Budapest to Croatia

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).
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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.

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.

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.

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.

Just completed a trip to Slovenia and am now in Croatia— Because there is a dearth of direct commercial flights, you will not be able to fly between Budapest and Ljubljana, Dubrovnik and Split in any order that would make sense for a trip of just one week’s duration.

There definitely is no time to add Montenegro to your plan within a one-week timeframe.

Choose between Slovenia for one week or Dubrovnik and Split for one week. The Adria night train from Budapest to Split ran several times weekly from June 19 through September 13 this year. You could fly from Budapest to Split and take catamarans from Split to Dubrovnik, possibly with an intermediary stop on the islands of Hvar or Korcula. You also could fly into Dubrovnik and sail up the coast to Split.

Taking the catamarans through the Dalmatian coast will make for an unforgettable vacation.

www.Skyscanner.com shows airfares and schedules.

Not sure how many flights in a dirth? (Edit: dearth, reported to auto correct).

BUS
Budapest to Zagreb about 5.75 hours
Budapest to Split about 12 hours (ouch!) But there is an overnight "sleeper" option)

TRAIN
Budapest to Ljubljana about 6.5 hours
High season there is a night train Budapest to Split. https://www.mavcsoport.hu/en/mav-szemelyszallitas/international-travels/adriatic

DIRECT FLIGHT
Budapest to Zadar about 1.25 hours.

Budapest to Podgorica about 1.5 hours (then 2 hours to the Croatian border south of Dubrovnik, but its a glorious trip over a mountain and along Kotor Bay.

OTHER FLIGHTS
Count on 5 to 7 hours with one change to most stops.

Admittedly I am not a huge fan of Croatia given how expensive it has become. But parts are interesting, other parts lovely and friends keep dragging me back. But my trip 2 weeks ago might be my last, I am still in price shock.

https://www.croatiaweek.com/too-expensive-for-tourists-why-croatias-prices-are-raising-concerns/

Dearth, if you can soberly spell it, means scarcity.

Soberly: seriously sensibly, and solemnly. "a sober view of life."

I got scared, I thought Kenko knew I was at a Dulles airport bar. But I got 4 more hours till my flight home to Budapest.

You gotta remember I'm not fancy edutatted like y'all; but I ain't shamed to be in ekonomy and its why home is a place with one foot still stuck in another (cheaper) time.

That be why I get real itchy when I gotta return to Croatia. Never seen so much expensive bad food in all my days. In 4 trips one meal in Split I woukd go back for. Well, that and some pretty darn choice olive oil at a press house. Didnt even know oil tasting was a thing.

But seriously, soberly, I say that how many stops you make in a week is a personal thing. I could tell you how long I would stay at each, but who am I? So I gave you a range that most would fit into one way or another .... I think .... I could be wrong. Read, research, imagine, plan travel times and stops along the way. You might love spending 20% of your trip on ferry boats, or you might enjoy the olive tasting more? I have no idea.

The Podgirica airport idea is "thinking out of the box" as Budapest to Dubrovnik or Ljubljana or Zagreb is going to take 5 or 6 hours by plane as there are no direct flights. But Budapest to Podgorica, direct, then up the coast to Dubrovnik is about the same amount of time, and it beats sitting in an airport and waiting fot a connection in Frankfurt. Then from Dubrovnik you can race to Ljubljana if you want. That could be fun. But I still think the good stuff is South and now is the time to see it before it gets as expensive and crowded as Croatia.

The last thing I will leave you with is that transportation through the Balkans is far from efficient. On the bus and ferry, you will miss wonderful places along the way. So, if you can swing it, hire your transfers. I was always happy i did it.

prosserone, before you leave for Croatia, how many days do you have in Budapest?

Sorry, I just realized you want to go to Croatia in June. Its going to be crowded and $$$.

But if your heart is set on Dubrovnik, Split and maybe Slovenia in 8 days (cause you are spending not less than 3 full days in Budapest), then abandon Slovenia and fly into Podgorica and out of Split. Hire a professional to plan the transportation so you can hit all the sweet places in between and get the most out of your time and in a manner that fits with what you enjoy.

You might want to consider a cooler less crowded,l Plan B.

Wow some fantastic responses have really made us open our eyes & absorb it all, thanks everyone for the great ideas, thing is we do have some time on our side hence why I posted on here, to get some better input from more experienced travellers, ok so we will change it up a bit now, the reason why I originally said around 7-8 days Croatia Slovenia, is we finish our river cruise in Budapest & my partner really wanted to go see Croatia or at least part of it, now it seems it’s a extremely busy place in June well guess most of Europe is for summer, but some places are super busy & Croatia seems to be one of them, we have 15 days between our Budapest river cruise before we jump on the princess Mediterranean cruise which leaves from Rome
So original idea was to fill in first part of winging it to Croatia & Slovenia

Here’s what we are now thinking
Flying from Budapest to Podgorica staying 1-2 nights then arranging a tour guide to Dubrovnik
Staying 2-3 nights
Flying to Lijubljana spending 2-3 nights
Then flying to Switzerland 1-2 nights
Catching the Bernina Express from Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy
Then remaining days in Italy working our way down to Rome
I’m open to suggestions critics & everything else in between
Love to hear your ideas suggestions

Thanks everyone

Podgorica is a comparatively dull city best skipped unless you need to spend time there for logistical reasons. Almost any other town in Montenegro would be higher on my list of possibilities, if you can work out the transportation. There is some public-bus service (I think not very frequent) between Kotor/Herceg Novi and Dubrovnik. There may well be buses from Podgorica as well; I haven't checked. I'd look for a private transfer if I were you, but from an origin other than Podgorica.

There are only one or two non-stop flights per day from Ljubljana to Switzerland. They are operated by Swiss International Airlines and go to Zurich. Zurich Airport is a 1.5- to 2-hour trip by train from Chur. The trip on to Tirano takes 4 to 4-1/2 hours; for that you have a choice of the extra-cost Bernina Express train (with panoramic cars) or the more frequent regular trains (with windows that open).

You could easily travel from Zurich all the way to Tirano in a single day if you didn't want to hop off the train and sightsee on foot along the way. If you opted for the regular trains running on the same tracks as the Bernina Express, you wouldn't have to buy your tickets in advance--which I'd be a little concerned about with the thin air connections between Ljubljana and Switzerland. On the other hand, if you are confident about your plans and willing to commit to making the trip on regular trains on a specific day, you could buy a Saver Day Pass for as little as CHF 52. To get that price you'd have to buy very early, and the pass would only be usable on the day you selected.

The Bernina Express route is beautiful; I made that trip in 2024. However, dropping it into an itinerary between Ljubljana and northern Italy feels a bit dicey to me. (I'm a slow traveler who is conservative about scheduling transportation.) It would be pretty easy to travel directly from Ljubljana to northern Italy. Many folks on the forum have used GoOpti's shuttle service for that purpose, though I have not.

Thank you for your advice Washington DC, Podgorica was only an option but will look at dropping that & going direct from Budapest to Dubrovnik
Just done some browsing as we definitely want to do the scenic train thru Switzerland from chur to tirano
Then train from there to Milan Aprox 2.5hrs
Then onto Venice - Florence working our way to Rome
But still weighing up options
Open to more suggestions
Thank you

To my knowledge, there are no non-stop flights between Budapest and Dubrovnik. I think that's why Mr. E recommended flying to Podgorica; he's very knowledgeable about flights out of Budapest. I did not mean to discourage the flight to Podgorica, just spending any unnecessary time there.

I would fly into Podgorica being it is a nonstop flight. Less than 2 hour bus ride to Budva from there. Stay a couple nights and private driver from there to Croatia. Or, depending on what day you leave Budva, there is a fast ferry to Dubrovnik. I believe it’s around 2 hour boat ride.

Discussing staying in Podgorica is a little like discussing staying in Baltimore when you travel to Washington, DC. No, it’s the airport, not the destination. But …. If I were to fly direct to Dubrovnik from Budapest, I would probably take the Air Serbia flight. I have flown them often with changes in Belgrade (like the Dubrovnik flight). The Belgrade airport is very okay, but 2 of my last four connections there have been close to two hours late. The last time was about a month ago. Still, beats the other options for trip time, arrival time and cost.

So how does that stack up against flying to Podgorica? This isn’t speculation, I have done both between Budapest and Dubrovnik.

6 June 2026: Depart 9:45 on Air Serbia to Dubrovnik with 4:50 flight time including one change and a layover in Belgrade arriving Dubrovnik airport at 2:35. Then a 40-minute drive to the Dubrovnik Old Town Gate arriving at 3:15. 5:30 total time.

5 June 2026: Depart 8:00 on WizzAir to Podgorica, 1:20 non-stop flight time, arriving Podgorica airport at 9:20. Then a 4:10 hours drive/transfer up the coast through Kotor, Perast, Herceg Novi and the border crossing to the Dubrovnik Old Town Gate arriving at 1:20. So, 5:30 total time. Hmmm, pretty much the same. Might vary 30 minutes one way or the other.

Now add 2 hours to the trip for stops in one or two of those fabulous places that you will drive through in Montenegro and you arrive in Dubrovnik at the exact same time as the Air Serbia flight scenario but you saw some of the best of the Adriatic and for my taste, better in some ways than anything you will see in Croatia.

The downside? Both flights, WizzAir and Air Serbia are going to cost about the same, but with the Podgorica scenario you will end up spending maybe $200 more for the guided transfer; and as you see above, both options are day of the week dependent.

After my post above I saw jennya's post.

Well, I was trying to work within the question and keep my bias out of it. I would spend 3 nights in Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik despite the Disney environment still talks to me, but do some historic research so you have some context), then maybe go up to Split for 2 nights (I have no love for Split, but many do, so my suggestion reflects my open mindedness), but I woud spend every other second I had in Montenegro. Montenegro is what RS talks about when he discusses back doors. Well, at least this year it is. In 3 years, who knows, probably not. The country is incrediably compact. You can drive down the coast from Herceg Novi near Croatia to Ulcinj near Albania in 3.5 hours.

Croatia and Slovenia are great, but they will be the same in 5 years as the are today (expensive and crowded). Head south before it becomes more of the same.

The ferry. I have never been on it. Ask around. I have heard a few reports that it isnt very comfortable or enjoyable. But a couple of reports dont make a fact. For me, I have skipped it because there is so much good on land to see on the way up the coast, why cruise right past it?

The view of fjord-like Bay of Kotor when you take the road from Kotor (for example) up to Herceg Novi and on to Dubrovnik is fabulous. I wouldn't expect the ferry trip to be more scenic, but perhaps it is--I haven't taken it, either.

acraven, you know exactly why I made the suggestion. I would make a day out of it.

The flight arrives at 9:20 so a little time to deplane and get bags then meet the driver. So a 10am start possibly.

From the airport to Restaurant "Zora", Njeguši, Cetinje, is about an hour so that works out pretty good https://youtu.be/ew-mgICOXFQ?si=jcyrkjmmxbHNINT7.

After lunch its the infamous P1 road down to to the town of Kotor https://youtu.be/DVRGSmZ4Pew?si=yg_HB3JclhUk2Hv6 and https://youtu.be/Q6QK7JwRzhs?si=QbBMchwoPqIqSV1D which will have you there by maybe 12:30. I mean who woud want to miss that!! This is a dream trip.

Then Kotor and the Bay of Kotor https://youtu.be/vBJCB6A4O4g?si=aI_6Dls4PuFM9Jhb with stops in Perast and Hercg Novi.

Even with some time in Kotor and the tour boat to the islands https://youtu.be/rU53brcNPUs?si=oOhIQrRsKIGLRURm you can be at Herceg Novi https://youtu.be/nNtT4Mh2ZTc?si=9uLCydD1lu-3F-oP by 15:00 and to Dubrovnik by maybe 17:00 without rushing or not stopping for the good stuff.

Or you can spend a couple of hours in the Belgrade airport waiting for a connection.

Okay, like I said previously, I would do more than make a day out of it. Budva, Stari Bar, Ulcinj, Ostrog ... heck, I would make a week of it.

Oh, the transfer / guide service from the Podgorica airport? I think you can find some recommendations in the Montenegro forum. Or PM me.