Hi Shona! When are you planning on traveling? (and congrats on your marriage)

We spent 2 weeks in Croatia in March and had a great time - 3 weeks to include Slovenia doesn't seem too long to me!

Will you be renting a car? A bit more information would help....in the meantime here is a link to our blog....not finished yet but a bit of information for Istria (wonderful!) and Dubrovnik (fantastic!)

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/parisandbeyond/croatia/

Three weeks is fine, and I would spend less time in Slovenia. You will have to drop the car in Slovenia unless you pay a prohibitive drop off charge. Maybe drop it off in Ljubljana and take the fast train to Rijeka.
With three weeks you must not miss out on the Istrian Peninsula, enjoy the best of food with quality sights and architecture.

Three weeks sounds great. We loved both countries. Here is a link (below) to my website that includes our Central Europe trip in 2008 (with plenty of photos). Click on link and then click on "Central Europe/Venice 2008. Chapters Six through Eleven are all about our adventures in Croatia and Slovenia.

Buza Bar in Dubrovnik (the best place to have drinks on the planet)
Plitvice National Park
Rovinj on the Istrian Peninsula
Ljubljana, Lake Bled (be sure and eat Kremna Rezina there), Vintgar Gorge and a couple of great cave options

You'll have a blast!
Enjoy!!

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/

maitaitom - we opened Buza Bar this year - it was great!

thanks elizabeth and littlevicky for your prompt replies!

had a lovely wedding day on Easter Monday past 25th April.

we are planning to travel this July leaving around the 13th or so.

yes we are planning to rent a car. good to know about the drop off charge. thanks. Little vicky do you think a week is enough in Slovnia perhaps.

Elizabeth I look forward to checking out you blog. it seem that Istria is not to be missed.

any suggestions for accomodation girls?

Accommodation suggestions:

Rovinj:

http://www.apartmaniaurora-zoran.hr/index_en.htm

Steps from the Old Town but with parking (really important!!!) - several options (double room/apartment/etc) - and lovely owners

Dubrovnik:

Wonderful apartments with fantastic views (and parking - again very important)

http://www.dubrovnik-accommodation.net/index.html

Elizabeth - I've been reading your trip blog and it sounds delightful! You don't happen to remember the name of the place that 'baked' your wine on a wood fire, do you? That was in Rovinj?

partmtn - will find the card and post the name/address - it was about 20 minutes outside of Rovinj.

Hi Shona,

We spent 10 days in Slovenia a couple of years ago and found it the perfect amount of time - we visited Ljubljana, Lake Bohinj, Kobarid and Skocjan Caves.

For accommodation I'd particularly recommend Kotlar in Kobarid (it's a restaurant downstairs with lovely rooms on the 1st floor) and B&B Petra Varl in Ljubljana, a cosy little B&B in the old town and much better value for money than the bigger tourist hotels.

Enjoy your honeymoon!

thanks to all for their advice and info about their travels. i have been checking out some of the accomodation and they all look great.

wee question, do you think it would be best to book in advance? the blogs I have looked at are awesome and i am soo excited about our trip after seeing all your pics

Re booking ahead - absolutely in Croatia, can't comment about Slovenia

Reserve ahead for Slovenia, too. We enjoyed our places in both Ljubljana and Bled. Both were completely booked, so we were quite happy we had reserved.

Dear Shona,

Don't even think about not booking your accommodations in SLO & CRO in advance, especially if you're not a "go with a flow" type. Well, I wouldn't risk it on my honeymoon!

• If my midlife Precious ever proposes to his midlife Gorgeous... I intend to book few honeymoon days in Heaven, for sure (in Slovenian, "Nebesa" literally means "Heaven"): http://www.nebesa.si/ I reckon this is one of the most beautiful spots in Slovenia. Expensive, but worth each dime.

• In Ljubljana (Slovenian capital), one idea for an "adventurer" is to book a stay in a former prison which was transformed into an awesome art house hostel "Celica" (meaning "Prison Cell"): http://hostelcelica.si/

• For those who like strolls, hiking and/or climbing mountains, Slovenia is a pearl indeed. Alps ends in Slovenia – Julian Alps, and Triglav National Park is a gorgeous one: http://www.tnp.si/national_park/ As well as all the rest...

• Lake Bled: http://www.bled.si/en/
• Lake Bohinj and Savica Waterfall: http://www.bohinj.si/en
• Soča Valley: http://www.dolina-soce.com/home-en.html

• If you can afford but one day in the mountains, even if you're not perfectly fit, Waterfalls of Martuljek (in Triglav National Park) is not a so well know place but definitely one of my favourite one day spots: http://www.burger.si/TriglavNationalPark/Martuljek/uvod_ENG.html But please, don't do any of it without proper shoes!

• Slovenians thermal spas – if it's not just a pampering visit/stay, choose one concerning your health condition, they're real experts: http://en.slovenia-terme.si/spas/

• Logarska Dolina Valley and Rinka Waterfall: http://www.logarska-dolina.si/

• Škocjan Caves: http://www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/eng/
Remark: Postojna Caves are worldwide known & worth seeing
http://www.postojnska-jama.si/eng/ but in view of many, Škocjan Caves rule!
They are on the UNESCO’s list of natural and cultural world heritage sites as well.

• I also eagerly recommend staying at tourist farms which are many around Slovenia: http://www.slovenia.info/en/Tourist-farms-with-accommodation.htm?farm_with_accommodations=0&lng=2

Wishing you great time in Slovenia,
http://www.slovenia.info/en/Home.htm?home=0&lng=2
the only country in the world that has LOVE in its name
– a perfect choice for honeymoon,
Aida

Aida,
You´re good!! You did hit the highlights.
Shona, if Nebesa is too spendy for your blood (it is gorgeous, btw) try Hisa Franka which has some of the best food in Slovenia and is in Kobarid in the Soca River Valley.

If you like horses, visit the Lippizzaner breeding farms in Lipica, near Skocjan.

The wine tastings in the Goriska Brdo area are wonderful and there is a nice little hotel called Belica in the area. This is the Northern border with Italy and has wonderful wine.

Sorry I missed your post before. I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon!

> would 3 weeks be too long for this?

I don't think so! I spent 4 weeks for a similar route and was well aware that I was leaving MANY things out of my itinerary.

> should we book ahead for accommodation?

If I understand correctly that you are traveling in July - which is in high season - then booking ahead might make sense. My experience is that you are more likely to get well reviewed places and reasonable prices by booking in advance, particularly during high season.

Congratulations and best wishes!

HI all,

thank you all so very much for taking the time to post me all those details. it is all much appreciated!! were having a great time planning our HM and all your advice has been so helpful.

Shona