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Itinerary Check - early June

Posted by on

Hi all,
Thanks in advance for any help. We're flying into Dubrovnik and out of Zagreb. This is what I have planned so far. I will note where hotel is fixed/paid/points vs. flexible. We tend to be early to bed/early to rise and on the go on holiday to that factors into my planning.

June 1 - Arrive Dubrovnik late afternoon after a lot of traveling (ATL-MIA-MAD-DBV to be able to use points for biz class). Should we just Uber to hotel (Hilton Imperial) or take a bus/shuttle? We will probably just check in and have a walk around old town before grabbing dinner. Hilton reservation is with points and can't be changed as they are now sold out of standard rooms.
June 2 - Dubrovnik - I will do a GoT walking tour. Wife will just have a walk around. Probably will get Dubrovnik Card as we plan to at least walk the walls and maybe stop in a museum or two. Going to try and make reservations at 360 for sunset dinner. Stay at Hilton
June 3 - Rent car 8am (at Sixt Hotel Rixos - maybe we'll just walk there if the weather is nice or take a bus), drive to Kotor and explore the area for the day. Drive back to Dubrovnik. Reservation at Proto Fish. Park at Hilton that night.
June 4 - Leave Hilton early and drive to Mostar. Explore town for the day - any tips? Leave mid-afternoon and drive to Le Meridien Lav to check in. This one is also booked on points and cash before the SPG/Marriott program was devalued so can't be changed. Have dinner somewhere near hotel.
June 5 - Take hotel shuttle to Split. Explore palace and old town area. Dinner reservation that night at Zoi. Stay at Le Meridien.
June 6 - 8:30am all-day island tour with Summer Blues. Dinner somewhere in Split after tour. Stay at Le Meridien.
June 7 - Leave early and drive up the coast to Zadar. Explore Zadar. Airbnb just outside old town (with parking).
June 8 - Leave very early and drive to Plitvice by 8am. Do a shorter walk through the lakes. Drive to Ljublana. Stay at Intercontinental (free night). This is flexible though. We could go somewhere else for this 2 day/1 night period instead of Plitvice/Ljublana.
June 9 - Explore Ljublana in the morning and then maybe drive through Bled area before heading to Zagreb. Return car at Sixt city location by 6pm. Check into Westin (booked on points but can be changed).
June 10 - Explore Zagreb - tips welcome. Suggestion for last dinner?
June 11 - 9am flight to Paris and then back to Atlanta.

Posted by
3101 posts

1) I'd take the shuttle from the airport. I don't know where the Hilton is. If it is near the walled portion, you should have no problem.
2) Supposedly the sunset at Zadar is special. We missed that. Look for the sea organ.
3) To get to PL from Zadar by 8 AM, you probably need to leave at 4-5 AM. Take the main highway. There is a marked exit for PL
4) We started PL at opening time, and were done by 2. Drive to Ljubljana is about 4 hours, I think, maybe a little shorter.
5) You want to go to Ljubljana and leave immediately? Why? Just stay there. If you want to do Bled, add a day. Leave for Zagreb in late afternoon. There's the castle, the river (inexpensive short river cruises for 5 E), the market, etc.
6) Zagreb - Museum of Croatian Naive Art, several other museums, 2 cathedrals, nice walks. There is an observation deck.

Generally a little busy for my taste, but you certainly have a well-reservationed trip.

Posted by
20 posts

Thanks! Looks like Zadar to PL is only 90 minutes per Google Maps, but we will make sure to try and get there as early as possible. Sorry if I was confusing about the Ljublana/Bled portion. I think you're right we should skip Bled this time and just spend the whole day in Ljublana as it looks great. I only added it because we got extended by a day based on the availability of return flights using points. Can't change any of the flights now.

Posted by
3101 posts

Mostar is a very small town. If you can, do a side trip to the stone town of Positelj, which is a treat. A small stone village, which is kind of an open-air museum

Posted by
7 posts

I don't have any advice, but I am doing a near identical itinerary Jun 9-19...we are flying into Dubrovnik for 2 nights (planning on taking the shuttle to town), catamaran to Korcula for 3 nights, catamaran to Split for 3 nights (Summer Blues Hvar tour!) and short flight to Zagreb for one night. Thank you for your detailed notes, we added Zoi for a dinner reservation! I hope you have a great time!

Posted by
26 posts

Flying into Dubrovnik and out of Zagreb is a great plan.
From DBV Airport you can just take a shuttle bus and exit at the first stop (Pile Gate) as it is 2 minutes from Hilton. From Hilton to Rixos it is not a long walk but it is up the hill and with luggage I would rather take a taxi which will probably cost around 10 EUR or less.

On your way to Mostar you can stop at small medieval town Počitelj or at Kravica Waterfalls (nice alternative to overcrowded Plitvice lakes).

Think of going from Plitvice directly to Bled and staying somewhere around the Lake Bled. This way you can visit the lake and the area next morning and visit Ljubljana (really small but still worth a visit) on your way to Zagreb.

In Zagreb you can walk from Westin along Zagreb Green Horseshoe to the main square and from there to the Upper Town.
Some taxi companies in Zagreb have very cheap fixed prices for airport ride so you don't need to go all the way to the main bus station to take a shuttle.

Posted by
20 posts

Thanks Kate. I'm on the fence about visiting Bled at all as we won't have much time there. I'm thinking we'd rather just get to Ljublana that night, spend most of the next day there and then drive to Zagreb. We'll save Bled for another trip. Also, we won't have luggage on the way to the car as we will be back at the Hilton for one more night after visiting Kotor, but appreciate the tip on the uphill walk and bus option.

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