… or be prepared to spend extra money on ATM withdrawals
Seven Balkan countries have their own currency, while Slovenia, Montenegro and Kosovo, all use the Euro. Because you’ll be withdrawing money at ATMs every couple of days in each country, it’s best to bring a card with you that has low ATM fees.
Besides hotels, you may have a hard time paying for anything with a card.
Here’s a list of all the currencies and their conversion rates to USD at the time of writing.
Albania, Lek (ALL): $1 = 107 Lek
Bosnia & Herzegovina, (Convertible) Mark (BAM) (some places accept Kunas too): $1 = 1.7 Mark
Bulgaria, Lev (BGN): $1 = 1.7 Lev
Croatia, Kuna (HRK): $1 = 6.5 Kuna
Kosovo, Euro!
Macedonia, Denar (MKD): $1 = 54 Denar
Montenegro, Euro!
Romania, Leu (RON): $1 = 4.1 Leu
Serbia, Dinar (RSD): $1 = 103 Dinar
Slovenia, Euro!
Balkan Travel Tip: Once you leave a country, it’s hard to find a place that will exchange the previous country’s currency into your current country’s currency! If you’re lucky, you’ll find someone in your hostel who is headed in the opposite direction as you.