Selwyn_Davidowitz

We are planning on visiting Croatia and Slovenia in October 2004. We have 1-3 travel weeks at our disposal

1. Is 2-3 weeks too much for travel to these countries?

2. How many travel days would be recommended to be able to at least obtain a reasonable idea of each country?

3. What would the must do events in each country.

4. What would be the "hidden secret" type events to do in your opinion. (Just love these type of travel tips)

5. What cities or towns would you deem as great choices to visit in each country?

I am a regular on the Fodors Africa travel page and it really is a great travel resource. This Europe forum is as good and it is wonderful to see how many helpful hints and ideas are passed around on this page. Great stuff.

Hope there is someone out there who can help me with some ideas.

Selwyn Davidowitz
Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Topping my mail to try and obtain a response.

Thanks

Jonas

I think 2-3 weeks is just about enough to travel to these two countries.

Slovenia:
- Ljubljana 3-4 days with day trips to Blad lake and Postojna cave


Croatia:
- Rovinj and surroundings (Istria) 3 days with day trips to Pula and Istrian countryside (Motovun, Hum, Vodnjan)
- Opatija 1 day
- Zadar 1 day
- Split 1-2 days
- Hvar 1-2 days
- Korcula 1 day
- Dubrovnik and surroundings 3-6 days with daytrips to Cavtat, Elafiti islands, Mljet and Montenegro
- Plitvice lakes 1 day
- Zagreb 1 day

Grasshopper

Jonas' suggestions are very good. 2-3 weeks may sound like a lot, and Jonas' itinerary may sound very aggressive, but it would be hard to cut, and easy to add days to any of those places. I spent 2 weeks in Croatia and Slovenia and barely scratched the surface.

SloJan

I would also add Lake Bohinj and the Soca River Valley to Slovenia!

Cheers,
Jan

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Thanks a ton Jonas, Grasshopper and Jan.

I hear what you say Grasshopper when you say that it would be hard to cut the amount of days but let me ask you all the following:

If you had to cut days what would be the bare minimum amount of days per country needed to get a good qualitative feel for Croatia as well as Slovenia?

Once again to all of you and anybody else who helps a BIG THANK YOU. Your advice has proven to be invaluable up to now.

Selwyn Davidowitz
Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

aeiger

Hi
we returned last month from 9 days in Porec, Rovinj and trogir and i agree with the others that we barely touched the surface of Croatia. We drove from roninj to Trogir and the Adriatic was stunning. Took over 6 hours. Really nice seafood places along the way. We decided not to visit large cities so I still have Split and Dobrovnik to look forward to in the future. In Slovenia visit Ljubljana for a couple of days. A very nice city, pleasant strolling. We also visited the caves at Postojna. We then drove to the Adriatic and stayed in Piran a couple of nights. I don't know if you realize that Piran is almost on the border with the Istria in Slovenia. It took us about 2 and 1/2 to 3 hrs to drive from Ljubljana to Porec in croatia. you can change money at the border. There are couple of banks set up there. It's a very nice drive. Enjoy both countries, we did.
alan

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Aeiger,

Thank you so much for your very helpful reply. Great info; Much obliged.

Any other comments aboiut Croatia or Slovenia are always appreciated.

This Europe forum really is wonderful and it is as such only because of all the contributors, such as those who have answered my requests, who have responded so freely. Much obliged.

Selwyn Davidowitz
Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

LLC

Selwyn,
Did you get your itinerary put together? I'd be interested in the travel tips you've compiled for Croatia and Slovenia. (And tips from anyone else)

eurotraveller

Selwyn, I just spent 2 weeks in Croatia and we were ending our trip with 3 nights in Rome and we almost cancelled the Rome portion of our trip in order to stay in Croatia for the three extra days. The thing that stopped us from doing so was our non refundable hotel reservations.

We did not go to Slovenia but Croatia is now my favorite country and I am fairly well travelled! I rarely go back to the same country two years in a row but my boyfriend and I are considering a return trip next year.

That being said, if you DON'T have two weeks you might consider just flying into Dubrovnik and spending 4-6 days and incorporating the suggestions from Jonas. While in Dubrovnik do not miss the War Photos Museum. Very moving but it gives you a sense of what happened during the recent war.

Personally, I wasn't terribly fond of Zagreb or Split although Diocletian's Palace in Split is worth 1/2 day. We had planned on staying a couple of nights in Split but decided at the last minute to stay in Trogir instead. Trogir is a great little island just 1/2 hour north of Split and you could take a day trip to Split by bus.

Have you done a search for Croatia threads? Several people, including myself, have posted our trip reports recently. Check those for ideas and then ask more specific questions when you form your itinerary.

Good luck!