The Volleyball Nations League has long been more than just a battle on the court. With a format of three tournament weeks on different continents, travel, time zones, and recovery become a hidden but real factor.
VNL 2026 will place teams in very different logistical conditions. Some will cross the ocean round trip, while others will complete the preliminary phase with a much more stable European rhythm.
Bulgaria is among the teams with the toughest route.
Bulgaria: South America → Europe → North America
The national team will play:
Week 1: 🇧🇷 Brazil
Week 2: 🇸🇮 Ljubljana
Week 3: 🇺🇸 Chicago
This means the scenario:
➡️South America Europe North America, i.e., the classic model“west–east–west”, with a round-trip Atlantic crossing within one month.
Teams with
| Team | Route | Continents |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | South America Europe North America | 3 |
| Brazil | South America Europe North America | 3 |
| France | North America Europe North America | 3 |
| USA | North America Europe North America | 3 |
| Japan | Asia Europe Asia | 3 |
| Cuba | Asia Europe Asia | 3 |
Analysis and commentary
These are the teams with the most inconvenient configuration two-way travel across the ocean and back-and-forth time zone changes. Bulgaria is in this group, which means more difficult acclimatization and recovery compared to teams that remain in one region. Cuba is a particularly illustrative extreme case: with an Asia Europe Asia configuration, the team is already among the most burdened in terms of kilometers. If such a team decides to go home between weeks, the travel would double with additional transatlantic flights, which would practically make the route even heavier throughout the entire tournament.
Teams with
| Team | Route | Continents |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | Asia ", Europe ", North America | 3 |
| Italy | North America ", Europe ", Asia | 3 |
| Argentina | South America ", Europe ", Asia | 3 |
| Canada | North America ", Europe ", Asia | 3 |
| Belgium | South America ", Europe ", Asia | 3 |
| China | Asia ", Europe ", North America | 3 |
Analysis and commentary
These teams also change three continents, but the movement is more linear, without returning back across the ocean. The load remains serious, but more tolerable than the "west extendash{}east extendash{}west" route that Bulgaria has.
An important clarification is that for teams with a heavy but one-way route extemdash{} especially non-European teams extemdash{} the calendar does not necessarily mean returning home between weeks. In configurations like America ", Europe ", Asia, it is much more logical for teams to stay in Europe as an intermediate training base, instead of adding two more long flights with a return and a new departure. Thus, Europe becomes a natural "transit center" for preparation, which partially relieves the load for teams like Canada, Argentina, or China.
Teams with
| Team | Route | Key factor |
|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | Asia Europe Europe | 2 consecutive weeks in Europe |
| Serbia | South America Europe Europe | Final week at home |
| Ukraine | Asia Europe Europe | European finish without ocean flights |
| Germany | North America Europe Europe | Two weeks in one region |
| Turkey | North America Europe Europe | Shorter flights in the final part |
Here are the teams that finish the preliminary phase with two weeks in Europe. This means less travel, shorter flights, and a more stable preparation rhythm.
The best example is Slovenia – after the tournament in Ljubljana, the team moves only to Belgrade, a few hundred kilometers away, without a time zone change.
Recovery days between tournaments
| Period | Days between weeks | Minus 1 travel day | Actual preparation days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil → Ljubljana | 9 days | -1 | 8 days |
| Ljubljana → Chicago | 16 days | -1 | 15 days |
The windows between weeks are decent, but with oceanic flights, fatigue is not just measured in "one day's travel," but in a whole cycle of adaptation. Ljubljana remains the closest-to-home week for Bulgaria, before the new heavy journey to Chicago.
VNL 2026 will be a test not only of volleyball skills but also of logistics. Bulgaria is among the teams with the toughest route – South America, Europe, and back to America – while other teams get a more favorable European finish and a much more stable travel rhythm.
An interesting detail is that the most convenient routes are mainly concentrated among European teams, who finish the tournament without oceanic flights and without changing time zones. In a tournament with four matches in five days, such details can affect recovery, form, and final standings.
