Traveler_2012

Hi,

My husband and I are planning a 9 day trip to Slovenia and Croatia in late July (along with our 3 year old) and have an itinerary sketched out. Any tips would be appreciated!

We land in Ljubljana in the afternoon and drive straight to Lake Bled. Day 2 is to explore Lake Bled and relax there. Day 3 is to drive around the Julian Alps and we plan on sleeping in Ljubljana. On day 4, we head to Plitvice Lake National Park. Looks like getting there will be long and will take up most of the day. We plan on taking the train from Ljubljana to Zagreb and driving from Zagreb to the national park.

Is one day enough for the park? We plan on exploring the park on day 6 and driving to Split at night to sleep there. We will spend the next day in Split and then drive to Mostar for a day trip on Day 7 and then drive to Dubrovnik at night of Day 7. We will end our trip with 2 full days in Dubrovnik. From Dubrovnik, we are heading to the Amalfi coast for 3 days of beaches and coastal beauty and hence, during our stay in Croatia we are skipping the coastal towns (like hvar).

The spots we are really excited about are Lake Bled, Plitvice, Dubrovnik and Mostar. Is driving around the Julian Alps worth it? We are not leaving time for Ljubljana in order to explore the alps.
Also, Split will be a hectic one day stay for us. Is that worth it or should we spend that time elsewhere? This is our first time in Slovenia and Croatia.

Hubby and I are in our mid 30’s and we love to travel and have done a few trips with our kid (similarly paced).

Thank you!

Jump

Without answering any of your specific questions I'll just say that when I was planning my first trip to the area I had 10 days and I too tried to fit both Slovenia and Croatia into them. But the more I researched I realized I just couldn't do it all while also giving both countries justice. I ended up planning all 10 days for Slovenia and I still could have found more to do for another week if I had had the time. I am now planning a 2 week trip into Croatia and I am again finding that it isn't enough time to do all that I'd like.

Andrew

That is a very fast trip especially with a 3 year old! My last trip was about that fast, but I was alone and had been to Slovenia and Croatia before.

I thought the Julian Alps drive was "worth it" for sure, but so are a lot of things you don't have time for that you are leaving out. I might say skip the drive this year with your limited time, because as I understand it, there will be construction on the Vrsic Pass this year starting next month with delays and even road closures with detours. (You can dig up the post on Trip Advisor's Slovenia forum about this - I don't have an "official" site with details.) It's already a long day of driving. I wouldn't want to deal with that too, with a 3 year old in the car too.

Plus, Ljubljana was one of the absolute highlights for me of the itinerary you propose. It would be a shame not to spend at least a few hours there. You don't need days and days there - it's not a big town, and the highlight (at least to me) is its charm and beautiful architecture, which can all be seen pretty quickly. Even 3-4 hours walking around would show you the highlights.

The train from Ljubljana to Zagreb is about 2.5 hours, and the drive from Zagreb to Plitvice is about 2 hours. So I'd guess about 6-7 hours of travel time. There is an early train out of Ljubljana as I recall so you could try for that and maybe get into the park by mid-afternoon - not accounting for downtime for a 3 year old. I'd probably stay in one of the overpriced park hotels with such limited time (you can walk right down into the park). But yes, the park can be seen in not much time - 5-6 hours could give you the gist of it, add a few hours to account for the toddler.

You COULD see how early you arrive that first day and maybe see a good amount of the park that day and leave the next morning. I normally suggest seeing the park first thing in the morning when it opens, because it gets very crowded by mid-day especially in the summer - maybe you can do that if you wind up arriving late that first day. Or see it part of both days. If you stay at one of those park hotels, they can stamp your previous day's ticket to re-enter the park again the next day on the same ticket(s).

Traveler_2012

@ Jump: Thank you for the feedback. Agreed, it is difficult to do justice to both countries in such limited time. Our primary interest is in visiting Croatia and we had been wanting to see Lake Bled for a long time so figured we would fit it in which worked out as we land in Ljubljana. I'm sure we will be back in Slovenia another time to explore the rest!

Traveler_2012

@ Andrew Thank you for the feedback. Will look into the construction and it sounds like it might be better to leave out the Julian Alps drive for another trip! That way we can spend some time in Ljubljana and Split.

Also, great to know the tips for Plitvice. We have been wanting to visit for a long time but unfortunately due to work schedules, could only visit in July when we know it will be very busy. Will look into the park hotels. The convenience will be great with a kid. Also, you are right that there is an early morning train from Ljubljana to Zagreb which allows us to reach the park early afternoon and we could use some time later that day in the park Thank you again!

mnag

I echo Jump's comments. I think it would be difficult to squeeze both Croatia and Slovenia in 10 days. We did a similar trip and were glad we spent all our time in Slovenia. Its a beautiful country and you will regret just skimming the surface. Note we did cover Northern Croatia - Istria wine country and little villages near Piran as part of the same trip. What I loved about Slovenia and not on your list is Lake Bohinj including the Vogel cable car. Also I loved the two days we spent in Logarska Dolina (which certainly I understand if you are covering both countries must be given up because its too far out east).
If you stick to your plan then I more or less agree with the way you are splitting up your time. We loved our time in the Julian Alps (Vrsic pass, Soca river valley and can't remember the falls we saw but they were spectacular)and would not pass that up for Ljubljana. That is not to say that Ljubljana is not lovely but can be quickly covered in two or so hours. Bled was just ok - a bit too touristy for me. We had a rainy day in Bled which may be why I was not wowed. Again if you think you can manage everything in your itinerary in 9 days then so be it but seems rushed to me.

PARAGKASH1

I am at present on a road trip through Slovenia and Croatia.
We are fast travelers too and try to pack in a lot in our holidays. But yours is much faster than ours.
I have learnt from Fodorites, that slower is better. I remember more as I stay longer. cherish and absorb moments.
Drop Mostar. Keep 2 nights at plitvice park with one full day to explore. This is the highlight of the tour.

You are probably not considering travelling time. Add a few more hours to google calculations.

Amalfi is nice but not very different from Croatian coast. You may decide to spend more time in croatia. May be add Istria. keep Amalfi for your next trip.

kja

9 days is VERY little for Slovenia and Croatia, particulary if you are traveling with a child. My first bit of advice is to think your priorities through very carefully, as you WILL need to be selective.

If there is <b>any</b> chance that you will have jet lag, I would strongly encourage you to take public transportation for your first night or two. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and <b>nothing</b> you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience! And Bled is very easy to reach by public transportation from Ljubljana.

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is, IMO, the single most un-missable of Croatia's many splendors. Not only are the lakes connected by travertine waterfall formations, each lake has unique microbiota, and as a result, the lakes are different colors. The best way to see that is to make a single, long loop through the park -- something on the order of 6 hours or more (including time for the boat that connects the lower and upper lakes), and by all means, start at the lowest part of the park so you are facing the falls as you proceed.

Split is my favorite city in Croatia. I would want more than 1 day there; YMMV.

Mostar is much more enjoyable after day trippers leave, so consider an overnight.

No criticism intended, but it seems that you will be spending a LOT of time getting to the Almalfi Coast, which can easily merit 5 – 8 days (depending on your interests) when you could visit some beaches in Croatia and make more efficient use of your travel time – and you are planning on a lot of time in transit! Just something to consider….

Ljubljana is, IMO, one of the most charming cities anywhere in the world. Whether to visit it or not is your call.

Hope that helps!

Traveler_2012

Thank you all for the feedback! Ljubljana sounds lovely and we have changed our itinerary to spend a day there on our way to Plitvice. Splitting our time in Croatia mostly in Dubrovnik and a couple of days in Split. Appreciate all your feedback!