Please help with my itinerary. I usually travel during shoulder season but my wife doesn't want to take our kids out of school this year so we are going in August. I understand most tourist spots will be crazy busy so I may avoid them or just tough it out. We have four kids that are pretty good travelers and don't require much. Maybe a few hikes or beach time would be great. Here is what I have:

August 12 - depart PDX
August 13 - Ljubljana
August 14 - Ljubjana
August 15 - Ljubjana
August 16 - Kobarid (maybe leave super early and see Bled or maybe skip it)
August 17 - Kobarid
August 18 - stay some where in Italy (Trieste? Venice?)
August 19 - Italy
August 20 - Italy
August 21 - Rovinj (if stay in Trieste drive there if stay in Venice take ferry to Pula then drive up)
August 22 - Rovinj
August 23 - Plitvce Lakes National Park (stay night there hit park first thing - or should I skip this?)
August 24- Zagreb
August 25 - Zagreb
August 26 - depart (only flight home leaves at 6am btw)

All comments welcome!

You’re kind of scattered. Car or public transit? What’s in Kobarid? West to Italy then South to Rovinj then 3 hours North to Zagreb. Too much too soon.

We visited Ljubljana, Trieste, Italy & Croatia in Sept. 2023. Three days will be great to see Ljubljana. It was a hidden gem and we loved it. You could do a day trip to Bled (about an hour drive).

Not sure the ages of your children but if you haven’t been to Venice, I would prefer Venice over Trieste. We spent three
nights in Trieste and could have shorten to 1-2 days less. This was our second visit to Croatia but first time in Rovinj. Charming port town and #1 destination for Croatia, Plitvace National Park is lovely but it is a 3 hour drive along country roads to get there. We then went on to Split which we loved and return for a second visit. This was another 2 hr drive from the PNP. You probably have made your airline reservations but we flew out of Split. On our first trip to Croatia we visited Zagreb. Two nights would have been better than 3 nights.

Have a fabulous trip!

Ljubljana for a few days might be busy, but still worth it. Kobarid sounds nice, and hitting up Bled early could help avoid crowds. Trieste or Venice in Italy are both great options. Rovinj is lovely. Plitvice Lakes might be crowded, but it's stunning—worth going early. Wrap up in Zagreb sounds good. Just plan for a relaxed evening before that 6 am flight. Enjoy your trip!

awesome thanks for all the comments very helpful! we are planning on getting a car.

My bad, Kobarid, looks great. Lot of history. Enjoy

No worries. Your comments are well take. I started to wonder if two nights in Kobarid are too much. However, I bet by the time we drive there its the evening and may be nice to have a slow day in a quiet town.