URGENT HELP- Traveling soon for Croatia, B & H, Slovenia, Montenegro
 

Hi-

We are departing soon for our trip to Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro & Slovenia. We are in our 30’s & love sightseeing-culture & vegetarian (No fish/ seafood) Here is our itinerary.

1. Should we go to Rovinj & Pula OR Zagreb? If Rovinj, what is the best way to travel from Pitvice Lake to Rovinj? (At first we planned to go to Zagreb since we’ve been to Rome but now we are debating).
2. How much time to spend in Pitvice Lake National Park? Is most of the park covered with the boat & bus ride provided by the park? Which is the most popular short hike in the park?
3. Should we skip Hvar & go to Korcula instead?
4. Can some also recommend vegetarian food along our itinerary!
5. Also, pl. make any other suggestions you may have.

Day 1 & 2- Sarajevo, Bosnia
Day 3- Mostar & travel to Dubrovnik
Day 4 & 5- Dubrovnik
Day 6- Excursion to Montenegro
Day 7- Travel to Split & 1/2 a day
Day 8 – Hvar
Day 9- Split & Travel to Pitvice Lake
Day 10- Pitvice Lake & Arrive Rovinj or Zagreb
Day 11 & 12-
Day 13- Travel to Ljubljana
Day 14- Day trip to Bled, Julian Alps
Day 15- Ljubljana
Day 16- Fly back home

Any timely help will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much.

"1. Should we go to Rovinj & Pula OR Zagreb?"

That really depends on your interests. Each has many merits, but they are VERY different. Any good guidebook should help you decide.

"2. If Rovinj, what is the best way to travel from Pitvice Lake to Rovinj?"

I suspect that a rental car would be easiest, although I doubt you could get one in Plitvice. I'm not sure what your other transportation options are.

"How much time to spend in Pitvice Lake National Park? ... Which is the most popular short hike in the park?"

I recommend 6 to 8 hours in the park, because part of what makes these lakes so spectacular is that the lakes all differ from one another, and you can only see that if you make a large enough loop to get to a variety of them. BUT you CAN do less if necessary. The rangers at any of the entrances will help you plan a walk that meets your time constraints and needs. If you only have a very limited time, the part to the lowest lake is the most spectacular IMO. The park itself is immense; some people spend days hiking there, but the MAIN lakes and waterfalls can be covered in 8 hours or so.

"3. Should we skip Hvar & go to Korcula instead?"

As a rule, I'd say that depends on your interests. Assuming you mean the towns with these names (not the islands more generally), Hvar is decidedly more upscale than Korcula. Some people prefer that, some do not. Before deciding, you should confirm that you can get to each in a timely way, as the ferry schedules change with the time of year.

"Day 3- Mostar & travel to Dubrovnik"

Mostar can be seen as a day trip, but I was glad to spend a night there -- it is much more pleasant after daytrippers leave. That said, you really need both of your first two days for Sarajevo....

"Day 7- Travel to Split & 1/2 a day"

Meaning 1/2 day in Split? Better than nothing, I suppose, but BARELY enough to scratch the surface. Be sure to think through your priorities in advance.

"Day 14- Day trip to Bled, Julian Alps"

I think it would be difficult to see both Bled and the Julian Alps in a single day trip from Ljubljana, but of course, whether you can or not depends on what, exactly, you hope to see and experience.

"Any timely help will be greatly appreciated!"

It sounds to me like you would benefit from a good guidebook or two. I thought the Rough Guide the best of those I used when planning my trip to the area.

It's a beautiful part of the world, but your trip will be at a rather frenetic pace. Good luck!

Thank a lot, Kja for all the suggestions.

We have revised & finalized itinerary as-

Day 1- Arrive & Settle
Day 2- Sarajevo, Bosnia
Day 3- Mostar & travel to Dubrovnik
Day 4- Excursion to Montenegro
Day 5, 6- Dubrovnik & travel to Split
Day 7- Split
Day 8 – Hvar
Day 9- Split & Travel to Pitvice Lake
Day 10- Pitvice Lake & Arrive Zagreb
Day 11 & 12- Zagreab
Day 13- Travel to Ljubljana
Day 14- Day trip to Bled, Julian Alps
Day 15- Ljubljana
Day 16- Fly back home

1. We are traveling by bus everywhere, is it advisable to make advance reservations at this time of the year? If so, is there a central site to do so?
2. What is the best way to travel from Split to Lake? Should we directly go to Zagreb & make a day trip to lake or stick to getting their previous night?
3. The buses seems to make indefinite stops everywhere is Croatia, do they have enough space to store luggage?
4. Which one b/w Bled & Julian if we only have time for one?

Have you done a trip like this before (i.e., moving every day by public transport). I do believe one should travel the way they wish to, but few that respond here are going to recommend this pace--that is, unless you demonstrate that it is your preferred travel style.
Most of your questions are difficult to answer because they really are a matter of personal preference. I would visit Hvar if the weather is lovely that day--otherwise, I would skip it.
I love Zagreb and think it is an underrated city, but I find it funny that it is where you have allotted more time than anywhere else--a lot of people skip it.
No need to book bus tickets in advance. You can find many schedules at http://www.buscroatia.com/. Buses store luggage underneath the bus (sometimes there is a small charge).
You can find veg restaurants listings at http://www.happycow.net/. But you an eat fine in most restaurants (pizza is excellent).

Thanks a lot, Yorkshire. We are now planning to spend only a day in Zagreab & allot more in Dubronvik/ Split.

1. In that case, where should we spend more time Dubrnovik or Split?
2. Lastly, there is only one bus which arrives at the Pitvic Lake National Park around 2am from Split. Is it safe to travel at that hour? If so can someone pl. recommend accommodation by the bus stop where we can chk in that time.

We just returned from Croatia. My husband is a vegan and his options were limited, but chefs went out of their way to prepare delicious grilled veggies for him. If you eat cheese and dairy, there was Italian vegetarian food (pizza/pasta/salads) everywhere. Several health-oriented juice bar/salad places in Hvar that had veggie wraps, but you'll do fine with the Italian food.

yorkshire has (of course! :-) ) given you some great advice. As she said, and I neglected to say, your plan -- even as adjusted -- is for a VERY rapid pace, which may or may not be best for you.

Re: the buses. Like yorkshire, I don't think you need advance reservations, but when it is possible to do so, I would try to buy my ticket onward as soon as I arrive in a place. My recollection -- which could easily be mistaken -- is that the intercity buses in Croatia had luggage storage compartments that are reached from outside the bus and are positioned under the passenger seats.

Given that you are using public transportation, I really do think you'll need to choose either Bled OR the Julian Alps. Personally, I'd visit Bled, but I'm not you! Nor can I tell you whether to spend more time in Dubrovnik or Split. You really need to read up and make your own choices. :-)

I'm not sure I'm following all the details of your plan. For example, do you have more than a day in Sarajevo? (It deserves a minimum of 1.5 to 2 days, IMO.) Are you really planning to stay in Split both before AND after your time in Hvar? If I were you, I would try to find a way to avoid that.

Thanks, crosscheck & once again kja.

We do have 1.5 days in Sarajevo but only a day in Ljubljana.

Rather than checking in & out, we are thinking of keeping Split as a base & return from Hvar the same day. So we would get a day before & half day after making a full day visit to Hvar Island.

1. What is the best way to travel to Bled (do we need to rent a car)?

"What is the best way to travel to Bled (do we need to rent a car)?"

I've loaned out my guidebooks on Slovenia, but am reasonably certain that you can use public transportation to get from Ljubljana to Bled. I would be VERY surprised if you need a car to do so.

BUT -- given that you ask this question, I am even more certain that you would be VERY well advised invest in a guidebook or two. You are about to spend a chunk of change for this trip -- why are you refusing to spend a comparatively TINY amount for decent guidebooks? Amazon.com can deliver either the excellent Rough Guide or Lonely Planet guide books to many locations in less than 2 days, or even within seconds, if you go with ebook versions, which have many advantages, but might not be quite so convenient for maps. (BTW, I found the Rick Steves guidebooks for the area virtually useless. YMMV.) A MAJOR advantage of a guidebook is that it has answers to all the questions you didn't even think to ask, and they can be an excellent resource while on the ground, too. On-line resources can be helpful, but there again, you need to know what to ask or look for; with a guidebook, you can page through and say, OMG, I never even thought about...!

It certainly is a good idea & will get one at earliest. Thank you so much, Kja for all your suggestions & input.

You can take a bus to Bled from Ljubljana ... the backdrop of Lake Bled is the Julian Alps.

You should be able to Goggle the bus schedule for the times.

Hopefully you've gotten a guide book or two by now!