rancherswife

Daughter and I are still I long way off from our trip planned for September 2014 but then dreaming is part of the process, right? We hope to fly into Dubrovnik, spend a few days there (with a day trip to Mostar); ride the bus up to Split where we will join a bike tour of Hvar & Brac. From there, Plitvice Lakes is on our "must do" list (how could we not? - everyone has raved about how fabulous they are!) but would like advice on what else are "must sees". Two other parks that have caught our interest: Paklenica National Park (Northern Dalmatian area) and Ucka Nature Park (along the Kvarner Coast, between Istria & Rijeka). Has anyone been to these? Can you recommend one over the other? Are we trying to do too much?

After Plitvice Lakes we will have 3-4 days left and thought we would fly out of Zagreb (or perhaps another airport ?) We haven't booked air tickets yet and want to draft out the itinerary first so we can pick the best cities to fly in and out of. I would consider renting a car after we leave the coast but am happy with the buses too.

Would you recommend Istria? Is it a “can’t miss” spot or considering what we already have planned or is it best to leave it for next time? My travel philosophy has always been to enjoy select areas well, and not try to do everything.

yorkshire

I rarely use the phrase "must see" -- but Plitvice is my exception!
I have not visited the other parks, but I do believe Paklenica is best visited with a car.
I think what you should consider is seeing more of southern Dalmatia while you are down there, and save Kvarner/Istria for your next trip. But then you may find yourself going to Dalmatia three times like me and never make it! If that is where you lean, then the islands of Korcula, Vis, and even Lastovo are possibilities.

A car is needed to visit the hill towns of Istria (not so much the coastal towns), and the distances are quite small, so it is possible to have a little visit to Istria in 3-4 days, but it sounds like you are a slower traveler and may wish to save it for a return trip. I do know there is a bike trail in Istria that you may wish to read about: http://www.parenzana.com/

Andrew

Yes, Plitvice is amazing. I drove (from Zagreb to Dubrovnik via Plivtice and Mostar) and didn't take the bus to Plitvice. It is definitely doable (I noted at least one bus stop as I drove by it), but I have also read stories about people either being confused about the bus schedules or buses not stopping for them, so they claimed. But you need to understand that the bus stop (stops?) at Plitvice are not bus stations - they might be a sign and a shelter, and if a driver passing by doesn't think anyone is waiting for her bus, she may not bother to stop. If I were taking catching a bus at Plitvice, I'd confirm the schedule of the exact bus I wanted and not be afraid to stand right at the sign and wave a bus down.

I haven't been to Istria so can't tell you if it's a must-see or not. I hear mostly good things, but it does sound like you need a car to get the most out of the experience.

Ljubljana, Slovenia is a wonderful little city, a few hours by Zagreb by direct train. If you wind up renting a car in Croatia, you'll want to return it in Croatia to avoid a step drop-off charge. You could drop the car in Zagreb and train easily over to Ljubljana and fly out of there, but I have a feeling it won't be cheap to fly directly out of there back to Florida. You could continue from Ljubljana by bus to Venice and fly out of there - or take ferry from Croatia directly across to Venice as well.

kja

A few thoughts:

If at all possible, stay overnight in Mostar. it is much more enjoyable and evocative after day-trippers have left.

I haven't been to either the Paklenica National Park or the Ucka Nature Park, but I did walk the Lungomare from Lovran to Opatija ("beneath" the Ucka Nature Park). I thought the walk very enjoyable (it took a couple of hours with stops to take pictures) and I enjoyed barely-touched Lovran (which had a decidedly faded elegance about it when I was there in 2009); I did not like Opatija, which I thought overly touristy.

I enjoyed Zagreb a lot, but then I really enjoy museums of art, objet d'art, etc.; not everyone does. I spent about 2.5 days there and found it a pleasantly relaxed setting.

Andrew's suggestion to visit Ljubljana is also worth considering -- it's a stunningly charming and uniquely engaging little city. BTW, I flew out of Ljubljana with one stop in Frankfurt before reaching the eastern US.

I'm not sure we can comment on whether you are trying to do too much without knowing your time frame, nor can we say much about what places make most sense for you to see without knowing something about your interests. Croatia and other parts of what was once Yugoslavia include some very diverse places, any of which could be very enjoyable if that are a good fit for you. So -- tell us your time frame and more about your interests!

rancherswife

Many thanks for your suggestions. Daughter and I will be getting together soon and your insights will be the subject of much discussion. From your advice, I am now thinking of heading toward Slovenia after the Plitvice Lakes.

After we leave Plitvice, we'll have 4-5 days left of our holiday. We felt like we would have seen enough coastal towns with Dubrovnik, Split, Hvar and Brac, and wanted to balance our experience. We hadn't originally considered Slovenia but the high praise for Ljubljana is cause to re-think. Our travel interests include cultural and historical sights (but with limited museum exposure), spectacular scenery especially if it includes light hiking or biking (no hard core treks); local food and wine experiences.

I'll definitely research the options of flying out of Ljubljana.

Andrew

Ljubljana isn't full of important museums (which is perhaps one reason why it's not an A-list tourist destination for Americans). It's an architecturally beautiful city: neat bridges (a tiny river runs through the town) a castle above the city, some cool churches, etc. Really, it's one of those little cities where it's fun to stroll, especially at night.

There is one sort-of museum I'd recommend in Ljubljana (I am not a "museum person" myself). On my first visit, I got a tour of the Jože Plečnik house - a half-hour tour of the home of the architect who designed so many of the town's bridges and buildings. The guy was pretty clever in his little inventions, in addition to his bigger works. The Plečnik house isn't open for tours every day, I believe, so you'd have to check to see if it's open.

If you are Ljulbjana, also consider a little side trip up to Lake Bled, a popular tourist destination. (A day trip would be fine.) Look online for pictures (or in my trip report from 2011 if you read it). The lake isn't huge but it's got a neat church on an island in the middle. It's one of those fairy tale scenes that makes your eyes pop, with part of the Alps as the backdrop. There is also a castle above the lake.

If you check Ljubljana as an airport departure option, check Venice, too. If by chance you can find a Venice flight that leaves late enough to fly home, you can get a shuttle from Ljubljana (about three hours) to the Venice airport - I think one of the companies is called Go Opti. That could turn out to be cheaper than flying out of Ljubljana.

xyz99

We spent 2 weeks in Croatia a few years ago, and loved it. We had about 5 days in Istria, and I think it was a good choice, as it is different (in scenery, language, food, architecture style, etc.) than the rest of the country.
Sept-Oct is their truffle harvest season, and another reason to put it on your list. But we had a car, and I think Istria is hard to do without. We stayed in Rovinj and took day trips around. If you go, don’t miss the amphitheater in Pula, the Euphrasian Basilica and its mosaics in Porec, and of course, the hill villages.
Sorry, I cannot help with the 2 national parks you asked about…
Have a great trip.

kja

Some further exploration of options in Slovenia might well be worth your time. In addition to Ljubljana and Lake Bled, you could visit beautiful Lake Bohinj, some fascinating and enormous caves (I went to Škocjan Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and the lovely Vintgar Gorge (good for a walk of about 1.5 hours by a beautiful waterfall quite unlike those of Plitvice Lakes).

I preferred my time in that area to my time in Istria. (Not that I didn't enjoy my time in Istria -- I did.)

bilboburgler

I found two good museums in Ljubljana and the castle which, along with a good lunch and maybe cake with coffee would take up say 6-8 hours.

Lake Bled is stunning (it's where Tito used to take world leaders when he didn't want to give anything away in negotiations)

kja

bilboburgler said: "I found two good museums in Ljubljana." I'm so glad I'm not the only person who enjoyed Ljubljana's museums! And IMO, the grand staircase of the National Museum should not be missed, even if one doesn't want to visit the museum itself.

rancherswife

Certainly, we won't lack for choices on what to do! It will be difficult to decide. Good thing I have months to plan. Thanks for all the suggestions.