Why You Should Travel To Eastern Europe In 2023

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For many, a trip to Europe is a bucket list moment in their lives, but Eastern Europe doesn’t get the same buzz that Western Europe does.

Is it because of pop culture and plenty of media coverage; or simply ease of getting around, communicating in English, and a common currency?

Many have no ambition to travel to the East; when really, why not?

Eastern Europe tends to be more budget-friendly and allows you to get off the beaten path.

It also has its own culture, history and traditions that you cannot find anywhere else in Europe.

So why are people afraid to travel to Eastern Europe?

In this guide, we’ll share exactly why you should be adding Eastern Europe to your travel bucket list and why it shouldn’t be avoided.

So, where exactly is Eastern Europe?

It’s in the East, right? But where do you draw the line exactly?

Back in the Cold War days, defining the borders of Eastern Europe was easy; it was made up of all the communist countries on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

Nowadays, it depends where you get your information. For me, Eastern Europe is everywhere east of the Adriatic Sea and west of Asia-Minor (the West side of Istanbul).

Just having the geographical North, East, South, and West makes life easier.

Wikipedia suggests Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine as Eastern Europe.

So where does that leave those countries in the Balkans such as Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia?

And what about the Baltics like Estonia and Latvia?

You get the idea; let’s just say Eastern Europe is in the East of the continent, and also includes those southern eastern countries that connect to Turkey such as Bulgaria and Greece.

Why you should travel to Eastern Europe

If you’re still on the fence about visiting Eastern Europe, here are some of the top reasons to visit in 2023!

Eastern Europe is safe

Eastern Europe is not as unsafe as you might think. The people are genuine and friendly, things cost less, it’s easy enough to get around, there’s plenty of history and geographic diversity.

However, for the first-time traveller, travel there requires a little more flexibility (and perhaps travel planning) than Western Europe; but overall it makes it an…