Sean56

robertcoon:

we plan on a private tour of Croatia for mid June 2014. Are you or anyone else here able to to recommend a private tour company for what would be a 10 day tour by car? We'd fly in and out of Zagreb.

Thanks.

robertcoon

Hi again everyone. Working on an itinerary now to firm some of this up. We'd love to add Zadar or Sibenik to our trip, but think to do so we'd have to drop our 1 night in Kotor. Thoughts from you all on these two options? Essentially which should be our higher priority - Zadar/Sibenik or Kotor? As some of you have stated Kotor is out of the way, but it sure is beautiful so hard to pass up.

Option 1:
Dubrovnik - 3 nights
Kotor - 1 night
Mostar - 1 night
Hvar - 2 nights
Zagreb - 2 nights

Option 2:
Dubrovnik - 3 nights
Mostar - 1 night
Hvar - 2 nights
Zadar/Sibenik - 1 night
Zagreb - 2 nights

Note - we likely won't get to DBV until the afternoon of our arrival, so we really think we need 3 nights in order to have 2 full days there.

yorkshire

I like option 1. If you are interested in seeing some of Zadar and Sibenik, you can still do it in between Hvar and Zagreb, but you may want to see Split and maybe Trogir as well.
Mostar seems to really need an overnight--though I have not visited there yet.
I really think in October you can just go where your mood takes you and not feel like you have to have a set itinerary. I'd also take weather into account, as Hvar in bad weather won't be so nice, but I don't think October is very likely to be terrible weather-wise.

kja

> We'd love to add Zadar or Sibenik to our trip, but think to do so we'd have to drop our 1 night in Kotor. Thoughts from you all on these two options?

Hmm... tough call, but I have to admit that I'm surprised that the stunning Plitvice Lakes aren't part of either option. Are you sure you want to skip them? If so, then you might want to go with the plan that includes Sibenik (which will provide reasonably easy access to the Krka National Park).

I'm also a bit surprised that you dropped Split and Trogir from your plans. Split offers some unique options (Diocletian's Palace and the extraordinary cathedral that was once his mausoleum); Trogir holds some of the finest stone carvings one could ever hope to see. From your comments about your interests, I would think you would find Split/Trogir more interesting than Hvar. Mind you, Hvar is beautiful, but more of a resort and I would think it could be very quiet at the time you will be there. But perhaps I have misunderstood your interests.

You will seem some wonderful things no matter what you choose.

Andrew

Plitvice Lakes National Park may have been THE hightlight of Croatia for me personally - perhaps not for everyone. I haven't been to Krka National Park, though...

kja

<I thought the Krka National Park lovely, and it has some stunning travertine waterfalls, but it isn't Plitvice Lakes and does not have the variety of different lakes and waterfalls and settings that Plitvice has. I'm glad I saw both and I enjoyed them both, but didn't mean to suggest that Krka NP would substitute for the Plitvice Lakes NP and am sorry if that's how it sounded. I just meant that if the OP opts against Plitvice Lakes - which I agree is a real highlight -- then a stop at Krka NP might be better than skipping both.>

Doh

bookmarking because we hope to do a similar trip next year

ivan_guina

I would suggest Zadar as a base for a few days. It is 1 hour away from 4 different national parks, very close to some splendid islands and the town itself is a museum, there are 10 churches in a very small area and most of them are 1000 - 2000 years old. in my opinion you dont need 3 days in Dubrovnik, it is very small and you will see everything in a few hours + it is PACKED with tourists so mid season is not the best time to be there. 1 night in Mostar makes sense, 2 nights in Hvar could be too much, Hvar is lovely but expensive, spend a night in Trogir instead (Trogir is under UNESCO protection as worlds historical heritage). Sibenik is worth a walk but if you miss it you wont hawe missed much. I dont see the need to go to Zagreb at all, it is a large town like any other with austro-hungarian influence in architecture...most of croats move from zagreb to the sea in summer, nobody goes the other way unless the really have to. Spend a few days in Zadar and make a few one day trips out of it. Here's a usefull site if you chose that option http://www.experiencezadar.info/

centraleurope

Different opinions make the world go round... We just returned from Zagreb.... And had a fantastic time.

Here is my trip report:
http://centraleuropebeyondprague.com/2013/07/20/zagreb/

pkmoland

Check out Amber Road Tours. They are offering a small group tour of S. Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro next fall.

gpotvin

Bookmarking,