I went on my first trip in Europe this summer, England to Cyprus and return, I travelled across from Italy to Greece on the outward part of the trip and returned across Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovenia. The only borders with any delays were crossing into Turkey from Greece and Cyprus. I found all of the countries interesting and full of wonderful people......... go for it.... I wish I had started travelling years ago!!!

Thanks for all the positive feedback.

I know it's hard to predict, but what are the roads and weather like taking this route in winter?

I'm not decided upon whether to go this way gong down or coming back in Spring.

By car - no worries. Some mountain passes may be closed due to weather but there are always alternatives not far away. The busy passes stay open throughout the winter.

Hi, i have travelled through Bulgaria 3 times in the last 4 years without any problems. Borders were very quick and easy especially with a green card. its a great country, enjoy. Andy

I'll stick to the south route down, doesn't sound to me that everything stayed safe and open this last week on the Balkan route.

Hope to see you in our club in istanbul and wish all the best.

Hey,
I lead guided motorcycle tours trough the area (FTH motorcycle rental & tours), Bulgaria is amazing, although its easy to get lost even with a GPS, border crossings are smooth, use the car if you travel in winter time, temps. are low this period.

Thanks for the invite and further advice.

I took the south route (by car) after the weather in France settled down and the forecast looked o'k. The worst we experienced was fog in the high alps, but not thick enough to cause any delay. We'd climbed the foothills in brilliant sunshine and conditions cleared again approaching mont blanc.

Emerging on the Italian side the virtual freewheel down to Ivrea was hypnotic. The engine silent, and the whoosh in the tunnels as sunset gave way to twinkling lights below.

I can't believe the relaxed ambience and relative temperature difference here in nw Greece these past two days. I crossed in winter at a similar time last year but it wasn't the same.

As a consequence we decided to head south down the coast instead of straight across to turkey - it's a beautiful driving road from igoumenitsa to preveza. I love the feel of relatively smooth but uneven road surfaces caused by large area tarmac buckles in the hot countries.