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Need help with Dubrvonik-Budapest itinerary: where to keep luggage, where to make homebase, etc

Posted by on

Hello!!

Mainly, we are challenged by
1. how to hit all the places we want to experience +
2. with the least amount of checking in and out of accommodations +
3. not renting a car (we will if we must, but prefer not too...) +
4. avoiding day trips more more than 2 hours away.

How should we break up our trip – where should we make our home bases?

We are looking for inexpensive, but are sometimes willing to splurge (i.e. we "splurge" on taking taxis/Ubers in NYC instead of the metro, but we do not splurge on hiring a limo in NYC).

Ok, here we go!

Fly into Dubrovnik around 130PM on Monday 9/14.
A. How can we get to Lopud or Mjlet accommodations?
B. Should we stay in Lopud or Mljet? (we will visit whichever island we do not stay at)
C. Or should we just stay in Dubrovnik?

Current itinerary plan laid out below. Concerns in bold. Help!

MONDAY 9/14
Arrive Dubrovnik mid-afternoon
Take taxi to check in to TBD accommodation in/near Old Town - or should we check into Lopud or Mljet as homebase instead?
Walk the walls/Mt Srd/Stradun
Eat, settle in

TUESDAY 9/15
Sea kayak to Lokrum and spend half day - any suggestions of which vendor we should book this with?
Walk the walls/Mt Srd/Stradun
Eat, relax

WEDNESDAY 9/16
Day trip to Mostar/Montenegro - any suggestions of which vendor we should book this with?

THURSDAY 9/17
Visit Trsteno Arboretum - any suggestion of how we should get there and back to Dubrovnik?
Half day boat ride exploring Mljet/Lopud/Sipan/Korcula - any suggestions of which vendor we should book this with? would love to include some snorkeling

FRIDAY 18-SATURDAY 19-SUNDAY 20-MONDAY 21/TUESDAY 22 --- we run out of time here - priority to is have at least one day of hiking/swimming/nature - the rest are equally expendable I guess :(
Check out of Dubrovnik accommodation
Transport to second home base that is best to accomplish:
1. Krka National Park half/full day of hike/swim/adventure -- we are running out of time at this pint so perhaps we only do Krka OR only Lake Plitvice?
2. Lake Plitvice half/full day hike/adventure
3. Zadar quick half or almost full day (we are interested in the Sea Organ)
4. Split Diocletian Palace (prob quick half day or almost full day)
5. Probably do not have time to explore Cres, Pag
6. Zagreb
7. Varazdin garden cemetery
---second home base of Sibenik? Split? Zadar? Other?
---Can we make second home base an island like Korcula, Vis, Hvar, Brac, other?

  1. End up in Budapest no later than WEDNESDAY 9/23 NOON - we have a couple days here planned already. Phew.

Concerned quite a bit about how to get from each point to the next... we do not want to backpak our luggage! Perhaps there are luggage lockers (this would help so we do not need to day trip! just keep going north!)?

THANKS!

Posted by
334 posts

There's a lot going on here. First, most hotels have luggage storage that you can use either if you arrive early before check-in or if you are leaving late after you've already checked out. There should be lockers at the bus/train/ferry ports, but check ahead, especially if you are in a smaller town.

If you choose between Krka and Plitvice, choose Plitvice. And do a full day there. You'll be selling yourself short with anything less. While you can get to Plitvice by bus, it is easier to get there by car. There are tours of Plitvice that you could take instead if you don't want to bother with the bus schedule and don't want to drive yourself.

Do not make a second home base on an island if you want to do as much in your list as possible. You will be limited by the ferry schedule and there will be a lot of time spent going back and forth to the mainland. You might be able to do a day trip to Split from an island, but staying in a location such as Korcula already violates your rule of a day trip being within 2 hours away.

Because you have more in your schedule than will fit, you need to prioritize and then find a location that is central to all you want to do. Initially Sibenik seems to be the best bets for your coastal items. However, Zagreb and Varazdin are much too far away to do as a day trip. If you want to include both locations along the coast and locations in northern Croatia, you will need three home bases, not two.

Posted by
334 posts

Regarding tour companies, I use viator.com and tripadvisor.com to start that research. As well as RS recommendations in the guide books of course.

Posted by
4 posts

Everybody should be aware of the huge pressures on train stations right now in Europe that are being flooded with refugees. Budapest train station is not a good place to be right now. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2015/0901/Not-just-Hungary-Migrant-mess-in-Budapest-reflects-larger-EU-confusion
I am here in Munich and just took several trains around Germany. There is now a window at the Munich Bahnhof dedicated solely to refugees arriving.

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