Thanks Kevin,
I also hope we have many more trips left and I hope you are as lucky in your travels as we have been! We started traveling to Europe when we were your age and have now been to Europe twenty two times and have visited twenty four different countries.
Dave

I enjoyed reading about your travels in Slovenia and Croatia. That's the way I like to travel with a new adventure everyday.

kettamic, that was wonderful. I would love to travel like that, but often am solo so I stick to the larger cities and use planes and trains (oh, the burden!). Thank you for sharing.

Hi kettamic. loved reading of your adventures.
We will be in slovenia and croatia early - mid November so will try some of the cafes you mentioned.
Can you tell me the name of the apartment you stayed in in Dubrovnik for 45 euros and a contact for it. We usually book as we go using one of the "last minute beds" website but thought I might check your out a little further. We should not have any problems though with last minute accommodation at that time of year.

Wanderers,

I can not locate my info concerning the apartment you asked about for Dubrovnik. I had their business card but it has been misplaced and I don't recall the name of the place. If I should come across the info I will post it for you.
There are dozens of apts. like it in the same area and you shouldn't have any trouble finding a place at that time of year.

Dave

tt

I too must say this was a great trip summary and very helpful. My wife and I will execute a similar style trip during the last two weeks of September this year. We will use your summary to help our planning (such as it is). Unlike you however, we have a bit of an advantage as we are American expats living in Belgium. We are from the Boston area (North Suburbs) but have lived in Belgium now for 5 years.

We will drive down through Switzerland and Northern Italy to then go through Slovenia and into Croatia.

Your post has made me think I might try keeping a similar journal and posting it as well - I will try to scare up the courage to emulate your fine work!

Thanks for the motivation.

Jon

Loved your journal. Will be in Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro in May, so your experiences are not only poignant but relevant.

The biggest question I have regards your car rental. Did you reserve in advance thru Auto-Europe? Did you explore options? The fees I've been quoted are VERY HIGH i.e. $80US a day. Any suggestions to save on rentals?

Tenderfoot,
I reserved my car thru Autoeurope in advance. My price was $904. for 17 days with pickup and return at Zagreb airport.
The price included a 25. airport pickup fee. It was a midsize with manual transmission. If you are picking up and dropping off at different locations there
might be a substantial fee for doing so.
I did not shop around but WILL DO SO in the future. I am leaving for Turkey on tuesday and the auto rental thru a Turkish travel agent was over $300. cheaper than thru Autoeurope.....they
use to be the best deal around but apparently not anymore.

Thanks, Kettamic. We've been in touch with Auto-Europe and their price is still around $2000 for the month lease. Better than renting, but still costly. So, we kept searching and just found, through a company called "Economy Car Hire", a Skoda Octavia Estate wagon, manual, for 927 euros for 30 days. This includes insurance and permits driving in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro. We can pick up in Zagreb and drop off in Dubrovnik or vice-versa.

I understand that the car is made on the same production line as the VW Passat and holds 5, but I have not been able to find out the size of the luggage compartment. My only question is how comfortable this car will be.

Thanks for the feedback and good luck on your search for a vehicle...and happy travels.

kettamic:

I truly enjoyed reading your trip report. I hope you don't mind if we use part of your itinerary. We will arrive in Zagreb very late in the evening at 20:55 pm. I am sure by the time we get out of the aiport, it'll be much later. We also will fly out of Zagreb very early in the morning. You mentioned about a hotel that you stayed near the airport, may I ask what hotel, and how far from the airport? Walking distance from the airport?

I hope you enjoy Turkey, which is going to be our next destination next year. Looking forward to read your Turkey trip report.

Thank you in advance.

Kettamic: I believed I found the answer.
http://www.hotel-garny.hr/o_hotelu_e.html

teatravel, yes, that is the hotel....it is very close to the airport but a little difficult to find....it is in the middle of a neighborhood.....probably too far to walk especially at that time of night. You might email them and see if they would pick you up...very nice people. We just returned from a great trip to Turkey....I'm not sure if I'll get around to writing a report but may post a few things about the trip.