Hello Everyone- Trying to plan our honeymoon and would like some advice and opinions. I’ve done a bit of travel around Europe, Italy (Lake Como, Amalfi Coast and Tuscany) being my favorite, but my future husband has ever traveled abroad. For our honeymoon, we wanted to visit Croatia and Montenegro since I have not visited either. We had time for one more place and considered Prague, which I also have not visited. However, I thought that maybe finding another area, closer to Croatia, would make better use of our time. I love Italy and would love to expose my fiancée to its beauty but really would prefer avoiding a place I’ve visited. What areas besides Italy would you recommend for our third stop? Or is Prague something to really do regardless of distance. Any ideas for wonderful honeymoon destinations in Europe are welcomed. We have 18 days to spare and we aren’t much of beach people although a day at a great beach during our honeymoon would be great. We are more get lost in the place and take it all in kind of people. Your suggestions are appreciated. Thank you
Posted by
Lynnwood, WA
25 posts
Budapest is closer than Prague and is a wonderful place to visit. (I'm surprised James has not already chimed in with this suggestion). Make sure you see Plitvice in Croatia.
Posted by
4473 posts
What month will the trip occur?
Budapest is a good suggestion because there is a train to Zagreb, or you can fly--easy. If Prague has good transit connections, I see no reason to exclude it.
Until travel restrictions have well and truly calmed down, I would be reluctant to do too much country-hopping, but if you are sure you need one more country, then I would look at neighbors--Bosnia could easily fill a week. Many also combine Slovenia with Croatia, but there is the outdoor factor (which I touch on below).
I often suggest pairing Venice with the Istria region of Croatia--and what screams honeymoon more than Venice? I would not get too bogged down about not going to a country you have been before. There are historical reasons to compare Venice with the Croatian coast, plus the ferry connections makes it a good pair.
I am a bit concerned that you said you are not beach people--while you need not spend time on a beach, Croatia is very much an outdoors type destination. If you have no interest in water sports, boating, hiking, you might run out of things to do there fairly quickly, but all of the Venetian towns of the coast certainly merit a visit, and Zagreb is very pleasant for days as well.
I suggest fleshing out your list of destinations within Croatia and Montenegro first, then see what the trip needs to complete it. If you share what is already in your plans, we will see what you are drawn to.
Last, I honeymooned in Croatia and have been happily married almost 20 years--it's a great choice for a honeymoon, and congrats!
Posted by
11232 posts
Budapest is closer so would work; It is interesting to visit both sides of the river, Buda and Pest.Or consider Slovenia. These are all in the former Eastern Bloc, have a Central European culture and foods which are not our favorite, heavy, meat centered. But they certainly are all worth a visit. Prague was over run with tourist groups when we visited spoiling our experience there.
You do not want to add any of Italy, but Venice is directly across from Croatia and easily reachable by ferry.
The Adriatic off of Croatia is beautiful with turquoise waters. Make sure you visit some of the islands there such as Hvar and Korçula. Dubrovnik was very crowded when we visited but Split and the islands were not.
Posted by
Simpsonville, SC, US
70 posts
Another vote for Venice! You can also consider going down the coast to Greece to end your trip!
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Wonderful suggestions. We are planning on visiting in May of 2022. I am hopeful restrictions would be more lenient by then. Venice is a nice option but I’ve heard is so touristy that it makes me question it. I’ve been to Budapest and loved it but would rather stay somewhere new. Been to Athens and Santorini too so maybe Myknonos? Suggestions and opinions appreciated.
Posted by
Washington DC
27230 posts
Mykonos is, from recent reports, a party island. Unless you're specifically looking for that, it wouldn't be my choice. Naxos has a lot more to offer and is part of the same island group. But how many days will you have for this third destination? I wouldn't go to Greece for just a few days.
Slovenia has a lot to recommend it--a charming capital and some lovely countryside, but transportation back home from Ljubljana may be trickier than from Zagreb or northern Italy. That's something you can check on now to see whether it's more than you'd want to tackle.
I don't think anyone is going to assure you that Venice will not be touristy next year, but I think a great many of the people who complain about that are the ones who planned a very short trip to Venice--probably fewer than 2 full days--and spent most of their time in places like San Marco and the Rialto area. With more time you can wander the back canals and little campos where you'll see few other tourists.
As mentioned upthread, it would help us a lot if you provided more details about what you've planned so far: Where do you plan to go in Croatia and Montenegro? You mentioned 18 days "to spare". Is that the total length of your trip, or do you mean you have 18 days in addition to the time you expect to spend in Croatia and Montenegro? And what sort of sights and activities are you looking forward to?
Posted by
Irving
2979 posts
Since you’re are so close to Bosnia and Herzegovenia, why wouldn’t you go there? In Croatia, I’d visit the lower half. This includes Dubrovnik, Split, Hvar and Korčula and the upper half on a separate trip when you can also go to Slovenia and Venice.
You can fly non-stop between Dubrovnik and London Gatwick, Rome, Dublin, Kyiv, Frankfurt, Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Zurich, Moscow, Paris, Vienna, Helsinki and Warsaw.
The other place you can fly in or out of is Sarajevo. According to Skyscanner there are non-stop flights between Sarajevo and Vienna, Frankfurt, Zurich, and Istanbul.
From Dubrovnik you could take a day trip to the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro and then work your way to Split by boat via Korčula, Hvar and make Split your last stop in Croatia. I would then take a bus from Split to Mostar and the scenic train from Mostar to Sarajevo. It is not too early to start looking at flights.
Posted by
Irving
2979 posts
Prague is more doable when visiting Vienna and Berlin since it’s a four hour train ride between each city: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/cost-maps and click on the + where is says Train Costs and Time Estimates Across Europe.
Posted by
Sweden
6470 posts
I don't recommend the link MaryPat provided. The maps there are to be honest pretty useless, a much better choice for train travel information is https://www.seat61.com
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
18153 posts
Wizzair flies from Podgorica to Budapest for about $75 and 1.25 hours; makes a good pairing and of course i prefer it over Prague.
If you are going to Dubrovnik, I would skip Kotor or just spend one day. Just a smaller less impressive (but still beautiful) version of Dubrovnik.
Mostar is beautiful, I love Perast, Budva and Stari Bar and Ulcinj; all within reach of Dubrovnik.
All depends on what you are interested in. Montenegro is a few beautiful old towns and lots of gorgeous nature while Budapest and Prague are two of the best old cities in Europe.
Outside of Dubrovnik I haven't seen Croatia but I am solving that next week (Kyiv, Odesa, Istanbul, Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Perast/Kotor Bay, Dubrovnik, Athens, Crete, Athens, Istanbul).