Some Croatia/Bosnia/Montenegro Help Please
 

Hi

We have changed our upcoming 6 week Centeral Europe itinerary (again) - this time to include Sarajevo and Mostar.

Or plan has us heading to Dubrovnik for 5 nights (1 day is a travel day), then to Kotor for 3 nights and then to Sarajevo via Herceg Novi for 4 nights with a day trip to Mostar. From there we are heading to Trogir/Split in Croatia.

Some of our current debate is over
a) do we have one too many nights in Dubrovnik even though it looks very nice

b) do we steal a day from Dubrovnik and add it to Bosnia and spend 4 night in Sarajevo with a day trip to Travnik and then 1 night in Mostar for interest and ease of travel to Trogir. Has anyone been to Travnik?

c) ....no actually those are the two big debates!

One thing to keep in mind is its I full day travel to Dubrovnik (flying from London) and 1 full day on the bus to get from Herceg Novi to Sarajevo it appears (8 hrs)

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Naxos

I would suggest taking a day off Dubrovnik and add it elsewhere (Dubrovnik, although absolutely breathtaking, is tiny). You could also add a day to an island perhaps. Trogir is also a much prettier and more charming place to stay than Split, although Split is worth half a day.

As I have not been to Travnik I cannot comment on that.

Thanks travel2live -I did suspect we had too many days in Dubrovnik, even with day trips....perhaps a day elsewhere would a good use of time.

Cheers,

Naxos

Travnik , long time ago, was a small mostly Muslim town. Don't know now. A day trip to Mostar from Sarajevo is not a good idea.

p.s.
Sarajevo can be seen in 1-2 days.

Hi danon,

Thanks for the feedback. Our research seemed to reveal several buses a day from Sarajevo to Mostar and back....though we did want to spend one night in Mostar originally we were hoping to keep our Bosnian excursion to 4 days - why do understand it to be a poor daytrip? Perhaps 3 nights in Sarajevo (with no daytrip to Travnik) and 1 night in Mostar would be better.....

Thanks again,

Naxos

Dubrovnik is very small but it is a good base for visiting really beautiful places nearby. I would reocmmend a half day to a day on Lokrum, a one day boat excursion to the Elafiti islands, a drive along with the Peljesac Peninsula (lunch at Mali Ston) and a visit to Cavtat. So don't think of Dubrovnik as just Dubrovnik. Frankly, if you want to avoid the tourist hub of Dubrovnik and get more lodging value for your dollar (or Kuna), you may want to stay in Cavatat which is very pretty, very close to the Dubrovnik airport (moreso than Dubrovnik itself) and also quite close to the Montenegrin border en route to Kotor.

The old town of Dubrovnik is small and there is so much to experience. You can never have too much time here, but that's why I live here. As the post above indicates, there are many day trips from here.
Taking the local bus up to the top of Mt. Srd and walking back down is the only way to really see Dubrovnik from above.
Taking a day trip down to Konavle to watch the folklore dancing, again do not miss this. Dubrovnik is known as the "Pearl of the Adriatic" and it most certainly is that and more.

How about taking the bus to Mostar from the coast, then take the train from there up to Sarajevo? Apparently it is an incredibly scenic route and would probably be much more comfortable than the bus, not to mention quicker. I would recommend you definitely spend one night in Mostar, it has so much charm when the daytrippers have left!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...llet-holes.cfm


As others have said, there is plenty to do using Dubrovnik as a base. The Elafiti islands are a very pleasant day trip (I loved Sipan), and you can easily spend a day having a delicious lunch of lamb under the bell at Konavle, then the afternoon in Cavtat followed by the boat back to Dubrovnik.

It is well worth going up to Mt Srd for the absolutely incredible view. And sobering too if you have been to the Room of the Defenders of Dubrovnik in the Sponza Palace and seen the pictures of all those beautiful young men who gave their lives for Dubrovnik, many of them trying to repel the Serb invaders on Mt Srd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU0JPXUmg44

I would recomend taking a day of Dubrovnik and doing something else for a night. I stayed in Dubrovnik 4 nights. There was plenty to do, Dubrovnik is beautiful. But it gets quite expensive i thought. The day trips from there add up.

we missed out mostar
was a three hour trip from dubrovnik
wished wed gone