Dublin vs. Sarajevo
September 5, 2015 7:50 PM Subscribe
I'm planning a trip in early November, and need some advice on the city of choice. Where would you go, Sarajevo or Dublin?
So my mom and I are going on a mother-daughter trip in November. We originally planned to fly into Budapest and fly out of Sarajevo eight days later, going on trains through Zagreb. However, with the recent situation in Hungary we are rethinking Budapest. Given our timeframe, we've figured out that there is a similarly-priced flight to Dublin, and also one that goes straight to and from Sarajevo. Neither of us have been either place or indeed country.
If we go to Sarajevo, we would probably rent a car and drive to Zagreb, then take the loop through the Pilvichiek National Park, Split, Dubrovnik, and back to Sarajevo. (Twelve or so hours of driving, all split up.)
I know nothing about Dublin, but my mom wants to go to Ireland eventually. I am not exactly opposed but just don't have enough information to know if I'd like it. Like, where would we go from Dublin?
My goal is to get on a train, see some beautiful scenery, maybe some castles, and a museum or two. Good food would be a bonus. I guess I'm also worried about driving in Bosnia and Croatia, but maybe I shouldn't be?
In sum I'm not sure what the best option is for us to have a relaxing (and yet exciting!) vacation. Sarajevo? Dublin? Good people of Metafilter, can you weigh in? Thank you.
So my mom and I are going on a mother-daughter trip in November. We originally planned to fly into Budapest and fly out of Sarajevo eight days later, going on trains through Zagreb. However, with the recent situation in Hungary we are rethinking Budapest. Given our timeframe, we've figured out that there is a similarly-priced flight to Dublin, and also one that goes straight to and from Sarajevo. Neither of us have been either place or indeed country.
If we go to Sarajevo, we would probably rent a car and drive to Zagreb, then take the loop through the Pilvichiek National Park, Split, Dubrovnik, and back to Sarajevo. (Twelve or so hours of driving, all split up.)
I know nothing about Dublin, but my mom wants to go to Ireland eventually. I am not exactly opposed but just don't have enough information to know if I'd like it. Like, where would we go from Dublin?
My goal is to get on a train, see some beautiful scenery, maybe some castles, and a museum or two. Good food would be a bonus. I guess I'm also worried about driving in Bosnia and Croatia, but maybe I shouldn't be?
In sum I'm not sure what the best option is for us to have a relaxing (and yet exciting!) vacation. Sarajevo? Dublin? Good people of Metafilter, can you weigh in? Thank you.
Best answer: Those are both great trips.
If you go to Dublin, definitely spend a couple of days there and then head either north (toward Antrim and Belfast) or southwest/west (toward Cork and the Ring of Kerry, or toward Galway and Connemara). Beautiful scenery, castles, museums, check check check :) Kinsale, in Co. Cork, is famous for food; the food in Dublin has always been quite good in my experience. Cork has several really good restaurants too.
I am sad about the situation in Hungary for a lot of reasons, and I'm sad that you'll miss Budapest, which is a really amazing city. With that said, Croatia is gorgeous. We loved Plitvice especially. We took a bus from Dubrovnik to Split, then rented a car to go to Rovinj, Mostar, and Plitvice. I will say that the food in Croatia - with the exception of Mostar - was really, emphatically not good. I hear it's better in Zagreb. Dubrovnik and Split, though, is a lot of mediocre seafood at inflated tourist prices.
Driving in Croatia was extremely easy, especially between cities - it's all nice big wide highways. Ireland...will not be like that.
I think your Ireland trip is more likely to be relaxing; your Balkan itinerary will be pretty packed. Either trip will be great, though.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 9:31 PM on September 5, 2015
If you go to Dublin, definitely spend a couple of days there and then head either north (toward Antrim and Belfast) or southwest/west (toward Cork and the Ring of Kerry, or toward Galway and Connemara). Beautiful scenery, castles, museums, check check check :) Kinsale, in Co. Cork, is famous for food; the food in Dublin has always been quite good in my experience. Cork has several really good restaurants too.
I am sad about the situation in Hungary for a lot of reasons, and I'm sad that you'll miss Budapest, which is a really amazing city. With that said, Croatia is gorgeous. We loved Plitvice especially. We took a bus from Dubrovnik to Split, then rented a car to go to Rovinj, Mostar, and Plitvice. I will say that the food in Croatia - with the exception of Mostar - was really, emphatically not good. I hear it's better in Zagreb. Dubrovnik and Split, though, is a lot of mediocre seafood at inflated tourist prices.
Driving in Croatia was extremely easy, especially between cities - it's all nice big wide highways. Ireland...will not be like that.
I think your Ireland trip is more likely to be relaxing; your Balkan itinerary will be pretty packed. Either trip will be great, though.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 9:31 PM on September 5, 2015
Best answer: Meh. Croatia is going to be more interesting, and Ireland in November, while beautiful, will be a bit grim weather-wise. Also cold. Also damp.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:18 AM on September 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 12:18 AM on September 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I personally wouldn't be put off of starting from Budapest despite the recent events, if you'd like to see Budapest, which is an amazing city. We flew out of Budapest about 10 days ago when the refugees were already starting to camp out at the train station, and we didn't even know anything was going on until we got home (granted, we were not traveling by train).
Our itinerary was a bit different than what you're thinking about, but I did spend a lot of time researching options. I'd suggest that given a short time frame you pick either Dubrovnik or Split but not both, and do Mostar instead, which will have a quite different feel. Driving in Croatia and Hungary was not difficult, but the towns can be a challenge in terms of narrow streets, hard to find parking, etc. Plitvice was incredible.
posted by drlith at 8:25 AM on September 6, 2015
Our itinerary was a bit different than what you're thinking about, but I did spend a lot of time researching options. I'd suggest that given a short time frame you pick either Dubrovnik or Split but not both, and do Mostar instead, which will have a quite different feel. Driving in Croatia and Hungary was not difficult, but the towns can be a challenge in terms of narrow streets, hard to find parking, etc. Plitvice was incredible.
posted by drlith at 8:25 AM on September 6, 2015
Best answer: There may well be no refugees at Budapest station in November, for one a lot of people are setting off on foot/the sea when they start their desperate journeys and there will be less people setting off in winter. There is also a limit how long any European capital will allow itself to have hundreds of people living in the main terminus of the capital city and they are under intense pressure from neighbouring countries to cooperate on resolving this. Again cooler temperatures will add urgency to this. So no reason not to travel in Niv. I've found driving in the Balkans quite easy. Be sure to specify you need an automatic as they will only have a limited number.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:49 AM on September 6, 2015
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:49 AM on September 6, 2015
Best answer: Go to Sarajevo. A few people have mentioned Croatia, and honestly, if you can add another trip make it CROATIA.
posted by newthirdworld at 9:53 AM on September 6, 2015
posted by newthirdworld at 9:53 AM on September 6, 2015
Best answer: ..i mean that in a nice way - Dublin will be cold and dismal, it's a great place to visit, but your Sarajevo itinerary looks great, i've been to Dubrovnik and Hvar, and they are stunning.
posted by kev23f at 7:00 AM on September 7, 2015
posted by kev23f at 7:00 AM on September 7, 2015
Response by poster: We've decided on Sarajevo! We do want to see a lot of Croatia as well, so it looks like we won't even have time for Budapest. Thank you so much for all your feedback.
posted by tooloudinhere at 8:20 AM on September 7, 2015
posted by tooloudinhere at 8:20 AM on September 7, 2015
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Driving, particularly on highways, didn't seem at all crazy (particularly given the UK side switch which I always find fairly disruptive), though it got a little nuts in cities, especially in Split or around old-town Sarajevo where the streets are a bit complex. Get maps beforehand rather than relying on street signs/etc and with two people (i.e. one to navigate) I think you'd be fine. Most of the really tight spots are pedestrian-only anyways.
Tons of stuff in Bosnia & Herzegovina that you can only get to by car (we got in on a van hire) -- if you end up making the trip, I have a half-dozen recommendations just on the drive from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo. It's an amazing area and it really seems like an excellent time to visit.
posted by j.edwards at 8:29 PM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]