Does this Itinerary make sense? Schengen Q
 

Hi all,

We are planning to travel on a tight schedule but we are coming all the way from South Africa and therefore like to squeeze as much in as possible.

We will be visiting family in Athens, thereafter, flying via Turkey, with Turkish Airlines to Dubrovnik.

I would like to:

- Day 1: Dubrovnik

- Day 2: Bus from Dubrov to Mostar

- Day 3: Mostar and evening bus from Mostar to Split

- Day 4: Split

- Day 5: Split, Hire a car and drive to Zagreb, stop halfway, overnight

- Day 6: Complete drive to Zagreb, get to Zagreb before 12 as we need to attend Friday prayers

- Day 7: Explore Zagreb and then fly off to Cape Town

My questions, of which there are many:

1. Husb has a Schengen Passport, is he good to enter Croatia and B&H without anything else?

2. i will have a Schengen visa (South African Passport) as we are coming from Greece, likely multiple entry, am I good to enter Croatia and B&H without anything else? (This seems to be the case, but would like to confirm) - and then back to Croatia after Mostar?

3. Are busses from Dub - Mostar and Mostar - Split easily available? Should I book tickets beforehand? It's peak (?), July.

4. Is it safe to drive/navigate around in Croatia as someone who only speaks english? Anything I should know about?

5. What's a good halfway overnight stop between Split and Zagreb? Internet suggests seeing Plitvice, is there accommodation around there (I am yet to research that)

6. Are there mosques in other parts of Croatia? I know there is one in Zagreb. Is it in use? (Sometimes these places are demolished or re-purposed etc.)

7. Approximately how much should I budget for renting a car/fuel from Split to Zagreb over two or three days?

8. Any suggestions? The fixed things are: Day 1 Landing in Dubrovnik and Day 7 leaving from Zagreb as well as Day 6: Friday prayers at 12-1pm. I suppose there is some room for movement! :D

Kind regards and thank you in advance.

This plan is, indeed, very tight. It is probably do-able, but I’m not sure how pleasant it will be – you’ll have to be the judge of whether it is worth it to spend that much time in transportation for so very little time to actually see anything. Some thoughts:

Day 1: Will you have a full day in Dubrovnik or does Day 1 include your arrival? If the later, you might not have time for everything you would want to do there.

Days 5 to 6: you could stop in the Plitvice Lakes National Park, but not necessarily if you want to get to Zagreb in time for Friday prayers. The Plitvice Lakes National Park is, IMO, the single most un-missable of Croatia's many splendors. Not only are the lakes connected by travertine waterfall formations, each lake has unique microbiota, and as a result, the lakes are different colors. The best way to see that is to make a single, long loop through the park -- something on the order of 6 hours or more (including time for the boat that connects the lower and upper lakes), spending the night either before or after your walk in the area.

#3: See your other post:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...osnia-1647344/
(No worries, but for future reference, posting the same question twice is not an optimal strategy.)

#4. Yes, but please learn at least a few basic civilities! English is widely spoken, but people genuinely (and I would suggest, rightfully) appreciate it when they hear someone say “thank you” in their own language.

#5. See above re: days 5 to 6.

#8. Personally, I think you are trying to cover too much ground too quickly, but its your trip, your call.

Good luck!

Thank you so much. It is tight... I may be able to add another day.

Day 5 - 6: Is there another mosque on the way to Zagreb that you know of? That way we don't have to rush and can simply, stop to pray and then continue to Zagreb leisurely.

Sorry about the double posting, I was hoping that post would focus more on whether i could enter Bosnia on Schengen multiple entry visa and decided to add the same bus query. Will not do this again :D

(From the other thread) Would it be a better idea to spend only one day in Mostar to free up some time, should we arrive and leave Mostar in the same day?

Thanks for your comments here and there!

Sorry, I don't know about mosques in Croatia.

Don't worry about the double post. BUT in that post you said you have 2 nights in Mostar, and in this one you say you have only 1 night there. I thought Mostar particularly enchanting after sunset, and so encourage people to spend a night if they can, and there are functioning mosques in Mostar.

I just googled mosques in Zagreb and it looks like there are several.

Hi Kja and KT Travel,

Thank you both. I haven't booked the trip yet, and am still figuring out some details (like the one or two days in Bosnia).

I will do a bit more research before booking. But thank you so much for your input!