Portugal, Sicily, Greece and the Balkans

Scash · Jun 3, 2025

RB said:
Loved our time at Paros. Are you going to Antiparos-thought it made a great day out with the cave a highlight

Not sure but thinking of going there. We’ve got no plans for tomorrow so might do a trip. Thanks for the tip about the caves.

Scash · Saturday at 2:52 AM

We had an early morning flight from Paros to Thessaloniki so we’re up at 4:30 am

. The Paros airport is tiny and the experience was interesting. We had checked in on line but still needed to drop our bags off. Check in staff checked passports and boarding passes, weighed our bags and you then took it to another section to pass through the X-ray machine and on to the baggage handlers. You then had to wait until the previous flight departed before going through security as there was only enough room in the departure area one load of people. I think the aircraft were all ATR72’s.

The flight was only about an hour with some incredible views of Greek Islands.

We only have a couple of nights in Thessaloniki so unfortunately don’t havre time to get out to Mt Olympus, thermal springs, waterfalls etc. Hopefully another time

. We spent the time here just wandering around the main port/town area where we are staying.

Aristotelous Square, White Tower, Alexander the Great statue, Roman Agora.

Holy Church of St Demetrios. I’m a little bit “churched” out but glad I went to this one.

Scash · Saturday at 3:00 AM

And some general photos.

Monument to the 57 people killed in a head on collision between two trains in 2023

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Street and ocean art.

Breakfast is included at our hotel and is served to the room. You had multiple choices and servings were plentiful.

Scash · Sunday at 4:20 PM

Next up is Bucharest where we will join our Balkans Tour group on Monday. The flight from Thessaloniki was with Ryanair as they are the only ones to fly direct. This is the view from the Ryanair end of Thessaloniki airport

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Our accommodation so far has generally been good (some have been amazing) but mainly hotel style rooms. We choose hotels based mainly on location and try to budget on average $200 a night. Our accommodation in Bucharest is so far the best in terms of size and cost. It’s a one bedroom apartment with tea and coffee making facilities plus a microwave and is only $150 a night. Bathroom looks fairly new and modern. We’re here for two nights before moving to the Radisson Blu and the start of the Balkan’s tour.

Scash · Monday at 11:38 PM

Bucharest is quite a vibrant city and has a real eclectic mix of architectural styles. In some parts it has a Parisian feel and even has its own Arcul De Triumf.

And some funky stuff.

Scash · 2025-06-12T20:56:41+1000

We’re currently travelling from Braşov România to Veliko Tyrnovo Bulgaria which takes about 6 hours so I’ll try and do a bit of catch up.

We had two nights in Bucharest at Vision Apartments before moving to the Radisson Blu where our Balkan tour starts from (this hotel is included in the tour). Prices at the Radisson are more than double what we paid for the Vision Apartments however I would rate Vision Apartments above the Radisson.

The tour covers 8 countries and 16 cities. Below is a map and link to the tour with full details.

Treasures of the Balkans Guided Tour | Insight Vacations AU

Discover the beauty of the Balkans on this 16-dy guided tour included Romania, Croatia & Bulgaria. Local experts, premium dining and 4 & 5 star hotels included.

www.insightvacations.com

Day 1 of the tour is just a meet and greet and dinner, with the actual tour starting th next morning with a walking tour of Bucharest and a trip to the Palace of the Parliament. This building is a monument to the hubris and megalomania of Ceausescu. It is massive and is 86 meters above ground, 92 metres below and an area of around 350,000 m2. It is now used for parliament, functions, conventions etc.