Logistics of Croatia to Slovenia

It sounds like you, as well as I, do not completely approve of the girls' choice of country to concentrate on. We didn't have a car in Croatia, we were on an all-Croatia cruise. But I would comment that three days in Dubrovnik is too many. I don't like changing hotels every night, but as pretty as Dubrovnik is, it's not the nicest coastal city/town in Croatia. It's also a problem that it's so far from Plitvice. I would try to sell Mostar to the girls before Plitvice, but you are not wrong! Could you visit Plitvice from Zadar? Or maybe you should settle for Pula and Opatija, with Plitvice? My point is that they're so much closer to Slovenia.

Having visited Plitvice (for the third time) in late August 2015, I urge you to arrange your trip so that you spend the night before your visit in the area near the park. The park gets unbelievably swamped. I waited in line for over an hour just to buy my ticket. The tickets aren't timed, so anyone who wants to get into the park can get in (eventually). It was a mob scene like one might experience in the Vatican Museums or the Louvre. The park is extremely nice and it's as close to a must-see as any place I've ever been, but it's essential to beat all the day-trippers onto the walkways. That means you should not treat Plitvice as a day-trip from Zagreb, Split, Zadar, etc.

If you get started when the park opens you'll have plenty of time to drive on to Zagreb (less than 3 hours without stops, according to ViaMichelin) or to Ljubljana (a bit over 4 hours) after your park visit. I mention Zagreb because 1) You'd avoid the cross-border drop charge by returning your car there; 2) It's a very nice city with a lovely old town very much worth a visit; and 3) There's rather frequent bus service to Ljubljana, trains being less frequent. The buses are quite nice. If you decide on a stop in Zagreb, your daughters would almost certainly enjoy the Museum of Broken Relationships, just one of the interesting museums in the city.

You can check rail schedules on the Deutsche Bahn website and bus schedules with BusCroatia.

Other Croatian cities where you might be able to drop the car and get a bus or train on to Ljubljana are Rovinj on the Istrian Coast (very picturesque, very touristy, buses only) and Trieste (haven't visited, but it has both bus and train connections with Ljubljana, trains being faster). Transportation to Ljubljana from Rovinj and Trieste is rather infrequent. Neither of those options would be faster than going to Zagreb, however.

Bus schedules can vary a lot with the day of the week and should always be verified once you are in country. Cross-border tickets should be purchased ahead of time, because those buses can fill up.

You'll find that English is widely and well spoken by the younger folks in both Croatia and Slovenia, so working out the logistics will probably be easier than you are anticipating.

Edited to add, in response to Tim's suggestions:

• Mostar is great and would be an excellent day-trip form Dubrovnik.

• I enjoyed Zadar a lot for half a day and would have liked to spend the night there. It has a wall like Dubrovnik, but you can't walk round the city on the wall. A plus is that it doesn't get as many tourists.

• Pula is know for Roman ruins and is a popular tourist destination, but I haven't been there. It would be quicker to reach than Rovinj.

• I've only passed through Opatija on the bus. It's my impression that it's an old-line resort that doesn't get a lot of youthful visitors and might not be particularly appealing to your daughters, but I might be totally wrong.

Thank you both for the quick replies. I am now definitely leaning toward the overnight in Plitvice the night before now. It was my first thought as I had read about the crowds. Now you have confirmed it for me:) I wasn't sure about Zagreb, but I like the idea of an overnight there as well. Maybe we could take a later bus/train from there to Ljublijana rather than a morning one so we can get a full day in.

Also, thank you for the bus link and the Museum recommendation. It looks like something they might like. Particularly as they will be breaking a couple of hearts when they go off to college in September.

To Tim, the reason for the 3 nights in Dubrovnik is the plan for a day trip to Mostar. Plus I usually don't count on doing much the first day, so I don't see it as a full, productive day. I'm just no good after 4:00pm that first day!

Thanks again!

It appears you are flying into Dubrovnik, but you don't say where you are flying out of. Have you already purchased flights?

I ask because if you have flexibility, here's another option to consider that would save you money over option 2: Fly home from Zagreb. It's only about a 2-hour drive from Ljubljana to Zagreb, maybe a tad more depending on how long the border crossing takes.

By the way, I do not think you will regret spending most of your time in Slovenia. It's true there is a lot to see in Croatia, but Slovenia is a stunningly beautiful country with many gorgeous sites. You will love it!

Hi Lane, yes our flights are booked. we are flying out of Venice. I have been before but my friend has not. It's one of those places I think everyone should see once!
I'm sure you're right about Slovenia. I can always go back to Croatia right?

I can only second spending the night in Plitvice. I visited as a day trip from Zadar and it was absolutely packed. Still stunning, but it looses some of the appeal when you are literally walking in a line the whole way.
With regards to Slovenia, it's a beautiful country, but not the first place I would recommend for young people. I visited Ljubjana and Bled a few years back when I was in my mid 20's and especially Bled struck me as a place older Europeans came to eat cake and take romantic boat trips on the lake. However it is possible to do some adventure activities in the mountains. But for young people a trip to Bosnia would be much more educational.
Also I would recommend Split over Zagreb. Split has stunning roman ruins right smack in the center of the city, a lovely harbour promenade and a nice café and bar scene.

Morten, I agree that Bled as a town is generally not geared towards young people apart from the activities companies that are based there. Places like Ljubljana (very popular with young tourists and exchange students nowadays), Lake Bohinj, the Soca Valley, etc. (and obviously the seaside in summer) are more attractive to young people. That said, if visiting Slovenia, a day trip to Lake Bled is absolutely essential IMO.

I should mention that a day trip from Dubrovnik to Mostar (perhaps with a rest and sightseeing stop in Počitelj), is entirely practical, but ambitious. In particular, the border crossing can be quick or a long line. My experience eight years ago is not a currently useful guide, naturally. I think the two country relations are better, so there is less incentive to make the crossing "slow". I would set out as early as possible.

It might not be relevant for your group, but our organized tour to Plitvice had reservations (required) at a lovely (but large and touristy) hunting-lodge style, open-fire-cooking trout restaurant. There is plenty of casual food in the park, too.

Well, once I had gotten to the walkway at Plitvice, the last thing I would have wanted to do was leave it and go look for food, so I was glad I had taken something with me. I believe I had a container of yogurt and a package of cookies. And a bottle of water, of course.

Thank you all so much for your comments. You have given me a lot to think about. But however we get there, Plitvice will definitely make the itinerary. My very draft itinerary is looking like this.

• 3 nights Dubrovnik - activities to include Cablecar to Srd/exploring old town/kayaking/day trip to Mostar or Kotor
• Drive to Plitvice - overnight- park visit in morning, then drive to Zagreb - evening bike tour in Zagreb
• Morning in town & visit Museum of Broken Relationships. Late afternoon bus or train to Ljubljana.
• 5 nights somehow split between Ljubljana, Bled and/or Soca Valley - activities to include food tour/whitewater rafting/rock climbing/ballooning/canyoning/bike tour/ziplining (we probably won't be able to fit them all in, but will try our best)
• 2 nights Portoroz - for some down time - possible afternoon at the salt spa
• Bus or car hire to Venice for last 2 nights

Alternatively to above would be bus or drive to Split, overnight, then drive to Plitvice in afternoon, overnight visit park in morning then drive directly to Ljubljana

While in Dubrovnik, we did both a bike tour with wine tasting and a kayaking trip and I highly recommend both. We loved walking the walls much more than taking the cable car, for what it's worth. If you go to Kotor, climb the walls up behind town there - we did it twice in two days. And while I'm on the subject of Kotor, we really loved it and there is wonderful boating to be done there.

If you can, get to Plitvice by 3pm and spring for a two day pass. The BEST time in Plitvice was from 4-7pm when everyone had left and we felt like we had the park to ourselves. The next morning was great too, but by 11am it was packed, and that won't be enough time for you to see everything. We stay at Villa Lica and walked to and from the park on a nice wooded path - highly recommend that. Their breakfast is also great.

Once you get to Slovenia, do try to get in some whitewater kayaking on the Soca. It was lots of fun. We spent 2 nights in Ljubljana and 2 nights in Kobarid. We visited Lake Bled en route between the two.

Thank you Tigerfan. Who did you use for the kayaking & bike tour in Dubrovnik?

We went with Dubrovnik Adventures. They picked us up from our hotel and dropped us back off after, so it was very convenient.

Second option is better. Everyone says you need to sleep at Plitvice. With the car you can stay anywhere near by. You are not in rush, you can find cheap accommodation near by and find nice restaurant to eat near Vrhovine and Otocac.

Have a good time!