Top Destinations in Eastern and Central Europe for 2021 and 2022
Ben Curtis | benjamincurtis.me
I hope everyone is nurturing some travel dreams for the not too distant future, and in this post I’ll give my top recommendations for where to travel in Eastern and Central Europe over the next year. As much damage as the pandemic has done to the travel industry, for people who are ready to hit the road again soon, you’ll find some incredible opportunities and bargains.
Together with fellow GC contributor Andrew Villone, I co-host the “Eastern Approaches” podcast, in which we talk all things travel in the parts of Europe we know and love best. On a recent podcast episode, Andrew and I gave our travel picks in two categories: places you should visit ASAP before the crowds come back, and amazing places that have weathered the pandemic well and should be top of the list if you want to get off the beaten track.
ASAP destinations
PRAGUE
My #1 recommendation for a place you should come sooner rather than later is the city I live in, Prague. It’s no secret that Prague is one of the world’s most beautiful capitals, and prior to the pandemic it was one of the five most-visited cities in Europe, after London, Paris, Rome, and Istanbul. That meant that the center of Prague could sometimes feel like a theme park, with tourists overwhelming locals.
Prague, with Charles Bridge and the Castle
Image | Pexels, Pixabay
Let me tell you that those days are totally gone right now—but they’ll probably come back soon enough. One recent morning I was wandering around Prague Castle, the largest ancient castle in the world according to Guiness, which can be absolutely thronged with visitors if you hit it at the wrong time. How many tourists were there the other day? Two. It was fantastic. You can have incredibly charming corners of this magical city all to yourself. So if you’ve ever thought of visiting Prague, I really want you to see it like this!
THE DALMATIAN COAST
Andrew and I are both big fans of Croatia’s spectacular coastline. It’s easy to understand why: that combination of sunshine, the aquamarine waters of the Adriatic Sea, the stony mountains, forested islands, and perfect medieval towns has attracted more and more tourists over the last decade. Being featured as a location in Game of Thrones and Mamma Mia 2 also introduced more people than ever to the beauty of this part of the world.
Zlatni rat beach on the island of Brač
Image | dronepicr, Creative Commons
The crown jewel of the Dalmatian coast, Dubrovnik, can get crowded when there are cruise ships in port. But guess what: it will be a while before the cruise crowds are back, and you can very easily find your own island kingdom without having to share it with packs of partying Brits, German nudists, or Czech families. In particular, I’d recommend you do Dubrovnik soon, before it gets busy again. After a few days there, you can explore all the rest of this wonderful region at leisure.
THE GREEK ISLANDS
Very similar to Dalmatia, Greece’s islands can be a victim of their own success. Places like Santorini, Mykonos, or Rhodes are so unbelievably beautiful that they attract hordes of tourists in high season. Especially when the cruise ships line up, the charm of these places can quickly get trampled. I remember on one of my visits to Santorini thinking, “This place is so breathtaking, and yet so sad… what cruise ship tourism has done to it!”
Lindos, on the island of Rhodes
Image | steel902, Pixabay
But again, the cruise industry is going to take a while to ramp up (and it could be years, if ever, before it reaches 2019 levels). So there has never been a better time to enjoy these islands. It’s easy to get there without a cruise: the Greek ferry system is efficient, and island-hopping across the archipelago should be an experience that every traveler has at least once in their life. In the past, I would come to this part of the world only in the shoulder season, spring or fall. But because tourist numbers are so down, I’d even consider coming in the height of summer. So if you have never been to Greece, or if you’ve got a hankering to go back, don’t hesitate!
Off-the-beaten-track destinations
One of the unpleasant trends before the pandemic was overtourism at Europe’s most famous destinations—places like Prague, Dubrovnik, Venice, or Barcelona. There were of course always places you could go to avoid the crowds. The two places we recommend meet a few criteria: they won’t be crowded, they handled the pandemic relatively well, they’ve got decent health systems in case travelers do encounter any issues, they’re ready to receive tourists again now, and (last but not least) they’re wonderful.
THE BALTIC COUNTRIES
We’re talking about Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania here. These often overlooked, tiny countries have so much to offer. Fascinating, historic capital cities (Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; Vilnius, Lithuania). Nice provincial towns like Tartu, Estonia, or Kaunas, Lithuania, or countryside destinations like Latvia’s coastline. Very affordable prices. And since they’re all members of the European Union, you can be confident that they’re modern, reasonably efficient, and well-governed (unlike, say, Russia, just over the border from all three).
Historic Riga, Latvia
Image | Makalu, Pixabay
You could very happily spend 10 days or two weeks traveling around the Baltics and have a vacation that wouldn’t make you miss France or Ireland or Italy at all. These places are not as famous or sought-after, but that’s not because they’re not interesting. If you go now, I bet that the only other travelers you will encounter will be locals—and that in itself is a recommendation!
TRANSYLVANIA
Yep, Dracula’s homeland, today part of Romania. Even before the pandemic, it was absurd how under-touristed this corner of Europe is. Pretty much everybody knows its name, but few could find it on a map, and even fewer could tell you what it has to offer. Well, believe me, it’s absolutely packed with great sights.
Peleş Castle in the the Carpathian Mountains
Image | thor_son88, Pixabay
Towns like Braşov, Sibiu, and Sighişoara have some of the best preserved medieval cores anywhere in Europe. Striking castles crown hilltops, some with genuine connections to Vlad Țepeş, the legendary inspiration for Dracula. The Carpathian Mountains are some of the wildest in Europe, with great hiking and one of Europe’s top alpine drives, the Fǎgǎrǎş Mountain Highway. Plus Transylvania has stuff you can’t find anywhere else in Europe, such as its fortified churches. I would recommend renting a car so you can easily connect all these wonders—and also head just north to the region of Bucovina, famous for its painted monasteries on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As with the Baltics, after a 10-day or two-week trip to Transylvania, you wouldn’t miss the Scottish Highlands or the Swiss Alps at all. You would have had an unforgettable travel experience in a part of Europe where the money you spend can really make people’s lives better!
So if you’re thinking about a trip to Europe in the near future, I really urge you to consider these highlights in the central and eastern parts of the continent. There’s no better time to see them! For more great travel tips to this part of the world, please do check out the Eastern Approaches podcast.
