Thank you for the help! We will try to push the trip back but it might be unlikely. Hopefully it will work out without overwhelming crowds. We are trying to revise the itinerary to have less travel days. I don't usually like spending just 1 night in each location but I've done it before in Switzerland with shorter train journeys. I'm not that much of a fan of bus journeys so I don't know if I can do them everyday. Let me know which one you would chose!

Itinerary #1

1) Ljubljana 3 nights (8-10)
- Arrive afternoon
- 9th in Ljubljana
- on 10th trip to Lake Bled via direct bus to Bled
- on 11th day Predjama Castle and Postojna caves - leave onward to Trieste

2) Trieste day trip 1 night (11)
- spend the 12th in Trieste before heading to Pula around the evening

3) Pula 3 nights (12 - 14)
- 2 days (13th & 14th) in Pula

4) Zagreb 1 night (15)
- flight from Pula to Zagreb early morning on 15th arrives 7:30 am
- explore Zagreb on 2nd half of 15th and 1st half of 16th and in the evening to a Plitvice hotel

5) Plitvice 1 night (16)
- arrive in the evening on the 16th
- visit on the 17th

6) Zadar 2 nights (17-18)
arrive around 8 PMish
1 day in Zadar

6) Split 3 nights (19-21)
- maybe an island day trip

7) Mostar 0 nights
22nd in Mostar between Split and Dubrovnik

8) Dubrovnik 4 nights (22-25)
- 3 days to explore Dubrovnik

9) Belgrade 4 nights (26-29)
- flight from Tivat to Belgrade
- 3 days in Belgrade

Itinerary #2 * remove Trieste & Pula and added Budva

1) Ljubljana 4 nights (8-11)
- Arrive afternoon
- 9th in Ljubljana
- on 10th trip to Lake Bled via direct bus to Bled
- on 11th day Predjama Castle and Postojna caves

2) Zagreb 1 night (12)
- explore Zagreb on 2nd half of 12th and 1st half of 13th and in the evening to a Plitvice hotel

3) Plitvice 1 night (13)
- arrive in the evening on the 13th
- visit on the 14th

4) Zadar 2 nights (14th-15)
arrive around 8 PMish
1 day in Zadar

5) Split 3 nights (16-18)
- maybe an island day trip

6) Mostar 0 nights
- 19th in Mostar between Split and Dubrovnik

7) Dubrovnik 3 nights (19-21)
- 2 days to explore Dubrovnik

8) Budva (22 - 25)
- 3.5 days in Budva and surrounding areas in Montenegro

9) Belgrade 4 nights (26-29)
- flight from Tivat to Belgrade
- 3 days in Belgrade

Itinerary #3 * remove Budva & Add Sarajevo

1) Ljubljana 4 nights (8-11)
- Arrive afternoon
- 9th in Ljubljana
- on 10th trip to Lake Bled via direct bus to Bled
- on 11th day Predjama Castle and Postojna caves

2) Zagreb 2 nights (12-13)

3) Plitvice 1 night (14)
- arrive in the evening on the 14th
- visit on the 15th

4) Zadar 2 nights (15-16)
arrive around 8 PMish
1 day in Zadar

5) Split 3 nights (17-19)
- maybe an island day trip

6) Dubrovnik 3 nights (20-22)
- 2.5 days to explore Dubrovnik

7) Mostar 1 night (23)

8) Sarajevo 2 nights (24-25)

9) Belgrade 4 nights (26-29)
- flight from Dubrovnik to Belgrade
- 3 days in Belgrade

In Itinerary #3, do you mean flight from Sarajevo to Belgrade?

Itinerary #3 certainly is simpler in my opinion. I did an itinerary much like that (except no stop in Zadar, no Sarajevo, no Belgrade - and I had a car from Zagreb to Dubrovnik).

Personally, I'd do only a night in Zagreb. I did two nights in Zagreb after a an afternoon train from Ljubljana, so I had really only a full day in Zagreb. An afternoon in Zagreb (morning train from Ljubljana) and a single night would have been better for me. Some people really love Zagreb, but I was done after half a day of exploring (which I'm glad I did). Rick Steves even suggests the option of taking the early train from Ljubljana, leaving your bags somewhere, exploring Zagreb in half a day, and heading to Plitvice that same evening. If you can work it out with the bus and train schedules, I can totally see that making sense.

If you wind up renting a car in Croatia (if you have more people), you could probably squeeze in a trip to Pula/Istria in itinerary #3. By bus it seems impractical. You could rent the car in Pula or Zagreb and drop it in Dubrovnik (drop off in same country to avoid a steep drop-off charge).

Try to get to Zadar before sunset. Alfred Hitchcock famously proclaimed the sunset from Zadar the best in the world. I haven't yet been there - but check back with me in a month (on Sarajevo, too).

In Ljubljana, try to see the Jože Plečnik House; I toured it a few years ago (only a half hour) and it was great. (I'm otherwise not a big museum person.) The House is being renovated right now but should be open again by August. Jože Plečnik was the architect who designed many of the beautiful buildings and bridges you'll see in lovely Ljubljana.

"Some people really love Zagreb"

I'm one of them. I spent 2.5 days there and would have enjoyed more.

I also enjoyed Zadar, but I've seen MUCH better sunsets. To each his/her own!

Regarding Croatia ripp off in main season; August is most expensive month to visit anywhere in Europe, but difference with Croatia main attractions is this, that they can even double the price sometimes. I done some research online and Croatia in average is more expensive in August than Italy, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, Greece, Turkey and little cheaper than Switzerland and Norway.
If you read some Cro newspapers you will see how people complain on price raises especially in Dalmatia and Istria and also Kuna is more expensive in top season, petrol goes up, police are in overdrive with fines to tourists etc.
It's true if you are careful and avoid tourist traps you will find places which are reasonable, but foreign tourist mostly don't know it.

Andrew - yes I mean flight from Sarajevo to Belgrade.
As for Zagreb, to be honest we need to really look through guidebooks for more information because the 2 of us planning this trip have our select locations of choice (Plitvice Lakes, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik and Belgrade + all the ones in Slovenia as well as Mostar if we can). The rest we are going because we’re recommended (Pula & Budva) while we somewhat feel compelled to also go to Zagreb and Sarajevo but we don’t have anything in particular that we really want to see yet. In Sarajevo it would be nice to learn about the history there and almost all backpacker blogs I’ve read so far about Balkan travel just spend a day there talking to people, which is great.

Just that when talking to people about the trip/reading things like this are common:
1 day each in Pula, Zagreb, Zadar, Mostar, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, Lake Bled & Plitvice is enough
Go to Hvar
Don’t go to Podgorica, Kotor or Novi Sad

So that’s why we have difficulty deciding lol.

I have broken it down like this:
Parties: Split, Belgrade, Budva
Nature: Lake Pled, Plitvice, Postojna cave
Culture: Belgrade, Zagreb, Sarajevo
Beautiful attractions/monuments: Pula, Dubrovnik, Belgrade
Breathtaking cities: many, but mostly Mostar, Ljubljana
History: Belgrade, Sarajevo

I need to have a variety of things, so it would be nice when selecting to make sure I can still get all 6 of those. Only thing we are 100% sure of right now is Slovenia and Serbia.

Is it possible if we only have 1 day in Pula to enjoy a tour(?) of Brijuni islands and still see the main attractions in Pula (which for now we only have the arena, temple of Augustus and main square).

Thank you all for the help!

I haven't been to Pula - but should visit it on my trip in a few weeks. But from what I've read about Istria, Rovinj is the real jewel. Pula is a big industrial port town with some well-preserved Roman ruins at the core. There was a recent thread here about Pula/Istria - look for it. At least one person said he was sorry even to spend any time in Pula. Still, it sounds like the Roman ruins are well worth seeing - I'm planning to. But I wasn't planning to spend much more time there - maybe half a day. No doubt some people really dig Pula. We all have different tastes. Maybe I'll wind up liking it more than I expect to.

You'll hear recommendations from all kinds of people. My likes may be different from yours. So take whatever I or anyone else says with a grain of salt. You won't love everything you see, but sometimes you just can't know until you see for yourself.

(FYI, I don't think "nature" when I think of Lake Bled. It's beautiful, but it's not a huge lake - it's a big vacation resort. When I think "nature," I think of nearby Lake Bohinj instead.)

"we need to really look through guidebooks"

I agree wholeheartedly! Of the half-dozen guidebooks I used when planning my time in the area, I found the Rough Guide BY FAR the most helpful.

You'll see and experience some wonderful things no matter what you choose.

@ aleksander: Thank you for explaining your reasoning! I must admit that I don't think that higher prices during high season are necessarily "rip-offs" -- that seems to me to be a fairly basic consequence of supply & demand economics. I prefer to think of the savings I get when traveling outside of high season.

You can easily explore Pula and Brijuni in a day and I agree with Andrew on Bled-Bohinj comment. If you are in nature, Soca Valley is even better, can be reached in 1h by motor rail-car train. If you like to see more of Slovenia and save on time you will need a car.
Kja, yes is supply & demand economics, but I don't know country in Europe who increase prices so much as Croatia do in August( not to mention huge overbooking). Thats the reason I also like to travel outside of high season. Cheaper and much more enjoyable.

"In Ljubljana, try to see the Jože Plečnik House; I toured it a few years ago (only a half hour) and it was great. (I'm otherwise not a big museum person.) The House is being renovated right now but should be open again by August."

Oh crap! Does this mean it won't be open in early May? We are staying only a couple of blocks from here when we are LJU and we were planning on checking it out.

I saw a note on the Rick Steves "Guidebook Updates" page saying only, "The recommended Jože Plečnik House is closed for renovation until May 2015." Does that mean it opens May 1 or May 31 or somewhere in between? As I recall the house is connected to a museum - forget which one, but you can probably dig that up and check with the museum. I hope it is open in time for you!

Have you checked your other plans against site websites? ALWAYS worth doing IME. Good luck!

I just looked up the museum website and we will definitely be out of luck...

"Throughout 2014 the doors of Jože Plečnik’s home in Trnovo were closed for visitors as renovations of the house and its surroundings, which began in September 2013, were in full swing. With the renovations ending – the opening is set for September 2015 – the Plečnik House will once again be set to welcome visitors curious to see the authentic home of the architect."

Always better to know in advance! And there is SO much worth seeing in Ljubljana that I can't imagine that you won't be able to find other delightful ways to spend your time. Enjoy!

We are there for such a short time, that I don't really have a concern, so I totally agree with you kja.

If you have time, poke your heads inside Ljublljana's National Museum for a peek at the main staircase -- well worth a few moments, IMO! (Maybe even worth MAKING time to see! )

maja,

I can't wait to see what you decide to do. As others here have said, it really is about finding out what appeals to you personally.

I am jealous that you have 3 weeks. I only have 2.

I admire you for travelling at your age. I didn't and wish I had.

geenance, using the advice of everyone here and doing some more research we came up with an itinerary that only involves Slovenia, Croatia, BiH and Serbia. My friend said she doesn't really mind which place between Sarajevo and Budva so I decided to give Montenegro a miss and hopefully do a solo backpacking trip sometime in the next 2 years to Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria.

Our current itinerary is fast and involves a lot of travel so I'm hoping things go smoothly. We will just be taking backpacks with us and staying at hostels and apartments.

1) Ljubljana 3 nights (8-10)
- Arrive afternoon
- on 10th trip to Lake Bled via direct bus to Bled
- on 11th day Predjama Castle and Postojna caves - leave onward to Trieste

2) Trieste day trip 1 night (11)
- spend the 12th in Trieste before heading to Pula at 6:00 PM (reach 8:20 PM)

3) Pula 2 nights (12-13)
- 1 day (13th) in Pula

4) Zagreb 0 nights
- flight from Pula to Zagreb early morning on 14th arrives 7:30 am
- explore Zagreb and transfer to Plitvice in evening

5) Plitvice 1 night (14)
- arrive in the evening on the 14th
- visit on the 15th

6) Zadar 2 nights (15-16)
- arrive around 8 PMish
- 1 day in Zadar

7) Split 3 nights (17-19)

8) Dubrovnik 3 nights (20-22)
- arrive at 2:30 or 4:30
- evening + 2 full days

9) Mostar 0 nights
- depart for Mostar at 8:00 am, arrive 11:40
- explore on 23rd and then transfer to Sarajevo at 5:35 or 8:50 if allowed late checkin at hostel

10) Sarajevo 3 nights (23-25)
- 2 days in Sarajevo

11) Belgrade 4 nights (26-29)
- flight or bus from Sarajevo to Belgrade
- 3 full days in Belgrade

I'm hoping Mostar and Zagreb plans work. For Mostar if we feel we won't get enough time we'd add a night there and take one off from Belgrade. The first week of the trip is pretty busy but we would have a lot more energy then.

Mostar is, IMO, especially lovely in the evening after day trippers leave. You might consider spending the night there before moving on to Sarajevo.

I agree that Mostar is better at night and can be very busy with day trippers - probably mobbed with them in August. But, with your busy itinerary, you will have to make compromises somewhere. It would not be the end of the world to do only a day trip to Mostar.

I might try optimize the Ljubljana - Trieste - Pula route better. A night Trieste might be practical as a stop. It's another one of those towns some people like but many aren't crazy about. I also suspect, from a budget standpoint, it may cost more than staying in Slovenia or Croatia. In 2011, one reason I stayed another night in Piran - which I loved - was that Trieste was about $40 USD more per night for the lodgings I was looking it.

If you felt like skipping Trieste and going right from Postojna to Pula, I see there's a daily scheduled route from Postojna leaving at 14:19 (bus, connect to train), if you could get down there early and done with the caves in time:

http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/passe...s/croatia/pula

Of course, if you simply want to see Trieste, then it should work as you have it!

If you are going to see Trieste for sure, also consider again flying into Venice (assuming it might be cheaper / better flights, if not never mind) - then you could train from Venice to Trieste and even start there, bus to Ljubljana, then Postojna, Pula, etc.