yestravel

Thanks, Andrew! I would like to ditch the car in Split, just wondering if we need one on Korcula? I am thinking of dropping inland Croatia. It sounds interesting and a little different, but not sure it will be that wonderful. In terms of air, it doesn't matter if we fly home from SJJ or Zagreb - same price and routing time is about the same.

kja

I still think you will have a great trip!

Whether inland Croatia is worth visiting really depends on your interests. As I’ve said, I enjoyed it. And it will be noticeably different than anywhere else you plan to visit. But you could add time for a day trip to Varazdin from Zagreb if you decide to forego a longer stay inland.

Depending on when you leave the Plitvice Lakes, you could stop in Zadar on your way to Split.

I think you may be shortchanging Split, even if you do visit Zadar on the way there. If you plan on giving up one of your very few days in that dynamic city for Zadar, then I think you might want to give serious consideration to adding time to Split. As already noted, I think Split offers a lot, and it’s also a great base for some delightful places that you aren’t otherwise planning to visit.

Where / how to cut is such a personal choice! I adore Ljubljana, but there isn’t much to do there, so you could cut a night there. Or you could add time there and day-trip to Bled and Bohinj, but that might not give you the time you want in those locations. I enjoyed Istria, but more than 3 nights would have left me bored silly; other people want at least a week there and love every minute. Likewise, I really enjoyed my one night in Korcula and saw everything I wanted with just one night, but others want days. I only visited Montenegro as a day trip, and so can’t speak to its merits for a longer stay. Three nights is a night more than many would want for Dubrovnik, but again, it depends on arrival / departure times, preferred pace of travel, etc.

The good news: You don’t have any bad choices here, at least IMO.

yestravel

Thanks, kja! I appreciate your perspective. These days we do tend to travel much more slowly than we used to. We enjoy hanging out and wandering and with trips longer than 3 weeks we try to build in down days. Our drives to next location are just as interesting and important as the location. We easily turn 2 -3 hour drives into 5-6 hour drives. OTOH I hate feeling like I'm ready to move on and can't because of reservations. It was so nice in the past to be able to travel more spontaneously, but I have found those days are pretty much past with so many people traveling. Having all the flexibility with time that we have is wonderful, but it seems there is still never enough time!

dugi_otok

Hi
Fly into Zagreb -- 4 nights recovering from jet lag (Consider small group guided day trip to Varazden and Trakoscan Castle on one of the days)
Drop Inland Croatia.
(change order because Zagreb and Ljubljana are both "hanging out and wandering locations)
Pick up car, drive to
Logarska Dolina - 2 nights (en route- Visit Ptuj and/or Velenje- both have castles)
https://goo.gl/maps/r72ZtJkXhiC2
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g315908-d523487-Reviews-Ptuj_Castle_Ptujski_Grad-Ptuj_Styria_Region.html#photos;aggregationId=&albu mid=101&filter=7&ff=174019221
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g285719-d6854872-Reviews-or10-Velenje_Castle-Velenje_Styria_Region.html#photos;aggregationId=10 1&albumid=101&filter=7&ff=315842446

Lake/Bled- 3 nights. Lake Bohinj - Julian Alps
Drive to Ljubljana - 3 nights (could do all day Julian Alps self-guided driving tour en route Lake Bled to Ljubljana )
https://goo.gl/maps/yntxGyA4Cvw

alison

I am the last one to suggest adding a one-nighter, but not sure Zadar is worth "going back in the same general direction." The sunset and the sea organ are the best to see, as well as the lovely old city inside the walls. Unless you plan to see the museums there (there are a few including archaeology and glass, the latter of which interested me but we didn't make it to either) you really just need late afternoon/evening there.
So, that leaves 3 alternatives: skip Zadar, stop on way from Plitvice or do as day trip. (we actually did it as a late afternoon/evening trip, but made it a very late night returning. Minimum driving time 2 hours each way from Split)
You need one full day just for Diocletian's Palace and the historic area of Split, which is lovely as KJA says. If you want to see Krka NP, Trogir or Sibenik you would need another full day. Since I've never been to Plitvice can't advise on whether to add Krka if you've already been to Plitvice. May depend on weather and how much you want to see waterfalls/nature. You could absolutely do a very long day trip from Split to Krka NP (only requires 2-3 hours for short out-of-season visit) and continue to Zadar for late afternoon/evening. If you're up for a long day you could even include a short stop in Sibenik.
We also really loved our 1/2 day trip to Hvar Town from Split, but that depends on the catamaran schedule. If you end up cutting another area, you might want to add a day in Split - as KJA suggested as well. Of course some of this is weather dependent.
Haven't been to Korcula but we agonized over driving vs ferry between Split and Dubrovnik. You have to check the ferry schedules that were for 2018 for the month you are traveling. April will have fewer ferries than May. As I recall, there is only at most one a day doing that route and the schedule has to work for you.
It was the darn ferry schedules that kept me from going to Croatia for years!

yestravel

Thanks, alison -- transportation logistics are proving to be a challenge. We'll be using ferries in May so hopefully the schedule will be ok. I looked at them for this year, but I know ferry schedules don't always remain constant year to year.

yestravel

dugi_otok - thanks for your suggestions and the map. I need to rent our car in Croatia since that is where we will be returning it.

I booked our flights! IAD to Zagreb and return from Sarajevo - Thirty 7 days on the ground to work with.

yestravel

With everyone's help, I have got our trip in the early stages of booking. Booked airline tixs and started looking at accommodations. We fly into Zagreb and out of Sarajevo. I decided to leave inland Croatia in the itin. I'm amazed at how many places are already booked for May.
Bringing this back up if anyone has recommendations for which to stay at Lake Bled or Bohinj? We will be coming from the Logarska Dolina. Upon leaving the area we will be going to Istria if that matters. We will have a car.
Specific accommodation recommendations would also be appreciated.
Thanks!

Andrew

Which towns are hard to book on what dates? I'm surprised. When I traveled in Croatia and Bosnia in May 2015, I booked almost nothing more than 24 hours ahead, and I had no trouble finding places. Sometimes I simple drove up to the hotel (having already read about it) and inquired about an available room. I suppose tourism has increased a lot since 2015, but I doubt that much. Since I never book anything so far in advance as now for next May, I have no idea, really, how early reservation systems are opened. I'm sure it varies by the property. But could some of these places not show availability yet because they haven't opened reservations yet? I know the Plitvice park hotels for example aren't available for booking yet for 2019.

yestravel

Andrew -- yes, I think part of the issue is that some bookings aren't open yet on the internet booking sites. I didn't mean to imply that everything or most are booked. Just that I was surprised to find so many showing no rooms. I had no trouble booking in Plitvice or Zagreb. I primarily start with booking engines and then usually contact the hotels/apt directly. I'm pretty picky about where we stay as we want a larger bed, enjoy being in our room some and aren't out and about 24 x 7. Plus we travel for longer times these days and we like some space.

kja

In Lake Bled, you might consider the Pension Mayer, which still gets very good reviews:
Penzion Mayer, Bled - Slovenia, Rooms and Restaurant
I also recommend it for dining.

yestravel

Thanks, kja -- it showed full on booking.com, but I did send them an email. I had wanted a lake view, but it seems the places with lake views are very expensive and get very mixed reviews.

Andrew

I just checked some random dates on Booking dot com for Penzion Mayer. All "Sold Out." But they have rooms available next week. Clearly they haven't opened booking yet for 2019. I'm pretty sure they'll let you know by email when booking is open for next year.

yestravel

Yes, I agree. Many places haven’t opened bookings online yet. I have been emailing and those that responded have had availability. Pension Mayer has yet to respond.

Andrew

I like and use booking dot com, but booking directly with the property is usually preferable, of course. You may find that some Slovenian hotels and B&Bs do not even require a credit card to guarantee a reservation - I was surprised at that.

kja

I use booking.com and I book through them -- I think that service deserves whatever fee they get in exchange for the wealth of information and the variety of options I get through them. But I also correspond directly with the properties with whom I book to confirm timing and any other arrangements.

yestravel

I think the places have not loaded inventory into booking.com or other online bookers. I did hear back from Penzion Mayer and will likely stay there.

kja - I feel that way about independently owned operations, but booking.com is part of a huge organization owned by either Priceline or Expedia (I forget) so I don't feel any obligation toward them. I much prefer to book directly esp with the smaller places so they don't have to pay the charge to booking.com or other bookers. Booking.com is a great resource and some places you can only book with booking.com.

Andrew, yes, I have found some places don't take a deposit & have liberal cancelations even when they take a deposit. I appreciate that. One mentioned they don't take credit cards. Anyway, its slow going but I am making my way thru the trip with reservations. Probably half booked at this point.

alison

I thought I was on FB and tried clicking the “like” button!!

yestravel