8 day itinerary help
 

Hi... visiting son studying abroad and he wants to visit neighboring countries. What I have planned is as follows (and most of you think it may be too much):

Sunday - Thursday - Budapest
Thursday - rent car... drive to Zagreb... overnite
Friday - Plitvice NP THEN 1.5 hr drive to Ljubljana.... overnite
Saturday - Drive to Lake Bled the back to Ljubljana... overnite
Sunday - DRive to Budapest... overnite... leave Monday

Are there any restrictions for driving to Croatia? Special licenses? Can anyone recommend a reputable, reasonable car rental company? Any other suggestions are appreciated. Thanks very much friends!

Unless there is something you absolutely must see in Zagreb and/or Ljubljana, I'd say leave leave them out.

I don't know where you got that Plitvice to Ljubljana is 1.5 hours. It's more like 3.

Here's what I would do instead:

Thursday: Drive Budapest to Plitvice and overnight there. It will add 1.5 hours or so to your driving time. BUT—it will give you more time at Plitvice on Friday, and maybe even some time on Thursday afternoon, depending on when you leave Budapest.

Friday: Visit Plitvice. Drive from Plitvice to Lake Bled and overnight Lake Bled. (Driving time will be about 4 hours, I think. In your original plan, you have 1.5–2 hours for driving Zagreb-Plitvice and 3 hours Plitvice-Ljubljana).

Saturday: Visit Lake Bled and overnight there again.

Sunday: Drive Lake Bled to Budapest.

Or you could stay at Plitvice again on Friday night and drive to Lake Bled on Saturday morning, and then leave for Budapest on Sunday afternoon.

If you want to break up the driving a bit more, then you could overnight in Ljubljana on Friday and/or Saturday (although I think it's less than an hour between Ljubljana and Lake Bled). Doing that means you lose an hour or two on Saturday to driving, though, versus staying at Lake Bled.

You will need a vignette (toll sticker) for driving on motorways and expressways in Slovenia.

This tells how you can buy them: http://www.slovenia.info/?faq=191

You will need a separate one for Hungary as well, so be sure the car you rent has one. If it doesn't, this tells how to obtain one: http://www.motorway.hu/Toll-tariffs/Foreign-travellers/

Double-check to be sure you can take the car to Croatia and Slovenia, but as both are EU I'm not sure that is a problem. As far as I know you do not need an international DL to drive in Croatia, although having one might make life easier if you are stopped (it's just an "official" translation of your driver's license into multiple languages).

You may get more help if you tag this for Slovenia and Croatia too, not just Hungary.

Look up highway vignette on wikipedia regarding "special licenses" - don't fail to buy one.

A few comments:

I'm a fan of Zagreb, but am not sure why you would stop there just overnight. Is it because it looked like a convenient place to stop overnight? If so, you might want to consider a place that won't require you to drive into a city. (And my recollection of driving into Zagreb was NOT my fondest memory of that city!) If you want to visit Zagreb, you would almost certainly need more than an evening or so. It depends on what you want to see and experience, but FWIW, 2.5 days were not enough for me to see everything I would have liked to see there.

Re: Ljubljana and Lake Bled: I loved both, but don't think you can do them justice in the time frame you are allotting. Ljubljana is absolutely charming and easily merits a full day, although you can probably see the highlights in less than that. Lake Bled can be seen as a very long day trip from Ljubljana, but it would be difficult to do so if you want to see the castle, the lake, and the stunning Vintgar Gorge. (And I think that the Vintgar Gorge is sufficiently different from the Plitvice Lakes to warrant a visit.)

BTW, the Plitvice Lakes are gorgeous and I recommend that you spend as long as you can there. Planning on 6 or 7 hours is not unreasonable.

For your rental, consider working with gemut.com. I've found their prices and service to be excellent.

Thank you all for your replies. Just to throw something else out there... If we needed to choose between Zagreb/Plitvice or Ljubljana/Bled, which would everyone prefer? I'm not totally crazy about hanging out in a busy, bustling city as we will be in Budapest for most of the trip. Looking to mix it up a bit, some night life, hikes, great scenery and people. I have read that Plitvice is beautiful but can get quite crowded. Not so sure about Lake Bled.

To me, that is a toss up... Ljubljana is more cute (reminds me of Salzburg)... Zagreb has a great old town which feels more like a tiny Prague.

Don't discount day trips from Budapest... (And if you did not see it, Budapest just got some major love

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/16/tr...ies/index.html

I think your trip is soon?... Enjoy

Well, you've got a bit of a dilemma!

The Plitvice Lakes are incomparable. You might get just a tad of something similar at Krka (also in Croatia) or at Agua Azul in Mexico, but as magnificent as those places are, they don't begin to approximate the scope of the natural beauty of the Plitvice Lakes. IMHO. There's good reason why this park is a UNESCO world heritage site.

I thought Zagreb had a delightfully laid-back charm. It has some noteworthy museums and interesting neighborhoods. I found it astoundingly quiet on weekend days, but pleasantly lively on other days.

Ljubljana is incredibly charming, with unique architecture and a lively aura that IMO can't help but make one smile. It is well worth exploring its museums to find hidden testaments to the playful spirt that pervades the city's core. (Don't miss the grand stairwell within the National Museum of Slovenia!)

Lake Bled is decidedly picturesque. You can visit the castle for magnificent views and interesting displays. You can relax while riding a traditional craft to Bled Island. You can walk around the lake, enjoying gorgeous views as you go. And you can visit Vintgar Gorge.

Hope the helps!

Yes CentralEurope.... this Sunday is depature :-) Thanks so much for the helpful info from you all... I guess we do have decisions to make. I just wish I had a few extra days to cover everything. I'll report back. Cheers, friends!

Ok.... Next Wednesday is the anniversary of the 1956 uprising. James Michener captured it quite we'll in a short read The Bridge at Andau.... Also, a Robert Capa photo exhibit at the national museum.

So much to do, so little time!

kja, I was in Zagreb just yesterday (Saturday) and it was PACKED. The weather was beautiful and everyone must have decided to go to the old city area at the same time. All the parking garages were full. Maybe everyone was out of town for the weekend when you were there.;)

That said, Zagreb isn't Budapest in terms of size and bustle, HansHederman. But driving in Zagreb definitely can be a pain.

Thanks for letting me know, Cranachin! I was there in late May/early June, so maybe that contributed to the difference. I hope the crowds didn't limit your enjoyment of Zagreb.

Hans...I've been a Plitvice fan since first visting in the early 1980's when it was all Yugoslvaia. Each time I was no less impressed than the first time. We ran into a late snow one time in April, but it added a new dimension to the scenic cascades. I would ceranly choose it as a must-see-experience, in agreement with Kja.

excuse typos please. Ugh.

Here are some old and new pics of the region, including two of the visits to Plitvice..one in snow, one back in the early 80's before the revolution...Mostar also appears with bridge in tact.

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...Kq1odTr3IKLHA#

HansHederman, phone home! Please post a trip report!