Please sign in to post.

Advice: Travel After Best of Adriatic Tour

Hello,

FIRST, THE BACKGROUND:
We are booked for The Best of the Adriatic Tour in September. (Ljubljana, Soca Valley, Istria, Plitvice, Split, Mostar, Korcula, Dubrovnik.) We hope to fly in and out of Zagreb or Amsterdam (because of the possibility of a direct flight) and spend a couple of nights in Zagreb before the tour starts. We plan to stay three nights on Hvar after the tour. I've booked one extra night in Dubrovnik. (The tour includes two nights - arriving in the evening.)

NOW, THE QUESTION:
I'm seeking advice on whether to book extra nights in Dubrovnik and do a couple of day trips, such as to the Bay of Kotor. Currently, I have us spending two days at Zadar, after Hvar, before making our way back to Zagreb/Amsterdam. Should we extend our time in Dubrovnik and forget about Zadar? Replace this post tour plan with something else entirely?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Posted by
7803 posts

Hi Mary Lou, the RS Adriatic tour is wonderful! I took it last June. Here’s my trip report to give you some more details.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/june-2023-trip-report-14-day-rs-best-of-the-adriatic-tour

I really liked Hvar; glad you’re able to go there afterwards! I haven’t been to Zadar so can’t comment on it.

My trip report probably mentions it, but I was coming from London since my husband & I were there already. Easy Jet worked out very well to get me to Ljubljana and also back from Dubrovnik.

Posted by
4815 posts

As a quick answer, I would choose Hvar and the 2 nights in Zadar, as opposed to adding more time in Dubrovnik. However, I would base part of my decision on how you plan to go from Dubrovnik onward. If you have that figured out, be it ferry, bus, car (I don’t know anything about bus schedules), then that’s the way I would go. The Bay of Kotor - anywhere - is beautiful and deserves more than a few hours of drive through.

Posted by
4259 posts

Three nights in Dubrovnik is sufficient. Zadar is a nice small city which you can see in one day. Maybe do a little research on Šibenik. It is between Split and Zadar. Its been on my radar for a few years now and we hope to get there this September.

Posted by
51 posts

Thanks all!
Barbara - Šibenik does look appealing. Now considering staying in Kotor for a couple of nights. Decisions, decisions. 😉
Safe travels, Mary Lou

Posted by
4815 posts

Also look at the small town of Perast or the larger town of Budva, if you are thinking of time in Montenegro. It is beautiful.