First draft of a 6 week trip

My first thought is that you should add at least 2 nights to Paris, probably more. Unless you’ve been to Paris before, giving it only as much time as Dubrovnik seems to me to be seriously out of whack. There are some very worthwhile side trips, like Chartres, which you can do; and Paris, itself, is huge and loaded with all kinds of important attractions. Really, a week seems barely enough.

I agree with Rosalyn about Paris, unless you've been there. And 4 nights seems a lot for Dubrovnik, unless there are day trips you want to do from there, Dubrovnik itself is not large. Or maybe that's just a planned resting point for a few days on your trip.

Are you prepared for the possible cost of renting a car in Croatia and dropping off in Slovenia? Can't say for sure but that could be huge, at least for me.

Great point about the cross-border dropoff :(. I need to look into that and figure out if that's doable or if I need another solution. Paris is the only place on this trip that we have been, I should have mentioned that. So while we want to go back, we were there for ~5 days and so have done many of the main highlights. Good to know I might be able to take a day off Dubrovnik.

On arrival day take the RER train from the airport to Gare du Nord then walk to the Magenta platform. From Magenta get off at Paris St Lazare. From Paris St Lazare take a direct train to Bayeux (2h 30m): https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/. You’ll need to rent a car in Bayeux or join a tour to visit the D-Day Beaches and other sights.
From the Paris Gare de Lyon station take a train to the Lauterbrunnen Valley (Berner Oberland) that requires two connections and will take a full day to get there: https://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable.html. From Lauterbrunnen take a train to Basel’s airport (3h) and fly nonstop to Dubrovnik.
From Dubrovnik take a direct bus to Mostar or Split (3h 45m). Are you aware that there’s a hefty fee if you pick up a car in one country and drop it off in another?
There is also a direct overnight train departing Ljubljana at 00:30 arriving in Budapest at 8:59 AM: https://www.bahn.com/en. You could rent a sleeper car or share a couchette with other travelers. Otherwise, there’s a direct train departing at 9:35 arriving at 16:59.
Traveling from Budapest to Cesky Krumlov will take a full day and requires two connections. There is a direct train from Cesky Krumlov to Prague (2h 45m),
I think you should add a night to Paris and the Lauterbrunnen Valley (in case of bad weather for the latter). You do not need four nights in Dubrovnik. Two nights are plenty unless you take a day trip to Montenegro.
While in Ljubljana take a day trip to Lake Bled by direct bus (1h) and walk around the lake.
Instead of taking a train from Budapest to Cesky Krumlov stop in Vienna (2h 45m) by direct train. You can easily spend five nights in Vienna and include a day trip to Bratislava’s old town by direct train (1h). From Vienna’s Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof station it takes 4h 45m to get to Cesky Krumlov and requires two connections.

You're smart not to try to maintain Rick's pace. I contend that his recommended stays are too short for any city of size, and even if that were not the case, you really cannot trot through Europe for 6 weeks; you need a slower pace lest you crash and burn.

I highly recommend a one-day tour of D-Day sites. You'll learn a lot more that way. Extra time on your own can be spent seeing the many sights in Bayeux, including the good invasion museum.

I agree that 4 nights in Dubrovnik would be a lot without a day trip or two. There are bus tours to Kotor that take you around the magnificent Basly of Kotor. There are also regular public buses, though I don't think they're very frequent. The town of Kotor is vastly more pleasant when there's no monster cruise ship in port. The town of Herceg Novi between Dubrovnik and Kotor is a nice, relatively nontouristy place to depend a couple of hours or have lunch.

Mostar is another potential side trip from Dubrovnik.

One way to get around the cross-border car fee would be to drop the car in Zagreb and travel on to Ljubljana by bus or train. I think the travel time is about 2-1/2 hours. Zagreb has a very attractive, bi-level historic district. It has a lot of museums, including an excellent, small museum of naive art and the very entertaining Museum of Broken Relationships.

Budapest could do with an extra night or two, I think. It's a very nice city to wander around, and it has a lot of sights. There are also some good day trips if you decide you need a change of scenery. If you want to see the Parliament building, you'll need to buy these tickets very early. A tour is required, and the English tours sell out very early.

A few comments:

1. You definitely need to fly to Dubrovnik as there are no trains to Dubrovnik (and it there were this journey would take days).
2. I suggest that you return your rental car in Zagreb and then take the train to Ljubljana. Spend your days there and once you are done, pick up your rental car for a few days for Lak Bohinj. There are other great things to see in Slovenia which are not on your list, like the caves, Piran.
3. Buses are kinda gross, in my opinion. I'd do my best to try to take the train.
4. Look into take the CKshuttle or the Bean Shuttle to get to Cesky Krumlov as the way to get there is very clunky with public transportation.
   
5. Budapest is really a geographic outlier. Have you considered spending more time in Croatia and Slovenia, skipping Budapest and heading straight north for Prague?

Okay, I will pick up in Switzerland. There are non-stop flights to Dubrovnik from Zurich, Basel and Geneva. But not every day.

Mostar or Split? I vote for Mostar. I would not go to Split on a Friday or a Saturday. Too many drunks the last time I did.

Plitvice? One of the more underwhelming places I have visited. Disneyland with water.
Lake Bohinj? Never been. Sounds lovely. With 3 nights, sounds like you are into nature. The fishing is pretty fair too from what I hear (brown trout).

Ljubljana? Another never been, but will in the next year. And I would stay 3 nights if I did.

Bus to Budapest? I have one friend on a bus to Zagreb today and another returning from Zagreb tomorrow (to Budapest were I sit today). Both have done the trip several times and have said it’s a pretty nice, but very long trip. Personally I would go nuts in a bus that long but that’s just me.

Budapest to Cesky Krumlov? Two options, either take the train to Vienna and then board Bean or CK Shuttle (too expensive from Budapest) or fly Budapest to Prague, spend a few nights, then do an overnight trip to Cesky Krumlov, and return to Prague for a few nights.

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Now, if it were my trip I would go from Paris to Ljubljana see the things on your list and then work my way south to Dubrovnik. Yes, skipping Switzerland as it is the real outlier on this trip, and it deserves a lot more time on a future trip.

I would spend 3 nights in Dubrovnik and 1 night in Split and if time someplace else got tight I would skp Plitvice.

I would do a night in Mostar, then Sarajevo then the a few days driving through Montenegro’s mountains and lakes before ending up in Budva or Ulcinj or Stari Bar before flying out of Podgorica to Budapest (all of this replaces the time in Switzerland).

5 nights in Budapest.

You didn’t mention Vienna, so am skipping it too. Othewise it’s a good layover and you go Budapest, Vienna, Cesky Krumlov, Prague.

But skipping Vienna, Fly to Prague, 2 nights in Prague and then to Cesky Krumlov for 2 nights, then back to Prague. https://www.praguego.com/honest-tips/prague-to-cesky-krumlov/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20cheapest%20and,(one%2Dway%20ticket). When I did this I hired a car and driver, yes a bit pricy, but I planned out a route that stopped at one castle on the way down and another on the way back. Worth considering a driver or a guide in at least one direction.

Finally I would not rent a car. I would contact a good tour planner and do this right with private transfers and guides. When I find someone good, I tend to promote them as appreciation for doing such a good job. Dijana has done a few trips for me in the Balkans and for a couple of my friends. She’s good.

Dijana Krkotic
Doclea Travel
+382 69 277 749 (phone or WhatsApp)
[email protected]
www.docleatravel.com

I think Mister E's characterization of Plitvice Lakes National Park as "Disneyland with water" is misleading. It implies a place with a lot of commercial development--maybe a sort of water park. In fact, the only man-made features I remember observing inside the park are over-water walkways, a few steps scattered around where there are level changes, a small boat used to cross what I assume is the largest lake, and a bus used to get from the upper section of the park to the lower area.

It's not remotely Disneyland, though if you visit the park during day-tripping hours, it may be as crowded as Disneyland. That's why we advise everyone to spend the night in or near the park so they can pretty much avoid the daytrippers.

When visiting Bayeux, be sure to see the 900 year old amazing Bayeux Tapestry telling the story of the Norman conquest of England.

Dubrovnik, four nights is way too much, I say no more than 2.

Split and neighboring Trogir are worth a couple od days.

Budapest, four night nights is great, love that city.

Thank you all for so much fantastic input! This is very helpful.

MaryPat thank you for all of the helpful transportation notes.

Budapest is one of the 2 geographic outliers, but not one to drop, that Prague and Normandy are her top 3 choices. My husband did some work travel there in the mid-90s, and has talked it up; my daughter is a city person so is eager to explore it.

Berner Oberland was my top choice, however Mister E is right about it being the most problematic outlier. I will give that some more thought. Being in Europe during the time of year that I can do the hiking I want to do make it almost irresistible, but the transportation logistics are a lot. Will talk that over with my daughter.

I was reading through old posts in the Croatia forum last night and got the recommendation for the guide, thank you. I would love to avoid renting a car, so will give some more thought to the Mostar, Sarajevo, Split, Trogir, etc. questions and then work with her. The new guidebook comes out in August so I am waiting for that before buying :). Acraven and Emily thank you for the suggestion about Zagreb, if we decide we still want a car, that is how we will do it!

Cesky Krumlov is optional but looks great; I like the idea of going straight from Budapest to Prague and visiting from there. My husband recommends we go to Vienna for a few days, but I have to admit the 1 time I was there (30 years ago), it didn't call out to me. Going to think some more on that.

After some more thought I will post an updated draft; I need to spend some time specifically deciding what I want to do in Paris (and especially day trips), to see if adding a night there is needed, as well as another night in Budapest. Cutting Dubrovnik down to 2 days will help.

Thank you again! I so enjoy piecing together the puzzle of an itinerary and your recommendations are very helpful.

I loved both Plitvice and Lake Bohinj.

I gathered by some of your stops that nature is calling. That's why I threw out Montenegro. Very beautiful.

If you do skip Switzerland and work your way south through the Balkans (actually among my favorite part of Europe), do check out the flights from Podgorica to Budapest. Its Wizz Air and they are not every day, so you have to plan around it. Prices start at $75 depending on how light you travel. I took wizz last week home from Malta and a quick jaunt to a place never to be disclosed back in March, and they actually run a pretty good airline. As good as Lufthansa at least (and they dont appear to check the carryon as closely as does Lufthansa).

The flight is at 2pm, so two options. 1) Leave Dubrovnik about 9 am and make a straight run for the airport. Its a 2.5 hour drive, and while I have never waited more than 15 minutes at the border (Montenegro is not Schengen), I would allow an hour for the unexpected (the guide above also knows a less traveled crossing), 2) Better yet, the day prior head to Perast for the night. Kotor gets more publicity, but its just a small Dubrobnik and after Dubrovnik, Perast is a nice change. Beautiful. There are a couple of hotels on Kotor Bay with restaurants over the water. Its lovely. Along the way there are a couple small towns to stop and see. Naturally, all this is by guide. Then the next morning make the short drive into Podgorica for the flight.

I am very biased so I wont get into the Vienna vs Budapest discussion. Vienna is a lovely town, but in ways it is the "anti-Budapest" so if Vienna didnt wow you, there is a good chance Budapest will. Five nights is a pretty perfect stay. When you get to the Budapest part, I can help with hotels and neighborhoods (I sort of live here now).

Then if you took an early trian to Vienna and spent the night in a hotel on or very near the Kärntner Strasse (Emily can help here), you could have that day and then depart by CKShuttle or Bean Shuttle around noon the next day (or two days later and to be fair, that probably makes more sense), and be in Cesky Krumlov just before all of the day tourists have left (unfortunately Cesky Krumlov has gotten like Prague so timing helps). As lovely as the town is .... and it is pretty spectacular .... I wouldnt mind moving on after lunch the next day (just after the next wave of day tourist hits). For me its been a few years so if anyone thinks I am wrong with the timing .... the help would not offend. CK and Bean Shuttle are the way to go. About 2.5 hours each leg.

Perast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd6ErEHPHmg
Herceg-Novi (on the way to Perast) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOqLXoeE_o4
Budva (further down the coast) https://youtu.be/TKhHJsb9A0w
Stari Bar (further down the coast) https://youtu.be/_9MwpFfi3js
Uncinj (further down the coast) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaPcThRQdi4

Tara Canyon (inland) https://youtu.be/9aGMZB8hB5Y
Ostrog (inland) https://youtu.be/4VG3H4M8Esc

I agree with James (Mister E) in that you really only need one night in Cesky Krumlov. It's a charming town and I highly recommend visiting it, but it's small enough that you really don't need 2 nights.

I also agree with you about Vienna. I really enjoyed my stay there but it did not call out to me, either, and I have had no real desire to go back.

Your plan looks very good to me. Nothing wrong with some long travel days on a 6 week trip.