@ yorkshire -- wow, that is a first! I have to think that our experiences of Opatija were extremely different. I was there for a couple of hours just before/during sunset on a Saturday evening in early June of 2009. The bars and restaurants near the shore were competing with one another to see which could play their disco / party music the loudest and with the heaviest base. Street side shops were filled with junk, overpriced kitsch, and overly zealous sales staff. Sidewalks were filled with people who were already so drunk that trying to walk by or through them was a decidedly unpleasant experience. I did enjoy the Villa Angiolina, though -- that was worth seeing. :-)

Thanks for the good feedback and suggestions, we are looking forward to it all already, so will do more research and more fine tuning of the trip.

Does anyone have any ideas on the best route to take from Plitvice Lakes to Split. Stay inland or head out to coast??

My suggestion of a stop in Nin was my suggestion for the route from the Plitvice Lakes to Split! Sorry I wasn't more clear. Take the route that is mostly major highways from Plitvice Lakes to Nin, and then the main road from Nin to Split. JMO.

Thanks kja, all clear on that now and Nin does look lovely, thanks again for your help.

Can anyone help with the best way to travel Dubrovnik to Rome.
We are happy to either fly or go by ferry which ever is the most economical, and not sure about daily services for both.

GlennBev, it's probably worth starting a new thread with this question.

Hi All, well we're off on Eastern Europe adventure in about 3 months. Most of the hard work has been done, the itinerary is settled thanks to YOUR help, most of the accommodation is booked mainly using airbnb. The last main thing we have to sort out is the rental cars. We have kept the cars to a minimum and we are not crossing any borders. We need a car in Slovenia for 4 days and another in Croatia for 6 days. Our Travel Agent got quotes from Europcar for AUD1000.00 and AUD1200.00 resp. Europcar was the only firm she could use. We got quotes using the Europcar website much cheaper. Our Agent phoned her Europcar contact and he suggested that we should book online but only if we didn't have to pay upfront. The Europcar website was offering cars that he said weren't available? We have also looked at websites for Lastminute and Enterprise. Both of whom had very reasonable prices.
Has anyone had any experience renting cars in Slovenia and Croatia? Is there any reason we should be mindful of renting from the 3 companies mentioned? Thanks heaps to any responders. Cheers Bev and Glenn

You might try working with gemut.com They are a company that books car rentals (and other things), not a rental company per se. I've never found lower rates than what they offer (which doesn't mean lower rates aren't possible), and I've appreciated their services. Good luck!

If you are going to Bled I would recommend you continue to Bohinj, it is much nicer. When I was last in Bled, three years ago, it was a 'dump'.

That's a shame that Bled, the town, was a dump. Does anyone know if they've taken any steps to improve it, or are the problems more structural?

I visited Bled in 2010 and did NOT think it a "dump" by ANY means. Things could have changed, but from what I've seen of others' photos, I'm not convinced that they have. And anyways, there is SO much to do in / around Bled that I'm not sure many travelers would be spending a great deal of time in Bled itself. And if one chooses one's lodging well, a perfectly enjoyable stay should still be a very real option. (Of course, if someone chooses a hotel that's a dump, that's quite a different story.) JMO.

I didn't think Bled was a "dump," just not a very exciting town or attractive. I'd rather be in Ljubljana at night. The lake is beautiful, though, and staying over in Bled anyway is still a practical thing to do for seeing the lake and nearby attractions. Bohinj is beautiful too but a very different experience than Bled. Bohinj is much less developed and bigger, more of a "back to nature" experience. Bled has a developed tourist infrastructure.

I thought there was a well established tourist infrastructure in Bohinj, too, especially at the high end. When I visited, there wasn't much in the mid-range.... YMMV, or things could certainly have changed.

Bled is hardly a dump, it has a number of art deco villas, fine, a beautiful church, a towering castle and some cobbled streets. I've been to dumps and this is far from one.

Just a little side comment to you youngsters. I'm a 79 year-old female and have made arrangements to go solo to Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in June.

I'll be looking forward to your trip report. I haven't been to Croatia-Slovenia or Greece since the late 60's. I may choose that area for my trip in 2016. I trust the infrastructure has improved since then.