Best sites in Slovenia and Croatia
 

We are a group of 5-seventy-year-olds travelling in rented cars for 16 days in Slovenia and Croatia. We will be 4 nights in Bled; 2 nights in Ljubliana; 4 nights in the Plitvice area; and then 4 nights near Nova Gorcia(Near Trieste). We will be staying in airbnb-rental homes. Can you advise us on best attractions in the Bled and Plitvice and Trieste areas. Which caves-Which trails and what else to see around the Plitvice Park. We like to walk! Thanks for the help.

The Rough Guides provide especially comprehensive information about your options in all of these areas.

4 nights is a LOT for the Plitvice Lakes. The main route takes about 6 to 8 hours, and although there are other trails in the park, there isn't isn't a lot to be seen from a base in that part of Croatia.

Near Bled, explore the small towns like Radovljica and Skofja Loka - the drive through the hills between Bled and Skofja Loka (through Kropa and Jamnik) is very scenic. Many people explore nearby Lake Bohinj too, plenty of hiking options there. Others drive over the Julian Alps loop from Bled over the Vrsic Pass into the Soca Valley, over an old twisty road built by Russian prisoners of war during World War I. I used the Rick Steves Croatia/Slovenia book for my guide to these areas; he has a good driving itinerary through the Julian Alps noting all the different stops you might be interested in.

Thank you for your replies. I do have a duplicate thread. Please relate to this question and disregard the previous request. What about the trieste area?

I've barely been to Trieste beyond passing through. The small Slovenian coast has some beautiful little towns like Piran, not far south of Trieste. There is a lot to see in little Slovenia near Trieste. This is where a good guidebook would help!

You're missing the beautiful Dalmatian coast, one of the best parts of Croatia. The towns of Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Sibenik are well-worth seeing, not to speak of the offshore islands and the peninsula of Istria, just south of Slovenia.

Other than Plitvice, inland Croatia is not very interesting, And 4 nights is more than you need for Plitvice.

Maybe just skip Croatia this trip and save it for when you have more time.

I suggest you use the following order for the Slovenia leg: Ljubljana - Bled - Nova Gorica/Trieste and then on to Croatia. This is better than having Ljubljana in the middle as it will allow you to do the scenic drive through the Julian Alps over Vrsic Pass without having to return to Bled, but simply continue down the Soca Valley to Nova Gorica/Trieste, a lovely drive. You might want to return to the Soca Valley on another day from Nova Gorica/Trieste as you'll probably find that you won't have time to see everything on the day you're driving through, especially since there are plenty of walking opportunities there - the Soca Trail, the so-called Walk of Peace, a series of WW1-themed trails following the remains of the Isonzo Front, Kozjak Waterfall, Tolmin Gorge, etc.

If you like to experience local food and wine, you might enjoy a visit to the Goriska Brda and Vipava Valley wine regions with their many tourist farms, wineries and small villages such as Smartno, Stanjel, Vipava, etc. There's also the stud farm at Lipica and of course the caves (either in Postojna or in Skocjan) can also be seen during your stay in the Nova Gorica/Trieste.

Trieste and the nearby Miramare castle warrant a day, as does the town of Piran on the coast. There are also many walking opportunities along the coast.

Actually, I found several parts of inland Croatia well worth seeing -- but they aren't parts that would be readily seen from the Plitvice Lakes.

Thanks again-I may change some of the itinerary. kja-what were the parts of inland Croatia that you would recommend-as we do have a car?.

Sorry, but I might have misled you, nechjosh, as I was responding to the blanket statement that "inland Croatia is not very interesting" -- it does have things of great interest to MANY of us, but not necessarily you!

I thoroughly enjoyed Zagreb, Varaždin, and Čakovec -- but I don't think you are much interested in cities?

I also enjoyed a bit of time in the Lonjsko Polje, but it's definitely not for everyone.