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Croatia/Montenegro/B&H/Slovenia Itinerary

Hello,
There will be myself, my partner and another couple with a car rental that will be traveling through these 4 countries. We will be going the last week of September, first couple of weeks October. I don't feel it is too rushed but please let me know. There will be two people who will be driving. Both feel pretty comfortable driving overseas. We will have a few days in Dublin before we start so jet lag will not be an issue.
September 21- land in Dubrovnik (late in the evening so head straight to our apartment)

-4 nights Dubrovnik- tour town, day trip to an island, celebrate my 50th.
-3 nights Kotor- pick up car rental the day we leave Dubrovnik. Would like to tour around the bay and possibly drive to the coast to
Budva
-3 nights Sarajevo- I recognize this will be a long day. Google states 5 hours so add a couple of more hours on that for stops along the way. The two people driving are very used to long days of driving and they said they are okay with this.
-1 night Mostar. Head out early and spend most of the day in Mostar.
-3 nights Split. Was originally going to head to Korcula, but some people said that by October things are winding down. Plus we will still have our car rental and I heard that some rentals aren't insured when you take the car ferry? Will take day trips from Split to one of the islands instead
-3 nights Rovinj. Day trips from here
-3 nights Ljubljana. Day trips to Lake Bled and surrounding area
-2 nights Zagreb. return the rental

I really would like to see Sarajevo so that is why we are going a bit out of our way to see it. Just unsure if I will be missing out on too much by not spending a couple of days on the islands (Hvar or Korcula). Do you end up seeing a lot if we spent the day on them? We do have a lot of coastal time. It was either a few days on one of the two islands or Rovinj. Reading about Rovinj makes it difficult to cut out though!!!

Thank you,
Kate

Posted by
4550 posts

It reads like a lovely trip.

You could take the first ferry from Dubrovnik to Korčula, have a walk around Korčula town, eat lunch, and get on the last ferry back no problem. But, as much as I love Korčula (we have cousins who live there), your trip will not suffer from missing it or any island. The coast is just as beautiful.

You could visit Trogir from Split. It is an island but has a bridge connection. You could also go by ferry if you have a parking spot for your car.

The businesses that shut down after October are usually owned by people who do not live on the island, or coast for that matter. They lock up and return to their smaller towns inland. So even though places are closed, there are many open year round.

Posted by
58 posts

Thank you for your feedback. I guess regardless I will miss out on some stuff so all the more reason to try and make it back another time!

Posted by
1993 posts

Don't be overwhelmed by FOMO (fear of missing out). You've got a really nice itinerary planned. Enjoy it!

From Dubrovnik, consider a day trip to Cavtat. Also, I recommend a short stop in Počitelj on the drive from Mostar to Split. And a day trip from Split to Trogir is also a nice way to spend a day.

Posted by
5315 posts

I second Lane and others - you know you can’t see it all!

Right now Google Maps is telling me the fastest drive to Sarajevo is through Trebinje, where I would for sure be stopping to see Arslanagić Bridge, because I am a sucker for Ottoman bridges - especially those that have been moved stone by stone to a new location (there’s a monastery like that in Montenegro not far off your path but too far for a full day).

Another quick stop you might consider are the Sand Pyramids. They are like a tiny Bryce Canyon. You won’t see many tourists, and they are unusual for Bosnia.

Between Sarajevo and Mostar, if you book ahead and the day and times are right, you might tour Tito’s Bunker. He never used it but it was built into the back side of a mountain in extreme secrecy in case of nuclear war. Mostar really is worth 2 nights and I would be tempted to steal one from Split.

Mostar to Split: If you decide to go the route through Pocitelj, (well actually even if not), you might be interested in Kravica Waterfalls.

In Sarajevo, I love the Tour Mage “Grand Tour”, which takes you through the oddly called “Tunnel of Hope”, in addition to the center of Sarajevo. https://tourmage.ba/tour/sarajevo-grand-tour/
I think Funky Tours has a similar tour but I haven’t taken that one.

You have a lovely trip coming up!

Posted by
22542 posts

I would maybe have lunch in Kotor, but not 3 nights. After Dubrivnik it will be unnecessary. Instead maybe Perast (hotel Conte for a night), Ostrog Monastery (Hotel Sokoline for a night), Tara River Canyon (Motel Tara MB for a night)