Archived:Balkans

1. London to Frankfurt (5 hours on continent + 2 in UK, so quite a long first day)
2. Frankfurt to Munich (inc. some German fun) (3:25)
3. Munich to Trieste (4:47)
4. Trieste to Sarajevo (6:49, so quite long)
5. Sarajevo to Podgorica (6:47, so quite long)
6. Podgorica to Tirana (2:30, a bit of a relief after the previous two days)
7. Tirana to Pristina (5:34)
8. Pristina to Belgrade (3:43)
9. Belgrade to Budapest (3:50)
10. Budapest to Prague (4:58)
11. Prague to Hannover (4:33)
12. Hannover to Rotterdam (3:53)
13. Rotterdam to London (2:55 on continent + 2 hours UK)

Note that this is 13 days, so we have room for expansion here.

Plan 9.Least-Car-Time

Route designed for maximal exploration of Balkans with minimal 6+ hour car journeys, maximal days with no driving.

1. Fly London to Zagreb - ~£150 return, but instantly cuts at least two days of pointless Germanliness - arrive 8pm
2. Zagreb to Split (4 hours by highway, 6 hours if we take the scenic coastal route)
3. Split to Sarajevo (5 hours. Potential to stop in the Alps)
4. Day in Sarajevo
5. Sarajevo to Belgrade (5 hours)
6. Belgrade to Prishtine (4 hours)
7. Day in Prishtine
8. Prishtine to Podgorica (5 hours)
9. Podgorica to Tirana (3 hours - plenty of scenery to explore)
10. Day in Tirana
11. Tirana to Bitola (4 hours - additional scenery) (FYR Macedonia tick)
12. Bitola to Igoumenitsa (4 hours)
13. Igoumenitsa to Venice (boat - Thurs 0800 - Fri 0800)
14. Venice to Zagreb
15. Day in Zagreb
16. Fly Zagreb to London

A plan to fly to Ljubljana, and back from Istanbul

A map

1. Fly to Ljubljana. Spend rest of the day there.
2. Drive to Trieste and spend day there (1:08)
3. Drive to Split (5:00)
4. Spend day in Split
5. Drive to Sarajevo and have a look around (4:25)
6. Drive to Podgorica - quite a long trip (6:48)
7. Spend day in Podgorica, then drive to Tirana (2:33)
8. Morning in Tirana, then drive to Skojpe (4:40)
9. Day trip to Pristina (1:34 each way)
10. Spend day in Skojpe
11. Drive to Salonica in morning/early afternoon. Spend rest of day there (4:00)
12. Day-trip to Mount Olympus (2:39 each way)
13. Spend morning in Salonica, and drive to Alexandroupoli (2:52)
14. Drive to Istanbul and Asia! (3:48)
15. Spend day in Istanbul
16. Fly home from Istanbul

A Plan to drive to Istanbul and fly back (all day numbers are +1)

1. Assemble in London
2. Drive from London to Strasburg (c. 8.5h)
3. Spend day in Strasburg
4. Drive from Strasburg to Ljubljana (c. 8.5h)
5. Spend day in Ljubljana
6. Drive from Ljubljana to Zagreb (c. 2h), spend rest of day in Zagreb
7. Drive from Zagreb to Sarajevo (c. 5h), possibly with detour to Banja Luka
8. Spend day in Sarajevo
9. Drive from Sarajevo to Podgorica via Mostar (c. 2h to Mostar, c. 5h to Podgorica, plus seeing-Mostar time)
10. Spend day in Podgorica
11. Drive from Podgorica to Tirane (c. 2.5h), spend rest of day in Tirane
12. Drive from Tirane to Skopje (c. 4.5h)
13. Spend day in Skopje
14. Drive from Skopje to Pristina (c. 1.5h), see a bit of Pristina, drive to Sofia (c. 4h)
15. Spend day in Sofia (game)
16. Drive from Sofia to Istanbul (c. 6.5h)
17. Spend day in Istanbul, fly home in the evening