Itinerary (Italy, Croatia, Slovenia)
 

My husband and I are spending 46 days in Europe and would like input on the below itinerary.
We are retired and appreciate a laid back vacation with exposure to local people.

Please comment on locations and durations. Lodging is near bigger cities on purpose.

Itinerary:
Paris France, 3 days
Flight to Florence, Italy, rent car
Lucca, 8 days
Soriano Nel Cimino, 4 days
Drive to Rome, drop car
Rome, 4 days
Fly to Dubrovnik, Croatia rent car
Dubrovnik (20 mins South), 4 days
South to Cavtat (includes Montenegro), 3 days
North to Trojir (near Split), 2 day
North to Zagorje (near Rijeka), 1 day
Ferry to Cres Island
Veli Losinj (grandparents town), 5 days
North to Porec (near Rovinj), 2 days
Inland to Groznjan, Slovenia (near Piran), 3 days
North to Ljubljana, Slovenia (Lake Bled, Plitvice Park), 5 days
Return car in Rijeka, Croatia (take train to Ljubljana)
Fly from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Amsterdam, 1 day
Fly from Amsterdam (AMS) to Seattle (SEA), 1 day

Should be a great trip!

A few observations:

I assume your decision to give so very little time to Paris and Amsterdam is intentional, perhaps just taking advantage of flights that worked for you?

4 days is not much for Rome.

In contrast, 4 days is a LOT for Dubrovnik. Even at a leisurely pace, 2 days is more than enough for Dubrovnik itself.

Trogir is charming, but tiny -- you can walk every street in just a few hours. If your purpose for 2 days here is to have time for Split, then you might want more time, as Split has a lot to offer.

You might want to consider stopping at the Plitvice Lakes National Park between Trogir and Zagorje. This 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), and by all means, start at the lowest part of the park so you are facing the falls as you proceed.

Zagorje isn't really that close to Rijeka. Perhaps you picked it so you can see Zagorje's castles before catching your ferry to Cres?

I believe Groznjan is in Croatia, near Porec. Given your stated travel preferences, you might want to combine the two.

As already noted, the Plitvice Lakes National Park is in Croatia, and it would, I think, make much more sense to visit en route from Trogir to Zagorje, not from Ljubljana.

Instead of taking the same car from Croatia into Slovenia, you might consider dropping the car before leaving Croatia, taking public transportation to Ljubljana, and then picking up another car for your time there. I would think you could return the car in Porec and then take a bus to Ljubljana, although you will need to check on that.

Hope that helps!

You are spending 8 days in Lucca, the longest stay of all of the places you are visiting. Is there some kind of musical festival or event which is the reason for this? We loved the place and stayed 4 nights. There's some beautiful countryside around Lucca to explore and Pisa is just a train stop away.

Hi michellecoll,
That's a nice itinerary you got there :)
I'm from Istria so I'll just comment the destinations Poreč and Grožnjan (yes, Grožnjan is in Croatia-region of Istria, not Slovenia).
I like the idea that you want to stay in Grožnjan for 3 days, especially after Poreč and its summer hustle and bustle.
Grožnjan is known as the town of the artists, I'm sure you'll enjoy its small galleries. Try to combine your arrival with Grožnjan jazz-school - every year, for a couple of weeks, jazz artists from all over the europe gathere there. The atmosphere is magical!

Grožnjan is also a great starting point to further explore inland of Istria - Motovun, Livade, Oprtalj, Momjan... You can read more about them here: https://adriacamps.com/en/destination/central-istria/

If you're sports type, visit Parenzana (it goes directly trough Grožnjan): http://www.parenzana.net/en

And definetely visit Kozlović (http://www.kozlovic.hr/en) or Kabola (http://www.kabola.hr/) in Momjan and have a stop in our favorite restaurant Stari Podrum: http://www.staripodrum.info/

Cheers!

While you are in Dubrovnik you can take a Game of Thrones tour (if you are a fan) a you can visit all film locations, and also see the old town.