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Hodgepodge Itinerary

Posted by (Hyattsville, MD, USA) on

Hello All,

I would like to hear your thoughts about a preliminary itinerary I've put together for my wife and I. We are a senior couple with some mobility issues, but nothing too restricting. Our tastes include art, culture, history, nature, and food (but not wine/spirits). We recently traveled throughout Slovenia and loved it so much that we want to see more of the Balkans, but also have a real craving to see Istanbul. Since we're traveling in the fall, we thought it prudent to leave the Croatian islands and Istria for another time. So here's what I've got so far.

Fri, Oct 9: Fly overnight to Zagreb, Croatia.

Sat, Oct 10: Zagreb and jet lag. Sleep in Zagreb.

Sun, Oct 11: Zagreb, sleep in Zagreb.

Mon, Oct 12: Day drip to Plitvice Lakes. Sleep in Zagreb.

Tue, Oct 13: Early afternoon flight to Split. Sleep in Split.

Wed, Oct 14: Split. Sleep in Split.

Thu, Oct 15: Pick up car. Drive to Kravica Waterfall and Mostar. Sleep in Mostar.

Fri, Oct 16: Mostar. Sleep in Mostar.

Sat, Oct 17: Drive to Blagaj Tekija and Dubrovnik. Sleep in Dubrovnik.

Sun, Oct 18: Drive to Herceg Novi, Perast. Head back to Dubrovnik. Drop off car. Sleep in Dubrovnik.

Possible alternative: drop off car a day early and hire a private tour for day trip to Perast and Kotor.

Mon, Oct. 19: Dubrovnik. Sleep in Dubrovnik.

Tue, Oct 20: same.

Wed, Oct 21: Morning flight to Istanbul. Sleep in Istanbul.

Thu, Oct 22 thru Sat, Oct 24: Behold the wonders and sleep in Istanbul.

Sun, Oct 25: Fly home.

Thank you to Mr. E who greatly influenced this plan. I'd would appreciate everyone's thoughts on any potential pitfalls, weather concerns, day-of-week closures, unreasonable driving times/expectations, and anything else you can think of that might present a problem for us. As always, thank you for your help.

Best, Mark

Posted by
25178 posts

Mark, its a great trip. Not a thing needs to be changed.

But ... we are all different. So I would do this:

Fri, Oct 9: Fly overnight to Zagreb, Croatia. (9 October is a very significat day in history)
Sat, Oct 10: Zagreb and jet lag. Sleep in Zagreb.
Sun, Oct 11: Zagreb, sleep in Zagreb.
Mon, Oct 12: Transfer to Plitvice Lakes then continue on with a few stops for more sightseeing to Split. Going back to Zagreb takes more or less the same amount of time as continuing on to Split. I suspect (know) you can find a driver and save on the plane tickets and the back and forth cost to Zagreb. Sleep in Split
Tue, Oct 13: In Split. Sleep in Split
Wed, Oct 14: Pick up car. Drive to Kravica Waterfall and Mostar. Sleep in Mostar.
Thu, Oct 15: Mostar. Sleep in Mostar.
Fri, Oct 16: Drive to Blagaj Tekija and Dubrovnik. Return car and sleep in Dubrovnik (or skip the car rental and just hire a transfer. At least check the prices)
Sat, Oct 17: Dubrovnik
Sun, Oct 18: Dubrovnik
Mon, Oct. 19: use a guide to leave Dubrovnik and see the towns along the bay of Kotor. Stay in Kotor or Perast. To be honest, I would stay in Perast and see Kotor the next day on the trip over the mountain. Kotor only takes an hour or two and there is a lot to see ahead.
Tue, Oct 20: Drive up over the mountain stop for prosciutto and cheese and in the old capital of Cetinje, Sleep in Budva
Wed, Oct 21: depart from Podgorica or Tivat to Istanbul. Sleep in Istanbul
Thu, Oct 22 thru Sat, Oct 24: Behold the wonders and sleep in Istanbul. Thats 3 full days. A fine first visit.
Sun, Oct 25: Fly home

Posted by
3507 posts

What mode of transportation are you using to day trip to Plitvice? A direct bus takes more than 2+ hours and a car takes 2h, plus you need to factor in parking, getting lost, etc. How about taking a bus to Plitvice and spending two nights. You can take away two nights in Zagreb and add it to Plitvice as you work your way to Split.
This park is extremely crowded and most of the wooden bridges do not have guard rails on its narrow pathways that hover over the lake. I recommend getting both an early start on your full day there and returning later in the day when the day trippers have left.
From Zagreb, take a direct bus to Split. Buses are best if you pack heavy since you stow your luggage before getting on it.
Make sure your car rental company knows you’re driving to Bosnia and Herzegovina and possibly Montenegro.

Posted by
36 posts

Thank you for the replies - I'll give them careful consideration. Unfortunately, my self-employed wife is a harsh taskmaster and will not give herself an additional day off. :)

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