Slovenia & ?? -- Itinerary help!
 

My husband and I will be traveling in Slovenia for a week in early September. We have another week available to travel and are looking for another country to explore. We have traveled extensively in Italy. We have been to Salzberg and Vienna (but no smaller towns in Austria), as well as Greece and Prague. We were looking for somewhere close by and have been looking into Croatia. However, we are thinking it will be similar to Slovenia in that there is great architecture and smaller towns to wander through and beautiful views of water. I think for our second country we are looking for something a little more urban, a little more bustling. PLEASE any suggestions of places you have been and loved would be great. We are kinda on a tight budget and trying to avoid a plane trip (were thinking train). BUT really are open. Right now we keep wavering between just going to Croatia, exploring bavaria in Germany or flying to Copenhagen. What are some places we aren't thinking of? ALL suggestions welcome. Thank you in advance!

There’s a lot to see in Slovenia, but not quite sure how you’d do it without a car. I assume you’re planning on that anyway. There are some interesting places to see in the northern part of Croatia, too, but think you could include some of that in your first week or so. You might consider Zagreb for a day trip. It’s about a two hour train ride, but if you have a car you could do it in less time. You just don’t want to pick up a car in one country and drop it in another.

I liked Ljubljana a lot, but it’s still only worth a couple days or so. It’s especially bustling and fun on Friday evening and Saturday. I wouldn’t let a trip to Zagreb shortchange it. Andrew has a great trip report that may give you some ideas on Slovenia.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-and-italy.cfm

But, I'd recommend going to Munich from Ljubljana. It’s well over six hours by train and costs some €80. But think I’d fly on Adria Airways for about €130. That takes an hour. From Munich you could tour some of Bavaria by car, train or bus. That would give you the easily manageable big city experience as well as seeing some of the nearby wonderful sights and smaller towns.

I don’t think I’d do Copenhagen on this trip. It’s a great city, but it seems like you should consider something closer to Slovenia. If nothing else it’s terribly expensive.

have you been to budapest?? this is a wonderful city! There's opera, markets, the river, the amazing thermal baths, old and new city... we absolutely love budapest. we loved our hotel, Victoria, which had the most outstanding view of the river, bridge and parliament building. You will also enjoy the food and pastries here!

I agree 100% with Kawh: go to Budapest and stay at hotel Victoria!

Hi rblcali,

There's 2 really great trip reviews in Slovenia
http://www.sloveniaforyou.com/PatriciasRyansReview.htm

They seem to cover most of the country from what i can tell so will give you a great idea on what to expect!

Cheers
Mania.

I agree with the Budapest suggestion! I spent a week there last October (during the first week and the weather was great!). The prices are quite cheap, lots to see and do, plus the city is so beautiful, and the people are quite friendly.

thanks so much everyone for the suggestions! i will def look into Budapest and all of the links to the trip reports on Slovenia. All of this info is much appreciated!

Check In Your Pocket guides for info on Slovenia: http://www.inyourpocket.com/slovenia

There are some gems in Croatia that you won't find in Slovenia (which I loved). For example, Plitvice Lakes National Park is amazing. (I haven't been to Istria or Rovinj but hear they are quite nice.) Dubrovnik is one-of-a-kind although often mobbed with cruise ship tour groups now in the daytime. If you get near Dubrovnik, Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina is an easy side trip - a half Muslim, half Catholic city, something you certainly won't find in Slovenia. I regret not visiting Sarajevo while I was nearby in Mostar.

You can read my trip reports for Slovenia 2011 and Croatia 2009 here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-and-italy.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...009-photos.cfm

You haven't mentioned Italy - lots of "urban" choices there, of course, and adjacent to Slovenia. It would be easy to add a week in northern Italy.

Budapest is quite urban, of course - lots to see there, a very different experience from Slovenia. Of course, you could continue up to Czech Republic too and up to Prague...

bookmarking...

I've not been but Zagreb might be a good option.

Munich, too is a great fun city - can't really go wrong in Bavaria, IMHO. However, September could prove to be an issue due to OktoberFest (it's held in Sept, not Oct). Just check into it so you know what to expect if you look into Munchen.

Budapest would be an interesting choice, but not sure how to get there from Slovenia. By train, it's about a nine hour trip. There are no direct flights that I’m aware of. Maybe someone has a suggestion.

Since you were originally considering Bavaria, I still think Munich might be a good alternative. As Andrew suggests, there’s a lot to see in Croatia. Istria and Rovinj aren’t urban, but found them definitely worth seeing. Again, you might add Zagreb to the itinerary if you decide to see more of Croatia. It’s certainly not Budapest or Munich, but it is an an attractive, but underrated city.

Hi,
I'd suggest Ljubljana, Bled, caves of Postojna in Slovenia, and Slovene Istria around Piran, and then Istria in Croatia- Rovinj and Pola are urban enough for a September stay. There is the national park of Brioni close to Pola, small islands with lush vegetation, beautiful, or otherwise just enjoy the Istrian hospitality and amazing food! All the info about Slovenia is on www.slovenia.info.

if they go to, maybe, zagreb, then it's about a 7 hour train ride. we did it once and it wasn't bad. don't know if you can do a sleeper train for that route.

thanks for all your suggestions! lots to think about!!

Bosnia & Herzegovina is another country not far from Slovenia that you might consider. We thought Sarajevo was a fascinating city. I wrote a trip report in 2010

Personally, I would choose Slovenia and Croatia. Here is my trip report (with photos of our 2008 trip). Chapters 11 through 23 are about Croatia and Slovenia. Have fun!

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/Tom_...nice_2008.html