Supermum

Hi everyone, my sister and I are wanting to travel starting in Prague and want to visit Vienna, Lubjiana, Budapest and Zagreb, doing day trips or overnights in Lake Bled and Plivitce National Park before heading down to Split and the coast....what is the best trail to take? Budapest seems to be out of the way, we will have to backtrack to a hub to go on to other destination? Have plenty of time, allowing 3 nights in each major stop. Want to travel by train as much as possible. I know we will have to bus it to Plivitce, and probably to Bled. Is is worth staying overnight in these side stops or should we just take an day trip?

kja

"allowing 3 nights in each major stop" -- It depends on your interests, but IMO, that's not much (translate: not enough ;-) ) for Vienna or Budapest.

"Is is worth staying overnight in these side stops [Plitvice Lakes and Bled] or should we just take an day trip?"

I strongly recommend an overnight in the Plitvice Lakes. Part of what makes them so special is that the lakes are different colors because of very localized microbiota, and the only way to REALLY appreciate that is to take a loop through the park of at least 6 hours. Yes, you can do less (or more!), but if you do a shorter loop, you won't get the full experience.

Depending on what you want to see and experience, Bled can be seen as a day trip from Ljubljana. I would not have been able to see everything I wanted to see and do in Bled on a single day trip.

The Rough Guides typically have excellent transportation information, so you might want to start with them, especially because they also provide excellent coverage of sites, very useable maps, etc.

Hope that helps!

neckervd

Probably best train itinerary (all intercity trains up to Bled):
Prague - Budapest - Vienna - Villach - Lesce Bled - Ljubljana - Zagreb.
Bus Zagreb - Plitvice - (Zadar -) - Sibenik - Trogir - Split.
You may be interested in a day trip from Sibenik to the Krka Falls Park.

Best journey times:
Prague - Vienna: 4 hrs 10 min
Prague - Budapest: 6 hrs 50 min
Vienna - Budapest: 2 hrs 35 min
Vienna - Lesce Bled: 5 hrs 30 min
Budapest - Lesce Bled: 8 hrs 40 min
Lesce Bled - Ljubljana: 40 min
Budapest - Ljubljana: 7 hrs 50 min












Split.
As said above, count AT LEAST 3 full days for each of the 3 capitals Prague, Budapest and Vienna. There are much less things to see at Ljubljana and Zagreb.

BigRuss

Cities are not equal. There is more to do in some (Prague, Budapest) than others (Zagreb).

You can stay in Zagreb or Ljubljana and visit the other as a day trip - they're that close. That will save you a move.

Any way to reverse the itinerary or are you wanting to finish on the beach and party in Hvar? You did not say when you would travel. Leaving for home from Prague, whether you're a Brit or an American (guessing the latter) is easier than leaving for home from Split.

Supermum

Thanks for the tips!! We are Australian!! wanted to start journey in Prague as planned as I will be visiting friend in Basel before meeting my sister in Prague...also starting in mid May, wanted to end up down the coast when the weather is warmer but not too hot. Now ending in Venice, flying from Dubrovnik, a few days in Venice then fly home...

kja

'"wanted to start journey in Prague as planned as I will be visiting friend in Basel before meeting my sister in Prague"

So your plan is to fly into Prague, go west to Basel, and then proceed to the east? If your first destination is Basel, then you might want to consider flying into Zurich or even Geneva instead, each of which should give you easy access to Basel without forcing you to backtrack.

And BTW, Basel is, IMO, a vastly under-rated city -- do think through YOUR priorities as you plan your time there!

(Thanks to neckervd and BigRuss for adding Prague to the list of cities that definitely deserves more than 3 nights -- I meant to include it; my bad!)

"starting in mid May, wanted to end up down the coast when the weather is warmer but not too hot."

To be honest, I'm not fully convinced that your plan maximizes your experience of warm weather. You are planning to move across different latitudes, different altitudes, different wind streams, etc. And in Croatia, some ferries won't be fully operational until June. If temperatures (air and/or water) are important to you, I urge you to consult good guidebooks about typical climates and additional resources, as necessary, to get a sense of the range of temperature / weather experiences you might experience (all while acknowledging that you won't know what you'll experience until you've actually experienced it ;-) )

DebitNM

Do a day trip from Vienna to Bratislava. An hour each way on train, well worth it.

neckervd

"If your first destination is Basel, then you might want to consider flying into Zurich or even Geneva instead"
May be.
If they have to change planes in Heathrow anyway, it's easier to board there a direct Basel bound flight, however.

Qplat

Was in Bratislava last May a large beer and wine was a mere 2 euro, took day trip from Vienna, well kept beautiful old city.

Out of Split do short ferry ride to Bol on Island of Brac, its magnificent, while there visit the fantastic waterfront winery, its awesome.