Summary of My 17D Balkans Travelogue (2018) Covering Istanbul, Bosnia & Herzegovina & Croatia

And here comes the end of another travelogue of mine - like, finally! This year I managed to complete at least 5 travelogues before year-end; Solo Trip To Europe (2017), 9D8N Australia Melbourne & Sydney (2017), 6D5N Central Vietnam (2018), 6D5N Kyushu Japan (2018) and now this one - 17D of my Balkans trip covering Turkey, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia. Feeling accomplished cause my motivation for blogging is finally back on track! I almost lost my interest and passion not just in blogging, but in travelling too dating back 2 years ago.

SUMMARY OF MY 17D BALKANS TRIP COVERING ISTANBUL, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA AND CROATIA

Here is the compilation of my Balkans travelogue at a glance (obviously I'm lazy to summarise everything 😜):

• 2018 Istanbul, Bosmia & Herzegovina and Croatia (Sneak Peek)
• 48 Hours in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Sarajevo to Mostar By Train and Stari Most
• A Day Trip To Blagaj Tekija, Pocitelj, Kravice Falls & War Tour
• Can't Help Falling In Love With Dubrovnik
• Old City Walls of Dubrovnik
• From Dubrovnik to Split
• A Day Trip To Sibenik From Split
• A Short Layover To Zadar
• The Breathtaking View of Plitvice Lakes National Park
• Zagreb, My Last Leg of Croatia
• Istanbul, Turkey - My Starting and Ending Point of My Balkans Trip

(Just click each of them and it will link you to the individual blogpost)

For this post also, I would like to share not comprehensive one but a brief and basic travel guide based my own first hand experience to Turkey (Istanbul), Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia.

VISA

For Malaysian, visa is NOT required to enter into these three countries. Therefore don't have to worry about applying any visa at all. That's show how powerful our Malaysian passport are, right? However if you are intended to stay more than 90 days for each respective country, then you have to go and apply for the visa. I don't have experience for this cause normally, I only stay one or two weeks for each country. 

CURRENCY EXCHANGE

Before embarking for this trip, I exchanged Euros and some Turkish lira (I changed in KL Nu Sentral). You can bring along US dollar, British Pound or even Singapore Dollar cause these currencies are also widely accepted in most of the European countries.

• Turkey's national currency is Turkish lira. It can be found in Malaysia. But in case you don't have the time to change, no worries cause you can exchange in Istanbul. TRY100 = RM102
• Convertible mark (KM/BAM) is the only legal tender in Bosnia & Herzegovina. I exchanged in Sarajevo International Airport - the first Bosnia's airport I landed. €1.00 = 1.95KM on average*. But because there is 1% commission being charged, hence I got €1.00 = 1.93KM. I also changed at Sarajevo's post office as well and again, there is additional charge of 1% commission.
• The official currency for Croatia is Croatian kuna. €1.00 = HRK7.13 on average*. You can exchange at most of the big cities, like Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb. There is no commission charge for Croatian kuna. 

*The rate I exchanged in May 2018

Top: Bosnia & Herzegovina's convertible mark

Bottom: Croatian kuna 

PURCHASING TRANSPORTATION TICKET

The most frequently asked travel questions - where to buy all these transportation tickets and when? Being "kiasu" in me, I always prefer to buy all my buses and trains ticket prior to my trip in order to secure the seats, especially when the bus and train schedules are quite limited. Except for my train ticket from Sarajevo to Mostar and a-return day trip between Split and Sibenik, I booked all my bus tickets from GetByBus (click here). It's a legit and reliable website, so don't have to worry cause it's really pretty save and secure buying bus tickets from this website. 

The only downside of this website is that you have to print out your tickets. They don't accept mobile ticket. And another thing you have to take note is that for all intercity buses, there is an extra fee of €1-2 charge for luggage fee. Remember to keep some small change.

SIM CARD

Because I was travelling alone, hence it's freaking costly to rent a pocket WiFi by my own. Besides that, for your information Bosnia & Herzegovina is actually doesn't consider to be part of European coverage even for both pocket WiFi and travel sim card. What I did is I bought my travel sim card from Hello1010 (click here) and purchased another one for Bosnia & Herzegovina in Sarajevo Airport. 

There you go! Hopefully I don't miss out any important travel tips and info relating my trip to these Balkans countries. In case you have any queries or doubt, feel free to leave a comment or email me. 

TOTAL SPENDING

As usual, I simplify everything for easy reference - which include means of transportation, hostels, entrance fees, food but excluding my shopping spending throughout my trip around 17 days. 

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	€/KM/CZK	RM
Air Fares Singapore Airlines (Return fare Kota Kinabalu to Istanbul) Pegasus Airlines (One-way Istanbul to Sarajevo) Turkish Airways (One-way Zagreb to Istanbul) Cities Sarajevo – 2 days Mostar – 2 days Dubrovnik – 2days Split – 2 days A Day Trip to Split Zadar – 1 day Plitvice Lakes National Park – 1 day Zagreb – 2 days Istanbul – 2 days Ground Tour Herzegovina Tour Others 4GB Travel Prepaid Sim Card - Bought from Hello1010	- - - - - - - - - - - - 60KM -	2,190 293 955 301 188 782 419 149 289 300 363 250 150 103
	TOTAL:	6,732

Exchange rate  €1.00 = RM4.84 as at May 2018

Curious about my souvenir travel haul? There are two items I die-die must buy whenever I visit different country or city which are the fridge magnet and postcard. Besides these two, another one would be the stamps. Sometimes I would spend up to RM100 by just buying these three things. As for this trip, my total spending for souvenir and shopping is RM1,026 including numerous of fridge magnets, postcards, stamps, a T-shirt, a skirt and a dress when I was in Croatia. 

A hardcore collector for fridge magnets.

Souvenirs from Croatia including tea towels, liquid soap dispense and a T-shirt for my nephew.

Pouch and fridge magnets from Istanbul.

Turkish ceramic bowls in various sizes.

AIRLINES EXPERIENCE & THEIR IN-FLIGHT MEALS
For this trip, I flew and experienced 4 different type of airlines:

1) Silk Air for my journey between Kota Kinabalu to Singapore. I even blogged about this airline before (click here).

In-flight meal for Silk Air. I like their fresh fruits but not their main meal. Feel like eating thick flour instead of fish meats.

2) Singapore Airlines for the trip from Singapore to Istanbul as well as for the return. Finally I got to fly with the World's Best Airline. However, I'm quite disappointed with the fleet for the flight to Istanbul cause it's one old aircraft being used. The in-flight entertainment wasn't fascinating and not many options were given. Even for the in-flight meals, I found out it's just so-so and nothing to shout. 

For the route Singapore to Istanbul, their meals are quite acceptable. 

But for the route from Istanbul to Singapore, the meals look kinda sad and unappetising. Luckily there's an ice-cream to cheer me up

3) Pegasus Airlines for one-way journey from Istanbul to Sarajevo. Pegasus Airlines is a Turkish low-cost airlines with no-frills, similar to AirAsia where the fare doesn't include free baggage allowance, in-flight meal and entertainment. 

4) Turkish Airlines for a trip from Zagreb to Istanbul. Turkish Airlines is a national carrier airline of Turkey and it's full-fledged airlines. This is one of the most expensive fares I ever bought in my life just for a single trip. 

Never thought this is going to be a lengthy post but I'm glad that finally this is the end. Now I'm going to have a cup of nice hot coffee and at same time, thinking which travelogue should I blog next.

Share:

Balkans (2018): Istanbul, Turkey - My Starting & Ending Point of My Balkans Trip

Selam Istanbul!

Frankly speaking, I never imagine that I will visit Turkey by my own someday. My friends and I have been discussed about our trip to Turkey for the past few years but then, we never materialise it to date. One of the main reasons is due to the airfares - most of the times the price of the airtickets to Istanbul from Kuala Lumpur were over our budget. Not until (again!) my friend who manages the Mytravelmatez FB Page shared with me about Singapore Airlines promo. All-in return fares from Kota Kinabalu to Istanbul for as low as RM2,100 which I personally think it's a great bargain. Informed my friends about this but because each of them are committed to their worklife, at the end I decided to go ahead to travel by my own. It's not like I had never experienced travel alone before, right? So without thinking any longer, instantly booked the ticket before the price increase. My motto, "Book first, think later". 

Share:

Balkans (2018): Zagreb, My Last Leg Of Croatia

Zagreb is our final and last leg of our trip in Croatia, before I went back to Istanbul and my friend Jeff continue with his journey to Slovenia. Besides being the capital city of the nation, Zagreb is also the largest city which has almost thousand year-old history of its old town. From Plitvices Lakes National Park, it takes approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes by bus to Zagreb.

ARRIVED ZAGREB BUS STATION (AUTOBUSNI KOLODVOR)

Zagreb Bus Station is situated to the south-east of the old town and it takes nearly 30 minutes to walk to the old town. Guess what, we indeed walked from here to our hostel carrying our backpacks. Luckily for me, I used to walk a lot during travelling. But in case if you are unfit to walk so far, don't worry cause you can take tram just outside the bus station. Take tram #6 towards Crnomerec and get off at Trg J. Jelacica - this is Zagreb's main square (5 stops, cost 4 kuna). Don't forget to validate your ticket in the little yellow machine once enter the tram. 

THE HOSTEL WE STAYED IN ZAGREB

Chillout Hostel is the hostel we stayed for two good nights here. This colourful mixed hostel is located just within the old town making it is very convenient to walk to those tourist attractions. The hostel even features an unpretentious restaurant and bar. However, there are few things which we dislike about this hostel; the dormitory room is quite small and it's hard for us to move around. The air-conditioner within the room was not working well during our stay.

Chillout Hostel Zagreb
Date Stayed: 24 May to 26 May 2018 (2 nights)
Room Rate: 169 kuna for a single bed in 4-bed mixed dormitory room (Booked via Booking.com)

PLACES OF INTEREST IN ZAGREB
Zagreb City is divided into two distinctive parts; the thousand-year old Gornji grad (Upper Town) which consists the Presidential Palace, the iconic St Mark's Church, the Croatian Parliament and museums and galleries which are all set in cobbled streets lit by gas lamps and the other is 19th century Donki grad (Lower Town) with countless of shops, restaurants, cafes, theatres and parks.

So many places of interest. Which should I go? Left or right?

1) Ban Jelacic Square - A charming medieval central square of the city with architecture and cobbled streets resembles of Budapest, Vienna, Prague and other Central European capitals. This Austro-Hungarian styled square is the most popular meeting points and a place where Croats gather for huge events especially major football matches or concerts. 

2) Dolac Market - It is the main open-air farmer's market in Zagreb. This is where the local buy fresh products such as vegetables and fruits for the past 80 years under the notable red umbrellas. If you are looking for typical tourist souvenirs like fridge magnets, keychains, T-shirts and more, you can consider to visit here. Open everyday as early as 7 am till 2pm.

3) Zagreb Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - That's one pretty long name there. It is the most significant landmark of Zagreb. As a matter of fact, this cathedral is not just the tallest building in Croatia but it is also the most monumental sacral building in Neo-Gothic style southeast of the Alps. 

4) St. Mark's Church - It is the parish church of old Zagreb and it is easily recognised for its uniquely colourful tiled roof which attract both local and foreign tourists to visit it. St. Mark's Church is one of the most well-known iconic of Zagreb and it's highly recommend to visit when one visit Zagreb. We didn't manage to enter into the church but by just looking out the exterior, we're totally absolute intrigued by it.  

5) Museum of Broken Relationships - First of all, we never intended to visit this museum initially but because it was raining heavily in St. Mark Square where the St. Mark's Church located, we ran into this museum thereafter. Secondly, we thought this museum is relating to history of two countriess decided to break up their nations' friendship but both of us were totally wrong. Museum of Broken Relationships is actually a museum dedicated to failed love relationships and this is where they displayed their personal items from former lovers along with brief synopses. Frankly speaking, I'm not a history buff but I found this museum is quite interesting and fascinating - one of a kind and unique museum, I should say. 

Entrance Fee: 40 kuna (approx. to RM27)

6) Mirogoj Cemetery - Alright, probably many of you would not ever consider to visit cemetery but this cemetery is not like what you think. Mirogo Cemetery is claimed to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Europe and it is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. Besides being a burial place, it also consists an open art gallery and a beautiful green park. So if you are looking for Instagram-worthy spot, do consider here. Trust me! Your followers won't believe this is a cemetery place. By the way, this rarely visit spot is located out from the old town. So we took bus #106 from Zagreb Cathedral to here. 

Other Sights We Bumped Into:

Apart from the above, we stumbled upon few buildings with fascinating and impressive architecture that caught my attention. Guess I am an archilover. 

Zagreb Art Pavilion


Croatian National Theatre

Zagreb Train Station (Glavni Kolodvor) - This is a railway hub which has direct services to major European cities like Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Ljubljana and Sarajevo.

A random building which I don't know what it is but I love this pic anyway. #nofilter


A few shots for the sake of the Instagram

My newly bought dress from Croatia's H&M and my 10 years old sling bag from France's H&M

Never leave a city without sending at least a postcard #thetravellingnails

THE FOOD WE ATE IN ZAGREB


Kicked off our second day with a cup of hot coffee and pastries at Pan-Pek


Lunch at Bombay Grill. We're kinda craving for something spicy and Asian food, so we settled our lunch here. It's so delicious that we finished almost everything served on the table.

Before leaving Croatia, don't forget to try Croatian Vanilla Custard Cake - Kremsnita.
In Zagreb, try the one in Vincek which is not far away from Ban Jelacic Square.

HOW TO GET TO ZAGREB INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 

After staying for two days and two nights here, it's time to bid goodbye to Zagreb which marks my last city in Croatia. As my flight back to Istanbul is scheduled to depart at 9am, I have to leave the city at least by 5 am. From Chillout Hostel, I walked to Ban Jelacic Square to take tram #6 heading to Zagreb Bus Station (Autobusni Kolodvor). And from there, I took airport shuttle operated by Croatia Airlines which opens to the public. It takes about an hour journey from the bus station to the international airport and that explain why I need to leave the city early. One way costs 30 kuna and can be purchased on the bus. 

First time flying with Turkish Airlines and this is one freaking expensive one-way ticket I ever bought.

TOTAL SPENDING FOR 2D2N IN ZAGREB

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	HRK/€	RM
Accommodation Chillout Hostel – 2 nights Transportation Plitvice Lakes to Zagreb by bus Bus #106 from Mirogoj Cemetery Tram #6 to Zagreb Bus Station Croatia Airlines Bus Admission Fee Museum of Broken Relationships Food & Drinks First Day Lunch – McD First Night Dinner - Groceries  Second Day Breakfast – Pan-Pek Second Day Lunch – Bombay Grill Second Night Dinner – Wrap Grill Pork Coffee & cake at Zagreb Airport Others Magnet Postcards Stamps Souvenirs & snacks	HRK169 HRK80 HRK4 HRK4 HRK30 HRK40 HRK36 HRK16 HRK25 HRK79 HRK16 HRK43 HRK50 HRK9 HRK20 HRK93	114 52 3 3 20 27 24 10 17 53 11 29 34 6 13 63
TOTAL (RM)		479

Exchange Rate: €1.00 (RM4.84) = 7.13 kuna on average

Previous Post on My 2018 Balkans Trip

• 48 Hours in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Sarajevo to Mostar By Train and Stari Most
• A Day Trip To Blagaj Tekija, Pocitelj, Kravice Falls & War Tour
• Can't Help Falling In Love With Dubrovnik
• Old City Walls of Dubrovnik
• From Dubrovnik to Split
• A Day Trip To Sibenik From Split
• A Short Layover To Zadar
• The Breathtaking View of Plitvice Lakes National Park

Share:

Balkans (2018): The Breathtaking View of Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

"Am I in heaven now?"

That's what I asked myself when I entered Plitvice Lakes National Park. I knew this place is beautiful and amazing but I never thought it could be so extraordinary and absolutely mind-blowing. This national place is totally exceeded my expectations. 

Share:

Balkans (2018): Short Trip To Zadar, Croatia

Continue with my previous post on A Day Trip To Sibenik From Split.

After spending two nights in Split which we found it's way more enough to stay there, we moved to the next destination, Zadar. As usual, I always book my bus tickets online prior to the trip in order to secure the seats. All my bus tickets for this trip including the one from Mostar to Dubrovnik bought from Get By Bus - it's secure and reliable website, in case you're wondering. Just remember to print your ticket cause they don't accept mobile notifications. 

#1: Croatian countryside is really stunning and breathtaking.

Share:

Balkans (2018): A Day Trip To Sibenik From Split

I know nothing about Sibenik until my friend told me when we're in Split of Croatia. He stumbled upon one of his friends were travelling there through Instagram and that's explain how we ended up there too. 

When we found out Sibenik is approximately an hour away from Split, immediately we bought our bus ticket at the counter of Split Bus Station at the very last minute. Luckily there were few seats available but sooner, all the seats were filled up pretty quickly. Somehow, we found out that the journey from Split to Sibenik is not that very far away, but it turns out to have quite number of stops. Instead of an hour bus ride, at the end the whole journey took almost two hours. 

Share:

Balkans (2018): From Dubrovnik To Split, Croatia

From the intact walled city of Dubrovnik, we travelled to Split - the second largest city of Croatia. The journey from Dubrovnik to Split takes approximately 4 hour and 30 minutes via bus, therefore we pre-book the morning bus so we able to reach Split by afternoon in order to have more time to explore the town. Do take note as the bus route passing through Neum Corridor which is Bosnia-Herzegovina territory, make sure to have your passport ready. 

#1: Split - the second largest city of Croatia

REACHING SPLIT BUS TERMINAL

Unlike Dubrovnik whereby its bus terminal is located out of the town, the main bus terminal of Split is just situated within the town center. From here, it takes only less than 10 minutes walk to our hostel. Besides the bus terminal, we even spotted the ferry port and train station are just around the corner making the changing or connecting with other means of transport is so convenient in Split. However if you are wondering why don't we travel from Dubrovnik to Split with train is because there is no train between these routes available so far. 

Share:

Balkans (2018): Old City Walls of Dubrovnik

When my friend and I were in Dubrovnik for two days, we went nowhere except casually strolling in and out of the Old City only. Two days might seem long but it's actually sufficient to cover major attractions including walking around the old city walls of Dubrovnik - that's what we did on the second day. 

#1

A walk along this prominent ancient medieval walls that encircles the Old Town is one truly unique and amazing experience. A visit to Dubrovnik is incomplete without a walk around this mighty city wall and it's absolutely must-do-thing when one visiting this "Pearl of the Adriatic" city. With the entrance fee of HRK150 (approx. to RM104), it's really worth to pay a visit as we're rewarded with awe-inspiring views over the deep blue Adriatic sea and inwards over the orange rooftops of the Old Town buildings from the top. 

#2

There are three entrances leads to the old city walls of Dubrovnik; from near the Pile Gate, the Ploce Gate and the Maritime Museum. The Pile Gate entrance which closer to Onofrio's Fountain tends to be the most famous choice among the visitors and therefore the busiest one. From here, we climbed up towards Fort Bokar, the key point in the defense of the Pile Gate. 

#3

From Fort Bokar, we sighted another magnificent fortress across us and it's known as Fort Lovrijenac or St. Lawrence Fortress. One interesting thing about this fort is that it has a triangular layoout with three terraces. The entrance fee we paid earlier not just a visit to the old city walls but it also included a visit to this fort too - thanks to my friend who notice about this, or else it's really a waste.  

#4: Fort Lovrijenac or St. Lawrence Fortress


#6


#7


#8


#9


#10: Somehow we feel like we're in Santorini, Greece


#11


#12


#13


#14


#15

The walls run uninterrupted for about 2km long surrounding the city and we took about 3 to 4 hours to walk all the way around them. It's best to start your visit as early as possible - not just to beat the crowd but to avoid the scorching hot sun up in the afternoon. And in case you are feeling tired and thirsty, don't worry cause there are few cafes available for you to have a sit and order a cup of drink to cool down yourself. You can even grab an ice-cream too! 

#16


#17: Everyday ice-cream+ing in Croatia


#18: This looks alike The Hobbit Village

Old City Walls of Dubrovnik
Admission Fee: HRK150
Opening Hours: 8:00am to 7:30pm daily

TOTAL SPENDING ON SECOND DAY IN DUBROVNIK
My total damages on the second day in this expensive city:

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	€/KN	RM
Accommodation Hostel Angelina Old Town – 1 night Food & Drinks Second Day in Dubrovnik Admission Fee Old City Walls Others Magnet	€30 221 kn 150 kn 21 kn	145 153 104 15
TOTAL (RM)		417

Exchange Rate: €1.00 (RM4.84) = 7.13 kuna on average 

Share: