Ben and Claire have just had their fastest-moving week yet, covering three countries in seven days as they continue working their way north through Europe. Here, Claire runs through what they found in each stop, the surprises, the costs, and a couple of lessons learned along the way.
We’ve had a bit of a whirlwind week, three countries in one week. Some places got more of our time than others, but each one taught us something.
Serbia: a bridge, not a destination
Our first stop was just outside Belgrade, staying on the side of a canal in what was essentially a river hotel boat, genuinely floating on the water, reached by walking down something like a ship’s galley walkway. It caught us off guard when we first arrived, we weren’t quite sure what to expect.
We only booked two nights here, deliberately, since this was more about getting a feel for a city than settling in. We arrived fairly late on day one, so we kept it simple: a walk to a local shopping centre, some food, a wander round a nearby park. Day two we drove into Belgrade itself, just over a bridge from where we were staying, and spent the day at the main tourist spots, Belgrade Fortress (free to enter, though a dinosaur playground inside came at an extra cost), a look at the zoo, and a drive out to the marina/waterfront area, which was a lovely spot.
Serbia surprised us. Coming from Bosnia just a few hours earlier, we expected a similar feel, but Serbia was far more built up and commercialised, with noticeably more infrastructure than we’d anticipated. We genuinely enjoyed it, but this was a whistle-stop rather than a proper visit, so we don’t have a huge amount of on-the-ground advice beyond the basics. That said, if you’re touring this part of Europe, it’s worth a stop, just be clear on what area and what sights matter most to you before you arrive, since two days doesn’t get you far.
Cost of living in Serbia averaged £85 a day, on top of breakfast included at our accommodation. That covered meals, drinks, ice creams, and small extras like the dinosaur playground.
Budapest: the highlight of the week
From Serbia we drove up to Budapest, staying just outside the main city centre, again over a bridge. This accommodation was a genuine win for the kids, indoor and outdoor pools, huge play areas, trampolines, football pitches, sand pits, more than enough to keep them entertained on days we stayed local.
We went into the city centre one evening for a walk along the riverfront, past the parliament building and the cathedrals, timed for after the temperature had dropped, which made it far more manageable for the children.
Food-wise, we’d done a bit of research before arriving and it paid off. We ate at Magic 2, a Harry Potter themed restaurant, which was brilliant for the kids. They haven’t watched all the films, but they know enough (helped along by a trip to America) to get the reference. Each room is themed differently, with effects on the walls, and the drinks and food are all inspired by the films, ours came with smoke pouring out. The kids stuck to a fairly average spaghetti, but our meals were genuinely good, and it wasn’t bad value considering it was more of an experience than a straightforward dinner.
We also visited Cafe Csendes (the “2D cafe”), well known for its matcha drinks and fluffy pancakes. It’s beautifully decorated, illustrations covering the walls inside, and the matcha selection was excellent, Claire went for the creme brulee version. We shared a few rounds of fluffy pancakes, pistachio, Nutella, and Oreo, served with fruit, all at a very reasonable price. Well worth a visit.
Our last day was a simple wander round the shops and a few more sights, nothing too adventurous. We also finally got our laundry done here, after two frustrating hours in Serbia driving to laundrette locations the map insisted existed but that simply weren’t there when we arrived. Budapest had plenty of options, so that got sorted at last.
Three nights in Budapest averaged around £93 a day, again on top of included breakfast, reflecting the fact that Budapest is a big, touristy city centre and we ate at a more expensive restaurant than usual for the Harry Potter experience.
Slovakia: exactly what the kids needed
After three nights in Budapest, we headed to Slovakia, mainly to break up the drive towards Poland, but we booked two nights rather than just passing through. This was another mountain resort, smaller than the one we stayed at in Bosnia, more of a mountain village feel, and we were genuinely impressed the moment we arrived.
The amenities here were brilliant for the children, after a couple of city breaks in a row, this was exactly the reset they needed. Play areas, climbing frames, and an animation team running activities from 9am to 9pm gave the kids a proper chance to engage with other children. Our son in particular was in his element playing football with kids from other countries, and it was genuinely lovely to watch, none of them shared a language, but none of that mattered once they were playing. Our daughter spent time at the craft table with some of the other girls there, having just as much fun.
We did a decent hike while we were there too, around 5km up into the surrounding mountains and back down. One evening we walked over to a neighbouring complex that had its own small theme park set-up, ate at their restaurant, and since we arrived late in the day, got a generous deal on a day ticket from the guy on the desk since only an hour or two of the day remained, giving the kids a proper play there for a few hours. The site we stayed at also put on a barbecue one evening for everyone staying there, just €8 a person for a good spread of meats and veg, a nice touch.
The room itself was a genuine squeeze, we both stopped in our tracks a bit when we walked in. A double bed with bunk beds above, no air conditioning, and quite a small space. With daytime temperatures in the mid-to-late twenties, not the hottest we’ve experienced overall, but combined with no aircon in such a tight room, it felt very stuffy, and none of us slept well the first night. On the second night we swapped the sleeping arrangement, children down on the double bed with Claire, Ben on the floor nearby, and kept the window cracked open behind the net for a bit of a breeze, which helped, though we’d still have preferred proper air conditioning.
Slovakia averaged £70 a day, breakfast included, with the rest going on meals out and a couple of paid extras at one of the kids’ play areas.
What stayed with us
Across all three stops, what really struck us was the scenery, especially on the drives between places and up in the mountains. Everything green, everything fresh, mountain views that stopped us in our tracks. This part of Europe genuinely isn’t on most people’s radar, and it should be. If you can work destinations like these into a wider trip, it’s absolutely worth it.
Serbia taught us that not every stop needs to be a deep dive, sometimes a place is a bridge between where you’ve been and where you’re going, and that’s fine too. Budapest reminded us how much a bit of research into restaurants and cafes pays off. And Slovakia reminded us that after a run of city breaks, our children need somewhere to just be kids again, running around, playing, making friends without needing a shared language to do it.
We did notice, too, that moving this frequently in one week, three countries, back to back, takes its toll, mostly the sheer amount of driving time involved, and it left us feeling genuinely fatigued by the end of it. We’ve now arrived in Poland, and we’ll share more soon on the rest days and reset we needed once we got there.
What else is possible when a country you’d never really considered turns out to be one of the best parts of the trip?
FAQ
Is two or three days enough to see a city like Belgrade or Budapest? Enough to get a genuine feel for a place and hit the highlights, though we’d call Budapest worth more time than we gave it if your schedule allows.
Is Slovakia worth visiting with young children? Very much so, especially a mountain resort with organised kids’ activities. It gave our children a proper social reset after a run of sightseeing-heavy stops.
What’s the biggest lesson from this stretch of the trip? Don’t underestimate how much children need unstructured play and other kids to run around with, especially after a few city-focused days in a row.
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