pgautam01

Hi.

We are 2 couples travelling in September and the following is our intended itinerary. It is a busy plan but trying to get in a bit of everything. Looking for suggestions and feedback. Constructive criticism welcomed:

Day 1 - fly into Zagreb reaching an. Drive from Zagreb to Ljubljana reach by 2 pm, explore and spend the night at Ljubljana

Day 2 - Day trip to Lake Bled reach Ljubljana by 5pm, sleep in Ljubljana

Day 3 - Drive to Rovinj, Sleep in Rovinj

Day 4 - Rovinj, sleep in Rovinj

Day 5 - Drive to Plitvice, sleep in Plitvice

Day 6 - Plitvice, drive to Split and reach by 7pm, sleep in Split

Day 7 - Split, sleep in Split

Day 8 - To Hvar, sleep in Hvar

Day 9 - Hvar, sleep in Hvar

Day 10 - Hvar, Sleep in Hvar

Day 11 - Drive to Dubrovnik, route to be determined (suggestions welcome, do we do a side trip to Mostar), Sleep in Dubrovnik

Day 12 - Dubrovnik

Day 13- Dubrovnik

Day 14 - Dubrovnik

Day 15 - Leave early morning from Dubrovnik back to Mumbai

kja

Yes, this is a busy plan. It is possible that it could work for you, but I strongly encourage you to make sure you will actually have time to see the things you want to see and are willing to skip everything else before committing to the plan. Also, your distribution of time seems odd to me -- for example, 3 days is a LOT for Dubrovnik and 1 day for Split / Trogir is very little. But of course, it all depends on what YOU want to do.

Rather than picking up a rental car upon your arrival in Zagreb, seriously consider taking the easy and convenient train to Ljubljana. Many people do not realize that driving with jet lag is just is dangerous, to yourselves and others, as driving drunk. You could easily wait until your return to Croatia to pick up a rental car.

As for Mostar -- I was very glad I saw it, and found it worth staying overnight, as I thought it magical after day-trippers left.

dugi_otok

I like your destinations a lot. Day 11 is a very long day if you want to visit Mostar and sleep in Dubrovnik. I think there is a car ferry Stari Grad (Hvar) to Split as early as 5AM. If you want to go to Mostar I suggest Sleep in Mostar on Day 11 if you want to take a later ferry Stari Grad to Split.

http://www.croatiaferries.com/starigrad-split-ferry.htm

pgautam01

Thanks kja. We will consider taking the train to Ljubljana.

Dugi_otok we have made a booking to spend the night at Mostar. Thanks.

Andrew

You can take a long direct bus ride from Ljubljana to Rovinj (I think it's about 4.5 hours, check www.BusCroatia.com ), or you can take the direct train from Ljubljana to Rijeka, Croatia, and pick up your car there - that's what I did, then I drove an hour to Rovinj. But I'm not crazy about long bus rides and enjoy train travel.

rtt0921

I would actually prefer to pick up the car in Zagreb and drive around Slovenia, despite the jet lag. Yes, it can potentially be dangerous and yes, the train to Ljubljana is very convenient, but travelling between Ljubljana and Istria is such a pain by public transport compared to driving I wouldn't really want to do it. And that's without considering that if driving, you can actually stop along the way and see the sights, of which there are plenty between Ljubljana and Rovinj, whereas by public transport you can only enjoy the scenery along the road/railroad. But then again that's just my preference.

Otherwise I think your plan is sound, if rushed, but enough to cover the highlights. I do agree with kja on spending one day less in Dubrovnik and maybe visit Trogir instead. I would suggest considering taking the Sucuraj - Drvenik ferry instead of the Stari Grad - Split on your way to Mostar/Dubrovnik to avoid backtracking. Assuming you're sleeping in Hvar proper, I do realize it involves a drive along the entire island of Hvar, with the 15km stretch from Jelsa eastward being particularly winding, but the pavement is good and the time saving is valuable as well.

rtt0921

A correction regarding the road on Hvar Island, I now see on Google Maps that the dangerous section east of Jelsa I mentioned in my previous post has been reconstructed and realigned since my visit there, so it's a much safer alternative now.

pgautam01

Thanks rtt0921. I guess the drive from Zagreb to Ljubljana is approximately 2 hours. Also since we land in Zagreb at 10 am we should be fairly rested. India time will be 4.5 hrs ahead so body clock would be still in day mode. Hopefully we would not be entirely dangerous on the road! But thanks for your suggestion. Gives us more to think about in terms of options for quick stops or lunch option enroute.

We have actually reduced a night in Dubrovnik and decided to spend the night at Mostar after reading all the reviews of the evening time at Mostar. So now we will have only 3 nights at Dubrovnik and in case we feel up to it we might take a day trip to one of the islands or drive to kotor or cavtat. Do you think that either of those day trips are worth it or still prefer an extra day at split instead.

Also I checked the Google maps routes from hvar to Mostar and it showed up the route via stari grad - split - Mostar to be 3 hrs and 30 mins which is similar time it takes for the route you have suggested. So considering that both the routes take approximately the same time (as per google maps) which route would you recommend.

Thanks you.

rtt0921

Since you allowed for an entire day of driving to Rovinj, you can easily plan for stops, as the drive itself shouldn't take more than 2 to 2.5 hours. Some places along the way to consider: Postojna or Skocjan Caves, Predjama Castle, Lipica stud farm, even a quick stop in Trieste could be an option. Piran is very nice but as Rovinj is very similar I wouldn't advise stopping there. For lunch consider an agriturismo, such as in the Vipava Valley or on the Karst Plateau, some of the best restaurants and agriturismos in Slovenia are in that area.

If you plan on doing daytrips from Dubrovnik, then the extra time could be worth it. Unfortunately I have not been to Kotor so cannot comment on it.

About the Hvar to Mostar drive, Google Maps isn't showing the ferry duration correctly. The driving times are indeed similar, but the Stari Grad - Split ferry takes 2 hrs, with the drive from Hvar to Stari Grad and from Split to Mostar it is about 4h30 altogether, whereas the ferry to Drvenik takes about 30 minutes, with the drive from Hvar to Sucuraj and from Drvenik onwards to Mostar it is indeed about 3h30 altogether, without waiting times in both cases. I would personally opt for the Sucuraj route.

kja

IME, google maps almost always underestimates the time required for driving, often by as much as 1/3. I strongly recommend that you consult viamichelin instead.

As for stops en route to Rovinj, rtt is giving you some great options. You might also want to stop in some of Istria's hill towns. You won't have time for all of these places, though, so again, think through your priorities.

Also IME, the highlights of Dubrovnik itself really only require a day, even if it can be lovely to have more time there. So if you have 3 nights there, you still have time for a day trip to Kotor if that's what you want. IMO, Kotor is beautifully situated and the scenery is stunning; the city itself is very similar to Dubrovnik. That doesn't say whether you should see it or not, it's just an observation. Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Split are all different IMO than anything else you will see, and you are not giving any of them much time. Again, I'll say that only you can decide how to allocate your time.

pgautam01

Thanks for your suggestions rtt. The agriturismos does sound very nice. Also have used viamichilin to check routes again and have a better idea now.

Kja what are your thoughts on Perast instead of kotor. I really wish we had more days in istria and split but this is the we can manage this time around.

Thanks.

Andrew

Perast is a lovely little town. It is much smaller than Kotor, but that may be an advantage. I stopped in Perast only for about an hour to look around and take pictures, but I kind of wished I'd stayed there than near Kotor, which was convenient but not a town I particularly loved.

kja

"what are your thoughts on Perast instead of Kotor."

Like Andrew, I found Perast a lovely little place -- basically just one road along the coast in a spectacular setting. There's very little to do there, but I enjoyed its church with it's small collection of treasures and the chance to take a brief stroll in a charming setting. I'm sure you realize that Perast is on the way to Kotor (Kotor is only about 1/2 hour further when coming from Dubrovnik) and even though Kotor's core is small, it has MUCH more to offer -- buildings in a variety of architectural styles, including churches serving different religious traditions and with quite different styles of decoration, a museum of Kotor's maritime history, etc. If your goal is to see the spectacular views of the Bay of Kotor that show up with just about any google-image search, then you have to get high above the city, whether by driving or by a strenuous climb -- and either of those will take a chunk of time. FWIW, I visited both Perast and Kotor in a single very long day trip from Dubrovnik and got my views over the Bay by walking Kotor's walls -- but I didn't go all the way to the top: TOO TOO hot that day!

Figuring out how to fit what one wants into one's timeframe is, IMO, one of the hardest things about trip planning, and we all approach it differently. No right or wrong answers -- only the answers that work for YOUR needs and interests.

pgautam01

Thanks Andrew kja rtt dugi you all have been extremely helpful. Will keep coming back with queries. Thanks ageing.

laura_torino_123

Hallo!

If you love nature, waterfalls, rafting, and very few tourists, I would suggest you to take a one day trip to Una National Park. It is in Bosnia, one hour driving from Plitvice lakes. The entrance fee is very low (4-5 euro/adult) compared to Plitvice. You can do some trekking, relax...

Search for some pictures... you will fall in love with the Una National Park!

pgautam01

Thanks laura_torino. Will check it out.

Andrew

I visited Una last year. It is a very different kind of park than Plitvice. First of all, it's a far less developed park and very rough in parts. I drove into the park with a conventional rental car, but many of the roads are narrow and not paved and you have to drive very slowly. Sometimes other cars would come the other direction and I had to pull over to allow the other car to pass. Not impossible, but it takes some patience to get in.

On the upside, Una is not crowded at all. Plivice feels like a theme park by comparison.

The Štrbački buk Waterfall at Una is a huge, amazing waterfall that dwarfs any waterfall at Plitvice by far:

http://www.portlandbridges.com/00,M2...,0-travel.html