We booked our return tickets to Venice. I have been there, but not my husband. From Venice we planned to visit Slovenia and Croatia. Although we still want to, things have changed as a cousin and her husband moved to Oradea in Romenia and we would love to visit them as well. We have exactly one month travel time, from 4 April to 4 May 2018. We normally rent a car for our travels, but this time may be different, we will use public transoprt.
My questions are:
Transport: where to use flights, trains, buses, taxis or Goopti? or anything else?
Itinerary: Clockwise to ljubljana, Budapest, Oradea etc OR
first to Istria by ferrie?
Any practical recommendations will be appreciated. We do of course want to visit attractions, but do not mind for off the beaten track. Also some of the best islands is a must.
Should we perhaps stick to our original plan to visit only Slovenia and Croatia?
Thank you!!
Erna (Walters) Grobler
(Then, we as South Africans originated from Bratislava, generations ago. So many difficult choices!)

I'd start playing with rome2rio to see the best opportunities, it is not a perfect tool but it does wellish.

If it was my family I might give them a week out of the 4

Transport: where to use flights, trains, buses, taxis or Goopti? or anything else?
Itinerary: Clockwise to ljubljana, Budapest, Oradea etc OR>

If mainline trains fine like Ljublana to Budapest but if Slovenia and Croatia buses say along the coast or trains Zagreb to say Ljulana.

www.Rome2rio.com is a good source at telling the best routes between any two points. for trains www.bahn.de/en has all the schedules for all of Europe.

Good train sites: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Sorry, but I think only you can decide on whethr to change your plans or not. If you have specific questions that you think might help you decide, I’m sure we will try to answer.

I agree with bilboburgler that you should consult rome2rio.com – and I would strongly encourage you to follow through with the links it provides, as the main rome2rio site is not sensitive to seasonal variation in public transportation schedules. Once you narrow down your itinerary, we can be more constructive with specific comments and recommendations.

I am puzzled by one thing: You say, “some of the best islands is a must.” I think that would mean that you would need to go into Croatia south of the istrian peninsula – which doesn’t seem to be in the plan you describe for including Oradea. And in any case, the question would become, “best for what?”

Thank you very much! I will post my itinerary as soon as I can. I will now use rome2rio and other suggested sites.