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Croatia, Mostar and Ljublana Itinerary Help Needed

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My husband and I, both in our mid 50s, are heading to Croatia region for 8 nights. I would love advice if this plan is doable. We like easy nature hikes, atmospheric places, good food and being immersed in another culture. The car versus ferry versus what do I do with the car is puzzling me.

Here it is:
Three nights in Dubrovnik , 9/28, 9/29, and 9/30. A day trip to Mostar on 9/28 or 9/29 or decide to spend 9/30 in Mostar. What do you recommend? What would be the best way to get Hvar from Mostar?
Hvar 2 nights - 10/1 and 10/2. What do I do with the car? Is it worthwhile to do a car ferry?
Plitvace Lakes- 10/3, 1 night (Is this difficult to coordinate from Hvar? I would definitely like to drive this portion.)
Ljublanna- 10/4 and 10/5, 2 nights, Explore nature, gorge and Lake Bled from capital. Is it really that costly to drive in and out of Slovenia in fees if I am returning the car in Zagreb?
Fly out of Zagreb, the evening of 10/6. A direct flight to our next destination is preferable and only available from Zagreb.

Even writing this out, it feels like a lot.

Thank you so much!

Posted by
4142 posts

I think with that short of time some place has to be sacrificed, maybe even 2.
Use the website Rome2rio.com and it will let you know how long driving times are between places. From Dubrovnik to Hvar do not take a car, it is unnecessary.
Here are a few suggestions
Dubrovnik to Hvar by ferry then ferry to Split. Pick up car in Split drive to Mostar or Plitvice then on to Ljubljana ending in Zagreb to drop off car at the airport. Driving into Slovenia is less than an extra $100.
Or
Dubrovnik to Mostar to Plitvice to Ljubljana to Zagreb. Pick up car when leaving Dubrovnik.
Or
you could drop Ljubljana for another time and add back in Hvar with a night in Split.

Even with any of these scenarios you would have one and/or two night stays. A little rushed for us but you are much younger.

Posted by
91 posts

I did a similar trip in reverse, but had 10 nights, and it was fast paced. If you are set on hitting all these destinations to get a taste, I would do the following:

9/28 Dubrovnik 3 nights (1 full day), take organized bus trip to Mostar on 9/30.

10/1 Morning catamaran to Hvar, 2 nights Hvar (1 full day)
10/3 Morning catamaran to Split, check out Diocletian's Palace if you like (you can have your luggage held for a price), pick up rental car, drive 2.5-3hrs to Plitvice, sleep Plitvice 1 night.

10/4 Get an early start and tour Plitvice in the morning (route C can be done in 4 hours if you have one of the earliest entry times, gets crowded quickly after that), then drive 3-3.5h to Ljubljana, sleep Ljubljana 2 nights (no full days in Ljubljana, just evenings).
10/5 Day trip to Bled, second evening in Ljubljana.
10/6. Drive to Zagreb, drop off car, fly to next destination.

Alternately, go straight to Plitvice and tour Plitvice in the afternoon, sleep in Plitvice, but then you can get to Ljubljana earlier on 10/4 to have more time in Ljubljana. I personally preferred Ljubljana to Split. I suggested an organized bus trip to Mostar because it makes your trip a little less stressful. An alternative is to remove a night from Dubrovnik, rent the car in Split and drive to Mostar, reallocate that night to an overnight in Mostar; then drive to Plitvice the next day from there. I think the bus trip to Mostar would be less stressful on a whirlwind trip like this. We drove to Mostar from Plitvice, then on to Split/Hvar to drop the car, and it was rushed and I think a bus trip from Dubrovnik would have been more relaxing in this case. Also what time do you arrive in Dubrovnik? You can get away with one full day in Dubrovnik, but I assume you won't have a full day on 9/28 and would be dealing with jet lag.

Since you would be picking up/dropping off the car in the same country (Croatia), you would pay the one-way fee (about $80) versus the dropping off in another country fee (about $500). You still need to pay the fee to be able to take the car INTO another country (Slovenia) but that is not expensive (I think it was about $20).

Posted by
19526 posts

We like easy nature hikes,

That would be Plitvice but get an early start because otherwise it’s going to be more of a mass movement of people than a nature hike.

atmospheric places,

Hard to beat Dubrovnik in the evening for that.

good food

I was never overly impressed with any meal that I have had in three trips to Croatia. So spend time researching where to go and maybe you will do better than me.

and being immersed in another culture.

A lot of your trip is to high density tourist zones. Especially Dubrovnik, Pltivice and Split; and the trip is fast paced so the immersion is going to be minimal

Transportation: I have no problem with fast paced trips. Actually yours isn’t much different than what I would do. But when the pace is faster, then efficiency of transportation becomes important. Rather than me dealing with renting and returning a car (hours lost) and me just being lost and looking for parking, for a trip like this, if its in the budget, I hire a guide with a car or just a driver. Croatia is one of the more expensive Balkan nations, but still more reasonable than the West. Check the prices.

This individual can assist. She will help you plan or do the whole tour for you.

Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Dijana Krkotic Guide & Tour Designer Doclea Travel
+382 69 277 749
[email protected]
www.docleatravel.com

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