Andy

[Dicky]

Originally Posted by Andysr6

Hi Chris, it was the Kemaliye hotel. Small but friendly village. The road of stones is worth a visit. Andy

Totally agree

Cheers,

Dicky

[chrisvw]

Thanks a lot for your help so far.

I am currently in Lahore and will be heading to Multan tomorrow, then Sukhar and then put my bike onto the train and head via Quetta to the Iranian Boarder - because my Iranian Visa expires if I dont enter by the 25th.

Its really amazing what kind of people you meet on such a trip and who hospital and friendly everyone is!

Once I have a little bit more time I will write a detailed report

Best,
Chris