Dubrovnik or Split to Sofia

From Dubrovnik, the general consensus is that the most efficient route is to travel down the coast to Bar, take the train to Belgrade (or Nis), and then catch the train or bus from there to Sofia. On both of those train legs you would have the option of traveling overnight.

From Split, you could follow the same route down to Bar. However, it might be more efficient (and simpler) to go through Zagreb, and from there catch a direct train to Sofia. (You could also take a bus from Zagreb via Belgrade, which might shave a couple of hours off your travel time, although it will be much less comfortable.)

The cost is roughly similar for bus and train, although purchasing a sleeping compartment in a train will probably make that more expensive (and much more comfortable). I traveled this route a few years ago, but I don't remember the cost. I'd just guesstimate that you're looking at 50+ Euros, plus supplements for sleeping compartments.

There is one more option that you may want to explore. I have heard that there is a bus that runs only in the summer from Dubrovnik to Skopje, Macedonia. If you could locate such a bus, it would probably be most efficient to take the bus to Skopje, and then catch one of several daily buses from Skopje to Sofia.

Hope this helps!

Dave

i can only add few more thoughts.

from Dubrovnik, it would be ideal to catch a direct bus to Bar or Podgorica, and continue ur trip as Dave suggested. However, if you happen to catch a bus to Herceg Novi (coastal town just after crossing Cro-Mne border), then, while looking for a bus to Podgorica/Bar, look for buses which takes you directly to Nish (Serbia) or Belgrade (serbia). I am sure there are a couple of them per day. In my opinion, that would be a bit more direct and simplier.

Herceg Novi to Podgorica was about 6 euros with a bus, or 7 or 8 with a minibus.

There were night trains from Podgorica to Belgrade/Nis at 20:35 and 22:00. Price for 2nd class compartment (seats) was about 15 euros.

for precise train timetables, check out www.bahn.de</a><BR><BR>

btw, bus Herceg Novi - Nish was about 17 euros (one way), train between Nis and Sofia was about 5 euros.

Thanks to all of you. I have a question, me and my friends are uruguayen and we don't know if we need visa to travel across Montenegro. We were searching but it seems that nowhere there's a embasy or consulate office of that country.

best regards.

Pablo y Adriana.

Diplomatic Missions of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegro is officialy independent, but still use Serbian consulates and shares the very same visa regime with Serbia (with minor differences shown on that website).

so you definitely need visa for Montenegro and Serbia.

Do you need visa for EU schengen countries? If you obtain one, you can maybe consider taking a ferry from Croatia to Italy (Ancona, Brindisi, Bari) and then taking another one to Greece (Patras). From Greece, you could go straight to Sofia if you catch a train from, name it, Thessaloniki.

Is there any Uruguayen website where you can see which countries request visas for your passport and which don't. If so, put a link here :)
I'm interested about Albania and Macedonia.

marko

The Albanian ministry of foreign affairs website shows that Uruguayans need to get a visa in advance. Apparently they are supposed to apply in Rome, which I'm sure is very convenient if you live in Uruguay!

http://www.mfa.gov.al/english/viza4.asp<BR><BR>I couldn't find any useful info at the equivalent Macedonian website - I couldn't even find where they say that EU etc. don't need visas.

Sadly it seems that getting around the Balkans is a pain in the neck for most South Americans - not just the cost of visas, but the practical difficulties of applying for them. I've had several e-mails from South American tourists who have essentially given up on visiting places like Bosnia or Macedonia for that reason.