Romania & Bulgaria: camping in winter?
 

Okay, are we mad for even considering this? Hoping someone with experience in the area could shed some light on practicalities. Originally we planned to ship our 4x4 to Sth Africa, but have now decided to bring our departure date forward (Jan 2010) and realise that the weather will be very hot (and damp) in Sth Africa, and that this time of year would suit Sudan... somewhere we are quite keen to see. The difficulty now is on getting through Europe and Middle East in the winter, and on our budget we would need to camp or at a stretch stay in cheap pensions / hotel. Anyone an idea on costs of accommodation in Romania / Bulgaria (which we are assuming will be coldest other then Eastern Turkey?) and on the feasibility of camping and navigating the roads? We are used to warmer climes (and currently shivering in London), so don't want to get frost bite!

Thanks in advance :D
Mark and Allison

HI Mark & Alison

are you planning on leaving london in Jan 2010?
if you are , you can be guaranteed very cold weather in Bulgaria and ROmania, I dont think I would try camping there at all , unless you can handle -20 deg c.

If you are dead set on seeing Sudan, which is worth a vist, why not just drive to the south of italy, get a ferry from Bari to Montenegro and drive down through albania to greece .
from there get a ferry to Egypt , which is probably the best way to get to Sudan. The only way almost.

fill me in, i might have some decent info for you

Thanks for the response 5eyes, you've given us some suggestions we hadn't thought about. We have not travelled to Bulgaria or Romania before, hence the interest in incorporating it in to the plan, but at -20 this needs a rethink. Any ideas on the roads in those countries at that time of year, do they close due to snow or are main routes kept open?

Your suggestion to travel south through Italy is a good one, do you have any information on the ferry to Montenegro? Costs, schedule etc?

Not so keen on entering Egypt on ferry and dealing with port and customs, but sounds as though you may have experience with this? We had thought the Greece to Egypt ferry had stopped operating but admit we haven't looked into it. We had originally thought we would go through Turkey to Syria and Jordan before getting ferry to Egypt but are certainly open to suggestions!

Mark and Allison

hi guys

it will be possible ot pas through Bulgaria and romania , the roads wil be passable but tough , there is no chance to camp though.

the route through turkey will be ok and Syria Jordan is no problem.

you will still have the hassle in Egypt though, there is no way round this .

Mark & Allison
Consider going to Ancona and taking the overnight Fast Ferry to Igoumenitsa:thumbup1:
Arrives in Greece directly
Great route
Take a sleeping mat and sleeping bag with you and head for the top deck where the (empty) pool will be- there are plastic bunks there- a food snacks bar, loo and even a hot shower ! (well it was alst time I used it!)
Save £££'s not taking a cabin

We live in southern Bulgaria, and run a campsite there. While we would be happy to accomodate you in our house if you came our way, that which you have already been told is true: In January and February the overnight temperature can drop to minus 20, but usually in the daytime the sun shines and it's quite pleasant.
If it snows down here it's not like in Britain where everything comes to a standstill. Here the snowploughs are deployed quickly, and life carries on as normal. I suspect the same is true of both Hungary and Romania. There is so much lorry traffic in this part of the world coming up from Turkey and beyond into Europe that they have to keep the roads clear.
The only places of concern are the mountain passes, the one in Bulgaria is the Shipka pass in northern BG, but they keep that clear with snowploughs when necessary.
If you need a bed for the night, contact us through our website. To find this do a Google search of Sakar Hills Camping.
All the best
Martin T Jeffes
Sakar Hills Camping
Harmanli,
Bulgaria

I'd avoid Bari as it's the truckkers route and means you get nothing but trucks heading north in convoys- great if you like breathing diesel fumes for hours on end...and the coastal route is nothing but 'stop-'n-start-'n-stop.
Ancona is much much better and you can stretch out on the long plastic bunks which are fixed to the deck as against those plastic chairs waltzing around eh Cami!

For the past two years I have not been warm enough in my new sleeping bag which was supposed to be three season. Last week I treated myself to a coleman hudson 450. testing it in 11c it proved to be a bit too warm. I am very happy at 25-35C (even without using the liner) It is much more bulky than the new bag, but about the same as my old one it replaced that I had from the early 70's. It has MUCH more room :) both sideways and lengthwise. I had to discard the stuff sac it came with and use a cheap nylon holdall.
I will continue to use my £10 supermarket tent, but will have to get a new bed as the old one broke at the zinc castings that hold the legs.
I have discovered that two hospital laundry bags can turn a bag into a bivvy for zero cost
Has anyone ever tried using a bike cover as a temporary shelter:)

Romania
 

Hi Mark and Allison,
usually romanian roads are clean in this period off the year, but if the quantity off snow is to big can be problems (1-2 days untill they clean the roads).
Do not try to find a camping in this period is impossibile, the temperature is around 0 and -20 C.
Mae
PS. if you send me the entering point in Romania i will sugest a route.

is too cold for camping

romania
 

dear mark and alison.
are you traveling by bike ? if so half the milage you think you can do i a day.
if you get to romania we can fix the accommodation for you no problems.
regards
mike