Struggling with planning of Nov 07 trip through Croatia and Slovenia
Sep 27th, 2007, 06:07 AM
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Struggling with planning of Nov 07 trip through Croatia and Slovenia
I am attempting to plan a 14 day trip to Slovenia and Croatia. It will be from the 3rd Nov through to the 17Th Nov 07, between seasons I know but unfortunately it has to be organized to fit in with my wife's business trip to Vienna.
We will fly into Ljubljana (spend the first few nights at Bled) and at the end of the trip fly out of Dubrovnik en-route to, Dubai for a few days before flying home to Singapore.
Intend to use a self-drive while in Slovenia and Croatia. I will be with my wife and 12 year old daughter and we have not visited either country before and don't know anyone that has.
Would the experienced travelers amongst you care to identify the perfect itinerary to see the best of both countries in such a relatively short time.
My wife and I like good class accommodation and good food and have to remember the interests of a 12 year old who can't swim or beach it that time of the year.
Is it likely that so out of season most good restaurants and attractions will be closed down. I note that many travel reports have identified the 5* hotels with 3* services particularly in Split and Dubrovnik.
Finally, is it safe to drive through both countries and not be targeted as foreigners? I have read of road gangs and skinhead issues on various email sites. I am somewhat nervous about this with a child onboard.
Brian
We will fly into Ljubljana (spend the first few nights at Bled) and at the end of the trip fly out of Dubrovnik en-route to, Dubai for a few days before flying home to Singapore.
Intend to use a self-drive while in Slovenia and Croatia. I will be with my wife and 12 year old daughter and we have not visited either country before and don't know anyone that has.
Would the experienced travelers amongst you care to identify the perfect itinerary to see the best of both countries in such a relatively short time.
My wife and I like good class accommodation and good food and have to remember the interests of a 12 year old who can't swim or beach it that time of the year.
Is it likely that so out of season most good restaurants and attractions will be closed down. I note that many travel reports have identified the 5* hotels with 3* services particularly in Split and Dubrovnik.
Finally, is it safe to drive through both countries and not be targeted as foreigners? I have read of road gangs and skinhead issues on various email sites. I am somewhat nervous about this with a child onboard.
Brian
Sep 27th, 2007, 08:36 AM
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Brian, we went to Croatia and Slovenia in November last year and loved it loved it loved it! Crowds are just about non-existent and many times you may find yourselves almost alone in towns. Of course the downside is that many hotels, particularly on the islands, close down from the beginning of November through April so we had to tweak our itinerary to deal with this. But I love traveling off-season, and when you hear about the crowds in places like Dubrovnik in the summer you will appreciate your completely opposite experience in November!
Unfortunately I don't have much time to answer all of your questions, so instead I am going to give you a link to our trip report. As I said above, we went November 3rd last year and spent 7 nights in Croatia and Slovenia. Dubrovnik was our favorite, but we also loved Montenegro (highly suggest a daytrip to Montenegro...gorgeous!), Trogir and, surprisingly, Zagreb. And Slovenia is wonderful as well. Ljubljana has become one of my favorite cities in Europe.
So here is my trip report: http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34899916. And if you are interested, our pictures can be found at www.kodakgallery.com/tracybates. Just pan down until you find the respective photo albums.
One more thing; we drove and had absolutely no problems. As a matter of fact, DH declared the new highway from Split to Zagreb to be one of the best he's driven on in Europe, and we've driven around quite a bit. We did not experience anything bad at all the entire time we were in Croatia, so I wonder how much of what you heard is actually true. The people are friendly and the country is gorgeous; you should have absolutely no problems at all.
Best wishes,
Tracy
Unfortunately I don't have much time to answer all of your questions, so instead I am going to give you a link to our trip report. As I said above, we went November 3rd last year and spent 7 nights in Croatia and Slovenia. Dubrovnik was our favorite, but we also loved Montenegro (highly suggest a daytrip to Montenegro...gorgeous!), Trogir and, surprisingly, Zagreb. And Slovenia is wonderful as well. Ljubljana has become one of my favorite cities in Europe.
So here is my trip report: http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34899916. And if you are interested, our pictures can be found at www.kodakgallery.com/tracybates. Just pan down until you find the respective photo albums.
One more thing; we drove and had absolutely no problems. As a matter of fact, DH declared the new highway from Split to Zagreb to be one of the best he's driven on in Europe, and we've driven around quite a bit. We did not experience anything bad at all the entire time we were in Croatia, so I wonder how much of what you heard is actually true. The people are friendly and the country is gorgeous; you should have absolutely no problems at all.
Best wishes,
Tracy
Sep 27th, 2007, 03:36 PM
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We are four ladies 64 to 70. We drove through Slovenia and Croatia for 13 days last month. No problems at all. Everyone was very nice and we didn't feel unsafe anywhere. We could not take our rental car on the ferry, but there was so much to see that it was not a problem.
Sep 27th, 2007, 06:42 PM
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Hi, Brian
We were in Croatia a few months ago. We picked up our rental car after 5 days in Zagreb, went over to the northern border of Bosnia and drove south to Split and then continued to Dubrovnik. As we were staying in Dubrovnik for a couple of weeks, we went to Montenegro and then on the way to Zagreb for our flight home, we drove through Slovenia.
It was easy, safe, and offered just fantastic scenery.
The region of Istria is calling us after driving through the area.
We loved Croatia and plan to return soon.
We had a lot of stops by border guards without any problems.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll love it!
We were in Croatia a few months ago. We picked up our rental car after 5 days in Zagreb, went over to the northern border of Bosnia and drove south to Split and then continued to Dubrovnik. As we were staying in Dubrovnik for a couple of weeks, we went to Montenegro and then on the way to Zagreb for our flight home, we drove through Slovenia.
It was easy, safe, and offered just fantastic scenery.
The region of Istria is calling us after driving through the area.
We loved Croatia and plan to return soon.
We had a lot of stops by border guards without any problems.
Good luck, I'm sure you'll love it!
Oct 1st, 2007, 05:06 AM
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Brian, thanks for your comments! Croatia is so beautiful that its naturally photogenic! 
We didn't really have any problems finding restaurants in Dubrovnik. Some were closed, but there were enough open that it wasn't a problem. And the weather was pleasant enough that we ate outside for lunch at a few of the cafes that lined Stradum, the main street running through Dubrovnik. Same goes with Split and Zagreb. In some of the smaller towns like Trogir we were less lucky. The town was lovely but we only found a few places open, and ended up at a pizza restaurant where we were the only customers in there although the food was fine.
Tracy
We didn't really have any problems finding restaurants in Dubrovnik. Some were closed, but there were enough open that it wasn't a problem. And the weather was pleasant enough that we ate outside for lunch at a few of the cafes that lined Stradum, the main street running through Dubrovnik. Same goes with Split and Zagreb. In some of the smaller towns like Trogir we were less lucky. The town was lovely but we only found a few places open, and ended up at a pizza restaurant where we were the only customers in there although the food was fine.
Tracy
