Hello everybody,
I'm driving myself crazy trying to figure out this stage of my itinerary and could do with the wisdom of some less-frazzled, more-traveled heads. ;) There is too much to see in too little time, and my two "want most to see" places in the region (Ljubliana and Zadar) are inconveniently far away from each other. I need some help committing to an area and then settling on specifics.
I have eight days on my own between the end of RS tour (Nice) and needing to be in Trieste by 9 July (meeting friends for a short cruise, so no sightseeing after the 9th). I've wanted to see Ljubliana for a long time, and Trieste sounds like my kind of city (lots of history, museums, overlapping cultures, good food), so this sounded great. But I also really want to see Zadar, which also ticks all my history-traveling boxes and has the Dalmatian coast). I could do both--fly to Zadar from Nice, spend a few days there, and then make my way north, but that seems too hectic and too much time on planes and buses (the ferry schedule from Zadar isn't cooperating and I won't be renting a car).
I know the answer to this (very much not tragic dilemma) is to skip Zadar and stick to points north. I would like a day or two at a quieter (not urban) coastal spot. I know that Croatia and "Slovenian Istria" (is that an actual term?) offer lots of possibilities, but I'm having trouble actually picking places. Perhaps because this will be my first trip since Covid, and possibly my last trip for a while, I'm feeling extra stress to "get it right." Also, if this makes sense, I'd like a place with a bit of a "history/culture" tourism infrastructure (museums, well-established day or walking tours, etc.). I don't know enough about the area to really "interpret" it without help, and multiple private tours aren't in the budget.
Apologies for sounding so scattered. As I said, this is driving me crazy and as it gets closer, I'm getting more frazzled and finding it even harder to commit. Thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!