Vienna-Slovenia-Croatia advice needed
 

I have a partial itinerary and am stuck on the middle portion. I would appreciate some advice. We will be flying into Vienna and out of Dubrovnik. We are avid hikers and on past trips, have covered a lot of ground by car. But I am wondering if driving from Ljubijana all the way down to Dubrovnik may be too much driving. Should we spend more time in Slovenia and skip the coast of Croatia?
Day 1-3 Vienna
Day 4 rent a car and drive to Ljubijana
Day 5 Ljubijana
Day 6-7 Lake Bled, Julian Alps

(Plitvice Natl Park, Rovinj, Trogir and should we do Zagreb?)

Day 12 Split to Dubrovnik
Day 13-15 Dubrovnik and Montenegro
Day 16 fly out of Dubrovnik

Question:
1. We would like to see Istria but don't know how many days to allot for this, and should we even try to go to Zagreb. It seems a long way to drive.
2. How long does it take to drive from Zagreb to Split and is it worth it, or should we just take a flight from Zagreb to Dubrovnik? Also, Is the drive worth it from Split to Dubrovnik? or can we see Hvar by driving up from Dubrovnik for a day? I can't decide if we should drive this section and do the ferry to Hvar or Korcula.

I welcome your suggestions.
Linda

Check driving times at viamichelin website.
In Slovenia, it does not look like a tremendous time for hiking.
What month is this trip?

ichin, I've not been. However, wanted to point out that I have read many trip reports (my family is from Croatia) and you need to make sure that any car you rent in Croatia is permitted into Slovenia. I've seen some reports about this being a possible issue. Just wanted to give you a heads' up.

Have a wonderful trip!

> [days 8-11] (Plitvice Natl Park, Rovinj, Trogir and should we do Zagreb?)

With stops in Plitvice, Rovinj, Trogir, and possibly Split (which you list as your starting location on day 12), it would seem to me that you are traveling at a rather fast pace.

> We would like to see Istria but don't know how many days to allot for this

It depends on what you want to see and experience, but in generally, I'd say at least 2 and more likely 3 days to scratch the surface.

> should we even try to go to Zagreb

Again, depends on what you want to see and experience. I enjoyed my 2.5 days there very much.

> can we see Hvar by driving up from Dubrovnik for a day?

Doesn't sound like that would leave much time for Dubrovnik.

> I can't decide if we should drive this section and do the ferry to Hvar or Korcula.

Check the ferry schedules. I'm not sure that would work given your schedule.

Hope that helps!

Definitely do Croatia; you'll love it. But maybe skip Zagreb and even possibly Istria. There are a lot of national parks in Croatia, including some on islands, which offer hiking opportunities.

What time of the year is this trip? There are far fewer ferry departures in the off-season (October through May and maybe into June).

Good advice from sarge about renting a car in Slovenia and dropping it in Croatia. You could take the train from Ljubljana to Rijeka and pick up the car for Croatia there.

In fact, do you need a car for Vienna to Ljubliana or in Slovenia? You could do this by public transportation-- though I see the train from Vienna is slower than driving.

You need to buy a "vignette" to drive in Austria. And there is a similar road tax/fee in Slovenia.

Your suggestions are so helpful, thanks! We are traveling May 12 - 29. I may have more questions in a few days. So appreciate your advice.

I wouldn't skip Istria especially Rovinj and hill towns like Motovun and Grožnjan, and also the smallest town on earth Hum. After Ljubljana head up to Rovinj, spend 2 or 3 days in Istria and then head to Plitvice.

Has anyone tried to rent a car in Austria and taken it into Slovenia or Croatia. Autoeurope does not allow cars to go into these countries. You have to rent in Slovenia or Croatia.