We (2 single girls) are planning a vacation to Slovenia and Croatia in July and August. I understand that this is the busy tourist season and that hotel rooms are sometimes hard to come by. To cut down on the cost, we had planned on staying at sobes. Will we have a problem getting a sobe upon arrival at each town or do these book up as well? Would you recommend that we make all of the reservations before we leave?

We are still working out the details, but a few of the planned stops are Bovec, Bled, Ljubljaba, Zagreb, Bol, Hvar, and Dubrovnik. Any suggestions for reasonably priced hotels or sobes in these area?

Thank you.

Try http://orlando.laus.hr:9019/objekt/O...earchFormPO.po linked from the Dubrovnik Tourist board pages. I've never used it but it looks like what you may be looking for.

Cheers,

David

See also http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...Dubrovnik.html

susan,

If you girls are adventurous (you must be), flexible and use common sense (like trying to arrive before dark), I would say Go For It. It's really not a Fodor's mode of travel, but Croatia's the place for it -- now, not five years from now.

July should be better than August, which is THE peak month. For August, try and book ahead a couple of places that might be especially tight, like Hvar and Bled. Dubrovnik, for all of its popularity, had people crawling all over us at the ferry dock with SOBE signs (that was in late September, though).

The only three places on our 18-day European visit where we winged it were Korcula (great room), Lausanne (late arrival - hostel), and (believe it or not) Venice (late arrival, but found a room for $69).

July should be better than August. ANd

Thanks David. I've looked at those sites before and they are helpful.

However, I wonder if I need to book ahead of time, or can we just show up and get a sobe? I've read that many times the owners will meet you when you first arrive, and you can arrange accomodation then. Is this also true during the busy months of July and August? Or is it necessary to book ahead?

Thanks metlc. That's good to know.... regarding July vs. August. We will actually be there mostly in July, we leave Dubrovnik August 4th.

I am so excited about this upcoming trip! Now we just need to narrow down the places we plan to visit. Too many islands... too little time!

Hi travelersusan - I'm heading to Croatia and Montenegro in July myself. Part of the time with a friend, part of the time solo. I've found that many of the places I'm attempting to book online are already full. I'm more of a "wing it" kind of traveler but find it's easier to do in some places versus others (like Thailand versus Europe in the summer). We ended up booking apartments in Dubrovnik and Korcula.

When will you be in Dubrovnik? Where are you guys from? Might be fun to meet up for a drink if we're there at the same time.

Cheers,
Jennifer

Jennifer,
I know what you mean about booking hotels in Europe compared to Thailand. We went to Vietnam last summer with no reservations, and had absolutely no problems finding a place to stay. Like you, I am now finding that many of the places I have emailed in Croatia are already booked.

I think we should be in Dubrovnik in August, but not really sure yet, as the itinerary might get shifted around a bit.

You mentioned you already had a room in Dubrovnik? Where are you staying? I had assumed we wanted to stay in the Old Town, but now I am not so sure.

Now I'm starting to look into rooms in Hvar, which I also hear books up early.

Susan

Susan - We are staying in an apartment. Found it was much cheaper and more room. Check out this site and see if there are still openings. We booked about a month ago for Dubrovnik and Korcula - www.dubrovnik-area.com/mijic.htm

Good luck