Slovenia, Plitvice Lakes, and Budapest - 17 Nights - Need Itinerary Help Please

Should we spend 6 nights in Budapest, and take it off from somewhere else?

This is difficult to judge without knowing your interests, and especially those of your young adult children. You've got a great mix of outdoor activities planned in Croatia and Slovenia. Do they enjoy city sights? Would they enjoy the baths? If not, then 6 nights might be a lot in Budapest.

drive through interior of Istrian peninsula to Postojna or Skocjan caves
Not far from Skocjan caves is Lipica, including the horse farm where the Lipizzaner Stallions are bred and trained. If your children enjoy outdoors, they might enjoy the guided tour or watching a ring practice. (These are not daily, so check schedules.)

Lake Bled (we are not sure if we should spend two or three nights here - but we like the idea of 3 relaxing nights)
Nearby Vintgar Gorge is another great outdoor activity, an easy and beautiful out and back walk on boardwalks near the base of the gorge.

Perhaps you could add a stop on the way from Logarska Dolina to Budapest.

Days 5 and 6 look like a problem to me. I'm stuck with just a smartphone at the moment and am having no luck getting an estimated driving time from ViaMichelin.com for the path you propose to take between Ljubljana and Postojna; Plitvice, Senj and Istria are quite the detour. I don't drive in Europe. Perhaps that route isn't as gnarly as it sounds to this public-transportation user, but I have serious doubts.

What day do you plan to see Plitvice National Park? I'm guessing you plan to do the park on Day 5 after driving from Ljubljana. That is not a good idea because it will put you there at the same time as the hoards of other day-trippers. Massive crowding on the walkways seriously degrades the experience. The most you should try to do on Day 5 is see part of the park in the late afternoon and the rest of it at opening time the next day.

To me Istria isn't a place you pass through quickly. I'd want multiple nights there rather than just a quick glimpse through the car windows. As of 2015 there was a zip line at Pazin.

Thank you both so much for your helpful replies and for taking the time to share your suggestions.

Thank you for the reminder about Vintgar Gorge.

We were initially going to fly into Zagreb, spend two nights there, rent a car, and then drive to Plitvice. We decided to fly into Ljubljana instead.

Our plan was to spend time in the National Park in the morning before the crowds and then head out to Senj. Maybe we should spend two nights in Plitvice?

Plitivice to Senj is just over an hour's drive.

Senj to Postojna is just over two hour's drive. Maybe we should be spending one night in Senj before heading to Postojna?

We're pretty sure that we'll spend 5 nights in Budapest, but the rest of our itinerary is a bit of a blur at the moment.

We're really confused as to where to stay in each place and for how long. It's a bit of a challenge since our itinerary/desires are a bit different to what Rick Steves suggests in his book. We are not interested in the coastal areas of Croatia, We realize that we're going a bit off the usual tourist route.

After much thinking and looking at maps, we have decided on the following. I'd made a mistake. We're actually there for 16 nights, not 17.

Ljubljana - 3 nights and then rent a car
Plitvice - 2 nights
Postojna - 1 night
Lake Bled - 3 nights
Logarska Dolina - 2 nights
Budapest - Return car and 5 nights

If you have any thoughts, comments, tips, etc. - please do share. Thank you so much.

If you plan to see Plitvice after your night nearby, that should be fine; just be sure you get into the park at opening time. I don't think you need two nights there.

It's too bad the new procedure requires pre-purchase of tickets to guarantee park entry. Otherwise, I'd suggest you spend an hour or two in the park on the day you arrive in the area .

Thank you. By the way, I always enjoy and appreciate your helpful posts.
We were going to stay in Plitvice for one night, but since we have to rent a car and drive from Ljubljana, which is a slightly longer drive than from Zagreb, by the time we get there, it may very well be late afternoon or so. We may not have enough time to see the park in the evening. After Plitvice, we'll be driving to Postojna.
I read this: "Two nights helps if you are arriving late the first day or leaving early the third day ."
Yes, the pre-purchase ticket thing is annoying. I thought that I read somewhere that if one stays in the park, the ticket situation might be more flexible. That comment is probably out of date now and no longer possible. We haven't yet been able to find any accommodation within the park. It's quite a challenge. I know that the advantage of staying in the park is proximity and ease. I also know that the food and accommodation isn't necessarily the greatest. That one doesn't get what one pays for. You're only paying for location. Any thoughts on suggestions as to staying in the park, or should we stay outside?
Thanks again.

Prior to the change in ticketing procedures, I read on this forum that the hotels inside the park would endorse your arrival-day ticket to allow free entry the next day. I never had occasion to verufy that on the spot, and I certainly don't know whether that practice continues. If it does, that would be a side benefit of staying at one of the over-priced park hotels.

Again prior to the procedural change, the park offered 2-day tickets at less than twice the cost of the standard single-day tickets. I haven't looked at the website recently.

I think you'll find that booking.com has some listings outside but quite close to the park.

I'm finishing up Day 13 of a 25-day trip through the western half of Slovenia, and the country is rocketing to the top of my list of favorites. You will find no shortage of things to do during your time there.

A few thoughts:

• I would skip Celje and Varazdain on this trip. I don't think you can cut what you have in Slovenia any deeper, and you want to have plenty of time in Budapest
• If you are in Ljubljana on a Sunday, consider joining the locals for the hike up Šmarna Gora, a "hill" on the outskirts of Ljubljana with a good restaurant at the top that serves traditional Slovenian food.
• At some point, it's good to try to gain some understanding of Slovenia's tumultuous 20th century history. I know you said that you are not so interested in museums, but the Museum of Contemporary History in Ljubljana is good for this. The military museum at Pivka is EXCELLENT for this (and is very close to Postonja).
• Speaking of caves... hopefully you know that the difference between Postonja and Škocjan caves. Postonja is commercial, has a train, and has shorter walking distances. Škocjan is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is more rustic, does not have a train, and requires more walking. I chose Škocjan... zero regret.
• I would recommend something different for Vintgar Gorge than doing it as an out-and-back walk. At the end of the gorge, follow the signs on the right side and ascend to Saint Katherine Church for nice views, follow the road very briefly toward the pizza place and then go through the gate into a cow pasture and follow the trail that will continue to provide great views while level and then descends back to the parking lot. AllTrails has a map: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/slovenia/bled/vintgar-gorge-loop-trail. The Cicerone Guide for the Julian Alps has more detail.
• Vintgar opens at 7 am. Try to be there by 8 am (if not earlier) to beat the crowds.
• To get to the Logarska dolina from Bled, take the route that takes you through northern Slovenia, a tiny piece of Austria, and then back into Slovenia. It's quite amazing.
• Three nights Bled vs three nights Logarska dolina? I found the Logarska dolina markedly more relaxing than Bled if for no other reason than it is far less crowded. I can offer ideas for the Logar Valley if desired.

acraven, thank you again. Yes, I've already started looking at some alternative accommodations on booking.com.

Dave, thank you so much for taking the time to share all those tips! I'm saving them. We may stay in Bled for two nights and Logarska Dolina for three. Whenever you have the time, I would really appreciate hearing your ideas for the Logar valley. Actually, I'd appreciate any of your thoughts and suggestions. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Okay... Logar Valley...

The best website, in my opinion, for this area is the one for the Solčava Panoramic Road. It includes a list of 15 hiking options. I spent four nights there, which gave me three full days. I filled my days by...

1. Hiking in the Logar Valley.
   
2. Driving the panoramic road with a local guide. We stopped at, among other places, a farm that typically sells locally-made energy bars. There were no bars to sell that day. The wife mentioned that she had made chocolate that morning, but it was not for sell. She did offer me blueberry schnapps, which I accepted. She brought out the schnapps... along with some of the fresh chocolate. She proudly showed off her bee house, too (which was worth seeing). Toward the end of the day, the guide and I stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant right at the beginning of Robanov Kot that was great and then took the hiking path to its end. It was a pleasant, easy hike. We ended up in the guide's mother's house sipping tea made from mountain herbs, and I met several family members.
3. Taking a day trip to Velika Planina, a mountain plateau that is about an hour away from the Logar Valley. You can stop there on one of the routes to the Logar Valley, but then you miss the great scenery experienced by taking the northern route to the Logar Valley through Zgornje Jezersko, into Austria, and then hanging a right on a narrow road in Austria that takes you to the Logar Valley. There is a summer herdsmen settlement at the top of Velika Planina that may not be around much longer. There were only 17 herdsmen this summer (after 32 last summer). You can take a cable car and a chair lift to the top of the plateau to get to the settlement. All of the huts were rebuilt after WWII. An adjacent plateau (Mala Planina) that is a short walk/hike from Velika Planina was the site of a B-17 Flying Fortress crash in WWII. There is a memorial there. The pilot, Otto Hinds, died at the nearby Bela Partisan Hospital (a make-shift 2-building hospital up a mountainside) that can be reached with an hour or so hike a little farther up Kamniška Bistrica from the cable car station for Velika Planina; the buildings are gone but there is a small exhibition about the hospital there. The herdsmen would not share any info with the Germans about the airmen or what happened to them, so the Germans burned the settlement to the ground (which is why none of the buildings is more than 75 years old!).

I'm traveling solo and hired guides all 3 days -- a mountaineering guide on day 1, a local who lives near Robanov Kot on day 2, and a guide from Kamnik on day 3 (who gave me a short tour of that town in addition to Velika Planina and Bela Partisan Hospital). The local guides greatly enhanced my experience of the sites I saw, and I highly recommend all of them (and their language skills opened doors to experiences that I could have never opened on my own -- like blueberry schnapps with freshly-made chocolate). I'm happy to share contact info in a PM, if you are interested.

Thank you all for being so generous with your time and for sharing such helpful info and tips.

So here is what we're thinking for our number of nights in each place. Please feel free to comment/make suggestions.

Ljubljana - 3 nights (are 3 nights enough?)
Plitivice - 2 nights (still uncertain about this one - 1 or 2 nights)
Postojna - 1 night
Bled - 2 or 3 nights (not sure about this one either - sorry for being so indecisive)
Logarska Dolina - 2 or 3 nights?
Budapest - 5 nights

Doug, I'll go and look for your report. I assume that you visited in June. It's good to hear that it wasn't crowded, since we;ll be visiting then also. Is this your report? This is so helpful. Thank you. We were going to arrive to Zagreb and head to Plitvice from there, but then we decided against it. How many nights did you spend in Ljubljana? We are planning to stay for 3 nights. The first day, or at least part of it, I'm sure we'll be a bit jet-lagged. Do you think 3 nights are enough to enjoy Ljubljana? Also, since we'll be renting a car from Ljubljana and probably leaving there around mid-morning at the earliest, and it takes at least an hour longer to drive from Ljubljana to Plitivce than it does from Zagreb (never mind border crossing), by the time we arrive to Plitivice, it will be at least late afternoon and I'm sure we may be tired. This is why I think that we should spend 2 nights in Plitivice. Given all this, would two nights in Plitivice be too much? We don't mind paying entrance fees for two days. We used to live in Southern Cal, so yes, nice that you understand about beaches! We also don't mind the car insurance and all that. It's what we have to do and we understand. We'll be picking up the car in Ljubljana.
You mentioned Pula. It looks beautiful. Did you stay there or just pass through? If you stayed, how many nights would you suggest? I assume that if we do this, it would be on our way to Postojna.

Dave, thank you so much for all that. We would love to receive the contact info on your guides. Please feel free to PM me.

Perhaps this information will be a bit helpful with respect to the number of nights at Plitvice:

There are a lot of paths and over-water walkways in the park. There are several labeled trails, with some overlap. There are links to maps of some of the trails at the bottom of this webpage: Plitvice Guide. I think you can tell from the mileages and time estimates that the latter are very conservative.

I think the signage in the park is reasonably good, but the map printed on the entry ticket was microscopic, totally useless. Since I was departing by bus and didn't want to wait till the last bus out--a risky proposition--I spent 3 or 3.50 euros in the park shop for a map. That gave me assurance that when I was ready to head for the exit, I'd know where I was and how to get there. I have no idea whether a map on a smartphone would be useful inside the park.

I think there are some trails that aren't part of any of the marked-out paths. I've always chosen one of the marked paths, figuring they made an effort to include the nicest scenery when they laid out the paths. But I'm sure extra walking would be worthwhile if you have the time.

I chose the next-to-longest path at the time of my 2015 visit. Despite grotesquely crowded paths and walkways that made it impossible to walk fast (if one wanted to), I finished the walk more than an hour early. I stopped to make very few photos; I'm sure the average visitor spends somewhat more time doing that. But I did sit down for a few minutes to eat some yogurt and cookies.

acraven, thank you so much. That's so helpful.

We're hoping, and please excuse our crazy indecisiveness, to do the following. Please feel free to comment/share suggestions.

Ljubljana - 3 nights
Plitivice - 2 nights (still uncertain about this one - 1 or 2 nights)
Karst Region - 1 night (is one night enough to visit the Skocjan Caves and the Lipica Stud Farm?)
Bled - 2 or 3 nights (still not sure about this one either)
Logarska Dolina - 2 or 3 nights (still not sure)
Budapest - 5 nights

Thank you all again.

• I think your Ljubljana time looks good -- you have your arrival day + 2 full days to explore -- that's plenty for your timetable.
• I haven't been to Plitvice, but when I do go there, I'm going to spend 2 nights because (1) I absolutely love the outdoors and natural wonders, (2) it looks REALLY cool, and (3) even if there is not enough "new" stuff to cover all that time, if something is really cool, I don't get bored with it and can keep looking at it.
• You should be able to get Škocjan caves and the Lipica Stud farm in with a one-night stop. Depending on the duration of your Istrian trek, you could do both on the same day or one in the afternoon on arrival and the other the following morning before departure.
• I leave it to you to decide the Bled/Logar Valley conundrum.

Dave, you have been incredibly helpful. Thank you so much. Thank you for reassuring me regarding Ljubljana and Plitivice, especially. Also, thank you for all the detailed info re: the Logar Valley.
Editing to add: Dave, my husband says you're the boss! :-)

Glad to be of help!