Ken

I'm contemplating an 2-3 day excursion into Croatia from Slovenia, can anyone suggest coastal places to see & how much English is spoken there?

Grace Fier

After attending a wedding in Zagreb, my friends and I drove down to the Northern Croatian coast, Brijuni Island and Pula. Many have raptured over the beauty of Dubrovnik and the rest of the pristine southern coast, but it's a very long drive. I think that the Northern coast was a nice compromise. It is a wonderful mixture of Italian and Croatian influences (it's a short boat ride across the Adriatic to Italy). My friends are Croatian, so I relied on them for communication as not much English was spoken.

topper

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Jon

I think you'll find many ppl in Croatia speaking English, especially younger ones and everybody who's working in the tourist industry.<BR>Dubrovnik is pretty far from Slovenia so 2-3 days isn't enough to visit Dubrovnik or any of the Dalmatian islands, so stick to the Istrian peninsula: Rovinj, Porec, Umag, Pula, Brijuni are all nice. Maybe a day in Opatija could be nice as well. If you want something special, visit one of the picturesque smalltowns in the Istrian countryside like Motovun or Hum.

Janet

My family is from Slovenia and Croatia and I have visited them many times. Split and Dobrovnik can be done in 4 days, but you will spend one day driving to Split, spend night and morning in Split (see Diocletian's palace) and drive another half day to Dobrovnik. Spend rest of day and next there and take ferry back in the evening. (overnight to Rijeka). The driving can be scary, it is a two lane road that winds along the coastline. The twist and turns are endless. I believe in all of Croatia, the longest straight-away is 50 meters. And if you sneeze, you will be swimming with the fishes below. This is how we journeyed there, but I suppose you could park the car in Rijeka, and take the ferry both ways. <BR><BR>If you decide not to go to Dalmatia, Istria is beautiful. Pula has a wonderful Roman Coloseum, Opatija is a nice resort town, but the smaller Lovran is more picturesque. You can even walk between the two towns along a paved walkway along the Adriatic. Two cute coastal villages, Ika and Icici (pronounced ee-chee-chee) are along the way. The people here are just lovely, and many do speak English, especially if they are in the tourist industry which just about everyone is, or under 30. Almost everyone speaks Italian and/or German in addition to the local dialect. Go and have a great time!

David

I spent 2 days in Porec, Istra. It was a side trip from Italy. I had a very good time, very relaxing. The road did seam a little treacherous though. I did not find many outside the hotel who spoke English, most spoke Italian and/or German.