We are visiting Croatia for the first time. We are hiring a car with 2 friends and heading off from Dubrovnik. We are making our way to Plitvice Lakes with stop overs along the way and then making our way to Pula, again with stop overs. We would like to go to Bled in Slovinia but the hire car compnay says 'no'. Any ideas of towns to stay where we could take a day trip to Bled? After this, we are heading to Zagreb to complete our trip of 12 days in Criatia. I would be grateful for any suggestions, words of advice or tips. Thanks..

you could day-trip from lublijana (a fantastic town) -- but i think you're asking what town in croatia you could day-trip from?? for faster roads, i think zagreb would be best -- but that's a really long way. you want some time to explore bled and its peaceful scenery. maybe clarify what you are wanting to do.?? (you also could keep asking around-- some rental companies will let you take the car out of country-- maybe keep shopping?) -kawh

I plan to rent a car in Hungary and plan to visit a couple of countries. I have checked with several rental car companies and all of them allow you to take the car across the border if you inform them that you are planning to do so. You must obtain a cross border permit from them. In some instances it is provided free and in others you must pay for it depending on the company.
Of course, I am not originating in Croatia, so maybe that is the difference.
And there are some countries that are forbidden to enter with the companies I have checked with but not Croatia.
One of the companies I have checked is
www.economycarrentals.com
You might see if they have rentals originating in Croatia have used them before in Europe.

I would suggest either talking to your rental agency again, or switching to an agency that will cover you in Slovenia. We were able to travel from Croatia to Bosnia, Montenegro, and Slovenia for a very reasonable rate, and the cross border permits were not hefty.

I think Lake Bled is too far from anywhere in Croatia to make for a comfortable day trip. IF your crew is really intent on visiting, then I would suggest that you treat it as an overnight stop on your way to Zagreb. However, I really don't think you will have any trouble finding beautiful places to visit if you stay in Croatia for the whole 12 days...the country really is that lovely.

--Annie

Thanks everyone. Kawh, I was thinking of an organised day trip from a town in Croatia or Udine in Italy maybe. But maybe it would be a good idea to shop around car hire companies or have an overnight on our way to Zagreb as Annie suggests. Sher, I will contact the car hie company that you suggested and see what they can offer.

we have rented very, very happily from kemwel in the past and taken the car into other countries. sometimes it is a big deal-- but kemwel will talk to you on the phone about it and may be able to find a company that will let you do that. even still, get it in writing. (kemwel usually uses eurocar for the actual cars and they may not get the memo clearly...) l

lake bled is very pretty-- but no secret, and pretty-- and you may want to either save it for another trip or spend a few days there. (i know-- i hate it when people say that to me...) for us, one of the best things about staying there was walking around in the morning or evening, when it was more quiet... and the view of the lake and church from our room.) i think it is a pretty big trip for just a day or one night. i don't see anything on line after a quick look that would be a quick trip from zagreb.

maybe- instead-- you could take a couple of days to visit one of the islands near debrovnik. -kawh

Thanks for your advice everyone. All sorted now. We found a car rental comp. that will allow us to drive into Slovenia, so we are having 2 nights in Bled (ex Trieste, Italy) before driving on to Zagreb. Looking forward to it.

We rented through Gemut (got a Hertz car). Picked up in Dubrovnik, went to Slovenia and then dropped back in Porec.

Since the OP has it all sorted out, I would like to ask a question to those of you who have driven along the Croatian coastline.

I am looking at a map of Croatia and it looks like a tiny little part of Bosnia cuts into Croatia along the coast and north of Dubrovnik. So it looks like you must drive thru this little stretch of Bosnia as you are going south to Dubrovnik. Are there any border formalities on either side?

Thanks.

Yes, you need to be sure to have your passports ready when you cross the border. Sometimes the guards will just waive you through, but sometimes they will act very stern and take their time inspecting your passports.

Good info, thanks RayKrebs.