My wife and I, along with another couple are extending our Danube River Cruise by taking a bus from Passau, Germany to Prague. We will spend three days in Prague before taking a train to Ljubljana, Slovenia, spending two nights at the Adora Hotel at Lake Bled. Are plan is then to then use DayTrip to hire a car to take us to Zagreb, Croatia. In Zagreb, we will rent a car and drive to Plitvice for an afternoon visit. We will then continue to central Croatia and rent a VRBO to use as a base as we spend the following four days taking day trips and seeing the local sights in Croatia before returning the rental to the Dubrovnik airport and then fly home. we would appreciate any thoughts, critics, or suggestions on this itinerary. Please include any suggestion concerning places to stay, things to do and see. We are all in our late 60's to early 70's and active. We want to of course, see and experience the countries that we visit and to sample the local cuisine and customs. Are trip extension begins on 9/7/25 returning home on 9/17/25.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Posted by
5411 posts
I would work on picking the places you want to visit and determining the amount of time you wish to spend in the car, then ask for suggestions. Because the country is long and skinny, it is often easier to move along than do day trips back and forth.
You could also drop the car in Split, spend a couple days there and a couple days in Dubrovnik.
Posted by
Chicago
611 posts
Overall, this is a great idea. I was in Croatia and Slovenia in 2022 and loved it.
One suggestion is to add the romantic Rovijn, Croatia, to your itinerary. It's a beautiful town with a spectacular atmosphere and views of the Adriatic Sea. It's like Venice, but it has zero crowds. Its narrow, twisting streets are a pleasure to explore. There are dozens of great seafood eateries, several right on the shore. I climbed the bell tower of Rovijn's St. Euphemia Church. If possible, stay in a hotel on one of the islands off the mainland. Most island-based hotels are served all day and long into the night by free boat service. I believe we stayed at the Island Hotel Istra, which is relatively high end but worth the splurge.
Another charming town nearby is Pula -- sometimes called Pola -- which I didn't see. However, it's worth visiting with its multiplicity of Roman ruins, including an amphitheater. My Chicago dentist if from Pula.
Your stop in Lake Bled, which I also visited, is an excellent idea. Make sure to walk the around the entire lake. And take a ride on a pletna boat to the island.
Your stop in Plitvice -- also a stop for me -- is excellent, too, because of the stunning water falls. It's worth taking a long hike. I hiked for about three hours, including a boat ride. We stayed at the Plitvice Hotel.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
21228 posts
When you look for places of interest don't confine your thinking to within Croatia's national borders it's more about distance than the flag they fly. Look at Bosnia and Montenegro as well. See if anything interests you.
This came to my mind because I have been working on my Spring fishing trip. First it was going to be Slovenia, then Slovakia and finally I went back to a location I knew would please ... Montenegro. In laying out the trip from the Mountains in the North (fishing) to the Beach in the South (rest and relaxiation) i remembered your post and realized that with me making just two major stops (plus a winery or two and an olive plantation) I was within 50km (30 miles), at one point or another, of Serbia, Bonsnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania and Kosovo. Thats how compact the region is.
All in all a facinating choice of locations.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thanks for the input! Some of the things we would like to see and do:
-Taking the ferry from Split to some of the islands. Looking at the Golden Horn Beach on Boi. Are any other
suggestions?
- Kayaking or rafting the Centina River near Omis, Croatia.
-Day trip to Dubrovnik. We are going to drop rental car off and fly out of Dubrovnik, but wanted to go earlier to actually visit
the city. (We are flying out of Dubrovnik because the flights are better than Split)
-After picking the rental car up in Zagreb we are planning on visiting Plitvice on the way to our VRBO. Thoughts about
visiting Plitvice for a half day? Also any suggestions about where to stay in the central Croatia area. We want a home base
so that we are not changing hotels every night.
-Thoughts or other ideas on what to see and do? Also, recommendations for unique and memorable places to dine.
Thanks!
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
21228 posts
These guys tend to have pretty interesting tours in Croatia. You might dig through them and borrow ideas: https://croatianattractions.com/destination-list/
Posted by
5411 posts
Plitvice gets very crowded, and the recommendation is often to go late afternoon, see the park that day and then early the next morning. But if all you have is an afternoon, then it is what it is!
If you want to have a full day on any island, then you need to stay near a port. Split would be the most obvious, but if you are going to take the car to the island, then you can depart from Makarska for Brac--maybe that would be a good base. It would put you about 45 minutes from Omis, an hour from Split, 2.5 from Dubrovnik.
Are you not intending to spend at least the last night in Dubrovnik? What time is your outbound flight?
Your plan looks good for four busy days, I don't think there is time for more.