2 itineraries for Balkans- help?
 

I've got about a week in the western Balkans that I need to plan out- I'm a bit behind the ball as I've had trouble finding as much info as I usually do before a trip! Start/end times are set in stone and can not be changed- everything else is fair game!

I did find a day trip to Melania Trump's hometown from Ljubljana... I'm tempted to go! Or is there a lot to do in Ljubljana? I'll have been on the road for about a month at that point, so maybe it's a good day to sit by a pool and read?

My plan is currently:
Day 1- Arrive Mostar bus terminal @ 8:30pm
Day 2- Mostar
Day 3- Mostar- Sarajevo on the 6:30AM train, Sarajevo
Day 4- Sarajevo
Day 5- Sarajevo-Ljubljana (there's a daily flight at 3:30pm)
Day 6- Ljubljana
Day 7- Ljubljana- Lake Bled Day trip
Day 8- Ljubljana
Day 9- Ljubljana- Rome (somehow! not sure at the point)
Day 10- Depart Rome 9AM

After reading some reports on here, I'm thinking this may be a preferable itinerary??

Day 1- Arrive Sarajevo bus terminal @ 10pm
Day 2- Sarajevo
Day 3- Sarajevo-Mostar Day trip (first & last train of the day)
Day 4- Sarajevo
Day 5- Sarajevo-Ljubljana (there's a daily flight at 3:30pm)
Day 6- Ljubljana
Day 7- Ljubljana- Lake Bled Day trip
Day 8- Ljubljana
Day 9- Ljubljana- Rome (somehow! not sure at the point)
Day 10- Depart Rome 9AM

(I've been to Rome many times, I don't plan on seeing anything other than the airport, it was just the best routing for an award ticket! )

It depends on what you want to see and experience, but FWIW, I find your allocation of times under either option a bit puzzling:
· I seriously regret that I gave Sarajevo only 2.5 days.
· I’m very glad that I spent a night in Mostar. A day there worked for me, and I thought the place absolutely magical after daytrippers left.
· I saw everything I wanted to see – which is close to everything there is to see! – in Ljubljana itself in 1 day and an evening. Admittedly, that was a very, very, very full and busy day, and that doesn't include my time in Lake Bled.

If the advantages of using an award ticket matter enough to justify flying out of Rome rather than Ljubljana, then you can identify your transportation options on rome2rio.com

Hope that helps!

I did not find Mostar as magical as kja, but I wouldn't do it as a day trip. Also unlike kja (and usually we are in agreement, lol) I loved Ljubljana so much I went back a few years later. Of course, it helps that I am a fan of Art Nouveau. I also took a very good food tour the last time.

I didn't mean to suggest that I didn't enjoy Ljubljana! I adored it, and consider it among the most charmingly unique cities in Europe. I was only referring to the timing -- Ljubljana can, I think, be seen in much less time than Sarajevo. But again, it depends on one's interests....

Don't bother with Melania's hometown. It's nice but it's just another Slovenian town with a castle on a hill. With the amount of time you have, I would suggest going on a day trip to somewhere that is more unique, such as the caves, Lake Bohinj, Radovljica, Skofja Loka, etc. Or, indeed as you mentioned, just sit back and relax. Ljubljana is perfect for that, it's a very laid-back city.

As for getting to Rome, it's probably easiest to take the bus to Trieste and then a train from there to Rome, but it will take the whole day to get to Rome. You could also fly to Rome out of Trieste Airport, in which case it would be easier to take a GoOpti shuttle to the airport from Ljubljana.

I agree with the advice to try to stay overnight in Mostar.
You don't say when the trip is but Mostar is hot in the summer and can be very crowded during the day with day trippers from the Croatian coast.

Blagaj is a good side trip from Mostar

Thanks! I already have the flights- AA flies direct from DFW-FCO and routing to or from Ljubljana meant 2+ stops, and usually via LHR which = huge fuel surcharges- so I passed and went with an easier option :)

Maybe I should give Sarajevo another day and take one from Ljubljana? In Sarajevo I was planning on seeing Sniper Alley, the Tunnel Museum and if possible, the Bobsled track- I' open to other ideas!

Thank you! I've looked at flights TRS-FCO and they seem very reasonable on Alitalia (which I haven't flown in over a decade!) I'll look into the GoOpti shuttle, that's a big help!!

I'll be in Mostar mid-July, I'd prefer shoulder season but my school schedule won't allow for that currently! I was thinking about doing it as a day trip since I've looked at the train schedule and it seems like (if most are coming from Sarajevo) they'd be there from 9am to 7pm, so I wasn't sure staying the night gave me that much of a 'bonus' per se.

My time in Sarajevo:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ting-sarajevo/

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...rajevo-reborn/

I'm not sure that I understand your last post. If you are making assumptions about how crowded Mostar will be, I think most people come on organized bus tours from Dubrovnik and maybe from other places along the Croatian coast. and am not sure that the train schedule from Sarajevo is relevant. I have a good friend who lived in Sarajevo for about 5 years and took many trips to Mostar on her own and with visitors. She felt it was much more pleasant to spend a night there than to take a day trip especially in the summer months when the days are so hot.

I wrote a long trip report about Sarajevo after my first trip there in 2010. It describes things we did in addition to the Tunnel Museum and Sniper Alley. I would especially recommend the History museum and the National Museum and walking through the Old Town and visiting the Gazi Husrev-Bey's mosque.

I found quite a lot to do and enjoy in Sarajevo, so yes, I was suggesting that you shift at least one day from Ljubljana to Sarajevo.

And again, Mostar is delightful after day trippers leave, so if you can stay overnight, I don’t think you would regret it. Watching the sunset with a view of the Stari Most, listening to the calls of the muezzin – magical!