Okay I'm planning a trip I arrive in Venice September 14th I leave Naples October 11th but in between I'm doing Slovenia Croatia Bosnia. I don't have my flight back into Italy yet but I think it's going to be between September 30th and October 2nd somewhere in there probably out of Sarajevo but I'm flexible. My main problem is so much to see and so little time and plitvice is the most logistically inconvenient although hiking is huge for me scenery and waterfalls are always big highlights of hikes that I've done in my life but I like everything; wine, culture, food. I'm a budget Traveler. So yeah my problem is in order to get there you know if you do it by public transit it's just really annoying and stupid and I'm not sure am I going to leave from rovinj am I going to leave from Zagreb but I wasn't ever planning on going to Zagreb but I'm flexible... mostly I was planning on doing the Rick Steves best two weeks Slovenia Croatia trip with extra time to visit Sarajevo and of course extra time for Venice I'm only going to use two nights in Venice I will leave on the 15th and so it's just like it cost more to get to plitvice, takes up a bunch of time, it's really annoying but I've been dreaming about going there for a decade or more but, now that I've researched the whole area I'm like, "well what if I just go to krka while I'm in split and I can go to kravica while I'm in mostar?" and if I do those two things maybe it won't matter that I skipped plitvice but if I do go to plitvice I definitely will skip krka and maybe I'll end up at kravika anyways just because it's always on one of those tours where you do blagaj and pocitelj... so I was going to rent a car Rovinj and then do the istrian towns on my way to plitvice then sleep there then do the park in the morning and then drive to split and drop off the car. And what will I do with the extra day that I gain I'm not sure but maybe I will just have more time in Slovenia or maybe I will have an extra day in Italy for harvest season in wine country but I guess the main thing I want to know is doing krka and kravika does that make it so that you know I've done the waterfall thing and I'm good??
Posted by
Tennessee
494 posts
I was on the Rick Steves Best of Adriatic tour that ended this morning. A substantial number of tour members said that our morning at Plitvice was, for them, the highlight of the entire tour. Our guide had a very effective strategy to minimize impact of crowds:
1. We spent the prior night at a hotel in the park.
2. We got an early start, riding the first park bus of the morning to the Upper Lakes
3. By beginning at the Upper Lakes, our overall 5 mile hike through Upper and Lower Lakes was in a downhill direction
4. We encountered crowds only in the Lower Lakes (considered less spectacular than Upper Lakes).
My opinion is that Plitvice is definitely worth it if you like nature/waterfalls AND have an effective strategy for seeing the falls. If you don’t have an effective strategy, you may only be stuck in crowds at Lower Lakes and end up disappointed.
You mentioned the RS Adriatic tour, so I’m confused whether you are considering seeing Plitvice on your own. If you go on the RS Adriatic tour, Plitvice is definitely in the itinerary.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26602 posts
Some discussion here as well. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-review-slovenia-croatia-montenegro
Posted by
Northern Minnesota
1060 posts
By beginning at the Upper Lakes, our overall 5 mile hike through Upper and Lower Lakes was in a downhill direction.
Elizabeth, did you start at the top of the hill overlooking the biggest waterfall? We ended up there.
Our guide's strategy was to start at the other end and climb that huge hill at the end. They thought we would encounter less people that way, I don't know if the plan usually works, but we lost a tour member on the first leg, and we instructed not to leave the snack/rest area until the person was found. It was probably an hour or more before the person was found and we could continue on. By then the line of people going in BOTH directions was never-ending. We were now short on time, so we were told not to take the boardwalk to get up close to the waterfall. Climbing uphill you can't see the waterfall unless you stop and turn. To top it off, it rained off and on all day, There is some beautiful scenery in the park, and until you start encountering the crowds, it is a wonderful place. It was a mixed bag for me.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
5313 posts
I didn't go to the two places that start with K, but I think Plitvice is a must see.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26602 posts
You say you are on a budget, but you are renting cars with different drop-off cities, which isn’t budget friendly. And you think Pltivice is the outlier, but you want to visit Rovinj and Slovenia and Split, and Sarajevo, but you didn’t mention Dubrovnik?
From your description of what you enjoy, you are one of those that really needs to spend the night and milk Plitvice for everything it’s worth. On the budget I presume the buses will work easier with an overnight as well. The hotels aren’t really cheap though.
How are you getting from Italy to Croatia? From where in Italy and where do you want to fly back to in Italy. And why do you want to go back to Italy instead of doing Italy first or second, for whatever time it takes and then move on to the Balkans?
Okay, I don’t know enough to begin to comment, but I will throw out something just the same. Means of transportation will vary and it will take a lot more research if this idea even begins to work for you. But probably a mix of private transfers, group tours and buses.
You could do this in either direction but this puts you on the coast when it’s a bit warmer.
14 September arrive Dubrovnik. Night in Dubrovnik (1)
15 & 16 Dubrovnik. Gives you time to visit Korcula if you wanted to. Night in Dubrovnik (2 & 3)
17 Stop at Pocitelj town and Kravica waterfall and Blagaj Tekke on the way to Mostar. (actual drive time <4 hours) Night in Mostar (1)
18 In Mostar. Night in Mostar (2)
19 To Sarajevo <2.5 hours. Again, there are some interesting stops. (Night in Sarajevo (1)
20 Sarajevo (night in Sarajevo (2)
21 Sarajevo (night in Sarajevo (3)
22 From Sarajevo to Travnik and Jayce <3.5 hours Night in Jayce (1)
23 to Split. Along the way is some the most beautiful country and a lot of wonderful small towns and rivers and lakes. I have done most of that drive a few times and would go with you just to do it again. But I would need to make some calls to get town names and good stops for you. <3 hours Night in Split (1)
24 Split Night in Split (2)
25 go to Plitvice Night in Plitvice (1)
26 see Plitvice and drive on to Zadar
27 Fly to Italy
Now you have two weeks in Italy.
Posted by
1415 posts
Having a hard time parsing the particulars here, but in short: Yes, Plitvice is 100% worth the effort. Our itineraries of course focus on cities and towns, but in a sense I’d call Plitvice the top “sight” in the country if not the region. I can’t imagine being anywhere near it and not going.
I’m glad to see you’re visiting Sarajevo, a most rewarding and enjoyable city. The day trip to Mostar and the towns was kind of a mixed bag for me. The stops are all interesting and beautiful, but it’s a very, very long day. Highly recommend a Siege Tour, and the company FunkyTours in general. Great people. There’s some good trip reports to look up (including my own, ahem) the Bosnia forum itself is pretty quiet.
If you’re fighting for time, I would drop Rovijn and Istria, favoring a path to Zagreb-Ljubljana instead. Istria is a logistical outlier, with less bang for the buck compared to the two capitals. Zagreb and Ljubljana link pretty well with Venice, by plane and bus/shuttle respectively.
The Balkans are all about FOMO. Reconcile yourself with the idea that you’ll simply have to leave stuff on the table. Two trips for me and it’s still not enough.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Great thanx
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26602 posts
If you do the Balkans top 10 you can finish in 10 days ... and wonder, how do I get those 10 days back. If you read the history, even the condensed Wikipedia version, slow down, meet the people and realize they played a part in some of tge most dramatic. Tour the villages, drink the wine, eat the olives and read the Latin... the area drips with mystery, conflicting cultures and ... okay, sorry ... I am probably over 2 months there now and every trip has one profound wow! moment.
Posted by
Austin, Texas, USA
607 posts
Plitvice was amazing. We loved it and would definitely do it again!!
Posted by
Tennessee
494 posts
Mnannie, we did not start at the top of the hill overlooking the largest waterfall. The location you describe is the beginning of the Lower Lakes section.
Instead we started at the top of the Upper Lakes section, which meant we ended our hike with the steep switchbacks and overlook viewing the largest fall at Lower Lakes.
So sorry one of your tour members got separated from the rest. That would be unnerving because cell reception in the park is spotty.
Posted by
Norwich, ct., usa
10 posts
Plitvice is definately worth it...have gone several times.
I go from Venice by train to Trieste...walk across street to Bus Station--take bus to Riejka.....car rental in bus station and you're on your way.