Recommend Small Inns, Lodges, Farms ?
 

My husband & I are driving thru Croatia and Slovenia.
Would like to receive suggestions about "small and charming" comfortable overnight stays off the beaten track.
Thanks...

Sorry, never been to those countries, but you are likely to get more responses by reposting with Croatia and Slovenia in your title.

Thanks for your response...you are right about putting Croatia & Slovenia in the heading.
The problem I have now is figuring out how to edit it! Can't find any info in the FAQs

........just start again with the
better title and you should get
responses.

Small and charming are precisely what my husband and I seek when traveling. We avoid hotels and resorts at all costs. We rent a car and find those tiny secondary twisty roads that seem to go nowhere but end up at lovely quaint and charming tiny places in the countryside.

Anyway, what parts of those countries are you going to and when?

thanks for your response...we pick up our car at zagreb airport and head north to verazdin, tracoscan and whatever strikes us in that area. Probably will head toward ljubjana, continue south toward the istrian peninsula and coast with various island hops (hvar & korcula) and whatever. dubrovnick will be next, then a lot of "whatever" with enough time to get us back to zagreb for our flight home (we will have about 19 full days of travelling time starting Sept 22. fodor's guides have been our "bibles" for many years and they haven't done us much wrong so we take snips and pieces from their suggestions. there are of course a lot of sights, though touristy as they are must be seen. we did this trip 25 years ago when the country was yugoslavia so we are prepared for the many changes (hopefully, most will not be disappointing).when we fist travelled there, americans were celebrities, the island hotel on sveti stefan was a magnicicent find for $35.00 a night and dinner, wine and a wait staff of 8 pampered us for less than $20.00 for 2 ! we were the only tourists there. we would like to travel back to mostar but i think it would be a heartbreaking sight to see that the original 13th century bridge which was totally destroyed during their war has been rebuilt (looking nothing like the original). so, if you have some musts, please do tell ! and thanks...

Madykannan, we were in Slovenia last year, beautiful country, you will have a blast. See our home page http://home.wi.rr.com/tomshirl/SLOVENIA2007.HTML
for some pictures and a brief description of places we stayed. We highly recommend Tourist Farm Stern if you are in that area. Of all the places we stayed I liked that the best, although the other places were very nice as well. We leave on 9/3 for Croatia and this is our first trip there. When are you going? Shirley

Another big vote for Farm Stern in Slovenia. The best part of our recent holiday. Search my report and read on the farm.

Small and charming ~ if I had a dollar for every client who said that to me over the last 30 years...well you know the rest.

Since the 1991 war, things have changed in the former Yugoslavia. And since you did this trip 25 years ago, please remember all the new Republics have changed considerably.

Sveti Stefan is closed and will reopen in 2010, maybe. Rebuilding here takes time, lots of time.

The bridge in Mostar was rebuilt from many of the original pieces. It does look the same and you will not be able to see the differences. It is still a beautiful sight to watch the young men dive into the river.

While you're driving in Slovenia, make sure to stop at the Lipica Stud farm.
http://www.slovenia.info/?jahanje=73

Twenty five years ago there was a total of 10,000 local residents within the Stari Grad (old town) of Dubrovnik. Today there are only 600 Croatians! After the war, many Europeans came in and bought the homes, apartments and land for nothing and have made them into summer rentals. They did not, however, change the wonderful aura of Dubrovnik, it is still the "Pearl of the Adriatic."

If you are driving down the coast to Dubrovnik, then on the return trip go inland and stop at Plitvice Lakes for one night. Walking the lakes is a most memorable experience.

Dobrodosli
An American Living in Dubrovnik

We stayed in a lovely small hotel in Novo Mesto, a small city halfway between Zagreb and Ljubljana in Slovenia. The name is Gostilna pri Belokranjcu and the website is http://www.pribelokranjcu-vp.si/English/eng.htm. We liked staying here, and the service was wonderful. I definitely didn't get the feel that this was even aremotely touristed town, so I consider it off the beaten path.

From my trip report: Gostilna pri Belokranjcu was a lovely place to stay. Our room was in the building directly behind the hotel restaurant and bar, and we had a lovely room on the top floor with slanted cealings and skylights that opened to let in the fresh air. Breakfast was included each morning and included yogurts, fruit, rolls and this delicious cake that was similar to a spice cake but much more dense. At 50 euro per night, this place is a great bargain.

Because it was later in the day when we arrived, we unpacked and rested a bit before heading out for dinner. We contemplated eating at our hotel restaurant but decided to check out the old town first. We walked across the bridge and into the old town, got out some Tolar and then tried to find a restaurant. Half an hour later we still could not find anywhere to eat! We weren't being picky; we literally couldn't find any restaurants. We were pretty hungry by this point so we walked back to the hotel and ate at the restaurant there, which turned out to be really good. We both had pork schnitzel with mixed salads and potato side dishes and we split a bottle of Slovenian white wine that was wonderful. We topped our meal off with a delicious layered cake dessert that our waiter told us was authentic to the area. The food was good but our waiter made our experience great. He was suprised to find us there and assumed that we were just staying there as we headed down to the Croatian coastline, as he said that most people who find themselves in Novo Mesto are Germans who use it as an overnight stop on their way to the coast. When we told him that we were staying for a few days his eyes seemed to light up and he gave us great advice on what to do with our time. He had a lot of pride for his country that was quite evident and made it a joy for us to discuss our trip plans with him.

Good luck!
Tracy

Hisa Franka in Kobarid. It is a gourmet class restaurant with a small hotel attached. Wonderful people and wonderful food.

Seriously wonderful food.
:)