Initial inquiry into Croatia trip
 

I’m in the initial stages for planning my trip to Croatia the last two weeks of September 2018 (I like to start early :-) ). A challenge I’m having is how to get there! I’m a very frequent traveler for my job so I’ll have well over 1.5 million frequent flier miles on Delta to burn and of course Delta doesn’t currently fly into Croatia. This means I’ll need to either fly into another major airport in Europe and catch a connection into Croatia or fly into Venice (and spend a day to recover from jet lag) and rent a car to drive into Croatia (as I did when I visited Slovenia in 2012). Based on these options I have 7 or 8 itineraries I’m looking at.

I should mention that I’ve also looked at taking a ferry from Venice to multiple locations but they all seem to arrive in Croatia so late.

The problem with catching a flight connection into Slovenia will be a timing matter as there just aren’t a lot of flights at any of Croatia’s international airports. I really don’t want to have to get a hotel for a night in the connecting city and/or spend 8+ hours in the airport waiting for the connection.

Two flight options that look feasible based on initial inquiries into arriving flights on Delta (and of course this could all change in 1.5 years which is why I have 7 or 8 itineraries I’m initially looking at) are Rome to Dubrovnik or Paris to Zagreb.

And all of that leads to my initial question. If I were to fly into Zagreb I’d probably spend a couple of days there, then go to Plitvice National Park for a night. At that point, in order to not spread myself too thin, I think I’d either need to focus on Istria and the Kvarner Gulf or go the other way and focus on the Kvarner Gulf and Dalmatia (I should also note that an advantage of Dubrovnik is I also have millions of Hilton points so I could stay for free there).

I do have a number of guide books which I have been reviewing and both areas have much to offer so I’m just looking for opinions from others who have visited both areas. I'm interested in both coastal towns and mountain towns. A few specifics about me, I’m not a beach person so my primary interests are photography (as an example of the type of photos I like to take here are some I took this past fall in Dordogne, France - https://flic.kr/s/aHskowTbnh ), taking in the culinary treats and culture of different places, and seeing historical, architectural and unique areas/sites. I will be traveling alone with a rental car.

Thanks!

Look into flying to Venice and taking a shuttle with GoOpti down to say Rovinj and renting a car there. The benefit vs. the ferry is that you can fly in early and not have to wait all day - GoOpti lets you pick a time window (for shared transfers with other passengers picked up at different times), so at most you'd wait only an hour or two at the airport for them to pick you up.

You can also go from Venice to Ljubljana and take the train to Zagreb from there. Because I love Ljubljana, I don't mind visiting again for a night or two! In 2015, I did just that for a night after flying into Venice, then took a train to Rijeka and picked up my Croatian rental car there. Click on my name to read my 2015 trip report with details.

But I have flown from the US to western Europe and then connected on a separate ticket to other cities several times and it has worked out for me. (Delta has direct flights from my city to Amsterdam, which I have also found is an efficient airport for connections.) I tend to take risks by giving myself only a few hours to make the connection. If you are trying to catch a flight to say Zagreb, what's the risk that you'll miss it? Is there another flight a few hours later? And what would it cost me to get on it, because I booked a separate ticket? (Sometimes trip insurance would cover the costs.) These are questions I always ask myself. Some people would simply stay the night in the staging city to avoid the risk and fly on the next day.

I think it's probably too early to start worrying about the specific flights for September 2018, however. Just know that by say January 2018 you might start looking again and see what the schedules are. Most likely the Venice to Rovinj via GoOpti option will still be there.

As for choosing between Istria and Dalmatia (if you must): I think you will find more to choose from in Dalmatia, if you want to fill your limited time with highlights. You may not have time to see everything, but you won't have a problem filling it! If you did say Istria and Kvarner Gulf area, you would still see some beautiful places and also probably many not-so-touristy spots. I'd choose Dalmatia, personally, though Rovinj was one of my favorite towns in Croatia.

The Hilton Imperial in Dubrovnik is in a good spot outside the Pile Gate - I stayed just across the street on my first trip to Dubrovnik and enjoyed walking right into the old town. There are also many buses on the street just outside of the hotel, if you need to make local bus connections. You may plan to drop off your rental car when you get to Dubrovnik and fly out at the end, as you probably won't want to park a car near the Hilton Imperial - not cheap. And you probably won't want/need a car in Dubrovnik itself, unless you are doing day trips.

Thanks for the suggestions Andrew. I'll take a look at GoOpti and your other recommendations. I do realize that it is way too early to start thinking about flights but I wanted to get some idea of what my options may be so I know how to set up the different itineraries I'm exploring.

You had given me great advice for my 2012 trip to Slovenia. Especially the recommendation to make the day trip to Logar Valley a round trip by going through Jezersko on the way up and through Kamnik on the way back to Ljubljana. What a road that was up in the mountains! I was glad I didn't meet any cars coming the other way though!

Well, I don't think I was the one who gave you the tip about driving to Logarska Dolina, given that I haven't yet been there (maybe this year!) - but thanks! ;-) Maybe you were thinking of the scenic drive from Skofja Loka to Bled? I often recommend that to people.

Croatia Airlines does seem to have regular direct flights between Zagreb and the European capitals. KLM also has had a direct flight between Zagreb and Amsterdam, which is probably the one I'd prefer - probably still will have that in 2018. Amsterdam works great for me as a connection in Europe because Delta has a direct flight there from my home city - I'd guess if Delta if your airline you'd have no trouble flying into AMS as well. I think I'd prefer to connect to a flight at AMS than at Paris. Rome is not an organized airport from my experience and from the anecdotes I've heard from others.

I've never had to have a overlong connection like half a day waiting for the next flight or anything but I've considered it - take a train into Amsterdam for the afternoon or something and then fly to my final destination later on some cheap easyJet flight. That's easier to do there than in say Paris where CDG is so far from the center of town.

But - if you want to start planning, I'm guessing it's safe to plan a start in Zagreb and assume you'll get there one way or another - or if you want to do say Istria-Plitvice-Zagreb and skip Dalmatia, plan to start by flying to Venice and end by flying out of Zagreb (or vice versa I guess). Seems a pretty good bet that you'll find reasonable flight connections in September 2018 that would work for both of those.

>> If I were to fly into Zagreb I’d probably spend a couple of days there, then go to Plitvice National Park for a night. At that point, in order to not spread myself too thin, I think I’d either need to focus on Istria and the Kvarner Gulf or go the other way and focus on the Kvarner Gulf and Dalmatia <<

I would also select Dalmatia over Istria. But it does not have to be Istria and Kvar Gulf when flying into Zagreb. Work your way south from Plitvice to Dubrovnik, starting in either Zadar(2h11,133km from Plitvice) or Split (3h09,256km from Plitvice).This will give you 10 to 11 nights in Dalmatia.

As for flights SkyMiles partners(Delta) are more of a challenge than Star Alliance for Croatia. But if you can connect Rome to/from Dubrovnik and Paris from/to Zagreb you should be able to design a good itinerary. Award tickets open jaw Zagreb and Dubrovnik should be obtainable in either order. Based on your Hilton points,flying into Dubrovnik appears to be the best choice. Fly out of Zagreb. You may also look into flying out of Split if you want to eliminate Zagreb.

I enjoyed seeing your photos of the Dordogne, one of my favorite places in Europe. Croatia will also provide equivalent, though different, photo ops.

I really enjoyed my foray into the Kvarner region (after three Dalmatia trips), but with the parameters of traveling solo in late September, I think I'd stick to Istria and Dalmatia--some tough decisions will need to be made though!

I must admit that I think your choice would be either Istria and the Kvarner Gulf OR Dalmatia; I think it would be a challenge to see Dalmatia AND the Kvarner Gulf or Istria AND Dalmatia in the time you have. JMO!

IMO, all of these regions have wonderful aspects, and I don't think you have a BAD choice, just a difficult one. :-)

BTW, 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, IMO, 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), and by all means, start at the lowest part of the park so you are facing the falls as you proceed.

Good luck with your decisions!

Thanks for the great feedback everyone! It will definitely help me focus my research efforts. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once I narrow things down some!

Andrew, you were correct of course. I went back to one of my threads on Slovenia and it was someone else who had suggested the route to Logar Valley. I'd highly suggest it when you get a chance to visit the valley!