Croatia
 

Hi,

I am going to be in Ljubljana for a week and then I want to travel to Croatia. I really want to visit the Plitvice Lakes and to a beach place like Pula. My travel dates are 25th July to 28th July. The thing is my return flight will be from Ljubljana and I want to plan this trip from Plitvice to Pula. One plan that I think could work is Stay in Zagreb on the 25th and then on 26th go to Plitvice Lakes and after spending a day there leave for Pula in the evening and spend two days in Pula and then to Ljubljana. I really dont fancy staying in Zagreb but I can't seem to find a better route. Can anyone suggest anything? Thanks!

Abeer (please ignore my dumb screen name :p)

Are you renting a car? Or, have you looked at the bus timetables? In case you are proposing public transport, I am worried that Plitvice to Pula and Pula to Ljubljana is going to eat up a lot of your time. I did a cursory search, and I am not finding a bus route from Plitvice to Rijeka, where you would change for Pula-bound buses. But my search was far from exhaustive.
Have you looked into what the Slovenian seaside might offer?

Have you considered renting a car in Ljubljana and just driving straight to Plitvice? You could visit Pula after a stay in Plitvice and return the car back to the airport in Ljubljana.

Agree with KT.

Ljubljana to Plitvice - 3 hours
Plitvice to Pula - 3 hours
Pula to Ljubljana - a little more than two hours

((H))

I haven't looked at the bus schedules either, but think you might be able to transfer in Pazin. Or instead of going to Pula for your beach time, consider Rovinj or Porec.

Also: May I ask why you aren't interested in Zagreb? I admit it isn't for everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it.

Hi thanks all for your responses. Well I can't drive a car becuase I don't have an international license. Since I am on a short trip I really want to check out the beach side and the lakes thats why I am not into Zagreb at the moment no other reasons :). The friend who can drive can't come with me so that's why I have to rely on the public transport :/. Or maybe I just decide to go to Pula and once I am there I find out if Plitvice Lakes is possible to go? Would be a shame to miss it though :(

It's certainly not impossible to go by bus from Zagreb via Plitvice to Pula in 1 day; but it may get a long day with many hrs spend in buses:
Zagreb dp 7.30 - Plitvice ar 9.45, dp 15.00 - Karlovac ar 15.55, dp 16.55 - Pula ar 20.30.
Check if there is any possiblity to deposit your luggage at Plitvice.
http://www.buscroatia.com/
http://www.akz.hr/
http://www.brioni.hr/en-us/prijevozp...ulazagreb.aspx
http://www.ap.hr/?gid=12&aid=107
http://www.autobusni-kolodvor.com/en/timetable.aspx
The fastest route from Ljubljana to Plitvice goes via Zagreb. But you are not obliged to sleep there. Ljubljana - Plitvice can easily be made in 1 day.

On this short trip I agree that you should go from Ljubljana via Zagreb to Plitvice and then to Pula.

I would not advise trying to wing it when you need to be able to get back to Ljubljana for your return flight. As we have explained, this is not an easy route. Up to you if you want to spend a lot of your three days on buses.

Not sure about your reference to an international license. Before traveling to and renting a car in Ljubljana last year, I went to my local AAA office with $15 and 2 passport photos and was instantly issued an international driving permit. That permit was secondary to my Florida driver license and never looked at by either of the car rental companies I dealt with.

Thanks guys lets see what i decide in the end...i guess ill have to ditch Plitvice in the worst case. dweislaw thanks for the info ill look into it :)

Another alternative you might consider is Bla Bla car. It´s a service similar to uber but more of a car sharing idea. People post where they are headed and how many spaces they have available and the price. I haven´t used the service although I have a friend who has used it in Spain and France and highly recomends it. Check out there web sight.

thanks will do!