May 2007 trip, suggestions please!
 

Four senior citizens plan on flying into Split and staying in Trojir, visiting Split and taking catamaran to Hvar and then on to Korcula and Dubrovnik where we will stay for 3 days. Will rent a car there and drive up the coast and head to Slovenia and on to Zagreb. Will visit Plitvice and north of Zagrab, too. We love small villages and would like to stay in agritourismos, etc. Any suggestions? We have 17 or 18 days total. Thanks, Sasi

ttt

Do a search at the top of this site "croatia itinerary" or croatia trip report something like that and see what others have posted. It does seem like you are back tracking arriving in split then Dubrovnik then driving up the coast. IF its not too late you might want to look into flying into dubrovnik.

sasi, I have a trip report from our recent November trip to Croatia and Slovenia. If you click on my name you should be able to find it, but I will make a few comments.

I'm glad you are visiting northern Croatia. While its often passed over for the coast, its beautiful in its own right. We spent half a day in Verazdin, a charming baroque town about 20 miles south of the Hungary border and really enjoyed ourselves. We also liked Zagreb more than we anticipated, and I'm glad you are including it in your itinerary.

Slovenia is lovely as well. We stayed in Novo Mesto, a nice town about half an hour from Ljubljana.

Good luck and happy planning!
Tracy

Here is a link to our trip report: http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...n_name=tcreath

And if you are interested, you can view our pictures at www.kodakgallery.com/tracybates.

Tracy

Thanks for the help so far. Rosexmke, just wanted to let you know that we will fly into Split and do the islands using ferries, etc. to Dubrovnik and then rent our car and drive north. We are about to start making hotel/apt. reservations. Plan on staying in Split or Trogir, then Hvar Town, Korcula and on to Dubrovnik for 3 nights. Is it too far to drive from Dubrovnik to Plitvice in one day? Would like to visit a couple of fishing villages on the way.

Hi, I can give you an apartment recommendation for Trogir. We stayed at the Kasalo families apartment last June.

It was brand new with a balcony and a beautiful view of Trogir. It was very reasonably priced.

The apartments are located on the island of Ciovo, which is connected by a foot bridge to Trogir.

Here is the website: www.trogir-online.com/kasalo/

Have a great time!
Laurie

Thanks, Laurie. We haven't made our reservations for Trogir as yet. It's next on our list, though. So far we have places in Split, Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik. Only have to wait til May!
Sasi

Your planned itinerary for a May trip is almost exactly what I have just begun to plan for in September 2007, although I may do your trip in reverse. I note that as of 1/31 most of your planning is complete. I would dearly love to know where you are staying in Split, Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik and how you intend to navigate the ferry schedule from Split to Dubrovnik. The ferries seem to almost disappear after September 1.
Thanks and have a wonderful trip.
Jerry

Kind of late getting in on this but we did 3 weeks in Slovenia and Croatia last fall. We flew into Ljublana, Slovenia and drove down the coast from there. We stayed in Plitvice at the Hotel Jezero. We were not able to get a reservation on our own (they told us they were fully booked) and had to have our travel agent get one for us through a company in Croatia. It is the nicest of the hotels in the park - very clean but crammed with tour buses. None of the park hotels were quaint and charming but it is still best to stay in the park for convenience purposes. The park itself was incredible. Bring rain gear because they get a lot of rain. We stayed in Trogir at the Vila Sikka which was a great location with a view looking into the city. Check out their website. We also stayed in Rovinj at the Angelo d'Oro. Very old cobblestoned street. You have to leave your car outside the city and call them and they will come out to pick you up with your luggage. On Hvar we stayed at the Hotel Podstine which was just outside of Hvar Town (15 minute walk)but very nice. We found it impossible to get to Korcula from Hvar due to ferry connections so check all that out ahead of time. It looks easy on the map but the only ferry that goes from Hvar to Korcula leaves late in the afternoon so you wouldn't be able to get back on the same day. That is fine if you plan on staying on Korcula. The drive from Hvar town to the tip of Hvar where you catch the ferry is long, windy, and scary (and we have driven all over Europe for 25 years). The Croatians cut in on the curves and it takes your breath away. Just be prepared. Are you going to Lake Bled? It is so gorgeous up there. We only stayed 2 nights and would have liked to have spent some more time in that area. There is a wonderful WW II museum that is a destination point and takes a full day to see. We drove from Plitvice to Trogir, then Trogir to Hvar, and Hvar to Dubrovnik. I would not want to drive from Dubrovnik to Plitvice in one day. I agree that with the other posting that it would be better to fly into Dubrovnik and head up the coast making stops along the way rather than starting in Split and going south to Dubrovnik then backtracking up through Split again to head north.

SASI: Don't know if Istria is in your plans, but this sounds perfect for you. I agree it does sound like you're back tracking a bit... As others have mentioned... Plitvice is stretch to make in one day from DBV. I'd break it up... ( consult http://www.viamichelin.com)

Cavegirl:
See my "CROATIA 2007" post (or click on my name)-- I'm staying in many of the same places you did. Appears I may have made some good choices, no? Thanks for the tip on rain gear for Plitvice.

Did you generally enjoy the walk into Hvar Town from Hotel Podstine?

RE; Driving from Hvat town to the tip of Hvar ... we plan to do this as well and then drive to DBV once we land...
How long did it take you ? I too am a bit nervous about this

JHKRINGEL: Let me know if you need web pages etc... Now is the time to make your reservations... they're booking up fast-- even September and October dates.
You can search the ferry schedule here:
http://www.jadrolinija.hr

Mostly summer posted right now, but I would imagine their fall 2007 schedule will be similar to their fall 2006-- at least you can get a thumbnail sketch.

You can also try: http://www.find-croatia.com/ferries-croatia

TCREATH: Nice trip report Tracy! Love your new house too :) Hope it's working out nicely.

Centavo, thanks for the comments on my report and our new house! Now that we live in a different state from our family members they are all anxious to see house pictures so I found that e-mailing them is by far the easiest option so I put them on my kodakgallery sight, which I primarily use for travel. We are very happy to be out of a corporate apartment finally!!

Tracy

Hello we have a perfect holliday last year with
www.dubrovnik-excursion.com

They have a verry nice apartment with a garden 5 min from Old Town and they organize transfer from the airport


loveDubrovnik

Thanks for all the information. Thought I'd bring you up-to-date on our plans. We fly into Split and have a reservation at Hotel Kastel (60E), then to Hvar for 2 nights at ana dujmovic's, then 2 nights in Korcula at vila depolo, and on to Dubrovnik by bus. Haven't decided which one to take, 6:45 am or 2:45 pm, it's a Sunday and there are two buses. Four days in Dubrovnik at Suite Kashe. The last day we will pick up our car and drive to Bay of Kotor. Next day off to Trogir, driving up the coast. One night in Trogir and next afternoon will drive to Plitvice. Haven't decided on where to stay and whether to spend one or two nights. Then on to Piran and Slovenia! Any suggestions greatly appreciate, especially for Slovenia. We will be flying out of Zagreb and want to spend one day there. If we turn our car in at the airport, is it practical to catch the Air Croatia bus into the city in the am and then back again after dinner? Anybody know how late the Air Croatia bus returns to the airport? Thanks again, Sasi