Sultans Trail - Vienna, Austria to Istanbul, Turkey

[karlyk]

Has anyone actually walked the Sultans Trail from Vienna, Austria to Istanbul, Turkey? I am looking for some first-hand experience from walkers. I'm holding off on purchasing any guidebooks until I know this is something I can reasonable expect to do on my own. I don't want to waste money if I won't complete the walk.

How was it?
What guidebooks/apps did you use? Was cell reception an issue?
How many km do you walk on average per day?
What are accommodations like and what is the average cost? I'm a serious budget traveler, given that I'm living on modest savings.
Is tent camping a possibility/requirement?
What is the terrain like? Mountainous? Rural? Urban?
Best time of year to walk? I'm considering starting in April, 2020.
Is it reasonable to expect a solo traveler to complete this? And, the question that always arises: is it safe for a young female solo walker?

Any info is welcome!

Karly

 

[KinkyOne]

Has anyone actually walked the Sultans Trail from Vienna, Austria to Istanbul, Turkey? I am looking for some first-hand experience from walkers. I'm holding off on purchasing any guidebooks until I know this is something I can reasonable expect to do on my own. I don't want to waste money if I won't complete the walk.

How was it?
What guidebooks/apps did you use? Was cell reception an issue?
How many km do you walk on average per day?
What are accommodations like and what is the average cost? I'm a serious budget traveler, given that I'm living on modest savings.
Is tent camping a possibility/requirement?
What is the terrain like? Mountainous? Rural? Urban?
Best time of year to walk? I'm considering starting in April, 2020.
Is it reasonable to expect a solo traveler to complete this? And, the question that always arises: is it safe for a young female solo walker?

Any info is welcome!

Karly

Hi, Karly,

I haven't walk it but I've been in NE and E Turkey. I can't say whter it is safe or not with Turks but you will definitely be spotted as a female, solo or not. The part around Istanbul is much more "europeanised" (did I invent a new word maybe???) so I doubt you would have any problems.

Anyway maybe you can find some more info here:

Sultans Trail – A European Cultural Route

www.sultanstrail.net

Happy planning!

 

[Kitsambler]

How was it?
Was cell reception an issue?
How many km do you walk on average per day?
What are accommodations like and what is the average cost?
Is tent camping a possibility/requirement?
What is the terrain like? Mountainous? Rural? Urban?
Best time of year to walk? I'm considering starting in April, 2020.
Is it reasonable to expect a solo traveler to complete this? And, the question that always arises: is it safe for a young female solo walker?

Apart from the route specifics, which will obviously be different, many of your general-region questions might be answered in the European Peace Walk section of this Forum. There are several blogs mentioned there that might be useful to you as well.

 

[domigee]

Has anyone actually walked the Sultans Trail from Vienna, Austria to Istanbul, Turkey? I am looking for some first-hand experience from walkers. I'm holding off on purchasing any guidebooks until I know this is something I can reasonable expect to do on my own. I don't want to waste money if I won't complete the walk.

How was it?
What guidebooks/apps did you use? Was cell reception an issue?
How many km do you walk on average per day?
What are accommodations like and what is the average cost? I'm a serious budget traveler, given that I'm living on modest savings.
Is tent camping a possibility/requirement?
What is the terrain like? Mountainous? Rural? Urban?
Best time of year to walk? I'm considering starting in April, 2020.
Is it reasonable to expect a solo traveler to complete this? And, the question that always arises: is it safe for a young female solo walker?

Any info is welcome!

Karly

Hi Carly,
i am not sure whether it was the ‘Sultan’s way’ (Never heard of it) but I did walk from Vienna to Istanbul (and further).
I sent back my tent after Germany as the weather was so bad to camp (torrential rain for weeks) but also, the campsites were in lovely spots but away from any shops/villages... (only OK if you had a car or bicycle).
We walked through Austria, then on to Bratislava, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and finally Turkey.
The accommodation after Austria was very cheap, so was the food. I remember renting a whole house (beautiful) for 14 euros or thereabouts.
The terrain is varied, there aren’t walking paths as such, mostly empty roads, sometimes old Roman roads. Serbia was flat for the first few days but then you have to cross the mountains. I can’t judge how difficult it is because I had walked from England and by then I was pretty fit. The most I ever walked in a day was 51 km (any longer there wasn’t enough daylight).
Actually, I remember a lot of road walking in parts of Serbia and the traffic was quite scary! Same getting into Turkey (Edirne). Lots of lorries!

It is a very lonely walk and although I don’t scare easily, I wouldn’t do it on my own.... but you are probably braver than I am! In Turkey it was frowned upon my walking with a man (who was not a relative), but that was after Istanbul (Ankara, Konya).
I also encountered a lot of stray dogs in Serbia and Bulgaria, I carried a ‘dog dazzer’ which gave me some courage.

All in all, a fantastic walk - and I’d do it again in a jiffy - but it isn’t for the faint-hearted
I walked that stretch in late Autumn and the only drawback was lack of daylight especially in the mountain parts. There was snow in Bulgaria and it was also very cold in Northern Turkey.

I wish you well, happy planning!
D

 

[Tassie Kaz]

Has anyone actually walked the Sultans Trail from Vienna, Austria to Istanbul, Turkey? I am looking for some first-hand experience from walkers. I'm holding off on purchasing any guidebooks until I know this is something I can reasonable expect to do on my own. I don't want to waste money if I won't complete the walk.

How was it?
What guidebooks/apps did you use? Was cell reception an issue?
How many km do you walk on average per day?
What are accommodations like and what is the average cost? I'm a serious budget traveler, given that I'm living on modest savings.
Is tent camping a possibility/requirement?
What is the terrain like? Mountainous? Rural? Urban?
Best time of year to walk? I'm considering starting in April, 2020.
Is it reasonable to expect a solo traveler to complete this? And, the question that always arises: is it safe for a young female solo walker?

Any info is welcome!

Karly

I'll be watching this thread with interest as this walk is on My List too @karlyk
I'll also be walking as a solo female but can't by any stretch claim 'young'!
You don't mention if you're an experienced walker...any other long distance/less travelled trails under your belt (feet)? Your level of experience will dictate quite a bit as you may or may not know what suits you &/or what works for you.
Good luck with your planning. April isn't that far away for such an undertaking so I hope you'll keep us posted.

 

[domigee]

You don't mention if you're an experienced walker...any other long distance/less travelled trails under your belt (feet)? Your level of experience will dictate quite a bit as you may or may not know what suits you &/or what works for you.

Very good point.

 

[karlyk]

Very good point.

Completed the Camino Frances starting in SjPP immediately followed by the Camino Portuguese from Lisbon. Whole trip started in August 2019 and finished a few weeks ago. Caminos are quite clear. I don't have experience going it my own with maps, apps, and GPS. That's what's concerning me about the Sultans Trail, not the walking itself.

 

[Former member 35551]

The long distance European trails (E1, E2, etc.) are very different from the caminos. I don't think the Sultan's trail is an E trail but I suspect the experience may be very similar.

I started the E2 from Hoek van Holland (sic?) on the North Sea, a couple of years ago. The E2 starts in Ireland, goes thru England, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, across the French Alps and ends in Nice. In the French Alps it connects with the GR5. I abandoned the trail near Nancy, France, a long ways before the Alps. It's not really a contiguous trail. It's a series of day hike trails connected by long stretches of asphalt. It was like going from one day hiking trail to the next but rather than traveling by car, between trails, I was walking.

Also, I don't want to camp. Lodging was a problem. In order to time my walk thru the Alps right, I had to start earlier in the year when many hotels, B&B in the smaller villages were closed during the weekdays. Too early in the season. Or you hit a tourist town on a weekend and everything was booked. Or you were expected to stay more than one night or rent out the whole place. You really had to plan ahead.

I have done both the Francis and the Portuguese from Lisbon. They can be done without maps. In my opinion, these long distance paths (E trails) can't be done without maps, either paper or electronic. And you have to have a phone.

I did this solo and while I met a couple of long distance hikers, it is generally a very lonely walk, until you get to the Alps. I like doing really long walks, i.e. 50 days+ but I now do that by stringing together several caminos or medium sized, established walks. As an example, returning to do the GR5 portion thru the Alps is still on my list of trails to do.

Finally, this is not intended to dissuade you. Just my experience. My opinion. Of course, your mileage may vary.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

Completed the Camino Frances starting in SjPP immediately followed by the Camino Portuguese from Lisbon. Whole trip started in August 2019 and finished a few weeks ago. Caminos are quite clear. I don't have experience going it my own with maps, apps, and GPS. That's what's concerning me about the Sultans Trail, not the walking itself.

Yes, that's what I meant by asking about your level of experience. Its not so much the walking but if you're comfortable with no signage, no infrastructure, no other pilgrims, no spoken English, etc. Some people aren't.
I discovered walking the VF that I really enjoyed going My Own Way...not worrying about 'official' routes or concerned with trail markers and I liked having to hunt down accom rather than it being provided, etc. I didn't like having to walk to a timeframe (Schengen visa) or having to do more daily kms than I prefer.
I hope you find the answers you're looking for on the Forum...I'm really interested in what you decide. Good luck!

 

[Re-tired]

I would think twice about walking through Turkey as a single woman or as a Westerner. I used to travel to Turkey for work yearly until 3 years ago. The last time I was there, the driver the company sent to pick me up at the ferry terminal asked me to lie down in the back seat so he wouldn't be seen helping an American.

I saw the country under Erdogan become more and more conservative Islam and anti-Western. Such a shame as it used to be a great place to visit and the people so friendly.

Visiting Istanbul as a tourist is probably still safe but get out into the rural areas and things are sketchy.

 

[Sedat]

Has anyone actually walked the Sultans Trail from Vienna, Austria to Istanbul, Turkey? I am looking for some first-hand experience from walkers. I'm holding off on purchasing any guidebooks until I know this is something I can reasonable expect to do on my own. I don't want to waste money if I won't complete the walk.

How was it?
What guidebooks/apps did you use? Was cell reception an issue?
How many km do you walk on average per day?
What are accommodations like and what is the average cost? I'm a serious budget traveler, given that I'm living on modest savings.
Is tent camping a possibility/requirement?
What is the terrain like? Mountainous? Rural? Urban?
Best time of year to walk? I'm considering starting in April, 2020.
Is it reasonable to expect a solo traveler to complete this? And, the question that always arises: is it safe for a young female solo walker?

Any info is welcome!

Karly

Hello Karly,
Sultans Trail has a Android app with a lot of back ground information available in Google Play Store. There is also an information package with GPS, accomodation and background information available.
April is a good month to start your hike. Max Smits from the Sultans Trail can answer your questions. max@sultanstrail.com
You can also visit the website for more information
www.sultanstrail.com

 

[Yoke]

Hi Karly. Just read your post on walking Sultan Trail this April and I think with the Corvic 19 you would have to postpone your trip. I am also interested in this trail and I just wonder if we could do it together at a time when it’s safe to travel again and also a time suitable for both of us. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[MikeJS]

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000gpbl

 

[Bram.schouten]

Has anyone actually walked the Sultans Trail from Vienna, Austria to Istanbul, Turkey? I am looking for some first-hand experience from walkers. I'm holding off on purchasing any guidebooks until I know this is something I can reasonable expect to do on my own. I don't want to waste money if I won't complete the walk.

How was it?
What guidebooks/apps did you use? Was cell reception an issue?
How many km do you walk on average per day?
What are accommodations like and what is the average cost? I'm a serious budget traveler, given that I'm living on modest savings.
Is tent camping a possibility/requirement?
What is the terrain like? Mountainous? Rural? Urban?
Best time of year to walk? I'm considering starting in April, 2020.
Is it reasonable to expect a solo traveler to complete this? And, the question that always arises: is it safe for a young female solo walker?

Any info is welcome!

Karly

Hey Karly,
In 7 years on hollidays i walked the complete 2500 km from Vienna to Istanbul. Did it completely on GPX tracks which you can get from www.sultanstrail.com. Great! Lots of cheap accomodation, so do not bother to carry a tent. Walking through the balkan history with relaxed quiet villages. Loved it. Bram

 

[bkkboy]

Has anybody cycled the Sultans Trail from Budapest to Istanbul? I am looking for first hand experience, particularly for the availability of accommodation and cycling through Bulgaria, which is supposed to be hilly. What are the roads like to cycle?