Andrew

So I haven't been to Europe since Italy in Oct 2007. I've been considering hitting Slovenia and Croatia this fall, as a solo trip. I've already been thumbing through the Rick Steves book covering them at the book store plus searching old posts here.

I can get an idea of the logistics to get from place to place, and I can see photos of what the places LOOK like, but it's harder to get a feel for what they ARE like.. I'll be focusing on cities and I'll be using public transportation/flying. Ljubljana seems like a must-see, of course. Dubrovnik also it seems...or is it? It sounds extraordinary beautiful but also overly touristy. Tourists are everywhere now, of course, but some places are spoiled by them. What about Split? Other stops in Croatia? Zagreb as the capitol sounds quite interesting to me even though there apparently isn't a lot to see there.

To give you a comparison from my trip to Italy: I saw plenty of English-speaking tourists (many speaking English) in the Cinque Terre - but I still loved it. The place didn't seem spoiled to me. By contrast, I couldn't get out of Sorrento fast enough; the place seemed like one huge tourist trap to me. (It was a gateway to Pompeii really.) Before I left on my trip I didn't really have a great feel for that. I probably would have stayed in Naples instead were I to do it over again.

So I'm trying to get a feel for what the cities in Croatia might be like by comparison. I've already done a lot of reading - but what are some of the places you'd love to see again and others you could do without in Croatia and Slovenia? What's the best way to see these places - by car? If you've been to Italy, by comparison, what were your favorite and least-favorite places?

Dubrovniktravelady

Andrew: Since you have questions about Croatia and Slovenia, you may want to add those tags also.
Late September the European land guests have begun to depart Dubrovnik. Since I live here, of course I am biased because I choose Dubrovnik to retire.
Croatia has the Dalmatian coast which is comprised of 1185 islands, only 65 of them are inhabited. You can travel from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes, one of the most beautiful locations in Europe. You can continue to Mostar, down to Dubrovnik and work your way back up the coast to the Istrian peninsula, which has been compared to Tuscany.
If you look closely at the map of Europe, many thousands of years ago Croatia and Italy were one. The terrain is similar, but we have the islands so many of which are wonderful to visit. You need to pick what interests you, but do visit Croatia it is a must see.

Andrew

Thanks for the tips. Too bad I screwed up the tags...not sure how to change them now.

huddoshols

Dont worry about the tags,you caught my eye with the title. We were last year in Slovenia and Croatia. I guess as with Italy,you will have to do some "tourist" spots. It is all best with a car. Slovenia is beautiful. Driving is easy. Stay in Bled and do day trips,around the Julian Alps and to Ljubljana. Drive down to the Istrian Penisula,stay in Rovinj.
Then to the Plitvice Lakes overnight. Then to Split,Dubovnik of course and maybe back up the coast road to Opatija. Wherever you choose you will have a wonderful time. Try to fit in Mostar. We always love Italy,but Croatia was fabulous and Sovenia not to be missed.

sandy_b

When I messed up on tagging my request, I emailed Katie at [email protected] and she fixed it.

Sandy (in Denton)