Making the Most of 40 Days in Croatia and Beyond

Just curious why you would drive back to Zagreb, stay one night, then drive to Dubrovnik for your flight when Budva is only about a 2 hour drive to Dubrovnik. You are spending a few nights in Zagreb at the beginning of your trip.

Barbara, I think they are driving Budva to Dubrovnik to return the car, then flying Dubrovnik to Zagreb for one night before their flight - which is the following day Zagreb to home. It makes sense if they have round trip in and out of Zagreb.

Eugene, there’s nothing wrong with your plan and I really like how you are taking your time in each place.

Everyone has their own set of priorities, so here’s just a couple of thoughts based on my preferences. I would take one night from Split and use it in Montenegro - giving you 4 nights total.

Kotor and Budva have many similarities. Have you thought about a 1 or 2 night stop for Durmitor National Park and then 2-3 nights in either Budva or Kotor? (I would probably choose Budva.)

That might give you a better look at the variety of Montenegro, while not shorting Split.

I love that you have 4 nights in Sarajevo. I have no qualms about recommending Tour Mage for a city tour (I love their Sarajevo Grand Tour).

Zagreb: 4 nights, I liked Zagreb, but not too sure what I would do for 4 nights, especially since you are returning.

Ljubljana: 3 nights, No comment / Bled: 3 nights, No comment / Piran: 1 night, No comment / Rovinj: 4, No comment

Plitvice Lakes: 2 night, I wouldn’t spend one night. Just me. Wasn’t worth all the hype.

Split: 4 nights, You will be there over a weekend when school is out. When I was there a few years back, it was nothing but drunk European trust-fund brats. Worth a night, maybe two. But ….

Hvar: 2 nights, Sure / Korsula: 2 nights, Sure / Dubrovnik: 3 nights, Sure / Mostar: 2 nights, Sure

Sarajevo: 4 nights, Sure

Kotor: 2 nights, Kotor is a small less remarkable version of Dubrovnik. A night if you must but the places I would rather spend my time are:

• Perast, 1 night here is sweet, and you can do a day trip to Kotor if you make it 2 nights.
• Stari Bar, to visit on the way to Ulcinj, maybe not to stay.
• Ulcinj, 2 or 3 nights
• Tara River Canyon, 1 or 2 nights (Motel Tara MB)
• Ostrog Monastery, 1 night (Hotel & Restaurant Sokoline)
• Budva: 1 night, Sure or 2 nights

Zagreb: 1 night, Maybe 2 nights and take a few away from the arrival stay.

I assume you have all of this figured out. I guess you are renting a car and driving the whole route. It’s a bunch of driving across several boarders. I also assume you found a rental agency that is good with that. And you have budgeted money for all of the parking (and parking at some of these stops is not really an obvious thing) and time for all of the parking (you could easily spend an hour looking for a place to park the car).

Particularly for a trip like this, I would get expert help. This individual or someone like her. I know at least two other RS types have used her with success: Dijana Krkotic, Guide & Tour Designer, Doclea Travel, +382 69 277 749, [email protected], www.docleatravel.com

Barbara, I think they are driving Budva to Dubrovnik to return the car, then flying Dubrovnik to Zagreb for one night before their flight - which is the following day Zagreb to home. It makes sense if they have round trip in and out of Zagreb.

This is correct, we have a roundtrip from Zagreb, so have to fly and stay overnight near airport for early morning flight to US.

I guess you are renting a car and driving the whole route. It’s a bunch of driving across several borders.

I have to watch my budget for such a long trip. I will be renting a car only in 3 places, Slovenia, Istria and drive out of Dubrovnik to Bosnia and Montenegro. I know parking and toll and gas are quite expensive in Europe, witnessed first hand on a trip to France this year. So trying to minimize car rent and find accommodation with parking.

• Kotor: 2 nights, Kotor is a small less remarkable version of Dubrovnik. A night if you must but the places I would rather spend my time are:

• Perast, 1 night here is sweet, and you can do a day trip to Kotor if you make it 2 nights.
• Stari Bar, to visit on the way to Ulcinj, maybe not to stay.
• Ulcinj, 2 or 3 nights
• Tara River Canyon, 1 or 2 nights (Motel Tara MB)
• Ostrog Monastery, 1 night (Hotel & Restaurant Sokoline)
• Budva: 1 night, Sure or 2 nights

I will do more research on this, thanks for the suggestions, @ Mr É...............(Пан E ►).
As per expert help - well, I have a mixed experience with this, and they usually charge a lot of money for advice. Last time I use an agent in Argentina, she booked all internal flights for us and gave suggestions where to stay (I did all the car/hotel booking), charged $400 for shorter trip. Europe I bet will be at least twice this amount. I am able to book everything myself, and getting advice from travelers on this forum is very valuable.

Thanks Barbara, TexasTravelMom and Mr É...............(Пан E ►) for your comments.

Another quick question: While it is geographically counter intuitive, would it make sense to move Hvar and Korsula to the end of the trip, out of Dubrovnik? The reason is those are island and water temperature and sun much warmer and enjoyable at the end of June than in the beginning.

Maybe someone else will weigh in about water temperature. But in theory, it’s entirely possible to change your order and go Plitvice - Mostar - Sarajevo - Montenegro - Dubrovnik - islands - Split - Zagreb.

It might also come down to cost. Redoing would move you to only 2 car rentals: one for Slovenia and one Rovinj - Dubrovnik. Then ferry Dubrovnik gradually to Split (and fly or bus to Zagreb). You’d have to cost it out and see.

Doing this would also give you the option of taking the slower route through BiH (smaller, narrower roads but lovely scenery) if you wanted.

I would still steal a night from Split and maybe one of your beginning nights from Zagreb and give them to Montenegro. The Tara River Canyon or Piva River Canyon - on your way and so gorgeous! Worth a night or two before moving on to the coast for several nights.

Edit: just be sure your Croatian rental company knows your plan - they will have the right documents for you.

For the expert help, never hurts to ask for a price. You might be surprised. It is a more difficult region to navigate and there may be options that are more cost effective if you know what is available. Just a suggestion.

What was Croatia like before the tourist found it? Maybe, In many ways, much like Montenegro is now.

Some help with your research.

• Perast, 1 night here is sweet, and you can do a day trip to Kotor if you make it 2 nights. https://youtu.be/q2nckBnc7_M?si=CohK_4nsI6l7chEB
• Stari Bar, to visit on the way to Ulcinj, maybe not to stay. https://youtu.be/OBU56OT78fw?si=tzF65lSmOXSEpWKZ
• Ulcinj, 2 or 3 nights https://youtu.be/SBY7G9HHw5s?si=wjPy2V0P1mhua7Cs
• Tara River Canyon, 1 or 2 nights (Motel Tara MB) https://youtu.be/9aGMZB8hB5Y?si=NFKsf6YtGAX2uVCa
• Ostrog Monastery, 1 night (Hotel & Restaurant Sokoline) https://youtu.be/ixrJu6qv46M?si=WML9Hs2hOQCsKZwE AND https://youtu.be/miNV1FVK7qI?si=iZC_lViMUEk6JGI
• Budva: 1 night, Sure or 2 nights https://youtu.be/GF7hyxB8Xq4?si=re2lmDTm5pRNpioH

I really like Zagreb--very nice, large historic area and many museums. However, Barbara reported after an earlier trip that the large museums hadn't reopened yet post-pandemic [I meant to say "post-earthquake"]. I haven't looked for updated information, but you might want to do that before planning a 4-night stay--unless (like me) you anticipate multiple days of jetlag. I think the Museum of Broken Relationships and the Museum of Naive Art are open, and there are other small museums (art-related) that are probably open as well.

Do you have plans for exploration around Bled? The lake is beautiful but really tiny; you can walk all the way around it in 2 or 3 hours. Bled is so close to Ljubljana that it's an easy day trip by bus; I don't know the current situation, but back in 2015 you could take a bus to Bled and grab a seat in a shared taxi (parked near the Bled bus station just before the bus was due in) for 7 euros per person. With a car, you'd be able to see a good bit of rural Slovenia, but I'm not sure Bled is the most logical base for doing that. Maybe it is--I've never rented a car in Europe, much less in Slovenia.

I do get the hype for the Plitvice Lakes National Park, assuming you visit late on one day and very early the next. I would agree that you probably don't need to spend two nights there if you get an early start from Rovinj. The park will be totally heaving with visitors during day-tripping hours, making it much, much less enjoyable.

There is decent bus service from Rovinj to Porec, Pula and tiny Vrsar, but the car will be of value for seeing the interior of the Istrian Peninsula.

I prefer Kotor to Budva, because the latter seems really over-developed to me. On the other hand, Kotor gets very, very busy if there's a large cruise ship in port (a frequent occurrence), so that's a big negative. I spent a few hours in Perast this year (not including a trip out to the island church, because I did that on an earlier trip), and I still feel as if there is nothing much to see there, church aside. The museum is a very minor sight. For just walking around, I prefer Herceg Novi, but it's a matter of opinion. I know Perast has several fans on the forum.

Sorry I couldn’t figure out your last day’s notes. But I kinda agree with TexasTravelMom and would travel the order she recommends.
I assumed from the nights you planned that you had researched what to see because 3 nights in Bled are not necessary. We’ve been to Bled 2x and only went as day trips. Maybe add one of those days to Ljubljana and visit Bled as a day trip.
While driving to Piran you pass through Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle if they interest you. Also, Trieste could be a stop, they cleaned it up nicely. We were there last year, just for a day trip though. If you do decide, prebook your tickets to Miramare Castle (it is just a large house, in no way would I use the word castle to describe it).
Also, on Istria don’t overlook Poreč. It is a lovely seaside town, less popular than Rovinj but flat.

We’ve been to Mostar 2x but only stayed one night each time. It was enough for us.
Haven’t been to Sarajevo, Plitvice Lakes, or Budva for around 40 years and never been to Kotor.

Thanks everyone for the input. I have shifted some days around, decreased time in Zagreb and Lake Bled, and added more time for Montenegro. Moved Croatian islands visits to late June. Mostly I will have car, but in Dubrovnik and going forward only with public transportation.

Trip Itinerary

Zagreb: 3 nights,
Ljubljana: 3 nights, Rent a car
Bled: 2 nights,
Piran: 1 night, Return the car
Rovinj: 4 nights, Rent a car in Croatia
Plitvice Lakes: 1 night,
Mostar: 2 nights,
Sarajevo: 4 nights,
MB Tara Motel: 1 nights,
Kotor: 1 nights
Budva: 2 night,
Ulcinj: 2 night,
Dubrovnik: 4 nights,
Split: 3 nights,
Hvar: 2 nights,
Korsula: 2 nights,
Fly to Dubrovnik/Zagreb in the evening, Zagreb: Airport 1 night
** Fly home in the morning from Zagreb**

Looks great!

The only thing I would personally fine tune is Motel Tara MB to Ulcinj first - then make your way slowly toward Dubrovnik. But that’s just personal preference. (Ok, truthfully I would spend two nights at Motel Tara for a full day in the mountains and skip changing locations to Kotor for only one night - but again, that’s just me.)

Sarajevo: 4 nights,
MB Tara Motel: 1 nights,
Kotor: 1 nights
Budva: 2 night,
Ulcinj: 2 night,

Magnificient. You will love Montengro. It is Croatia before the tourist ruined it.

TTM makes sense, and Kotor could be a stop for a few hours on the way to Perast for the night. The views on the bay from the restaurants on the bay are pretty special. On the way to Dubrovnik, stop in Herceg Novi for 3 or 4 hours..... https://youtu.be/nb9uw034ZE8?si=uq3nHuvFbrzJ7aDP