musvin

Good evening,

My wife and I ( a retired a couple in their 60s) love to travel, After last year's trip to South Africa, we are planning a short 2 week trip to Croatia next May. I would appreciate your comments on my itinerary:

Day 1: Fly from London to Dubrovnik (late flight arrival 10:00 PM) - Room near Ploce Gate
Day 2: Visit Dubrovnik
Day 3: Bus and/or boat to Korcula (or Hvar) - stop for lunch in Mali Stron
Day 4: Korcula or Hvar. Which Island is better?
Day 5: ferry to Split
Day 6: Split
Day 7: Split
Day 8: Car rental and drive to Plitvice (stop in Zadar)
Day 9: AM: visit Plitvice
PM drive to Ljublana
Day 10: Ljublana
Day 11: Ljublana - day trip to Lake Bled
Day 12: Drive to Istria - Visit Piran Polec - Rovinj (or or other town) a a base to visit the region
Day 13: Istria
Day 14: Istria
Day 15: Drop car. Ferry to Venice

Thank you.

kja

Should be nice!

They're different!

Assuming you mean Korcula Town, it's a small, mostly medieval fortified city that is easy to roam, surrounded by lovely areas amenable to relatively easy walks, in a stunning setting. If you can visit when the moresca is performed, make a point to see it! I haven't been elsewhere on Korcula Island, so if you're thinking of a different location, make sure to say so!

Hvar Town's party atmosphere won't be in full swing in May, but even in May, it can be a "yacht city" geared to high end tourism -- not that you need partake of it. The city has a lovely Renaissance veneer over its medieval core.

Stari Grad, also on Hvar, is now preserved as it's restored / reconstructed medieval self on a quiet and beautiful inlet -- but the region also includes a ton of resorts on the island's coast outside of Stari Grad itself, so if you are looking at that area, make sure you know which you want.

FWIW, many people think Korcula more similar to Dubrovnik than HT because of the city walls; I thought Hvar Town more similar to Dubrovnik than Korcula because both HT and D are dominated by Renaissance architecture, albeit of different styles and hues.

Either can be wonderful!

kja

PS: I'm not sure why your title includes the reference to mountains. You'll see some mountains, but I trust you realize that you'll be traveling mostly near the coast or on plains, not in mountains?

isabel

I suppose some people might consider inland Istria hills as 'mountains'. They are, sort of. And from Lake Bled you can see mountains in the distance.
Sounds like a lovely trip, good balance of time in each place.
I loved both Korcula and Hvar. Maybe the edge goes to Korcula in my mind.

Here's my trip report from last summer of Istria, Plitvice Lakes, Zadar, Split and Hvar. Trip report: 5 weeks in Italy, Croatia, France - Summer 2019

Here's one from a previous trip that was Dubrovnik, Korcula and Split - Amalfi Coast, Rome and Croatia - Images of three hot but wonderful weeks

Slovenia was yet a different trip - Slovenia: If I were to design a country, it would look a lot like Slovenia

neckervd

I would visit Sibenik/Krka Fall Park instead of Zadar..
I suppose you want to visit Venice; otherwise you could fly home from Pula, Rijeka or Trieste as well

bdokeefe

For Istria, we really enjoyed Lovran. Lungomare walk along the coast was beautiful.

bdokeefe

For Istria, we really enjoyed Lovran. Lungomare walk along the coast was beautiful.

musvin

Thank you all for your comments.

kja and isabel: I was hoping to see "mountains" around Ljubljana. And, we will go to Korcula for some quiet time.
neckervd: Couldn't we stop by Sibenik or/and Krka on the way to Plitvice or as a day trip from Split? We're flying back to Venice because my goal is to spend 5 days in Emilia-Romagna region (Bologna). I did not plan that part of our trip yet.
bdokeefe: Would Lovran be a good base for Istria?

We will be in Croatia from May 2 to May 18. Besides Dubrovnik, do we have to book hotels in advance? I would like to have the flexibility to change plans if, for example, rain is forecast for Plitvice.

KarenWoo

Based on our experience this past September, this is what I think is the best way to visit Plitvice to avoid crowds and to increase your chances of good weather. Purchase the 2-day pass; it is not that expensive. For the first day, you have to choose an entrance time. So, on Day 8, plan to enter the park no later than 4:00PM. Most of the day trippers will be gone by then. This means you won't have time to stop in Zadar. Then on your second day (Day 9), plan on entering the park early in the morning to see what you didn't see the day before. The daytrippers start arriving around 10:00AM. That is what we did, and it was perfect. The first afternoon we hiked the Upper Lakes, and the next morning we hiked the Lower Lakes.

I think that if you stay in a hotel in the park, you don't have to buy a 2-day pass. The hotel will stamp your pass and this allows you to enter the next day. However, I have heard the hotels inside the park are old, outdated, and the food isn't good.

At Rialtogirl's recommendation, we stayed at the Plitvice Miric Inn, about a 5-minute drive from Entrance 2. Cost was 130 euros, which included one of the best breakfast buffets I have ever had. Additionally, for 20 euros per person, you can make a reservation to have dinner in their restaurant. It was one of the best meals of our trip! You have a choice of entrée (we chose fresh trout), and it comes with home-made chicken soup, salad, numerous side dishes, and the best apple strudel I have had.

neckervd

I suggest to visit the Krka Falls Park on your way from Split to Plitvice.

There seems to be no catamaran between Rovinj or Porec and Venice on Monday May 18th.
But you can easily go by bus to Trieste and continue from there by train, for example
Porec dp 6.30 - Trieste 8.45/9.39 - Bologna ar 12.47, change at Venezia Mestre
Porec dp 15.30 - Trieste 17.45/18.16 - Venezia Mestre ar 20.09

musvin

Thank you KarenWoo! Plitvice Miric Inn sounds great. Room with balcony and breakfast = 80 Euros. I'm already hungry ;-)

KarenWoo

Musvin, if you wish, you can click on my name to read my trip report from September 2019.

We visited Hvar Town for one day from Split. We took the catamaran from Split in the morning and then took the 6PM or 7PM catamaran back to Split. We loved Hvar Town. In September it was not party central. The tourist crowd was not bad at all. Friends of ours were there last May (early in May), and it wasn't crowded either. Our day there was one of the highlights of our trip.

bdokeefe

musvin- Lovran worked for us, as we were seeing things on the east coast of Istria, and Plitvice being our next stop. For you, and if Venice is your next stop, someplace on the west coast may work better (combined with your also wanting to see Piran).

The 2 day visit to Plitvice worked for us also. The place started filling up around 0930, so to have the hour or so before that, with minimal people, was worth staying the night.

kja

Oh of course! And they are stunners!

I think that depends on how early you are willing to leave for the Plitvice Lakes. As KarenWoo has noted, you would do well to ensure that you reach the lakes in time to see either the upper or lower lakes on your first day there, and for that, I would want at least 3 hours in the park. Whether you have time to visit either Sibenik or the Krka National Park then, or as a day trip from Split, also depends on what, exactly, you want to do while there.

No. Lovran is on the Kvarner Gulf; you would need to cross a mountain range to get into Istria, and there can be a LOT of traffic on the roads you would need to travel to do that.

I think that depends on how willing you are to stay at less than desirable places on the outskirts of towns, which would be the risk. Many of the nicer places will liikely book up well in advance. For example, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Miric in the Plitvice Lakes area is fully booked long before you would be there. I trust you realize that many places that you can book through booking.com can be cancelled (at no cost) with 24 hour notice, and that all their bookings state the cancellation policy very clearly.

musvin

Thank you neckervd! The train solution sounds great (better than the catamaran trip). I don't know yet where I will be in Istria (preferably near the sea). I will have to backtrack to Trieste because my previous stop is Ljubljana.

musvin

Thank you bdokeefe! West coast will be better. I'll try to find a quiet and safe place with a sea view. We booked 1 night in Plitvice.

musvin

Thank you kja! I have booked 1 night at the Miric Inn! Now, all I have to do is to decide what to do before and after Plitvice ;-)

Day 1: Fly from London to Dubrovnik (late flight arrival 10:00 PM) - Room near Ploce Gate
Day 2: Visit Dubrovnik
Day 3: Dubrovnik or Korcula? We would really love to eat oysters in Mali Stron. Should we stay an extra night in Dubrovnik and do a day trip? We don't have a car. Or Leave Dubrovnik, take the bus to Mali Stron, have lunch and take the bus to Korcula?
Day 4: Korcula
Day 5: Korcula (day trip to Hvar)
Day 6: Split (day trip to Trogir)
Day 7: Split
Day 8: Car rental and drive to Plitvice. Stop in Sibenik. PM: visit Plitvice
Day 9: AM: visit Plitvice. PM drive to Ljublana
Day 10: Ljublana
Day 11: Ljublana - day trip to Lake Bled
Day 12: From Ljublana to Rovinj (Stop at Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle)
Day 13: Istria
Day 14: Istria
Day 15: Drop car. Bus to Trieste. Train to Bologna.

musvin

Isabel - Fantastic trip reports and beautiful photos!! We will also visit Bologna after Croatia. Your trip reports are very helpful. Thanks!

yorkshire

I'd stop in Mali Ston--it's a short time in Dubrovnik, but it's really small. You should be able to find bus schedules online.
I'd look into a stopover in Hvar en route to Split. With a day trip, that is a lot of backtracking, as you are practically to Split once you get to Hvar. Try Krilo catamaran for schedules.
Not sure of the logistics, but I would look into ferries from Pula or Rovinj to Venice where you could pick up the train. Not sure if that would save any time or not.

kja

If you are committed to stopping in Hvar, yorkshire's idea to see if you can go from Korcula to Hvar to Split is worth considering. But the ferry schedules aren't as full in May as in June, so you'll have to check whether that would work for you. And if you are committed to a day trip to Hvar Town and the schedules don't work to route from Korcula through Hvar Town to Split, then particularly at that time of year, I would think you would want to check the schedules to see whether a day trip from Korcula would be best or whether you should plan on that trip from Split.

I don't know the options for luggage storage in Mali Ston and so can't answer your question about stopping there. I must admit that to me, 3 nights sounds like a lot for Korcula (but not necessarily too much if you visit Hvar as a day trip from Korcula); 3 nights in Dubrovnik would give you time for that city as you recover from jet lag and maybe -- maybe! -- a day trip to Kotor or a half-day (or more!) on lovely Lokrum or elsewhere in the area.

One thing: It seems to me that you are adding a number of stops and day trips to your plan. That might work for you! But every time you do that, keep in mind that you are giving up time in the places you've already decided you want to see. We all differ in just what those priorities are, and at what pace, but I must admit that I think you are already at risk of trying to fit too much in unless you are willing to travel really hard -- and maybe even if you are! The good news: You have a lot of wonderful options! The bad news: There is absolutely NO WAY that you can see everything you might want to see in this beautiful part of the world with the time you have, and we could all tell you of places we enjoyed that you'd also want to cram in. You just have to think through your priorities.

I'm glad you were able to book the Miric.