The Balkans by train

Take to the skies, Flying Scotsman. Begone, Bernina Express. Rail vacations to the Balkans explore over 1,000km of rail tracks tying together 10 countries. You can trundle along castle-topped Adriatic coastlines and skim past lakes. Dive through 200-plus mountain tunnels before rolling across the Mala Rijeka Viaduct, one of the highest railway bridges in the world. And you’ll stay in a different city each night, from leafy Ljubljana to curious Skopje. All in the space of two weeks.

Sound exhausting? Not when you travel the Balkans on an organised tour. Once you’ve hefted your luggage onboard, you can order a coffee, kick back and spend three hours watching the scenery come to you as a guide translates exactly what you’re seeing. A tour guide is invaluable in the Balkans, where the recent rocky history is as fresh as the mortar scars.

That’s not to say that you don’t get to stretch your legs, though. Any Balkans rail vacation worth its salt includes a walking tour at each city you swing by – and they tend to target the cities that many travelers forget, from Sarajevo to Zagreb. Plus, optional half-day trips take you out into the national parks and islands.

These are places that appreciate your coin and your company. Many cities were devastated in the Yugoslav Wars that ran from 1991 to 2001. You’ll see topless houses in Mostar, while painted ‘roses’ memorialise shell damage on the roads of Sarajevo. Although whistle stop, a great railway vacation to the Balkans doesn’t just skim past these cities; you’ll hop off and spend time walking – and understanding – the bruised streets and investing in locally run hotels, bakeries and bars.

As for your carbon footprint, it’ll be more like a carbon thumbprint. Trains create up to 90 percent less CO² emissions than planes. Plus – especially in the Balkans – it’s a communal, community-enhancing way of traveling. Consider how you’re directly investing in local transport, and it’s enough to make you swear off air travel for life.

Sarajevo is less glittering and more cultural gold. Pre-WWI, the minarets, spires and synagogues served a medley of worshippers who now live on separate sides of the river. A three-hour train trip from Sarajevo to Mostar reveals that the beloved humpback bridge has been restored to a shine. The halved houses, on the other hand, are very visible casualties of the Siege of Mostar – a memorial to the hundreds of civilians killed over three years here.

At each stop, you’ll get the chance to visit off-rail wonders like Plitvice Lakes National Park, fairy tale Lake Bled and Mavrovo National Park, home to North Macedonia’s highest mountain. You might get the chance to drive up to Mount Vodno to see the sunrise light up Skopje below or tread in the sandalsteps of Roman gladiators in the ruined amphitheatre of Heraclea.

You’ll be paired up with a guide who knows the Balkans like the back of their hand. They’ll search out the bakeries that serve the cheesiest strukli, be at your side for the frequent border crossings, and teach you how to say hello and thank you in the numerous countries you roll through. They can explain how the Balkans are recovering from the Yugoslav Wars – and be honest about the ways some shell-shocked cities are still struggling.

Accommodation will be pre-booked for you on a small group trip – mostly locally owned hotels within walking distance of the train station. Some trips include one night on an overnight train. All breakfasts but just a few dinners will be included, leaving you the freedom to eat where your budget (or taste buds) demand. Keep in mind that you’ll be lugging your own luggage on and off the trains; pack light and take advantage of the hotel’s laundry services.