geenance

Thank you everyone!
(Northie, I like your travel style.)

Since we like to stay in each place 3,4 or 5 nights, with the occasional exception for a transit place of 2 nights, but are limited to only 11 or 12 nights for this trip overall, the latest version of our itinerary is as follows...

Sarajevo - 4 nights (soak up the history and culture)
Mostar - 2 nights (easy to find places with engaging hosts, with possible regional day trip)
Split - 4 nights (like the idea of this city, plus a couple of day trips, such as Trogir and Krka NP)

That leaves us with 1 or 2 more nights to allocate. We will fly out of either Split or Zadar.

Since we will likely be there in late April/early May (timing still being confirmed). I'm not sure if a day trip from Split to Hvar works with the ferry schedule in early May. We might consider an overnight trip there, with trip to winery, if we can stash our bigger bags in Split for the night and if the ferry schedule works.

Too bad we can't make it to Istria. We'll have to save that for another time I guess.

kja

Should be a lovely trip!

For your extra night or two, I'll again make a pitch for you to consider the Plitvice Lakes, which may be the single most unmissable of Croatia's many magnificent sites. As I already noted, you can use a public bus to get from Split to the Plitvice Lakes, but for that stretch, a car can be a benefit. Try to spend at least one night in Plitvice and plan on 6 or more hours in the park. You can then either go back to Split or on to Zagreb for your flight home.

Other options: Hvar (either Hvar Town or Stari Grad, depending on your interests) or Zadar or Sibenik (from which you can see the Krka National Park).... IMO, there are no bad options here, especially for this time of year. (During high season, Hvar Town is a bit too rich for my blood. YMMV.)

Definitely plan on a half-day in Trogir while in Split.

Unless things have changed (and they could have!), there is a luggage storage office in Split along the waterfront promenade close to the pier from which ferries depart.

A_S_M

(This is from a previous post with amemdments) My wife and I first visited Jugoslavia in 1966. We flew into Ljubljana and spent a week in Lake Bled, before flying down to Dubrovnik, to spend a week there. We had our young, eighteen month old, son with us. A blonde blue-eyed boy was a great attraction. To us, both places were marvelous. This holiday started what was to become regular two weeks holiday in Jugoslavia, generally one week inland the other on the coast or on one of the islands. Our number of children grew to three, but they were always welcomed. Eventually, when they were old enough to be put on a plane by themselves, they spent the whole of the summer with their grandparents in Virginia, and my wife and I would travel by ourselves. I won’t bore everyone by writing a travel guide to Jugoslavia, but these are the places were stayed for a week, and everyone one of them was great. Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj in the Julian Alps. (We much prefer Bohinj, when we spent a day in Bled a couple of year ago, it has become rather seedy.) The islands of Krk, Hvar and Korcula, Plitvice Lakes, Kapaonik in the mountains of Serbia, Lake Ohrid in Macedonia, Kotor in Montenegro, the cities of Split and Dubrovnik, and the town of Mlini. We did quite a lot of exploring on foot, by bus or we hired a car, thus visiting Mostar and Cetinje, the old capital of Montenegro. We obviously stopped going when Jugoslavia self-destructed in the 1990s. By the time things has settled down our holidays had changed, with long haul trips to Japan, South Africa and Australia, as well as visiting the capital cities of Eastern Europe. It wasn’t until 2009 that we at last returned. Since then we have had four more two-week holidays. Kolasin in the mountains in the north of Montenegro, Bohinj (twice), Rovinj, Piran, Cavtat, Makarska and a week cruising the islands. This summer we are planning to visit Zagreb, and the spending a week cruising along the islands and towns north of Split.
A word about Dubrovnik. This is our favourite small city, and is an absolute must. Unfortunately, everyone agrees with us, and from the days when it was almost empty, it is now impossible to move around. Early morning and late afternoon are the only times. It is; of cause, mainly the effect of the large cruise liners with their thousands of passengers on board. (Why these people cannot stay in the Mid-West where they belong, I cannot understand)
As I understand it, they don’t do much for economy, they take all their meals on board ship, and mainly buy cheap baubles made in China. Several of the shopkeepers in Dubrovnik have got together and have agreed only to sell goods made in Croatia. They have a sign on their doors, which states this. I would plead that everyone who shops in Dubrovnik buys only from these shops.
Just as Dubrovnik is our favourite small city, so Budapest in Hungary and Prague in the Czech republic are our favourite two large cities. Dubrovnik is overrun with tourists , so are Budapest and Prague. We first visited both cities in the days of the Communist era, Prague way back in 1963. There were few tourists then. However, even today they are ‘must visit’ cities.

geenance

kja, your comments are HIGHLY appreciated. It's people like you that make me appreciate the Fodor's forums so much. Real down to earth, first hand advice.

In your honour, I have started to scope out one option....renting a car in Split, driving to Plitvice, staying the night and returning the car to Zadar, where we would catch a flight home. Having said that, I'm still keeping other options open.

My sister has a bad knee and long walking days are not in our plans. I would love to hear from others who have mild mobility challenges. Was the trip to Plitvice worth it? I presume that we could still enjoy much of what others see, but the trade-off might not be as strong?

Last year we went to Argentina and Chile. We pretty much stuck to the cities, with a couple of rural activities (wineries, estancia, etc.) thrown in. We missed out on the spectacular natural wonders such as Iguazu Falls and Patagonia. We loved our trip, found many great things to do, and had no regrets. Admittedly, in that case it was an easier decision as the amazing not-to-be-missed wonders were an expensive lengthy trip away from our route. What I would appreciate input on is whether someone on these forums, with mild mobility problems, was able to fully embrace the wonders of Plitvice.

Other options I am exploring include....

1) Korcula. How would we get to Korcula at that time of year, in a fairly time efficient manner? I've seen so many conflicting ferry schedules that I have to say I'm confused! We would love to check out the Grk wine and have an Adriatic experience with a bit of contrast to Split. We could then catch a bus to Dubrovnik (easier than getting back to Split?) and fly home out of there, instead of Split/Zadar.

2) any efficient, reasonably priced way to get to Istria. I saw mention of expanding float plane services along the Adriatic coast. When I checked out European Airways, their website doesn't reflect any routes between Split and Pula (or other places in the region). I'm wondering how solid this potential service will be.

3) any efficient, reasonably priced way to get to Ljubljana. So many Fodorites have sung its praises. We could spend a couple of days and then fly home form there. Ditto Zagreb, although I can see that this one is easier, as there is a cheap flight from Split to Zagreb.

4) bus from Split to Dubrovnik. Spend a day or two and fly home from there?

5) And because I don't have enough options already, what about Kotor? If there was a more efficient way to get to Dubrovnik (or even nearer to Kotor), we would consider finishing up there and finding a way home.

(Hey, I may as well put all the options on the table, right??)

Thoughts? Comments?

geenance

A_S_M,
Wow, you are an experienced pro in this region! Please don't say I have to add more options to my itinerary! You went to Bohinj twice?

I would love to hear your observations on Hvar versus Korcula.

kja

I hope others will also jump in, but I'll give my thoughts about some of your questions...

Re: the Plitvice Lakes -- I strongly encourage you to go even if you can't take a full circuit! IMO, the lower lakes are most impressive. There is a longish walk down to them, as I recall, but you can at least glimpse them from above and may have options for seeing them that I did not explore. During the day, there are park rangers at every entrance to the park who will help you identify a route that meets YOUR needs. As I recall, they have some "standard" recommendations for 2, 4, 6, and 8 hour visits, but they will also work with anyone to identify individually tailored options. And they speak several languages, English included.

If you decide that mobility issues make the Plitvice Lakes non-feasible, you might want to make the Krka National Park a priority. I personally do not consider Krka a substitute for the Plitvice Lakes, as it doesn't have those unique lake-specific coloring biota, but it is another marvelous example of travertine waterfalls, some of which are at least as impressive, if quite different, than those at the Plitvice Lakes. I'm sure there are various ways to see the Krka National Park, but FWIW, you can get there by taking a bus from Sibenik to Skradin, then a very pleasant boat ride to the park. Reaching some of the upper falls there might be a challenge for someone with a bad knee, but the widest falls -- which are QUITE impressive -- are (as I recall) pretty much level with the landing dock. There is also a pleasant and mostly flat walkway from Skradin to the falls, but not so nice that I would recommend the risk of undue stress on a weak joint. (And BTW, if you research this option, note the the Krka National Park, of which I have been speaking, is not the same as Krka.)

I thought Korcula absolutely delightful, but I'm not sure how you would fit it in the trip you have proposed without some major modifications. Korcula Town is TINY -- easily seen within a day. It can be visited en route between Split and Dubrovnik (perhaps more easily in the other direction, but for that, you'll need to consult the ferry schedules.) If you go, do try to go when you can see the moresca!

Istria also has some lovely places, but I think most people feel that it deserves at least a few days, so I'm not sure how you would fit it in.

IMO, Ljubliana is one of the world's most charming destinations; you might want to combine it with Lake Bled and/or Lake Bohinj and/or other parts of Slovenia.

I loved Zagreb, believe it is vastly underrated, and wish I'd been able to give it more than the 2.5 days I had for it.

Dubrovnik can be stunning -- when not overrun.

I enjoyed Kotor, and am very glad I saw it. That said, I personally would not have given up any of the places I saw in Croatia or Bosnia & Herzegovena or Slovenia just to see it --despite its unique elements, Kotor itself seemed to me similar to Dubrovnik and Korcula. YMMV. The scenery I saw en route was stunning!

When in Split, spend a half day or so in Trogir, only 1/2 hour away by bus. Very different, more of the Adriatic feel, absolutely stunning stonework....

With only 11 or 12 nights for this trip overall, you will have to make some difficult decisions. But you have MANY wonderful options and should be able to have a very enjoyable trip.

geenance

Fabulous input as always, kja.

I'm still not finding an easy way to get to Ljubljana from Split. Does anyone know of any new options that have cropped up?

I'm starting to lean toward building in a day trip to Krka NP while in Split and then finishing up the trip by simply flying to Zagreb and having a couple of days there.

Would love to hear from others.

A_S_M

Llubljana to Split. As far as I know, the only way is via Zagreb. Bus, Train or Air, or any combination of two of them. Depends on time available and/ or money. I think I would prefer by train.

northie

Geenance I can recommend a great b&b in Mostar - walking distance to old town and bridge and a lovely garden out back to have a drink or sit in.- villa Fortuna

kja

Another option in Mostar -- the Muslibegovic House:
http://www.muslibegovichouse.com

Vttraveler

I agree with the recommendation of the Muslibegovic House as a good place to stay in Mostar

geenance

Thank you for the B&B tips for Mostar everyone! Much appreciated.

Another one that I came across was Casa Mostar...perhaps a bit less well known than Villa Fortuna and Muslibegovic House?

kja

FWIW, the Musilbegovic House is an historic property -- a very special Ottoman house that survived the war. (I could easily be wrong, but I think that only 2 others survived, and this is the only one in which you can stay). I didn't feel that I could afford it when I traveled, but I did visit it and thought it would have been worth every bit of the cost. But since I did NOT actually stay, I can't speak with authority....

geenance

There are four things we are really interested in regarding accommodation:
1) interaction with lovely locals (this is key!);
2) reasonable accessibility (my sister has a modest knee problem and we don't want a room on the third floor, up a major flight of stairs.)
3) good location (i.e. reasonable walk, considering previously mentioned knee problems) relative to interesting sites, cafes, small food stores/stands, restaurants;
4) room to spread out (2 separate beds; 1 BR + living room sofabed or 2 BR)

geenance

There are four things we are really interested in regarding accommodation:
1) interaction with lovely locals (this is key!);
2) reasonable accessibility (my sister has a modest knee problem and we don't want a room on the third floor, up a major flight of stairs.)
3) good location (i.e. reasonable walk, considering previously mentioned knee problems) relative to interesting sites, cafes, small food stores/stands, restaurants;
4) room to spread out (2 separate beds; 1 BR + living room sofabed or 2 BR)

We have typically found the best value solutions at Airbnb apartments (with great hosts) or interesting B&Bs.

northie

Villa Fortuna is in an excellent location for exploring the old part of town. The owner loves to chat in her garden . Can't remember if it has a lift . Charming place

kja

Are you familiar with booking.com? with that site, tripadvisor.com, and the lodging's own website (if there is one), you should find what you need to know.

Vttraveler

I did stay at the Musilbegovic House two years ago. As mentioned above, it is an historic property, and we enjoyed touring the historic Ottoman house as well as staying in a more modern section. There are lovely courtyards.

It is at the edge of the historic area you will want to tour, a few blocks up from the Karagöz Bey Mosque. We had a simple but very nice double room. I don't know whether there are larger suites. We were on the second floor and I don't remember an elevator.

The staff were pleasant and helpful but I wouldn't say there was "interaction with locals."

geenance

kja, yes, I've checked out those websites. I have some ideas of where we would like to stay, but am always welcoming of new 'insights'. That's why I specified the things we were really looking for in accommodation.

And, I wanted to acknowledge the recommendations of fellow Fodorites. I definitely want to continue to hear about everyone's personal experiences.

geenance

Off topic, but exactly 30 years ago...the opening ceremonies for the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo.

And only 8 years later....