My husband and I are planning to do Salzburg area (3 nights) followed by 4 nights between Slovenia and Croatia (and then to Budapest for 2 nights before flight home). After researching I realize that train travel in this area either doesn't exist or isn't efficient and we'll need our own car.
We are active people and want to see the Alps and do some swimming, but also love to have a glass of wine in the city at the end of the day. We don't necessarily want to spend the entire time driving but understand the importance to see the scenery and the lack of public transport in the area. And the more research I do on Slovenia lends me to believe that going to Istria would be a lot of work for much of the same feel. So, my question is - (coming from Salzburg and doing Slovenia in the middle) - is it worth it to go down to Istria (and then to Budapest), or are we going to get the same activities, scenery, etc in Slovenia?