Australians Are Flocking to Eastern Europe

Restaurants in front of the main mosque in Shkodër, Albania
Shkodër, Albania. Photo: Matt Graham.

Lots of Australians holiday in Europe whenever it’s summer in the northern hemisphere. Traditionally, Western European countries like the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain have been among the most popular destinations. But this year, there has been a shift towards the east.

Over the past few months, Eastern Europe – and the Balkans in particular – has experienced an unusually large influx of Australian tourists. How do I know this? Well, I was one of them.

I spent most of August in the Balkans, and I couldn’t believe the sheer number of fellow Aussies I met along the way in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia. It’s not that Australians never travelled there previously. Of course, they did. But not in these kinds of numbers.

I thought it might have just been my imagination, so I asked lots of different local tourism operators in the Balkans whether they’d also noticed a surge in Aussie visitors. They all agreed that there were way more Australians in the Balkans this summer, compared to previous years. They say the eastern part of Europe has become particularly popular with younger Australian backpackers.

Why are so many Australians visiting the Balkans?

I don’t think it’s because Australians are falling out of love with Western Europe. Lots of people are still choosing to holiday there.

But in recent years, Eastern Europe has gained much more recognition as a quality tourist destination. Many people are visiting now for the first time. They’re liking what they see, and they’re telling their friends. They’re also sharing their experiences with the world on social media.

And I completely understand why people love it. The Balkans have a lot to offer, particularly when it comes to nature, food and history. The region is also very affordable.

Market square in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo: Matt Graham.

I asked a lot of the Australians I met last month why they’d chosen to travel to the Balkans in 2024. Some told me the region was trending on TikTok and Instagram. Others said they’d received recommendations from friends who went last year, or that they were on a budget and found Eastern Europe much more affordable than Western Europe.

A surprisingly high number of people also told me that they’d travelled to the Balkans because they needed to spend some time out of the Schengen Area, but didn’t want to leave Europe.

Australian tourists can only spend up to 90 out of every 180 days within the Schengen countries without a visa. And with Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria recently joining the Schengen agreement, that only leaves a few European countries outside of the Schengen Area. Besides the UK and Ireland, the main ones are in the Balkans.

Travelling in Eastern vs Western Europe

So, if you’re thinking about visiting Europe next summer (or better – during a shoulder season when it’s not so hot or cold!), should you consider heading east instead of west? Here are a few things to consider…

Benefits of travelling in Eastern Europe

Some countries in Eastern Europe are slightly less developed than in Western Europe. That also applies to their tourism industries, which are relatively new in some places. As a result, destinations like the Balkans are less discovered, less busy… and a great alternative to the overcrowding in some of Western Europe’s most famous cities.

Skopje, North Macedonia
Skopje, North Macedonia. Photo: Matt Graham.

That could change in the coming years as more people discover the charms of Eastern Europe. But for now, this part of the world could make for a very interesting change from the traditional European holiday visiting London, Paris, Venice or Barcelona.

VENICE, ITALY - FEBRUARY 11: Overcrowded waterfront Riva degli Schiavoni on February 11, 2018 in Venice
Venice is one of several European destinations that suffers from over-tourism. Photo: Adobe Stock.

The Balkans, in particular, offer excellent hiking and beaches. There are lots of mountains and unspoiled nature to enjoy.

Many Eastern European cities have delightfully charming old towns as well.

Riga, Latvia
Riga, Latvia. Photo: Matt Graham.

Each region has its own cuisine, and I really enjoyed getting to try many of the local dishes during my recent trip. I most certainly didn’t go hungry!

Trying some local Macedonian foods at a restaurant in Skopje
Trying some local Macedonian foods at a restaurant in Skopje. Photo: Matt Graham.

Despite eating very well, I didn’t spend that much on food. In fact, I didn’t really spend a whole lot on anything except the flights to get there. Accommodation, meals, tours and shopping are all quite affordable in Eastern Europe.

Each of the countries in the eastern part of Europe has its own history as well. Many were communist dictatorships until just 35 or so years ago – and in some cases even less. Some were embroiled in bloody wars not that long ago. (Sadly, Ukraine still is today – so is not one of the places getting lots of tourists right now.) There’s a lot of history in Eastern Europe – not all of it good – but that is worth learning about.

The museums I visited in Sarajevo were particularly moving. And as a bit of a novelty, if you’re in the Baltics, I’d highly recommend a tour of the KGB Museum inside Hotel Viru in Tallinn, Estonia.

Downsides of travelling in Eastern Europe compared to Western Europe

Conversely, there are some things that make travelling in Eastern Europe a bit harder than in Western Europe.

In Western Europe, it’s generally very easy to get around by train. And there are lots of cheap flights available on budget carriers like easyJet, Ryanair, Eurowings and British Airways.

A high-speed train in Italy at Bologna Centrale railway station
A high-speed train in Italy. Photo: Matt Graham.

Unfortunately, most of the routes I travelled in the Balkans were only possible by car or bus. So I mostly travelled on long-distance buses without air-conditioning or Wi-Fi.

On my recent trip, only one journey could be done by train… and when I turned up at the train station, the staff in the ticket office informed me without explanation that the train was no longer running that day.

Bus from Tirana to Prishtina
I caught a bus from Tirana to Prishtina. Photo: Matt Graham.

You need to go through border controls when travelling between European countries that are outside of the Schengen Area. Depending on the traffic, this could take not much time or a very long time. You can’t really predict that, and as a result, many of the buses I had to take between countries did not run to schedule.

One of the land border crossings from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Montenegro
One of the land border crossings from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Montenegro. Photo: Matt Graham.

Many Eastern European countries do not use the Euro, instead issuing their own currencies. This means that every time you travel to a new country, you need to exchange cash or withdraw more money from an ATM. In the Balkans, many of the local ATMs had high fees (it was standard to pay around AUD10 per withdrawal).

This isn’t something you need to worry about in 2024 when traversing between Western European countries that all just accept Euros.

Currency exchange office and ATM in Tirana, Albania
Currency exchange office in Tirana, Albania. Photo: Matt Graham.

Additionally, Uber does not operate in many Balkan countries. You instead need to negotiate with taxi drivers or download local taxi apps, making it just a little bit harder to get around some cities.

In the past, I would have said that English was more widely spoken in the west. But this is changing. A lot of the younger people I’ve met in recent years in Eastern European countries could speak English really well.

Do you prefer travelling in Eastern or Western Europe?

My personal view is that both Western Europe and Eastern Europe have lots to offer. I love them both and I wouldn’t necessarily say that one is better than the other… they’re just different.

Do you prefer travelling in Eastern or Western Europe? And if you’ve recently been to Europe – or are planning to travel there in the near future – which countries are you choosing to visit, and why?

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum!

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
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Never ventured into Eastern Europe before this year

The additional countries in the Schengen Zone made border crossings a breeze - I would expect for people who want to stay 4-6 months in Europe then the Balkans enables them to do so

And yes, it’s way cheaper to accomodate and eat there… I reckon we did dinner (schnitzel, pork knuckles etc with drinks around $50 for 2 (sure Africa was $25 for 2) while you’re lucky to get any kleingeld out of $100 in Western Europe let alone hotel per night rates…

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Mr LL and I travel to Europe at least once a year (2024 was The Canary Islands and Spain) but usually it's Germany, Switzerland and Austria - a few cities but mostly in mountain villages for summer hiking. Most tourists are "locals" - prices are comparable to what you would pay in Australia. Our choice is influenced by having friends and family in Germany and Mr LL speaks German. Our one and only visit to Eastern Europe (Croatia) ended in a bit of a disaster - our holiday unit was broken into (we lost passports, credit cards, jewellery, cash, car keys, house keys, clothes, suticase,....) - just replacing stolen passports caused a major disruption to our plans. The owner of the unit (brand new with full security) blamed it on "itinerant gypsies" from "Eastern Europe".

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When I was of backpacking age, the former Yugoslavia was a bit problematic. Getting between Italy and Greece required a bit of back tracking flying or you could take the infamous ferries from Bríndisi to a random Greek port…

Alas, I missed the boat getting to Debrovnik before the rest of the world got there (all at the same time).

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We love both West and East and have driven fairly extensively around both across many trips.
Will probably look at another road trip in Eastern Europe next year at some time if we can squeeze it in

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We have a Balkans trip planned for next year and will be visiting most of the Balkan countries. We have previously travelled around Western and Central Europe, plus parts of Eastern Europe, and loved all of it. The appeal of Eastern Europe for us is going to places that are "less touristy", more authentic and cheaper!

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I was a traditional Western Europe /?Nth America traveller until I was about 50 and then I happened to visit Poland. After that I was hooked on the east and moved further and further eastwards in my travels. Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, the Balkans, Turkiye and I kept going east to Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran & the Stans. Then I met myself coming from the East 😊.

So now I’ve restarted in the west with Britain, France etc. oh, except for a couple of the 10 Balkan countries I missed out on, which I’m doing next year.

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Give me Asia any day!

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In Matt’s article he states that (my bolding):

And there are lots of cheap flights available on budget carriers like easyJet, Ryanair, Eurowings and British Airways.

Oh you’re dark, Matt 😀 But you could easily have added all the other so called Full Service European Airlines for that matter too.

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Big fan of Eastern Europe, 1/3 the price of Western, plenty of great historical sites and despite the ‘flocking’ mentioned here, usually a lot less tourists than equivalent Western European sites ( well except maybe Prague). Good food and drink, a bit stodgy at times but it seems to me they are rapidly increasing the quality.

In fact was thinking of Eastern Europe for the where to go that’s not overrun by tourists thread.

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Big fan of Eastern Europe, 1/3 the price of Western, plenty of great historical sites and despite the ‘flocking’ mentioned here, usually a lot less tourists than equivalent Western European sites ( well except maybe Prague). Good food and drink, a bit stodgy at times but it seems to me they are rapidly increasing the quality.

In fact was thinking of Eastern Europe for the where to go that’s not overrun by tourists thread.

When we were in Prague
We stayed at a hotel out of the city centre booked on Wantas hotels
It was decent

And A$100 a🧐😜 knight

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