Slovenia, Croatia Advice!
 

We are taking a Rick Steves tour of Slovenia and Croatia in September. Starts around Sept. 10th. We would like to spend a month in the area. Our tour is:
2 days Ljublana
1 day Lake Bled
1 day Istrian Town, don't know the town yet
2 days Opatija and Plitvice
1 day Split
1 day Mostar
1 Korcula
3 days Dubrovnik. - this will include a travel day and the final morning of the tour

So, we don't have any plans yet after the tour. One is to rent a car and travel back up the coast to Zagreb and take a bus/ train back to Ljublana.

Another is to fly into Ljublana and out of Dubrovnik, but not sure we need to do that.

Any ideas? I've been reading threads here and will continue to do so, but we always get our best travel ideas on Fodors.
Thanks

You don't have to fly. A car and a bus are enough. I would suggest that you visit Lake Bohinj instead of Bled. 1 day is enough for Ljubljana, you can take a car the next day and drive to Koper.

If you've booked the overpriced Rick Steves tour, you can't change anything anyway.
So I don't understand your question.

I don’t understand the question either. Are you asking how to get in and out, or do you have a few days after the tour? Zagreb is not on the coast, and though it is worth a visit, you do not need to go back to Ljubljana, they have an airport.

if you are just looking for some things to see for a few days, the Dalmatian coast is beautiful and there is also Montenegro close to Dubrovnik.

Why would you go to an area on a tour only to spend time and money going back, especially to Ljubljana? Have you researched any areas your RS tour is not going that might be an interest to you? You have not mentioned what those might be.

If I understand correctly you are looking for additional locations to visit after the end of the 14 day RS tour and looking to extend for an additional 2 weeks on your own. The possibilities are endless, if you are concluding the RS tour in Dubrovnik. But where are you flying home from after your additional 2 weeks, that will help you decide your extended itinerary.

Why not just cancel the tour and do it at a sensible speed without the guide but with a Rough Guide for each country. These are very civilised places.

Thanks Mike1728, Yes we are looking for additional places to go AFTER the tour. We will fly into Ljublana and end in Dubrovnik, would like to visit Zabreb, and then fly out of Ljublana. I know there is a ton of places to go. Yes, I could look them up, but Fodorites are usually very knowledgeable. Sorry my question confused so many people, but if it was you, and you ended up in Dubrovnik and wanted to fly out Ljublana, and take approximately two weeks to get there what are your suggestions.

Rialtogrl, sorry I guess the part where I said, we have a month and are looking for things after the tour wasn't clear. Would probably rent a car from Dubrovnik to Zagreb and thought someone might have ideas of cool things to see along the Dalmatian coast. Is there a small town or somewhere you would recommend?

What research have you done? What are your interests? We can't give suggestions without that baseline. So, if there is something not included on the RS tour your interested in, that's where you want to start.

Do you actually want to visit Zagreb? If you do, great. You can easily spend 4 or 5 nights there.

Have you booked your flights? Can you also fly into Zagreb maybe instead early, do some touring around there and parts of Slovenia for a week or so and then join your tour, and then spend your final week around Dubrovnik and/or fly home from Dubrovnik, (or Montenegro or even Sarajevo if that is an interest.

We need more info to help you.

bilboburgler, thanks for the advice but we are two privileged white people with too much discretionary income and have decided on a tour. Yes, the first 14 days are a fast paced overview of the area, THATS WHY I had asked for suggestions for the second 14 days. Sorry if it wasn't clear.

Travel_Nerd - We honestly haven't done much research yet. We are in Mexico for three months and planned on doing more research once we got home. Our interests are museums, beaches, cities, food etc. I think we would like to visit Zagreb, hadn't thought about flying out of there but rialtogrl made a good suggestion. Most likely we would fly into Ljublana because that is where the tour starts. Your idea of flying into Zagreb could work because we do plan on going in a few days earlier. I mentioned Zagreb because if we rent a car in Dubrovnik and returned it to Zagreb it would still be in Croatia. I don't know if there is an advantage for a one way car rental in the same country.

Is there much difference in your opinion in flying in/ out of Zagreb vs. Ljublana? Size of airport, price etc. I thought we could take a train from Zagreb to Ljublana but I've read it's easier to take a bus. It seems like the options are fly into Ljublana, where the tour starts and out of Dubrovnik. Or based on your suggestion, going into Zagreb first and then fly out of Dubrovnik. If we rented a car, did the Dalmation coast, I could then return it to Dubrovnik. I've rented cars in France, Ireland, Greece, Italy but haven't rented a car in Croatia.

I do appreciate your help. We will have done our research before we go, but thought someone might say, you have to visit this island near Dubrovnik for example.

I have flown home from both. And I've flown into Dubrovnik as well. You need to play around what is best for you and your home airports.

Yes, you can rent a car from Dubrovnik and drop it off in Zagreb, but there may be a large drop off fee. Personally, I absolutely hate backtracking which is why I suggested flying n earlier to Zagreb because of its proximity to Ljublijana and environs for your tour, and using your final week to tour in/around Dubrovnik. Edit: this is from my personal experience from traveling in the region, and becuae of my distaste of backtracking, it may end up being better in the long run to fly into one city (say Zagreb or Ljubljana) and fly home from another (Dubrovnik/Podgorica/Sarajevo/Split) depending on your home airport options AND your final itinerary. You do not have to do a Round trip flight in most instances.

As to your last paragraph. In general, "must sees" need context to a person's interest. I do not suggest a place without knowing more about a person (and likewise to many here - which is why you got some pushback). What is a must see to you is not necessarily to someone else.

So my suggestion is, when you return from Mexico, spend time researching. If you can before you get back, perbaps start here. Read trip reports on the region, and even peruse the main Fodors sight under the "destinations" tabs. Many of my trips start with a map and see what is in/around a city and using Google images to see what's "there" and whether I'd be interested in learning more. Perhaps that's what you need to do as well. If you're interested in Zagreb and Sovenia, simply start there, see what is around that grabs you.

We found Sarajevo to be fascinating and spent several days there. We weren't initially planning to travel there but reading Rick Steves's book convinced us to go and we were glad we did. Montenegro is supposed to be very nice but we haven't had the chance to visit there yet.

Travel_Nerd - thanks for the advice on the idea of going to Zagreb first, I like that. Then I can fly home from Dubrovnik and do a week around that area, visiting the Dalmatian Coast etc. Do you have any input on getting from Zagreb to Ljublana? Bus or Train?

I have not made the trip between the two by bus or train, so hopefully others can chime in on their experiences. At the time of my travel between the two cities, we (there was three of us) used GoOpti transfer because the time schedules of trains and busses did not fit our needs. I'd research Rome2Rio for general info on routes which may work best for you - but check against the links that service provides rather than the info R2R itself (its not always accurate but does give an overview of general routes and options).

GoOpti is a semi-private (or private) shuttle that is pretty affordable. So, something to also consider if you'd prefer.

Let me know when you decide your finally destinations. I will be in Zagreb, Varazdin, Ptuj, Maribor, Graz, Ljubljana and Samobor in April

Wow! Lots of comments here.

Here are mine from a Zagreb , Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro trip September 2023 trip.

Zagreb…interesting but a big city
Slovenia….the best! Gorgeous scenery, less people.
Bled Rose Hotel our favorite of the trip and Lake Bled cruise to island was excellent.
Ljubljana….lovely, easy to navigate, great shops and sites.
Zadar….also lovely with shops and coastal scenery
Then you go south….to the madness!

Split…quite picturesque along the coast but in come the cruise ships.

Dubrovnik….Disneyland on steroids. 3 gigantic cruise ships in port, multi, multi tour buses with enormous amounts of people.
worst experience of our trip. Get me out of here!

Montenegro….same. A nice boat ride out to the island and then “bang” crowds extrodenare. The coast and scenery are fantastic but go ashore and you will want to come home.

Of course, this is our experience, others are quite different.
That said, way too crowded, except for Slovenia, for us to ever recommend it.

We also found Split and especially Dubrovnik overwhelmingly touristy.

I take it your RS tour is by bus. In early September I think you could enjoy a boat tour of some of the coast and islands. That is where Croatia is especially beautiful. We really enjoyed Korcula fyi.

Just check flights out of Dubrovnik before you make permanent plans. You may be routed through Zagreb anyways. Zagreb has a very walkable center and feels different from the coast ie more authentic and less expensive.

Mike I am looking at those cities to get an idea of your trip. Will probably have more questions.

Natylou, yes our tour will be on a bus. We do spend one night on Korcula. Were you able to visit other islands on your trip? Hvar or Mljet? We've never been to this area and I thought I should visit Zagreb if I'm going all that way to Croatia.The suggestion to go to Zagreb first is starting to make sense if I can get to Ljublana for the start of the tour. That could give us 8 days at the end of our trip.

I'd add Trogir to Split, only a short ferry or bus drive from Split (harder by car due to limited parking)
Going to the islands off Split is a good use of a life, Hvar old town is the big draw but many of the little ports along the route of the passenger small ferry (hydrofoils or similar) are worth it. Do try and sit in a bar a people watch in a small port. A wonderful way to spend a holiday and far better than travelling yet more miles.
Lake Bled; around the hotels can be a little busy but walk up to the castle and around the hills nearby. Tito used to use the Lake to wow visiting Presidents so he didn't have to show the poverty of his regime and it really shows in this beautiful place.

Zagreb to Ljubljana is straightforward by either bus or train. I'd choose depending on the best timetable for you. One thing that I have heard but have no experience of is that there can sometimes be delays at the road border - this isn't a problem for trains of course. The train station and bus station are, from memory, about a km apart (there is a tram running between them if needed) but this shouldn't be relevant if you're staying in Zagreb prior.

Going to Zagreb (and possibly other towns such as Varazdin, Maribor, etc) before your tour and then some time on the Dalmatian coast after the tour makes sense. Your tour is very fast paced so something at a slower pace either side may be welcome. We enjoyed both Hvar and Mljet (they are completely different of course) as well as Korcula. If your tour ends in Dubrovnik, you may be able to travel by bus and ferry through some of these islands to Split and fly home from Split. You don't have much time in Slovenia so spending a couple of weeks there before your tour is another option, especially if you enjoy nature and lovely villages.

bilboburglar, thanks I'll check out Trogir. We will be stopping in Split for one day on the tour and it seems like the concensus on Split, is, well split. Pretty but congested. I like the idea of going to an island. After our last stop in Dubrovnik, we will be ready to slow down. We are not opposed to stopping at a small island for 3 days with a small port. Especially if we do Zagreb up front as has been suggested. Maybe a bus to Split from Dubrovnik and then ferry back south, doing some Island hopping. Other than Trogir, are there any other islands or ports you like?

Thanks, TPAYT, I'm going to go back a read your Trip Report again. Was Dubrovnik packed night and day? When we were in Bruge, the town would swell during the day, but at night and in the morning it wasn't too bad.

Dreamon, have you flown out of Split? What you described is what we are leaning to now. Between Hvar and Mljet, which did you prefer and how were they different, Hvar bigger I am assuming. After some of these posts, we are now thinking of not even renting a car from Dubrovnik and busing or using the ferry. If we can fly out of Split that may make our life easier. We have never been to this region and opted for a tour to get a big overview upfront. I will check out Varazdin and Maribor, I think Mike1728 mentioned going to those places.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Everyone definitely has different experiences. We visited Croatia and Slovenia in September 2019. We didn’t think the crowds were that bad. I don’t remember any cruise ships in port in Dubrovnik or Split when we were there so maybe we were lucky and visited on days when there weren’t any cruise ships scheduled.

We loved Croatia, Slovenia, and Montenegro. We hired a private driver to drive us around the Bay of Kotor, and we made stops in Budva, Kotor, and Perast with Perast being our favorite. Perast was quiet but Kotor was very busy but manageable. You can do a search and look for Montenegro trip reports. I know there is one from a year or so ago. The people who have spent several nights there loved it. Since you are so close and have an extra 2 weeks, why not consider visiting Montenegro?

Dubrovnik is beautiful! It’s gorgeous at night when illuminated and the cruise crowd have returned to their ship so it’s much quieter. Our experience in Dubrovnik was like your experience in Bruge. Quieter at night and in the early morning. Wasn’t too crowded when we walked the walls in the morning. I also recommend taking the cable car to the top of Mt.Srd. And having drinks at the top. Visit War Photo Limited for some history.

I guess I am in the minority here. We also loved Split. We spent 4 nights in Split, including a daytrip to Hvar and a trip to Trogir. Spilt has beautiful architecture and a gorgeous location on the water. It’s so unique because the city was built around the ruins of Diocletian’s Palace. Have a drink on the riva. Visit the ethnographic Museum. We hired Maja Benzon, recommended by Rick Steves, for a private 2-hour guided tour of Split.

And we liked Zagreb, too. It’s very, very different architecturally from Split and Dubrovnik so it’s nice to have some variety in your trip.

We didn’t visit Mostar or Sarajevo but I think spending time in both places would round out your trip.

Here is my trip report (with photos) from September 2019 in case you are interested.

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...laces-1671951/

Tdiddy12, you are an experienced traveler so obviously you know that all the beautiful places are going to be crowded. If a person avoided all crowded places, then that person would be missing a lot of lovely sites and destinations. The best one can do is try to plan around the crowds. Find out when cruise ships will be in port and avoid those days if possible. Stay overnight in places instead of visiting as a daytrip because most places are quieter in the evenings when the daytrippers have left and in the early mornings before the daytrippers have arrived. Travel during the shoulder seasons, although I realize they are becoming busier, too. If I stayed away from destinations and sites because of crowds, there are so many lovely and interesting places I would have missed. Just my take on things. Everyone is different. I have a close friend who can't handle crowds and literally becomes anxious and jittery. So far I can honestly say that crowds have never ruined a trip for me and my husband. Usually, and probably because we hear how crowded places are, we have always felt the crowds weren't as bad as we expected. :)

Hvar and Bol were special, Korcula gets a good rap, but I've not been.

Brijuni was Tito's island and, for many years, allowed to continue without pesticides and chemicals but that is further north near Pula (itself a good visit)

Dubrovnik and Split can be busy but go into the old town after the ships and tour buses leave and it’s not as bad. Especially in late September. With three nights in Dubrovnik maybe there is already a day in Montenegro, but there is a lot more to Montenegro than the tour that every big company does, Perast (which has a an island,) Kotor and sometimes Budva old town. Yeah, do what all the tours do and you’ll see crowds. But if you don’t, you can visit places like chilled out Cetinje, Montenegro capital of culture, have lunch at Belvedere close by with an amazing view, go to Lake Skadar for a boat trip with some truly exceptional bird watching… late September will be slowing down enough that Kotor will not be so busy, especially after all the tours and boats are gone.

Mljet is mostly known for the National park there and it is possible some restaurants will be shutting down in late September. Hvar is bigger and things won’t be shutting down yet. There is a lot more to Hvar than Hvar Town, but it’s better to have a car, though you can rent one in Hvar Town. Or hire someone to take you around. Late September is a fantastic time to be in Hvar -the crowds are gone, but the sea is still warm enough for swimming.

one more note, there is no longer a border between Croatia and Slovenia, so no border checks there. There is between Croatia and Montenegro, and in that period there will be a wait, but probably not a long one. Make sure any car you rent has permission to go to Montenegro.

Thanks Karen, will look at your Trip Report! As I had said we've never been to this area, we had planned to go in 2020 but then...covid. We've been lazy the last three years and keep heading down to Mexico, which is really easy from Los Angeles. We stay in a town with 600 people and love it. This is our first trip back to Europe and we have been using Rick Steves guides for at least 25 - 30 years and always found them very helpful. So my wife said, why don't we just do a Rick tour to dip our feet in. So the tour is going to be quick paced and will hit a lot of the busy well known places. We had not thought about Montenegro but will look into it. We specifically picked September because it's shoulder season. All of your points are in line with what we have done in the past. As for crowded places, we know the main spots are going to be crowded, but generally there can be a spot not far away from the crazy spot where every one goes that is not as busy. That might be Bol or Hvar or Mljet, but Montenegro might be that spot also.

I'm going to read your Trip Report and follow up with any questions

Piran, Slovenia is a walled town on the Adriatic coast that retains its medieval character and charm. We enjoyed our too short stay there. If you visit Piran stay within the walls for utmost charm, somewhere near Tartini Square is ideal.

Tdiddy12, in case you are interested, here is the link to Whitehall's TR for Montenegro. And if you don't include Montenegro on this trip, you can always save it for a future trip.

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...ispreloading=1

This is the link to Whitehall's TR for Croatia. I thought you might like to see it because he included more photos than I did.
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...1713127/page4/

As you see from the input, your choices are unlimited, so much to see in a fairly small area. Loved Bol, the closest island to Split. As for Split Airport. A breeze as it’s so small. Another option is Sibenik, a delightful town with a nice waterfront and small beach area. Lots of history. Very close by Sibenik is Skradin ( a wonderful day trip) with a quick ferry to the Skradinski Buk Waterfalls ( highly recommended). Also very close to Sibenik is the waterfront town of Nin, again full of history and very very quaint. Some great restaurants and hardly a tourist to be found. Zadar, is another fine option as a close day trip from Sibenik.

Thanks for your response TPAYT, I read your Trip Report, great photos. We are thinking of staying in Zagreb and then moving on to Ljublana for the start of the RS tour. Maybe 3 days Zagreb, one will be our travel day and three in Ljublana before the start of our tour. Was Zagreb harder to get around because you felt it was a big city? Is there enough to do around the historic center for a two day stay? It seemed like you liked Ljublana more than Zagreb, is that safe to say?

Karen, great Trip Report. From my original posting you may have noticed that we are doing are tour in the opposite direction as you. So, we are ending with 2 - 3 days in Dubrovnik. I have a question about Montenegro, we hadn't even thought about it but it has been suggested to check it out. I know you did a day trip with a driver, we are thinking of doing two or three days. Did you feel you could have driven if you had more time? Whitehall mentioned that Kotor seemed busy and with narrow streets. If you were staying in that area would you have stayed in Perast? If we did three places, Kotor, Hercog Novi and Perast, would that be better in your opinion and skip Budva?

Tdiddy12, Because we didn't visit Herceg Novi, I really can't say whether or not it would be better to visit Herceg Novi instead of Budva. Our guide thought HN would be nicer, but we certainly liked Budva nice enough. The advantage to staying 2 or 3 nights is that you get to spend more time in each place. Budva is on the coast so you could swim there and have some relaxing beach time if you wish. I think if we were staying overnight, we would choose Perast because it is quieter than Kotor and I think Perast would be easier to drive in and out of. But maybe that depends on where your lodging is located in Kotor. Maybe if it's outside of the Old Town, driving in and out wouldn't be too bad. Perast is smaller than Kotor so that means there are fewer restaurants to choose from. You would have more dining choices in Kotor than Perast. Whitehall can answer your questions better than I can since we were there for only one day. If you stayed for a few nights, you could hike up the mountain behind Kotor for spectacular views if you are hikers. We didn't have the time, and I don't think my husband and I are fit enough to do that kind of hiking. There are also other places to visit in Montenegro, which I think Rialtogirl mentioned. Such as Cetinje. You asked about driving. Driving around the Bay of Kotor is easy. It's flat. Not sure about other places.

I notice that you asked TPAYT about Zagreb. I realize that everyone has their own perspective of things. We didn't consider Zagreb a big city. And if you stay in the historic center, such as where we stayed, it was very, very easy to get around. We walked everywhere. I felt there was plenty to do in Zagreb. We were there for 2 nights, but I can see staying for 3 nights especially if you arrive late in the day after international travel, and you need time to get over jetlag. Zagreb has lots of small museums. We only saw one museum, but we also spent time wandering around taking photos, visited the market, and a small cathedral. I know that some museums had to close after the flood from several years ago (not sure what year). They may have reopened by now. You can probably find out online by checking their websites.

I think that Ljubljana is prettier than Zagreb. I am happy that we included the cities that we saw because they are all very different from each other, and gives a nice diversity to the whole trip. Zagreb's architecture and ambience reminds me of a smaller, less crowded Prague. And Ljubljana is different than Zagreb, and both of these cities are different than Split and Dubrovnik in terms of architecture, ambience, and food.

I hope this helps somewhat in your decision making.

Karen Woo - This is very helpful. We are now leaning toward flying into Zagreb, heading to the start of our tour in Ljublana a couple of days early. After looking over the tour itinerary again, we are staying overnight, two nights in Split so may get to see enough of it that after our tour ends in Dubrovnik, we can head to Kotor Bay for three nights and then maybe take a ferry to an island from Dubrovnik, need to ask Whitehall some more questions about that. The tour stays 2 mights in Korcula, so that opens up another island for us to visit. I know I will get some good feedback here. Thanks again.

For the record, should you decide to include Montenegro, Kotor is pretty pleasant in the evenings once all of the day trippers and cruise ship crowds have moved on. There is not necessarily a lot to "do" in the town necessarily (there is the Ladder hike, which was tough - even for athletes, trust me) though thr views were beautiful. But it might be a good base should you decide to include other points such as Budva, Perast, etc. Just be aware that the highway of the Bay is two lanes (one each direction) and traffic can be backed up/slow depending on where you go.

I have not been to Herzeg Novi but have driven past/through it twice. Once on a tour, the other on bus to Kotor. I can't say anything about the Old Town but the city itself is quite industrial and very port-like city for shipping - but this is from busses, not first hand. I'm sure it has it's high points, depending on your interests