After finishing my studies in Germany last summer, I decided to embark on a last-minute, month-long travel spree. One day, my best friend’s brother from high school called me and asked if I wanted to travel with him since he was heading to Europe. An opportunity like that was impossible to pass up, especially for an extended period of time, so I said yes. The funny thing? We had never actually met before, but since I knew his family well, we were already familiar with each other.

We agreed on a travel arrangement – I would plan the entire itinerary, including flights and transportation, while he would book the hotels. After hours of research, I finally put together an incredible month of travel. We knew we wanted to start in Milan and visit Lake Como first. From there, I used one of my favorite travel tools, SkyScanner. An app I highly recommend to anyone planning a European vacation. The best feature? You can enter your departure city and select “Everywhere” as the destination, allowing you to see a ranked list of the cheapest flights by country. Once you select a country, the app then shows available cities and prices, making it an easy way to plan budget-friendly travel.

The cheapest country that popped up for us was Bosnia & Herzegovina. To be honest, I had to open Google Maps to locate it, as I knew little about the country beyond its general location in Eastern Europe. A quick search showed a €13 flight to a city called Banja Luka, which sounded interesting, so I booked two tickets. From there, I researched things to do in Bosnia and found a couple of breathtaking waterfalls that seemed worth visiting. Using another amazing app, Rome2Rio, I mapped out various bus routes to help us get from point A to point B.

The Power of Rome2Rio

Rome2Rio became our go-to tool, both for planning and while traveling. The app allows you to enter any two locations and shows all possible routes, whether by plane, train, bus, ferry, or car. It even estimates taxi fares, making it a valuable resource when budgeting. It was through this app that I found all the major bus companies we used, particularly for traveling across Eastern Europe, where transportation networks differ from those in Western Europe. Without Rome2Rio, I likely wouldn’t have discovered the variety of bus companies that helped us navigate our journey. It also acts as a navigation tool, similar to Google Maps, allowing you to track your current location and plan accordingly. If you’re planning a trip to Europe, this app is a must-have.

Mapping Out the Itinerary

Once I had our first few destinations figured out, I started planning backward. I knew I was flying back to the U.S. from Oslo, Norway, on August 17, 2022, so I looked for the cheapest flights to Norway, knowing it was an expensive country. I found an affordable flight for under $50 from Katowice, Poland, so we decided to stay in Kraków, Poland for two nights, as it was only a 45-minute bus ride to the Katowice airport.

From there, I backtracked further, planning the rest of our trip. Our itinerary looked like this:

• Bosnia & Herzegovina: Banja Luka → Jajce → Mostar → Metković (on the Croatian border)
• Montenegro: Bus to Tivat
• Croatia: Bus from Tivat to Split → Zagreb
• Poland: Tour bus from Zagreb to Kraków
• Norway: Flight from Katowice to Oslo

Flexibility in Travel Plans

One thing I’ve learned from traveling is that it’s always good to prepare for things not to go as planned. While we followed our itinerary for the most part, we had to adjust when we realized some of our original plans weren’t in our best interest.

For example, once we arrived in Tivat, Montenegro, we quickly realized that taking a long bus ride to Split after dealing with multiple border crossings between Bosnia and Croatia was not ideal. We reevaluated our plans and found an alternative route. A shorter bus ride to Dubrovnik, Croatia, followed by a flight to Vienna, Austria, to get us closer to Poland.

This was never part of our original plan, but sometimes you have to go with your gut and make adjustments on the road. After all, spending an entire day on a tour bus was not the experience we were looking for. These are things you only learn while traveling, and I’ll dive into more details about these lessons in future blog posts.

The Importance of Preparation

Despite our last-minute changes, one thing we did well was staying organized. We had everything printed – our flights, bus tickets, hotel reservations, and even a typed itinerary with addresses and confirmation numbers. While technology is great, you never know when you might lose service or your phone might die, so having physical copies was essential.

Final Thoughts

This month-long adventure remains one of my favorite travel experiences. The memories we made and the lessons we learned along the way will always stay with me. Whether it was using travel apps to find the best deals, adjusting our plans on the fly, or embracing the unexpected, this trip reinforced the importance of staying flexible and open to change.

For anyone looking to plan an extended trip, I highly recommend doing your research, using tools like SkyScanner and Rome2Rio, and preparing for the unexpected. Most importantly, be open to new experiences, because sometimes the best moments happen when things don’t go according to plan.

Xoxo, Harleigh