My husband is afraid of heights. What are the roads like driving between Dubrovnik and Zagreb (and then on the Ljubljana in Slovenia) for someone who is very sensitive to the idea of falling off a cliff. The Almafi coast and the road to Rhonda in Spain drove him crazy (pun intended). We want to take weeks to poke around in Croatia and maybe Slovenia, so any advice would be welcome.

You can drive from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes, then to Split. From there take the ferry boat to Dubrovnik and enjoy the Dalmatian coast as it should be seen, from the sea.

The road from Split to Dubrovnik will be....well I can't do it! I am also afraid of heights. However what is the most horrible experience you will have is when someone passes you on a blind curve and the sea is way way below you. A 2 lane very small highway.

Don't drive, the Croatians are the worst driver ever. Rome was better than here and that's something to think about.

Hire a car and driver and tip him generously as he will probably save your life by being very careful.

Dobrodosli

I'm quite surprised at that - we have always found Croatia to be much easier to drive in than Italy. But then we often take off-the-beaten-path roads that are probably more scary but less traveled. I definitely do not think the drive from Dubrovnik and Zagreb is all that bad at all!! And I am terrified of heights.

I don't do well with heights either and the road from Dubronik to Zagreb was not a problem for me. I'd certainly suggest you take the trip!

I believe the answer lies somewhere in between "don't do it" and "it's no real problem."

I rode the bus from Split to Dubrovnik this summer and my impression was that the road was spectacular and that the first two hours out of Split offered great scenery but drop-offs down to the sea that seemed a little scary.

I then drove from Dubrovnik, heading towards Plitvice and found that the coastal road was no problem.

This summer I drove on Corsica, in Tuscany and and in Croatia and I wouldn't rate the Croatian drivers any worse than drivers in any of these other places. However, the Croatian part of the trip came during the last week and I had had plenty of practice.

The most difficult driving in the whole trip came when I got on the main highway leading into Zagreb. Why? More traffic, of course; but also traffic going at a much higher speed. I was being passed like I was standing still - but I was driving a little Fiat Punto. All of the fast cars were Mercedes, Audis, BMWs and other high performance cars.

Is your husband the one who is driving? Does he have plenty of experience driving on two-lane European roads? If the answer is "no" to the 2nd question, I certainly wouldn't encourage you to drive the coastal highway all the way from Dubrovnik to Split. If the answer is "no" to the first question, and you feel totally confident, then have your husband take a Valium before you drive.

If you take the bus from Dubrovnik to Split, you might both want to take a Valium. Our driving steered with one hand and talked on his cell phone during much of the trip.

One thing that I realize is unclear about my post. . .

About half-way between Dubrovnik and Split there is a major junction that takes you east through a sort of mountain pass which leads to the new 4 lane highway that will eventually lead to Dubrovnik but which now leads north to Split and points beyond.

This road is beautiful and the first 50 miles or so were less traveled that any major highway I have ever been on. This road is the best alternative for someone driving from Dubrovnik to Split who has a fear of precipitous drop-offs and impatient drivers who seem to have a penchant for tailgating. I think it is the only logical way to get to Plitvice and the lakes.

Heading from the Plitvice Lakes to Zagreb, the road is a fairly busy 2-lane road that doesn't make you dizzy but does make you wish you were driving a Porsche. And I've already described the major road leading east into Zagreb.

One other thing. . . I had a Garmin Nuvi 370 and I would not have been able to find either the car rental place where I was taking my Punto or the hotel I was staying at in Zagreb. The traffic is much like traffic in any other European city. However, I had to also watch out for a multitude of Zagreb trams. The real problem, however, was the apparent lack of street signs or my inability to interpret Croatian street signs. Thank God for the Garmin Nuvi!

I am answering my own question because of a suggestion a friend made: go to google earth and actually look at the roads from space! He chose his motorcycle route across the US based on how lovely or bland places looked on google earth!