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Help with final itinerary Croatia/BiH/Slovenia

Help with final itinerary Croatia/BiH/Slovenia

Old Aug 2nd, 2013, 06:36 AM
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Help with final itinerary Croatia/BiH/Slovenia

A few final questions as I complete our itinerary on an 18 day trip beginning Sept. 25:

1. We fly into Dubrovnik and spend 4 nights. I realize this may be too many nights but the house we rented looks awesome (10 minutes from center of town). So we plan to go to Montenagro from there. What are some other day trips? Island tours? Any tips on planning these day trips?

2. Is 3 nights too many for Ljubljana? (given our trip length) We have 2 in Sarajevo from Dubrovnik also stopping in Mostar on the way. Should we take a night off of Ljubljana and add overnight in Mostar?

3. After Sarajevo, 3 nights at a villa near Trojir. Again, more nights because the house is wonderful. So is a visit to Hvar a good idea for one day from that area? Can we take a car ferry and get back in the same day, and is it worthwhile?

Thanks for any advice!!!
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Old Aug 19th, 2013, 12:56 PM
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hello... did you reserve all acomodations yet? Ok listen, in roughly your plan is ok but it can be so much better...
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Old Aug 19th, 2013, 01:02 PM
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Can you please put the itinerary in order? Surely you don't mean you go from Dubrovnik to Ljubljana to Sarajevo, right?
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Old Aug 19th, 2013, 06:23 PM
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I generally recommend an overnight in Mostar, as it is much more pleasant there after day-trippers leave. But I can't possibly comment on where you should cut a night without knowing something about your interests.

For planning tips, I would recommend that you invest in a least one good guide book. You'll discover things you didn't even know to ask!
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Old Aug 20th, 2013, 05:43 PM
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Sorry, should have included itinerary! Here goes:
Dubrovnik (4 nights)

Currently have 2 nights in Sarajevo, but have decided to change to one night in Montenegro and one in Mostar

Trogir (3 nights)

Plitvice (1 night)

Rovinj (3 nights)

Ljubljana (3 nights)

Zadar (1 night, then depart)

I have read all of the trip reports on Foders and several guidebooks, but always appreciate advice! Thanks!
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Old Aug 20th, 2013, 06:06 PM
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So no nights in Sarajevo?

Departing from Zadar or Split or?

Still can't comment without knowing something about your interests.
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Old Aug 20th, 2013, 09:11 PM
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We just spent 3 nights in Ljubljana and it was perfect (you can use one day to day trip lake bled, tho we did not).

Sarajevo is on the very top of my travel list... I hear wonderful things about it. Seems a shame to be so close yet miss it.
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Old Aug 20th, 2013, 11:08 PM
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What are you planning to do in Dubrovnik for three days/four nights? Why are you renting a place 10 minutes outside of town? To me, the appeal of Dubrovnik IS the old town. I guess there are beach resorts (like Lapad) where people might choose to have a chill vacation and just relax - that would certainly be a slower speed than the old town of Dubrovnik.

And why three nights in Trogir? I know you posted several threads and maybe I missed some of your ideas for each stop...but had you planned a lot of day trips or something from Trogir? I stayed in nearby Split and was bored silly after half a day though I didn't have a car.

Three nights in Ljubljana should be fun.
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 07:36 AM
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Or, did you mean a 10 minute walk from old town (which could be grand)?
The itinerary looks fine to me, though slightly inconvenient to have to backtrack for your departure.
We need to know if you will have a rental car for any portion to recommend day trips.
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 11:11 AM
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Andrew, I agree that staying in the old town of Dubrovnik would be more fun, but my husband found a wonderful house right on the water, and we'll have a car, so we usually do our exploring all day and chill with the couple we're traveling with at night.
Again, we are renting a home on the water near Trogir. I suspected three nights would be too many in that area, so maybe I'll check into changing that. He just loves being on the water and I thought that might provide downtime in the middle of our trip.
Yorkshire, we are flying into Dubrovnik and out of Zagreb. Sorry, put the wrong place! And yes we will have a rental car.
kja, I read your trip report about Sarajevo, and was super excited about going there. Had a hotel for two nights (Hotel Halvat). Then my husband found recent US Embassy notices for American citizens traveling to the area, and it was talking about how crime was increasing due to 40% unemployment, etc. and I got a bit worried. Also had read several trip reports about crazy drivers, and frankly am questioning whether to just stop with Mostar. You know how it can be when you haven't been to a place and are just reading about it!
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 11:21 AM
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We enjoyed Zagreb... I have some Zagreb and Ljubljana trip reports on my blog:

www.centraleuropebeyondprague.com

You need to feel comfortable, but I never read the state department bulletins. They always seem a bit exaggerated to me.
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 11:28 AM
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Oh good, just getting back to Zagreb form Ljubljana is not a big deal at all.
I don't think three nights in Trogir is too much. In addition to Split, you can visit Hvar (as well as Solta, Brac, and places on the mainland. I really enjoyed visiting Drvenki Veli from Trogir. See the Trogir website for ideas, and the jadrolinija website for ferry schedules.).
Also, it might be nice to be outside of the old town, though note that early morning and evening are when it is the nicest (and devoid of cruise throngs!).
Depending on how far you want to drive during the day, day trips from Dubrovnik include the Peljesac peninsula; Mostar and small towns in Bosnia; and Kotor, Montenegro; as well as the many islands off Dubrovnik.
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 11:38 AM
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If you prefer to stop and relax by the water on your vacation, that's certainly your preference. We all have different travel styles. But I think you should be prepared for a stressful driving experience in Dubrovnik itself. I dropped off my car there after driving down from Zagreb (via Mostar) and was glad I did! I wound up driving around in circles trying figure out even where to drop off the car. I wouldn't have wanted or needed a car in Dubrovnik itself, unless I'd had a specific reason (day trip to Montenegro or something - but you are doing that separately).

You can drive to the old town walls but not drive inside, so you will have to find parking outside probably in a lot and walk in.

I stayed in Dubrovnik at a soba (private room) near Pile Gate and a quick walk to the old town. I had a tiny view of the cove next to the town, and one day I followed the soba owner down to the cove and took a swim with him.

I don't know if three nights in Trogir is too many if your plan is to chill and relax there and not have to keep changing hotels every other night. I didn't actually get to see the town when I was in Split, but I hear it's charming, if small. You might reconsider stopping in say Korcula or even in one of the towns in the Makarska region (on the coast between Split and Dubrovnik). I stayed one night in the town there of Baska Voda. It's not much of a town and not much history or anything, but it was lovely and looked like a great spot for chilling out (I spent only a night and a morning there). Korcula is much more interesting, though of course it's a little extra hassle driving there via two ferries if you are coming from, say, Mostar.
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 11:41 AM
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I have never read state dept. bulletins either, we just happened upon it when googling something about Sarajevo. I was thinking about leaving Dubrovnik and spending one night in Montenegro and one in Mostar. I mapped the drive from Kotor Bay to Mostar and can't find any information on the conditions of the suggested route. If anyone knows I would appreciate guidance!
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 11:49 AM
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Hey Debbie... I live in Budapest and a friend of mine makes this trip quite a bit... I will ask him tomorrow.
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 11:53 AM
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Btw, a friend of mine who is Bosnian suggested we go to Travnik... It is the birthplace of ivo Andric... I just finished his great book The Bridge over the Drina.
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 01:32 PM
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Thanks for your help centraleurope!
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Old Aug 21st, 2013, 06:32 PM
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I don't know if 3 nights in Trogir means 2 days or 4 days, but I think there's plenty to do in the area. Trogir itself is tiny and can be completely explored in just part of a day, but Split has a lot to offer and from there, you can get to some of the islands. You could also go to Sibenik or Zadar fairly easily.

I took a bus from Mostar to Dubrovnik and thought it one of the most scenic drives I've ever been on. I personally wouldn't give that up for a direct route from Kotor.
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Old Aug 22nd, 2013, 03:06 AM
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In general, my friend tells me the roads in Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro are fine... The road from Mostar to the coast is mountainous ... you can go about 70 KM per hour (due to turns, not conditions). The road along the Croatian coast and from Sarajevo to Mostar is very good - higher speed.

The EU rebuilt the roads after the war - so the good news is that most all roads are new.

I have only driven in Romania - and he ensures me, this is nothing like Romania (that's good news)...
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Old Aug 24th, 2013, 12:02 PM
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I would not agree with the above description about the route from the coast to Sarajevo. The main road from the coast (Ploče) to Mostar is relatively easy and the stretch from Mostar to Sarajevo is in a mountainous area with many tunnels. There are other routes from the coast that are extremely difficult driving. See my 2010 TR for details. There is also a route from Dubrovnik to Mostar that is scenic and quite easy driving but has land mines along the side.
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