Looking to connect with a travel advisor who can help my husband and I plan for a 7 day trip to Croatia (and surrounding area). Need advice on 2-3 places to go to in 7 days, distances and means of transportation required, accommodation advice, etc.
Time for me to research alone is limited so if there is an advisor/trip planner I can connect with that would be very helpful. Anyone have any recommendations? I am located in California so a local representative is best.
Thank you -
This travel forum is full of volunteer travel advisors but first you need to give some specifics like where you'd like to fly into and out of, and what your interests are specifically in Croatia (I think every advisor- paid or unpaid - would need to have this information upfront). With only 7 days, it should not be difficult at all to pull together an itinerary. Another option is a guided tour that will take care of everything for you. A simple book like Rough Guide or Lonely Planet already has itineraries in it for various timeframes, so no need to reinvent the wheel. Keep in mind that south of Split, trains are non-existent but buses and rental cars work very well.
Thanks Agnes. I'll check out books like Rough Guide to see what options on itineraries are out there. I know little about Croatia so even basics like where to fly in and out of I am looking for advice on. Also do not have any insight into best ways to get around from the capital out to say two other locations. Beach, culture, coast, seeing the castles, towns and people is what we are after. Because we are adults in our forties, not looking for party locations, but more fun, lively and non-touristy locations.
You don't say when you are travelling, but with only 7 days, you haven't got time to cover all the country. The best options are Dubrovnik with say Korcula island OR Split with Vis or Hvar. Many of the islands have a 3/4 night minimum booking. Stick to the mainland if you are not travelling between June and September inclusive.
Thank you Jennifer! Much appreciated. We're looking to travel the last week of June.
My best advice is to take a look at a book first or the Croatia website (see below) - it's not clear what your (exact) interests are or if you have a good sense of the geography or what's doable. Focus on only one region to minimize travel time (in other words, don't try to go to cover places that are way too spread out geographically in only one week). Croatia is not very easy to get to or inexpensive from the US. All flight connections will involve some stopover. I found Split to be a good base but that's because I was really interested in seeing some islands (Brac, Korcula, etc) that were very accessible from there (and for me, Croatia was a side trip from Bosnia). Split itself was interesting in its own right. In your case, pick either north, south or middle - the country is very long from south to north. Everyone will likely nominate Dubrovnik as a "must see" - it's lovely and unique, but extremely touristy and more expensive than other parts of Croatia...there are plenty of local, less touristy spots. Even if you skip it, there will be plenty of other jaw dropping places to see (the coast and islands are an obvious highlight, but there are also beautiful natural parks and wonders like Krka, Plitvice Lakes, and Mljet)
You can find some trip ideas here:
http://www.croatia.hr/
I think it's very useful to think in terms of "regions" for your short trip (go to "Explore Croatia"):
http://www.croatia.hr/en-GB/Journey-through-Croatia/Useful-information
Once you have a rough itinerary, post again and you'll get much better, more fine-tuned advice. Best of luck! Croatia is a dreamy location and you'll have fun planning.
With limited time, it would probably be best to plan either a northern Croatia trip or a southern Croatia trip. As far as possible itineraries, there are a number of travel organizations that offer tours of the area. Even though I hardly ever join a long tour, I use those web sites to get ideas for what's a reasonable itinerary and what to include.
I recommend you 3 in 1 option "hat-trick traveling" , visit the three countries and in each one a unique place, for example Dubrovnik(Croatia )and the local islands for a few days, (Kotor Montenegro) with its surroundings and Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) as well as some places around. These three cities are under UNESCO protection, and each is a story for itself, but also the state of Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina used to be one country Yugoslavia, and today there are 3 small state of the western Balkans.The unity of the past, the diversity of present, in these places will do your journey unique.
Have good time!
