We are starting to plan our trip to Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia. We plan to leave Atlanta, Georgia about May25 and be gone 21 days. We are active seniors interested in history, nature, beaches, and just new experiences. We are still working on our itinerary but plan to see the following: Julian Alps, Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Istria, Plitvice, Split, Korcula, Mostar, Sarajevo, Dubrovnik, and Kotor. Our first thought is to fly into Venice and rent a car to see the entire area. We are open to trains, buses, and/or ferries but mainly using a rental car. Would like to avoid car rental drop off fees from one country to another as well as a lot of backtracking.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
I don't know of way to avoid substantial drop off fees between countries. I think you should rent cars as needed within the local area.
Posted by
Washington DC
28052 posts
Not only is the drop-off fee likely to be exorbitant, it's not a given that an Italian (or Slovenian) rental-car company would permit its car to be taken to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.
I'd check on whether it would be more practical to fly into Zagreb rather than Venice, assuming you don't actually plan to visit Venice on this trip. I think 21 days is pretty short for all the other places you have on the list, given the geographical extent of the itinerary. It seems to me including Venice would be a real problem, time-wise. There are both buses and trains running between Zagreb and Ljubljana; I believe the trip takes between 2 and 3 hours.
Posted by
Indiana
921 posts
We just completed a similar itinerary (with the exception of Sarajevo & Istria) but in the opposite direction. We flew into Dubrovnik, and while there we hired a private guide (best decision of our trip) for day trips to Mostar, the Bay of Kotor and the Peljesac Peninsula for wine tastings. He dropped us off for a quick ferry ride from Orebic to Korcula. After spending time in Korcula, we took another ferry to Split. At the end of our time in Split, we picked up a rental car and drove to Plitvice. That car was dropped off in Zagreb. The train times from Zagreb to Ljublijana did not work for our schedule, and for a variety of reasons, we did not want to take a bus. So, I used My Day Trip for a car transfer to Ljublijana. We picked up our second rental car in Ljublijana and used it for the time spent in Slovenia.
I would not want to drive and deal with parking in Dubrovnik and Split. .For your time in Korcula I can highly recommend a stay at Apartment Marina. https://www.booking.com/hotel/hr/apartment-marina-korcula.en-gb.html. Stellar service from Marina and Sascha; gorgeous apartment stocked with absolutely everything, and killer views. If you like bed and breakfast accommodations, then take a look at Zrinka House for your time at Plitvice. Zrinka and Barbara are terrific; beautiful rooms, delicious food and they send you to the park with a packed lunch. https://www.booking.com/hotel/hr/guesthouse-zrinka.html Five star hospitality!
Posted by
Hickory, NC USA
488 posts
We flew to Vienna, made a visit in Austria, then took the train to Ljubljana, no car there. Then we rented a car to visit Lake Bled and the Julian Alps with a stay in Kobarid. Returned the car to Ljubljana and took the train to Rijeka where we rented a car that was good for the rest of our trip to Rovinj, hill towns, Plitvice, Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor and Mostar. We did have to pay to the park the car in Split and Dubrovnik and it was not needed in either city, but it just seemed more time-efficient than renting, returning and renting again.
We returned the car at the Dubrovnik airport and flew back to the Vienna airport for one quick day and night before flying home to Georgia, at the time. Be sure to let your car rental company know which countries you will enter - the paperwork has to be correct. We were also sure to have the international driving permit and it was reviewed at borders.