Help needed trying to decide whether to spend an extra day in Lake Bled area or Dubrovnik

I assume you mean next summer..?

Dubrovnik is tiny. You really don't need more than a full day and half to see it all (and in a leisurely pace). If you stay another night, then you can day a day trip to Montenegro but Dubrovnik (proper) really doesn't require that much time. If you look at a map of the Old Town with a distance legend, you'll see how compact it is.

Thank you for your response. Yes I do mean this coming summer. I will most likely be doing a day trip to Montenegro while there. But that leaves 2 days. I have heard there are small islands to visit.

I agree with Agnes about Dubrovnik. We arrived mid afternoon, the city is beautiful at night all lit up. Then we did the entire next day and that night; then we had seen everything we could imagine seeing in Dubrovnik and were ready to go. Way the heck too crowded. But still worth the effort for a day or two.

We drove (ahhhh, we were driven) down the coast towards Kotor. The towns along the way were interesting enough that we spent the better part of the day, driving and stopping, and driving. On a hunch I booked a hotel in the town of Perast about 30 minutes north of Kotor. We spent two nights there and it was about perfect. One of the most lovely places we have been on our trip. Great old hotel, dinner terrace on the edge of the bay where you can watch the boats sailing by as you enjoy dinner. The next day we went fishing and the day following we headed for Kotor. Kotor was a bit of bust. Lovely, but just a small Dubrovnik and I was ready for something new. So after a few hours in Kotor we drove on over the mountains towards Titograd stopping at a small Prosciutto making facility. Being in the curling house and seeing all those hams hanging there ............ Good local cheese too.

Arrived in Titograd late and took an early morning flight to Belgrade.

I'd use the extra day in Ljubljana, which has a very nice hustoric district, a castle and some inreresting museums.

I'd use the extra day in Ljubljana, which has a very nice hustoric district, a castle and some inreresting museums.

Since you're a bit worried about crowds in Dubrovnik, I would suggest saying within the walls (if possible) and getting up early and strolling around (or doing this rather late in the evening after the day trippers have left). You can have the whole Old Town to yourself then. All I saw was the trash trucks making their rounds - and they do make it incredibly clean in spite of the crowds. The floor feels like the cleanest polished marble. It's almost ridiculously dreamy. Of course everything will be closed very early or late but you won't have the crowds. I was there in September and it was bearable then, there were no cruise ships coming in that I knew of but there were lots of small groups mostly in the afternoon. You can also just get away from it all by walking the walls surrounding the Old Town...once again, they were not particularly crowded when I was there. I also got a pass that allowed for exploring some museums in the Old Town that were a joy to see (no crowds there either since most people don't bother to go to many of the lesser known museums like the ethnography museum, war photo museum, and others).

Agnes nailed it again. The evenings and early mornings were the best of times in Dubrovnik. Between 10 am and 10 pm it was chaos.

Eileen, If you do go to Kotor Montenegro there is a road you need to know about. From Kotor a certain road that leads away from the bay inland. It goes up the side of a steep mountain and has 25 numbered 180 degree switchback turns and at least 75 other sharp turns. Rock wall on one side and nothing on the other. Can't remember the name or number of the road, but it went to the towns of Njegusi and Cetinje. The views of Kotor and the harbor are fantastic. But, if anyone in your party is prone to motion sickness or has a problem with heights you might want to avoid this this road. Don't mean to rain on you parade, just don't want you to get into a hairy situation without any knowledge. You can go to bing.com, use the map feature, and see aerial views of the road from &*%$. Dubrovnik is great but try to get there very early or very late to avoid the crowds.

Thank you all for your thoughts. TC, is that the only road to the towns along the bay or is there one that avoids the steep dropoffs and turns you mentionned?

Eileen, No, that is not the only road. We returned to Kotor via another route. Don't remember the road number(s), but it did go through a valley and along the bay. Thank goodness for the other route. I doubt there is enough liquor available for me to come back down that way! Perhaps you can locate a better map than the one on bing.com. Just remembered -- we came back through Budva. Much better roads.

Eileen, the road being described is not between Dubrovnik and Kotor. You will have no need to use it if you are only going as far as Kotor ... unfortunately, because it is an amazing drive. Its not like the Bolivian Death Roads you see on TV, its just real windy and sort of steep. But there are overlook stops along the way and fantastic views. Tour busses even take it (but it can be a squeeze). This is one of the routes to Titograd. About half way between Kotor and Titograd is a small village of Kopito where the prosciutto curing house was located.

The road from Dubrovnik to Kotor is down at sea level and goes along the coast past a number of interesting towns. Some are full blown tourist destinations with boardwalks and bay front restaurants (mostly Russian tourists) and some are pretty quiet towns. Its a 2 hour drive, so if you can afford some private transportation it makes for a great day trip or an even better over night trip. The trouble with the tourist day trip bus to Kotor is you miss all the points in-between. I took a few photos, send me a PM and I will give you a link.

From Kotor to Titograd (okay, before I get corrected, the new name is Podgorica - but Titograd is easier to pronounce) there are a few towns, one, Cetinje, is the old Royal Capital and somewhat interesting. The best thing about Titograd is the airport has some decent connections.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your feedback.