I would love some advice on our itinerary and transport options on an upcoming trip to Croatia, Slovenia and the Dolomites at the end of June/ beginning of July. We are a family of 4- two of the travelers are teenagers! Our interests are beachtime (teenagers,) mountains/ hiking, wine and food and architecture. We are not really into nightlife, and have traveled extensively in Europe. This will be our first trip to Croatia and Slovenia.
Our tentative itinerary:
Dubrovnik- 3 nights
Split/ Hvar- 3 nights
Plitvice Lakes- 1 night
Rovinj -3 nights
Lake Bled- 3 nights
Dolomites- 3 nights, flying out of Innsbruck.
In my mind, we should not need a car for Dubrovnik, so would take public transport to the city center- or to a Lapad penninsula lodging (to fulfill afternoon beach obligation for teenagers, while touring the city in the morning.)
At that point, would it be better to rent a car and drive to Split (shorter driving time) or should we take a ferry to Hvar, overnight on the island, ferry to Split, stay in city center, and then rent the car for the rest of trip. Am I overlooking any advantages to having a car for the first portion of the trip- ie wonderful daytrips from Dubrovnik? Thanks for sharing any experience or advice!
Posted by
4961 posts
You can take day trips from Dubrovnik if you wish, but you only have two full days there, so I would not bother with a car. You can also do boat day trips--to tiny Lokrum just offshore, to other islands, kayak tours.
Are you planning to stay on Hvar or in Split?
If Hvar, you could take the Krilo catamaran. For Split, I would just take the bus.
I would not get the car until departing for Plitvice, but you will then have to figure out where to drop it to avoid a drop-off fee in Slovenia.
I have not been to Istria yet, but I have been to Croatia four times. I have felt the disappointment of leaving the Dalmatian coast too soon, so I might rethink including Rovinj. You could add time to see Hvar and Split regions more extensively or see another island like Korcula or Brac. Rovinj is easy to add to a Venice trip for example, so you might consider saving it. But of course it is just a personal preference--I don't like a lot of driving on a trip when there are dozens of things to see in the immediate vicinity. If that idea appealed to you, you could drop the car in Zagreb and train to Ljubljana, but then you will have the same rental car issue for Slovenia-Dolomiti.
Someone posted about a similar trip recently and there are extensive threads about it.
Posted by
11569 posts
Maybe add a night to the gorgeous Dolomites.
Posted by
OP
14 posts
Thanks for the replies!
Are the passenger ferries traveling from Dubrovnik to Split/ Hvar reliable? I have read a few threads that suggest that they are sometimes cancelled when the sea is rough. Also, if we stay on Hvar for 3-4 nights, is it convenient to do a day trip to Split, or is it better to spend the night in Split/ Diocletian’s palace so that we have a chance to experience it without crowds? I am trying to reduce the number of one night stopovers!
Posted by
4961 posts
I don't think it is a common occurrence, but of course weather can cause a boat to be cancelled. I have only had it happen once in four trips to Croatia.
See ferry and catamaran schedules on the Jadrolinija and Krilo websites. It would not be difficult to stay on Hvar and day trip to Split.