fraoch1970

The only thing definite about our trip is that we fly into Venice on the 13th of July and out of Budapest on the 1st of August. Here is a tentative itinerary and we are open to suggestions and advice, changes etc. The biggest issue is getting Dubrovnik to Budapest. Is there a better way of doing this? I am traveling with my husband, 10year old son and another couple. We enjoy nature, architecture, culture and quality family time, swimming etc. My son loves to sail. I also have stage 4 cancer so I don’t want a crazy itinerary but kind of picked places on my bucket list. The Venice and Budapest flights were due to as good deal. I then planned the stuff in between. Like I said, any suggestions are welcome! I thank you in advance.
July
13th-15th- Venice Take Opti bus to Ljublana and rent car for Lake Bled
15-18th- Lake Bled and Julian Alps
On the 18th return rental car,train to Zagreb get rental car and drive to Plitvice
18th- night in Plitvice
19th- Zadar overnight
20th- Drive to Split return rental car
20-22nd-Split
22nd-26th- Ferry stay Korcula and Hvar
26th-28th- Ferry to Dubrovnik
28th-August 1st- Budapest

Andrew

So sorry to hear about your condition. But your trip sounds lovely!

I recommend at least a quick visit to Ljubljana itself - one of my favorite cities, with beautiful architecture and a lovely vibe.

Driving from Ljubljana to Bled, I recommend the scenic detour from Skofja Loka to Bled off the highway, through the hills and the towns of Dražgoše and Jamnik. A very beautiful drive.

In Zadar, note that parking is tight in the old town center (the peninsula). Understand the parking situation with your lodging ahead of time. You could wind up in a big lot. When I stayed there in 2015, the B&B owner found me a spot really close, but she was lucky - I could have wound up parking across the water. You'll probably want to be on the peninsula if you can.

You might consider stops south of Zadar in Krka National Park and the beautiful town of Sibenik, time permitting. With Krka, you could simply park at the town of Skradin and take the boat up the river to the big Skradinski Buk waterfalls and walk around a bit, then come back (you could swim there too, below the falls; can't swim at Plitvice).

kja

Should be a great trip, and please accept my best wishes for your health!

Just a few comments:

I’f I’m following, you have only 1 full day in Venice (with bits of time on the days before and after), and during that time, you may be recovering from jet lag. Is that enough time for your interests?

And you really have only the 16th and 17th – and maybe bits of days to either side – for Slovenia. That’s not much! I adore Ljubljana, which I find absolutely charming! You might want to plan on a night there and then, the next morning, rent a car. See what you can of Bled and/or the Julian Alps, but without assuming that you can do it all – unless you add another day to this part of your trip. It might be easiest to stay in Ljubljana. Because you are traveling during high season, I would urge you to make room reservations. If you decide to stay in Bled rather than Ljubljana, you might consider the Penzion Mayer for both lodging and scrumptuous meals.

Again, if I’m following, you really only have 1 day (the 21st), and maybe some bits of the day before and after, for Split. Is that sufficient for your interests?

I believe it is possible to go from Split to Hvar and then on to Korcula in the time frame you outline (leaving Split on the 22nd and leaving Korcula on the 26th), but I haven’t checked. If the ferry schedules meet your needs, that timing could work, depending on your interests. Just be aware that it is on the fast-paced side. (By the way, I believe the moresca is performed in Korcula on Mondays and Thursdays in July – I don’t think that would work for your timing, but if it does, I heartily recommend it!)

And again, I think you really only have the 27th in Dubrovnik. And again, that could work – I’m just pointing it out for your consideration.

For your options for getting from Dubrovnik to Budapest, you might consult rome2rio.com – but be sure to double check anything you find there, as it is not, IME, perfectly reliable. I trust you’ve explored options for reversing your time in Croatia and Slovenia? (I haven’t – its just a “trick” I find useful at times.)

It’s a beautiful part of the world – enjoy!

kja

Visiting the Krka National Park rather than the Plitvice Lakes National Park is, as Andrew suggests, an option. FWIW, I greatly enjoyed the Krka National Park, but I consider the Plitvice Lakes among the most miraculously beautiful places in the world. Not only are the lakes connected by travertine waterfall formations, each lake has unique microbiota, and as a result, the lakes -- and even different parts of the same lake! -- are different colors. Utterly awesome! From my perspective -- and it is decidedly just mine -- the Plitvice Lakes National Park is the single most un-missable of Croatia's many splendors.

fraoch1970

Venice we land at 9am. Both Venice and Dubrovnik are hectic from what I understand so I would like to get in and out of there quickly... Same for Split. I am certainly interested in Krka Natl Park now... I feel like we are jumping around a lot which I am not particularly crazy about... Is Lake Bled and Llubjana really amazing? I know, in the eye of the beholder. Just thought some paddleboats, river rafting and a bobsled would be fun for my boy. Might cut out Hvar and just spend those nights in Korcula so we have 4 nts somewhere and do sailing a day. Tempted not to go to Dubrovnik but I will never be back and sure I will regret...

Andrew

Dubrovnik is really wonderful and unique - but in July, it will likely be pretty crowded especially during the day; much nicer at night. The old town is fairly small, though (although part of it feels a bit like a maze) and doesn't really take a lot of time to explore. Two nights and a full day just for Dubrovnik ought to be enough other than day trips. The most popular activity is walking the old town walls I think. Do enjoy sunset at the Buza Bar if you can!

The most unique thing about Lake Bled is that church on the island in the middle of the lake. It's an unforgettable scene; I have a picture of it on my wall at home. I'm not sure only Lake Bled itself (a developed resort, not an untouched natural area) would be enough for me to plan a trip to the area - but combined with the scenic drives nearby, I personally do think it is amazing.

And Ljubljana happens to be a personal favorite. The old center is small, though: along the tiny river are neat bridges and churches plus the typical cobble-stoned old town (though the cobble stones aren't that old; they were actually installing them in the old town in 2009 on my first visit, perhaps a restoration. They've added a lot of pedestrian-only areas to Ljubljana in the last few years.) The castle above Ljubljana is nothing special as I recall, but the view down is great. The old town otherwise is surrounded with some typical modern buildings, cars, etc. - nothing special.

If you love quaint cities (I do), I'll bet you'd love Ljubljana. If you are not into cities, I'd say skip it or give it just a few hours. But if most everything else you'll do is on the ocean - will that be too much ocean, or will you really love that time? Would you prefer to have a contrast with something else like a city?

There's probably no wrong choice. The whole area is pretty nice.

fraoch1970

I am thinking of skipping Dubrovnik all together or a ferry to there and back from Korcula the same day. We live in FL and while we love the ocean we also love variety. I am now more intrigued about Ljublana and hoping to add a day or two to that area. Now the best way tyo get to and fro...

Andrew

I think if you saw Dubrovnik only during the day and had to navigate the Disneyworld-type crowds, you might hate it. Again, it's really the type of place that is most impressive at night. (I did the walk of the walls first thing in the morning before it got hot and before it got crowded.) There's probably nothing like the old walled city in Florida!

If you are already used to beautiful sunsets and ocean scenes, perhaps the Dalmatian Coast won't dazzle you as much as it does others. So spending less time there (cut out or cut down Dubrovnik and one of the islands) and more inland would make more sense for you. As a bonus for Ljubljana: it is likely much less crowded with tourists than anywhere you'll visit on the coast, though I haven't been there in the summer.

kja

Responding to comments more or less in the order in which they were offered….

Neither Venice nor Dubrovnik need to be “hectic” (a matter of timing), but each can be crowded, so if you want to experience them in a non-hectic way, you would probably do well to plan to work around the tour groups.

For Dubrovnik, walk the walls before or after day-trippers do. (I loved watching the sunset from the walls, and had them almost to myself – I waited until late in the day.) During the day, you can go to Lokrum, sit at the Buza bar (I prefer the original one -- marked by a sign for cold drinks through the city walls) during the onslaught, or explore the wonderful treaures of Dubrovnik that don’t make it onto the cruise-ship’s itineraries -- and really, there are some absolute treasures in Dubrovnik! Too, it’s a very small city, so you can probably roam around and choose when to enter the Cathedral or the monasteries or whatever if you pay attention to when tour groups enter / leave.

IME – which could be wrong! -- visitors to Split throng through the Diocletian Palace and one or two squares near the lungomare. IME, with the very important exceptions of the Cathedral and Baptistry, you can see most of the rest of the accessible areas of Diocletian’s Palace more or less 24/7. So go early or late to the Cathedral and Baptistry (and don’t miss them, if you have ANY interest!) and, while the throngs are visiting them, take a short bus ride to magnificent Trogir (it's only 1/2 hour away by easy, comfortable bus, and is easily visited in just a few hours) or roam some of Split’s other wonderful areas. It has my favorite market in Croatia, a worthy archeological museum, and the glorious Ivan Mestrovic Gallery (along with its nearby chapel).

As already said, I enjoyed the Krka National Park. But I, personally, would not substitute it for the Plitvice Lakes National Park, particularly if one is seeking a “once in a lifetime experience.” (You can see travertine waterfalls, and swim, elsewhere – e.g., Agua Azul in Mexico. The Plitvice Lakes are, as I understand it, truly unique.)

I’m sure your son would enjoy the things you describe in Slovenia – I’m just not sure you have time for them. With the schedule you proposed, you probably have time to visit Bled long enough for either a paddleboat, or maybe one of its traditional “pletna” boats. I can understand your desire to let your son have the experiences you describe, and if those are your priorities, I would add a night or two to Bled. JMO.

Hvar Town (not to be confused with Hvar Island) is, during high season, a parking lot for yachts and a destination for the party-hearty crowd. If you are looking to cut time anywhere, cutting Hvar Town would, IMO, make sense. To be clear – it is beautiful, but so are many other parts of Croatia. I was glad that I chose to spend only a few hours there.

IME, Korcula is delightful – but Korcula Town itself is easily walked – and I mean EVERY single street – in less than a day. Four nights there would drive me crazy! YMMV.

Dubrovnik has its challenges, but I would not skip it for the world – such an incredibly beautiful place! Yes, it can be chaotic when cruise ships are in town (have you checked the calendar? There is one…), but as already noted, you can do other things when they are there. And unlike almost anywhere else in the area, and almost any other European city of the time, it is actually laid out on a grid (with the exception of a very few blocks destroyed by an earthquake a few centuries ago). And Dubrovnik has one of the world’s oldest “city planning ordinances,” which ensure that no one can build into the space that existing properties have for views. I found it intriguing to learn about that history!

Although it’s a decidedly quirkly little place, you might want to look into availability at the Villa Adriatica – it’s terrace offers extraordinary views!
http://www.villa-adriatica.net

Of course, Bled has far more than just the island. Your son might enjoy exploring the castle, where people demonstrate ancient crafts and often offer hands-on experiences.

Hope that helps!