I am flying home out of Prague and have about 2 weeks to kill after visiting a friend in Ankara, Turkey. I’d like to take advantage of the time I have to hit a few places in between Istanbul and Prague. Much of what I’ve read says that buses are actually faster than the train in places like Bucharest, Romania, etc.

I was wondering what other peoples’ experiences have been travelling in this area. I was thinking of going from Istanbul-Sofia-Belgrade-Budapest-Prague. Keep in mind that I am a young solo female travelling in early November. Is Belgrade a fairly safe place to travel alone to these days?

Any help at all is greatly appreciated. Also, am I possibly leaving out some really great places by taking this route?