Budapest to Croatia

Posted by prosserone on 09/23/25 11:46 AM

Hi there
We are Looking to extend our Europe vacation June 2026 from a river cruise that ends in Budapest, we would like to visit Dubrovnik & Split hopefully visit Slovenia too, we only have around 7-8 days, so will look at flying options to minimise wasting time, are we pushing it by trying to visit these 3 places

If we do the 3 are we best flying to Slovenia first & going from there to Dubrovnik then split or reverse, open to any ideas suggestions & tours
We are also looking at option of overnight train from Budapest to Split Aprox 14 hrs wondering if anyone has done this.?
It’s a first time visit to Europe for us as a couple so a good learning curve

Thanks in advance

Posted by Mr Ɛ 🇺🇸 🇺🇦

Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest

09/23/25 01:13 PM

23890 posts

From Budapest i would fly WizzAir nonstop to Podgorica and maybe spend a few nights in Perast, Montengro (beautiful), then it's a relatively short trip to Dubrovnik from which you can work your way up the coast to Slovenia if you want. If you didn't want to spend a night in Montenegro, the flight arrives at Podgorica at 8:45am, and with a good driver / guide, there is tons to see between Podgorica and Dubrovnik. (I know a good trip planner for the region ... I use her a few times every year, jusrmt easier, and she knows things and places that aren't in the books ... good reviews here ... search Dijana on the forum search engine).
Dijana Krkotic
Doclea Travel
+39 389 765 5935 (phone or WhatsApp)
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www.docleatravel.com
The problem is that the nonstop flight is only 2 days a week.

Another option is RyanAir from Budapest to Zadar, then work your way south to Dubrovnik or Podgorica for the flight onward.. This skips Slovnia but gives you more time to do Croatia well and maybe visit Montenegro or Bosnia (my two favorites). Slovenia is a bit of a reach and easily done with a future trip to Italy or Austria.

Posted by cindyeb

09/23/25 02:27 PM

133 posts

I wouldn't want to spend that limited time visiting 3 places. Think more about what you want to see or do and then choose. For hiking and scenery, I'd spend all the time in Slovenia. But Slovenia might be similar to places you saw on the river cruise. You could save that for another trip and spend two nights in Split and then ferry to Dubrovnik, stopping at an island on the way. You should also consider where you can fly home from. Time of year is also a consideration.

Posted by valadelphia

09/23/25 02:41 PM

6155 posts

I would also choose one or the other, and let us know what month as that may affect suggestions. For example, in fall I would probably do a loop out of Zagreb or Ljubljana. In May or September, I'd consider Split and Dubrovnik.

Posted by Mr Ɛ 🇺🇸 🇺🇦

Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest

09/23/25 10:30 PM

23890 posts

I would choose to Ryan nonstop to Zadar, then a guided tour down the coast to Split; 2 to 3 nights in Split with a dayttrip to Hvar. Then, a guided trip down the coast to Dubrovnik; 2 to 3 nights in Dubrovnik, then a guided trip down the coast to Perast or Budva for 2 or 3 nights, flying home out of Podgorica.

The guided trips are for the small villages, wineries, and olive plantations. Off the tourist trail stuff. The stuff between destinations can be the best part of the trip but requires help in this part of the world.

Why not more specific? Depends on what you are interested in and your budget. I just got back from my 4th trip to Croatia, and compared to 3 years ago, the prices were shocking. But my time in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro on two other trips this year were pretty reasonable even with private transfers..

Ewww, Croatia to Sarajevo can be a pretty special trip.

This link has a collection of tourist videos in Montenegro. You might get some ideas from them. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/montenegro/podgorica-to-dubrovnik-by-car. The Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) video thread link. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/croatia/the-best-of-croatia-and-slovenia-in-12-14-days.