Nytraveler - thank you for your packing list. I'm checking things off. Do you have advice on where I would get that tissue weight rain jacket with hood?
Also, I don't have a kindle. I prefer books. They ARE heavy, though…
When we are together, we read books, him one page, me the other. Can you do that with a kindle just as easily?
Should I buy a kindle? Are they heavy? Thank you!!!

<Okay, Suze… darn.. I was thinking that'd be great not to have to bring a pocketbook>

Well you don't HAVE to bring one. You CAN use something else. Just saying, I do. My theory is using what you use at home has the least possibility for mistakes (I'd never forget my purse somewhere!).

Same with clothes, I just wear my normal ones that I'd wear on the weekend in similar weather at home. I've never bought "travel clothes".

I don't take a Kindle. I take a couple paperback books.

Don't start buying a bunch of new stuff you aren't familiar with, is my point.

Just think of it as if you were going out to a museum or something in your own home town on a Saturday afternoon.

Kindles are very lightweight and can hold hundreds of books. You could pass the Kindle back and forth. You can also put guidebooks and foreign language dictionaries and phrase books on your Kindle. I put a dictionary of French culinary terms on my Kindle for menu reference when traveling in France.

The big advantage for me is being able to read at night in the dark when my husband goes to sleep. That and being able to download books from the public library.

For the shoes, take a look at Cole Haan (they are having a sale right now). I always buy some version of the Lolo wedge (or other low wedge) and walk on the cobblestones all day. I only pack 1 pair of pants and mainly wear skirts (with leggings, if chilly temps), and fine that shoe goes with everything. I bring a different pair of shoes for going to dinner, plus one more pair for walking around (to alternate with the Cole Haan wedge).

I do carry-on only, so I have a small 21-inch rolling luggage filled with clothes/shoes, and a large tote bag for my "personal item" filled with wallet, passport, toiletries, electronics, etc.
I have a flat cross-body purse that I pack in the bottom of my luggage. Once I get to my destination, I unpack my purse and load it up with my wallet, camera, chapstick, etc. and lots of kleenex (Italy bathrooms are notorious for not having TP).

Hello again… it's crunch time, 1-week to go! Still having trouble with shoes! So hard to find shoes for every day walking (on cobblestones too), so, ekc I am going to go to Cole Haan's website right now and see if I can order a pair to try.. and I also want to look for leather Teva's.
I'll have to have them shipped fast so I can wear them around the house and "break them in". I've tried all manner of Keen's (some are too stiff and flat), Mephisto sandals (foot bed too narrow for my foot and they were sold out of the wider versions), Crocs, Clarke's.. can't find anything that's a sure thing yet!
But I'm getting there with the clothing at least.
Thanks everyone.

eke, I went to Cole Haan and don't see anything relating to a "lolo" wedge? thanks

Please don't take brand new shoes on a trip!!

Don't you have anything in your closet that will work?

Where do you live? Larger city? Is there a large shoe store that specializes in comfort shoes--Mephisto, Birkenstock, Clarks, Dansko, ECCO, Josef Seibel, Merrill etc.? If so, go over there today and see what they have. I too would normally say don't take new shoes on a trip, but last winter I did just that. We were leaving on a six week trip to India in the morning, and the afternoon before I realized I wanted some lighter weight boots to wear for hiking. That afternoon I went to the comfort shoe store and bought a pair. They were perfect for the trip.

Shoes can make or break your trip. I know. We recently went to Colorado and I took my very well-broken in and well-traveled hiking boots. On day one we went for a long hike, and when we came back I had big blisters on both of my heels. I'd forgotten to check the socks I was packing, and was wearing a pair with heels that were nearly worn through. That was the end of hiking (other than less strenuous) for me on the trip. Make sure your shoes can do double duty. I was able to manage some hikes with my Keens.

And, I am at the point in life where I figure no one will ever see me again, I am not a fashion plate anyway, I am obviously a tourist, and I am not nearly as concerned about how my shoes look with outfits as I am with how they feel and function.

julies, You lucked out! I have had shoes (well sandals in particular) go horribly wrong when I took a new pair to Europe.

Sorry, I think they renamed it - here is a link:

http://www.colehaan.com/tali-grand-l...wedges&start=3

I just bought another pair for my upcoming Italy trip (in 2 weeks).

Forgot to mention what I always bring on trips and can't live without--one or two macabi skirts.

http://www.macabiskirt.com/

They can be worn in a long look, hiked up if it gets really hot, reconfigured so they are split between the legs like pants. Plus, they don't take up much room in a suitcase and quickly dry overnight. If you are doing any sort of active trip, I highly recommend one. As well as being worn for just typical tourist activities, mine have been hiking, in boats, and biking. And, in a color like black it can go out in the evenings and look fine.

Replace a sleep machine with the Sleep Pillow app(free) for your smart phone.
Take a few blow up hamgars and a few clips with hangar tops for doing hand laundry. I buy concentrated liquid soap in hiking stores or at REI, 3 oz .

I'm with suze on this one -- do NOT take NEW shoes unless you truly have NO other option!

Please do not bring flip flops, you will not be able to walk on our limestone streets especially if we have rain.

I always travel with flip flops. To use as slipper in the room, or run a quick errand, if the hotel shower is funky, there's a chance to go swimming somewhere. They take up almost no room in the suitcase and come in handy. I don't use them for all-day walking around.

Okay, today, tomorrow, the next day and the next and the next will be "focus on putting things in the SUITCASE" day!!!
Does anyone have any knowledge on what the weather's been like in Croatia recently? Has it been hotter than average? Rainier?
What should I (loosely) expect?
Will it change a lot from, say, the way it has been, to the way it will be when we arrive in DBV Sept 22?
To give you an idea of where in Croatia we'll be, here's a rough itinerary. We are still working on the logistics of the day trips and figuring out how long it takes to get to the places, and mode of travel to the places and which ones to nix, which are definites, and there are more and more getting added to the list every day by our group.,.. so it's rough.

Arrive DBV Sept 22
Dubrovnik - 4 nights (possible day trips - Mount Srd, Ston, Mali Stone, vineyards of Peljesac Peninsula, Montenegro, Kotor, Cetinje…)

Hvar - 3 nights (maybe do from Hvar: see town, hike to fort, Stari Grad (by bus?), Tvrdalj, fish feast?)

Split/Trogir (with side trips to Sibenek, Krka NP maybe, Kravice Waterfalls maybe, Makarska, maybe Mostar Bosnia)

Rovinj - 5 nights (day trips Istria Pennisula, Kvarner Gulf towns, Opatija Riviera, the caves, Casa Garzotta, coastal towns, Poric, Noavigrad, inland towns Lovran, walk the glorious Lungomore to Opatija take bus back…, Hum, Buzet uplands, Motovun, Grasisce, Oprtalj, Parenzana Hiking and Biking trail)

Plitvice - 1 night

Zagreb - 1 night

Fly out of Zagreb Oct 11 or 12 to go home

- as for footwear, I ended up buying a pair of ADIDAS sneakers for my main footwear just because I couldn't find ANYTHING that I knew would be 100% COMFORTABLE, and these sneakers were great! I'll bring moleskin (the padded kind) in case I need it… and I've got little leather flats for when I wear a dress maybe at night for dinner… and I also have waterproof Clarke Wave shoes that I've had and they are pretty comfortable. Do you think I really need waterproof shoes in the event of a downpour? I bought waterproof crocs but they're more like sandals, with straps going over the top of my foot and heel.. a lot of skin exposure. Not sure if they're good protection against spiny sea urchins??? I also have a a pair of water SHOES that look like sneakers that I COULD bring, but maybe that's overkill and I s/buy a pair in Croatia to save room in my suitcase? The croc sandals also look good with dresses but they don't have a lot of support so walking in them isn't quite as good as walking in my ballet flats (Tiegs).
I've also got a pair of Tom's canvas shoes.. not really sure how many or which pair will be most suitable.
I don't know if I should bring mostly shorts or mostly capris or mostly long pants (and are my black yoga pants OK? they look pretty good if I wear a nice top with them.. ) One pair of long pants?
Do you think it'll be mostly HOT or mostly COOL for the most part?
Seems all over the place so it's hard to think what to pack, really…
I was shopping mostly online but I ended up pulling a lot from my closet and adding to from TJ MAXX and Marshalls.. because I didn't have a lot in super light washable clothing (drip dry, hand wash)
I've got a ton of clothes to pick from now.. I just need a little extra help.
Bathing suit a definite or don't bother?
Thank you for everything!

PS.. (I wrote a long post above this one… please don't miss it!) I wanted to say that I checked weatherunderground and was looking at Dubrovnik, Hvar, Trogir, Rovinj… and of course it only goes up to 10 days for their predictions, so I wasn't able to get past Dubrovnik as far as our days in Croatia go.
Looks like rain the first 2 full days we will be there, a 60% chance for both days and nights.. then more rain the 3rd night, thunderstorms (50% chance) and then hopefully sunny with high in the mid 70's…
What to do with rain showers our first couple of days, our first time in Dubrovnik? Do you think it means rain rain rain or showers, heavy or light all day?
I think I better bring those waterproof sneakers and a lightweight umbrella…
As far as Hvar goes.. hopefully it'll be okay, but I thought I saw chance of rain there as well the first night.
Trogir looks like it might be warmer than Dubrovnik but definitely much colder at night (48-degrees I think I saw for last year in September!)….
thank you…..

<Does anyone have any knowledge on what the weather's been like in Croatia recently? Has it been hotter than average? Rainier? What should I (loosely) expect?>

Just Google for historic and current weather anywhere in the world.

<Do you think I really need waterproof shoes in the event of a downpour?>

No.


Let's see the choices are:
ADIDAS sneakers
little leather flats
waterproof Clarke Wave
a pair of water SHOES
croc sandals
Tom's canvas shoes

<not really sure how many or which pair will be most suitable>

I would wear the sneakers and pack the Toms and the ballet flats.

<Bathing suit a definite or don't bother?>

Well do you think you will go swimming?

Average sea temperature is only 75F at this time here in Dubrovnik. Next week it is showing a forecast of rain showers. Most of the time, not always, we have showers and then the sun comes out. Hope that will be the case for you next week.

First I would eliminate any shoes that don't have good support. Remember you're going to be walking on rough cobblestones. So probably the sneakers and the flats plus a pair of flip flops. And that's all! Remember you're packing light!