Hello,

We are planning a three week trip through Eastern Europe in 2005 . We are based in Belgium and would like to avoid the first 1000km on motorways and therefore consider to put our bikes on the train in Düsseldorf, Germany and start our journey in Villach, Austria, close to the Slovenian border.

I am enclosing the itinerary hereafter, which I hope may facilitate your responses. Our plan is to travel through the Julian Alps in Slovenia, then move on the Plitvice park in Croatia and make our way down to Dubrovnik (overnight stay). From then on, follow the Trebisnjica river to Mostar and move on to Sarajevo (visit). Then move on to Nis in Serbia-Montenegro to the Rila and Pirin mountains in Bulgaria where we will drive around for a couple of days. Next is a visit to Plovdiv and a couple of relaxing days at the Black Sea, returning via Veliko Tarnovo and Kopvristica heading for Belgrad (overnight stay) and Zagreb (overnight stay) back to Villach in Austria.

We have travelled to all sorts of countries, challenging and not so challenging. However, we have not taken the bikes outside Western Europe and we have heard quite a bit of stories on foreign vehicle theft in some of the countries that we would like to visit.

We are driving two Honda VFR800, dating from 2001 and 1999, and although they are not brand new, I can imagine they still could attract the wrong type of attention. Anybody with experience in these countries, would you recommend that we always try to find lodging with a garage/parking ? I can imagine that in cities, that represents a challenge, especially if we still want accommodation to be affordable ? One bike may fit in a small courtyard or garden but two seem more difficult to store ? Any thoughts on this please ?

Second question is related to road conditions. Our road bikes are not ideal for off-road trips so my question if we can still get a good view of the Rila, Pirin and Rhodope mountains on sealed roads ? In this area, we’d like to work on a trip roughly passing by Bansko, Velingrad, Batak, Dospat, Goce Delcev and Smolyan.

My last question is related to travel time. September seems to be more quiet but the mountains may get quite chilly already. My thought is to leave around mid to end August and come back mid-September. Will this typically mean large crowds in Croatia during the last week of August ?

I am new to this forum and read carefully through the posts to avoid I am asking duplicate questions. If I do, please don’t hesitate to refer me to the topic that covers my questions. Otherwise, I am most grateful for your time !

A&P