Sunsind86

Hi Fodorites.

After 10 years of travelling with kids on and off this is our first real holiday without them. We have 7 nights in Croatia which is a dream trip as we've been fascinated by the country and this will be our first time. We are taking the GoOpti shuttle (feedback??) into Zagreb from Ljubljana and our itinerary is as follows:
June 5: Zagreb - Arrive by 11am. 2 nights. Which are the nice areas to stay in, things to see and do in a day and a half?
June 8: Our 13th wedding anniversary. Renting a car and driving to Plitvice. 1 night only.
June 9: Visit the park early. Spend a few hours and get back to the hotel/B&B by 11am. Does it make sense to visit the park the previous evening too for a couple hours? Drive to Rovinj.
June 9-12: Rovinj base for 4 nights with following day trips by car
1 day to Pula & Kamenjak
1 day to Motovun, Winery visit (any suggestions?)
1 day to explore Rovinj / old town / beach
June 13: Drop off car and fly from Pula to Zurich to meet family.

Exploring the city by foot fascinates us, a little bit of history, exploring new places through immersive experiences in addition to just seeing new sights. I considered doing this trip in reverse from what I have mentioned here reason being if I can put together a set of wonderful experiences for the 8th for our anniversary. If I do turn this around, any suggestions on what we can do? Thanks Fodorites. Looking forward to your suggestions. Excited already.

SS

kja

Croatia is delightful! A few comments:

I haven’t taken the GoOpti shuttle, about which I hear good things, but it is also very easy to go from Ljubljana to Zagreb by train.

IMO, Zagreb has many treasures, and only you can decide which to visit in the time you are giving it. I loved it and wish I’d given it more than the 3 nights I had there; not everyone feels that way. Where to stay depends on what you decide to see. For my interests, I was glad to stay in the lower town near the train station / Park Zrinjevac.

The Plitvice Lakes are spectacular! A basic circuit of the park takes 6 or 7 hours. Because it has become incredibly popular with tour groups in recent years, I think most people now recommend splitting one’s visit into two smaller loops (which is very possible, given the layout of the park and the location of the entrances) – plan on 3 or 4 hours as late as possible on one day and another 3 or 4 hours as early as possible the next day.

Do you have any time for Ljubljana? It is, IMO, an extraordinarly charming little city with unique architecture and a very vibrant core. Giving it at least 1 night, maybe 2, would seem worth considering.

I’m sure your trip will be wonderful no matter what you choose.

Sunsind86

Hi,

We are arriving into Ljubljana by train on June 2 from Vienna. Looking to use bus/public transport throughout this leg of the trip. My DW are I are in our early 40s and pretty fit and mobile. We wanted to visit Lake Bled (day trip) combined with Vintgar gorge (do this in the morning or evening?). Is this doable and are there regular buses that ply between the two locations that it's feasible to head over in the morning and return to Ljubljana in the evening? Do the buses run to schedule?
We will most probably stay in the old town so looking forward to exploring the city, riverside cafes and the food. Heard lovely things about Ljubljana so quite excited about this leg. Taking a shuttle/train to Zagreb from Slovenia.

Thanks a bunch

SS

Sunsind86

Thanks kja. My initial plan was to drive through Zagreb but decided to sample the city. We have almost 2 days so hoping to do it some justice.
Thanks for the tip on splitting up Plitvice over 2 days. Does it get a tad repetitive seeing the same lakes / waterfalls? Are the upper and lower lakes different in topography?
Based on a lot of comments here I am doing 3 nights in Ljubljana (just put up a post in the Slovenia forum). Sounds like a wonderful city.
Is Istria and the lakes likely to be crowded first half of June?

SS

kja

IMO, you will get much more informative responses by keeping this question with your questions on Croatia
Finally! A "just us" trip. No kids!
-- despite the differences in the areas, helping someone plan a trip to a region is often enhanced by having a fuller sense of one's overall itinerary and interests.

If you are willing to do that, click on the orange triangle near the lower left of your post and simply ask the moderators to merge your threads.

P.S. No worries either way!

kja

The upper and lower Plitvice Lakes are decidedly different and IMO, both regions are wonderful and well worth seeing.

I would strongly encourage you to ask the moderators to merge your Slovenia thread
3 nights in Ljubljana + Bled
with this one -- I'll add instructions to that thread now. To respond to that question:

IMO, it would be very difficult to visit both Lake Bled and the Vintgar Gorge on a single day trip from Ljubljana, although of course, it depends on just exactly what you want to do in Bled and the Vintgar Gorge. To give you an idea: When I was there, I spent two nights in Bled. After the first night, I got up early, visited the castle, went to the Vintgar Gorge (I had a car; you would have to work around bus schedules), walked through the gorge and then returned to the parking area via a lovely walk above the gorge; returned to Bled for a pletna to the island; thoroughly enjoyed a walk around the lake before a VERY late dinner, leaving not a single moment for anything else. Note that I didn't mention lunch -- I didn't take any breaks that day. Maybe you wouldn't want to include all of those activities.

And Ljubljana itself easily merits a full day or more, depending on your interests. BTW, it isn't riverside, but check out Pri Škofu for a meal while there. Reservations recommended.

My guess is that ANY where in the area will be crowded in the first half of June -- you are in high season at that time, and these are very popular locations.

IME, the Rough Guide provides by far the best coverage of the options for sightseeing in these areas. If you haven't already done so, you might want to get or consult one.

Andrew

It's easy to get from Ljubljana to Bled by public transportation (bus is direct and easiest, but train is possible for train buffs). However, I would highly recommend renting a car even if just for the ,day. I recommend getting an early start, then driving up to Skofja Loka, a lovely town on the way toward Bled. Then take the scenic drive from there through the mountains through Jamnik and Kropa (not the freeway via Kranj) and down into Bled. The drive is lovely and scenic.. Lake Bled is lovely, but you don't necessarily need all day just at the lake. You can take the Pletna boat out to the church on the island if you want (plan two hours - it is not a fast boat ride), go up to the casle, walk around the lake a little, and head up to Vintgar Gorge. The gorge is about an hour hike once you get up there.

At least in June you'll have a long day.

You can return the car after hours so no need to rush back to Ljubljana before the rental car company closes. Last time, I rented for the day from Avantcar right in town and returned the car late and dropped the keys with the hotel front desk next door, as had been arranged.

Ljubljana is lovely for sure. But it's small. It's a great place to come back to in the evening after day tripping elsewhere. It's also very walkable to from the train/bus station to lodgings, to rental car places, etc.

isabel

I did Lake Bled by bus as a day trip from Ljubljana with no problems. I didn't hike the gorge but I did walk all the way around the lake and up to the castle and that didn't take anywhere near all day.

kja

which would, of course, make quite a difference.

Sunsind86

I just did. Thanks kja.

Sunsind86

Thanks for that Andrew. I had mentally jotted down Jamnik as a must visit trip but this sounds good. It does make it a long day with Bled and Vintgar also thrown in. I'm convinced of hiring a car even if it's just for the day. Thanks

SS