Ideas for Croatia & Slovenia?

Hi Andrea,

Are you planning to rent a car? Those two countries aren’t as easy for public transportation. Any chance you would like to just join the RS Adriatic tour? I did that one in June, and it’s a wonderful trip! I did notice that it was more hours on transportation than I was used to for my normal trips.

I’ll share this one in case some of the comments or details of our wonderful mother/daughter trip could help:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/mother-adult-daughter-italy-trip-aug-sept-2022

Andrea, Venice can work well with Slovenia and northern Croatia. But with only two weeks, you're going to have to move pretty fast and skip some things:

If she can take two weeks, let's say 13 nights. Then you could do:

Dubrovnik (3 nights)
Catamaran to Korcula or Hvar
Korcula or Hvar (2 nights)
Split (1 night)
Rent a car, drive to Zadar
Zadar (1 night)
Plitvice Lakes National Park (1 night)
Drop car in Zagreb, train to Ljubljana
Ljubljana (3 nights)
Shuttle or bus to Venice
Venice (2 nights)

Zadar and Split would have Roman ruins.

You could do this without the car easily except for Plitvice Lakes National Park. There is reliable bus service between Split, Zadar, and Zagreb, and buses do stop in Plitvice too, but you have to hinge it on the bus schedules, and landing in the busy, popular park (which is amazing, with dozens of waterfalls and two huge lakes of turquoise-colored water) - a true highlight of Croatia) mid-day puts you there with big crowds and tour groups. Doing only a one night stop with the bus makes it harder to do Plitvice. If you skip Plitvice, then the buses are pretty easy.

But driving in Croatia is easy outside of the cities. I wouldn't drop the car in a different country from which you rented it to avoid a step drop-off fee.

If you start say in Dubrovnik, your furthest point south, then move on to Split, then to up the coast then Ljubljana, then Rovinj with a day trip to Pula for great Roman ruins. You could then take a catamaran to Venice.
Dubrovnik to Split - catamaran. 3 nights (to get iver jet lag)
Split to Zadar or Šibenik - catamaran. 2 nights
Zadar or Šibenik to Plitvice - bus. 2 nights
Plitvice to Ljubljana - bus. 1 night
Ljubljana to Rovinj - bus 2 nights
Rovinj to Venice - catamaran. 2 nights
Venice. 2 nights

The bus rides are all around 3-3.5 hours.

You could also skip Plitvice or do it as a day trip from zagreb. There is a train from zagreb to Ljubljana which is about 2 hours.

As much as I love Korčula, I would skip it with such a tight schedule.
Play around with Rome2Rio for bus times if you don’t want to rent a car.

My wife and I spent 8 nights in Croatia in 2017. Trip Report is posted on Rick Steves Forum (parts 1-3): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/croatia-road-trip-aug-2017-dubrovnik-and-drive-to-split
Below is our itinerary, with comments based on your comments.
This itinerary worked well for us, and we were satisfied with the amount of time in each location.
We rented a car when we departed Dubrovnik, and returned it when we left the Istria Peninsula.

• Dubrovnik (2 nights). Afterwards we drove to Split, using a car ferry for part of the way (to avoid driving through Bosnia and Herzegovina), but there is now a bridge. We enjoyed the drive along the narrow road on the scenic south coast of the Peljesac Peninula alongside steep vineyards, and then passing through a narrow tunnel. We encountered only one car on that road.
• Split (2 nights). Diocletian's Palace is one big Roman artifact, filled with restaurants, shops etc. One, the Luxor Bar, is a magic place for an outdoor drink at night.
• Plitvice Park (1 night). Nice stop if one likes nature parks.
• Rovinj (Istra Peninsula) (3 nights). The walkable city of Pula has several interesting Roman artifacts, including an arena.

Thank you all for your quick replies. You’ve offered so much to think about. Jean and Geoff, I enjoyed your trip reports very much.

I should have mentioned that I don’t mind driving when necessary if it means that it would allow us to get to places more easily or if it would save time over using public transportation considering our time is limited. I certainly know to return the car in the country it’s rented in! I’ve driven in quite a few European countries and throughout the U.K.

My daughter’s husband passed away a few years ago and life hasn’t been easy for her since then. When we were talking about Croatia a few days ago and we were discussing islands she mentioned that her husband had gone to Korcula. I think she might like to go there for that reason.

Barbara, you know I’ll be picking your brain when I have more to go on!

I forgot to mention that I considered the tour but decided it would be better to travel independently.

I’ll be there from Sept 3 to Oct 8. My itinerary is
Zagreb - 2 nights
Rijeka - bulk of time with day trips to Hum, Pula, samabor, Venice
Zadar - lunch stop during drive to Split
Split - 3 nights
Korčula - 3 nights
Dubrovnik - 3 nights
Zagreb - 1 night before flight home

Friends are coming Sept 17 and we will fly home
together. We are renting a car for the part of the trip (11days) they are with us from Rijeka till Split. Then again from Dubrovnik to Zagreb. Easy driving. We rented through Sixt.
If you have any specific questions while I’m there email me.

Thanks Barbara, I hope you have a great trip!!

Andrea, i updated it to add some more details. The hotels/B&Bs in Dalmatia book up pretty fast. I will be there next July with my daughter and family and will make my reservations while I am in each city now.

Sept 3 Fly into Zagreb right to Rijeka - cousin picking us up
Rijeka till Sept 20
Car rental (Sixt) for drive to Zagreb to pick up friends
Zagreb - 2 nights - Hilton Canopy
Rijeka - 6 nights with one overnight in Venice - concordia hotel on St marks Square
Drive to Split with stop in Zadar for lunch
Drop car in Split and take catamarans then on
Split - 3 nights - Hotel Peristal - within the palace walls
Korčula - 3 nights - Guesthouse Jungher - in the old town walls (cousin owns)
Dubrovnik - 3 nights - Bed&Breakfast Andio - in the old town walls
Pick up rental car and drive to Zagreb, one night, for flight home

All of the hotels/B&Bs we have stayed at before except in Venice but a friend stays there every year for carnival. If you want to know prices or any specific info on any place, e-mail me, even during my trip.

Thanks Barbara, I appreciate your help.

Taking in all you have mentioned here, I suggest:
Dubrovnik 3 nights
Korcula 3 nights (having visited here on my honeymoon, this part touched me) -- easy by bus (through the scenic Peljesac peninsula) or catamaran
Split 1-2 nights (via catamaran from Korcula)
So that's a week, and if Dubrovnik, Korcula, and Venice are musts, then I can't envision how to include Slovenia. It will be very hot and crowded on the coast, so you may want to move slightly slower.
You could then do a night or two at Plitvice by car, then head over to Istria (seeing the arena in Pula) for a few nights. You have a ton of options here--more time on the islands off Split, or move up the coast. If Slovenia is a must, pop up to Zagreb, divert into Slovenia, then back to Istria to drop car and ferry over to Venice.
Finishing with 3 nights in Venice, which you could access via ferry from Pula or Rovinj (check VeneziaLines for schedules).

Your additional info is helpful, and I hope you both have a wonderful time!

Here’s some thoughts:

Fly to Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik to Hvar by ferry
Hvar to Split by ferry
Drive to Plitvice National Park. Go into the park at entrance #2 as soon as it’s open. Take the little train-looking bus from the ticket gate to the top of the lake to begin. This will give you the better falls with hardly any people.
Plitvice to Ljubljana by car. Nearby Lake Bled & the amazing Postojna Cave are both “must do” in my opinion.
Rovinj, if you have time. Otherwise, leave off the car, and take a 3-hr bus from Ljubljana to Venice.
2-3 days in Venice.

For the ferries, I rode the passenger Krilo catamarans. Here’s their website. I purchased my tickets on-line a month ahead; they do sell out. https://krilo.hr/en/sailing-schedule/

Oh, remembering your daughter wants to go to Korcula. Take the Dubrovnik ferry to Korcula, next day ferry to Hvar. Then I would drop Rovinj.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/june-2023-trip-report-14-day-rs-best-of-the-adriatic-tour

Hotels
For Plitvice, Hotel Jezero‘s location is fantastic to walk to Entrance #2, and they serve huge buffets for dinner and breakfast.
For Hvar, I was happy at Heritage Hotel Dea Hvar. The owner comes to the ferry dock to carry your suitcases. Otherwise, a friend loved the Adriana Hotel; she raved about their huge breakfast buffet.
For Korcula, Aminess Korcula Heritage Hotel has the perfect location. We stayed farther uphill during the RS tour.
For Venice, my favorite is UNAHOTELS Ala Venezia for the location, staff and ease of taking the vaporettos. I’ve stayed there multiple times.

Wow Jean, another great trip report! You have provided a lot of good information.

I just spoke to my daughter and we discussed having to make hard choices when time is limited. She mentioned the possibility of just going to Slovenia and Venice, and adding Verona. I’ve been to Venice and Verona twice each. But not Slovenia. I have so much research to do and the information provided by all the responses will be very helpful.

Verona would be a great choice! And you will be there during their opera season. Even though I’m not a huge opera fan, there’s something wonderful about attending an opera under the stars in such a historic Roman arena!

I also did a city bike tour last time I was there, and it’s a fun way to learn about Verona’s history and see some spots I didn’t know about previously.

It’s true - you will have hard choices. All of the destinations and trip outlines are wonderful.

But obviously you don’t have time for all of them. I think you probably have a good handle on Croatia suggestions but I would second the stops in Dubrovnik (2), Korćula (3), Split (2), and Istria (3) - for the natural beauty and Roman ruins. This is 10 nights. Plitvice is gorgeous but it might not work as a priority this time, although you could potentially fit 1 night for it (11 nights).

Then I think you decide between Slovenia and Venice (or Verona) for either 3 or 4 nights. That = 14 nights. If you have 4 nights, it makes Slovenia easier. If 3, Italy would make more sense to me. But when it’s a trip of the heart, you choose what fits that requirement the best. ❤️

I think Veneto and Slovenia would make a great two week trip! That would really maximize your time--maybe go to southern Croatia when you can go in a month other than August.
If you fly round-trip to Venice, you could pick up a car after maybe shaking off jetlag in Verona, head into Slovenia, then return car and end in Venice.

Jean, a city bike tour in Verona sounds like so much fun (if it isn’t too hot!) and I did think about an opera if the timing works out. The first time I went to Verona and went into the arena I imagined how my mother would have loved Verona and to see an opera there. She loved the opera and wanted me to go to one with her. I was in my 20’s and I was only into rock & roll. No way was I going to an opera! Sadly she passed away when I was 27 and the one regret I have in life is that I refused to do that with her. I’m still not an opera buff, but the thought of going to one in Verona with my daughter would be enough to convince me to do it. My mom never had a chance to travel, but got a passport about 8 months before she passed in anticipation of going to China. She got sick and never made it. I never knew she got a passport until early 2016. My sister had passed away on Christmas Eve 2015 and my niece was cleaning out her drawers. She called and asked me if I wanted the passport. Yes please! I have carried it with me on every international trip since then.

TTM, hard choices indeed. Ultimately my daughter chooses and we will have a special time together no matter where we go.

valadelphia, I’m liking your suggestion of Venetian & Slovenia. Personally I would be fine to hold off on Croatia until it would be a bit cooler and I could go with my hubby. I’ve picked up a car in Verona before (prior to spending 8 nights in Tuscany) and I’m imagining driving in Slovenia is easier than driving in Italy. 😬