Just starting to think about a trip to Montenegro and Croatia

That will be a lovely slow trip.

I figure you love Ljubljana and that is why you are starting there. I get that. And I know how hard it is to fly from the U.S. into Podgorica. But I hate that you are missing the contrast of the mountains in Montenegro. Flying into Dubrovnik you can do a lovely loop, driving north from Dubrovnik to mountains, then to the coast.

I’m not great at logistics (often my routes don’t necessarily make sense), but I wonder if you could do your “get over jet lag” in Cavtat, then Montenegro (adding some mountain scenery time before the coast) before heading back to Croatia. Ljubljana is the piece that is an outlier here. Just a thought. I admit a driver for Dubrovnik to the mountains and mountains to Budva (unless you are renting a car - then no problem) makes a lot of sense but might be about the same financial investment as flying from Ljubljana.

When you get around to Bosnia, be sure you get to Sarajevo. Mostar is interesting but Sarajevo is fascinating.

Hi TTM, thank you for responding. I’ve actually never been to Ljubljana. I thought in addition to being a good place to adjust and ease into travel it would be a lovely contrast to the more nature focused trip from there. I suppose I’m thinking along the lines of “unique architecture in a city setting, rugged natural beauty, stunning beaches”.

You’re recognizing it might be a bit early for swimming, but have a ton of days on the coast. Like, even in summer 5 nights in Korcula is a lot. Dubrovnik 4 nights is solid, but that also assumes you’ll take one good day trip out. Cavtat is SMALL, again 2 nights not in summer is just unnecessary.

Obviously, you have almost a month of days to play with. If you’re set on the time of year, there are no shortage of destinations in the Balkans that are not so weather dependent. If you’re a bit more open, I’d encourage you to bump the trip back into June. Yes, it starts to get busier, but the coastal destinations kind of scale to the seasonal demands. Traveling late June into July, it’s never felt oppressively crowded somehow. If you’re set on April-May, consider realigning a little. Include Zagreb, Plitvice, more in Slovenia or something like that. A few nights in Sarajevo would be a fantastic add. There’s cheap regional flights in/out or you can use a tour group to make your way to the coast and Montenegro from there.

Thanks for the feedback, it’s really helpful. I wondered if I might be spending too much time in Korcula. I thought Cavtat would be a good place to end the trip since it’s so close to the airport, but maybe one night is better.

I’m pretty anti crowd so mid May is about as late as I want to be there. I don’t mind not swimming, although I’ll at least dip my toes no matter how cold it is!

I agree that 5 nights might be a bit much for Korcula but I’d keep the two nights in Cavtat. It’s so pretty — and there are little boat trips you can take from the harbor. Spending your last day floating around the sea for a couple of hours, visiting little islands, could be a great way to end your trip — or to begin it, if you end up rearranging your itinerary.

No matter what you do, you will have a good time. Having been to Croatia 4 times, Bosnia & Herzegovina 4 times and making my fifth trip to Montenegro in a few weeks, my preferences are 1 Montenegro. 2 Montenegro. 3 Bosnia. 4 Herzegovina. 5 Lower and upper Croatia. But what do I know. It’s all about what you enjoy and you have an amazing trip in the plans. So, this is just stuff to think about.

Why don’t you do Croatia first and work south? That way you will be in the best part of your tour (Montenegro) during the best weather. Croatia will be starting to fill up in May, but with Montenegro you have fewer tourists and most of the tourist only know the day trip locations and there is so much more to see than that. Its not just about swimming. Its about sitting on the top deck of the boat and walking in the sunshine.

If you want to see Ljubljana, then you should, but do it in sequence so you don’t back track? Either way, fine.

4 nights Budva? Sure, maybe. Being a first trip you probably want to stay inside the walls so that would mean the Astoria Hotel. I will be there in a few weeks, and I am staying down on the beach near Sveti Stefan. Budva https://youtu.be/GF7hyxB8Xq4?si=re2lmDTm5pRNpioH
AND the Hotel California https://youtu.be/Ap45GkYMZKo?si=JzlPKod0-ozyPS2e But this is trip 5 so …..
in addition to Budva the points of interest down the coast and a smidgen inland are:
Ostrog Monastery: Ostrog Monastery https://youtu.be/ixrJu6qv46M?si=WML9Hs2hOQCsKZwE AND the Hotel & Restaurant Sokoline https://youtu.be/miNV1FVK7qI?si=iZC_lViMUEk6JGI for at least lunch if not the night.

Stari Bar, (stari is sort of Slavic for “old” so you will see a lot of “stari” towns in the Slavic world) https://youtu.be/OBU56OT78fw?si=tzF65lSmOXSEpWKZ and the hotel Kula https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/2d/14/23/47/caption.jpg?w=900&h=500&s=1

Oldest Olive tree in Montenegro (Europe?) https://youtube.com/shorts/lQ0tpCAmZw0?si=mZpGUWoXAA2o39Da
Ulcinj: Ulcinj, https://youtu.be/SBY7G9HHw5s?si=wjPy2V0P1mhua7Cs

Sample local olive oil with the owners of the company: https://docleatravel.com/wp-content/uploads/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-04-at-12.40.47-1.jpeg
Learn to cook with a local … https://docleatravel.com/wp-content/uploads/SIGNATURE-PITA-EXPERIENCE-1.jpg

Visit some amazing wineries, one in a nearly abandoned 500 year old village high on a mountain side. https://winerygarnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Slika-sela-br.-2.jpg

Translation: I would spend a few nights in Budva and a few nights in Stari Bar. That way you can cover more

Now you head for Kotor
Along the way there are sights as well. One of my favorites is taking the famous mountain P1 road to Kotor and stopping for prosciutto. P1 Mountain Road https://youtu.be/QSz5hZVNxQ8?si=kAUpMBWDbSSztzt5 AND Prosciutto at Zora https://youtu.be/08il6EXog3o?si=PkQ6Rrueu6c_-U98
Kotor is certainly a night or two stop. Depends on what you do. To see the old town a day. Then a day out on a boat in the bay to see the caves, the islands, maybe swim a bit. Just a fund day. You can do it private or on a larger ship (I like the fun and comfort on the larger ships). Kotor https://youtu.be/G7QgBl7XNKU?si=pK1etsEr8UcAlofr AND Cable Car https://youtu.be/8hVesPAkxac?si=dpFGnxLafV8_zkU5
But while Kotor is great, Perast is my favorite. Perast, https://youtu.be/q2nckBnc7_M?si=CohK_4nsI6l7chEB AND Hotel Conte https://youtu.be/zYJcm2zlXA8?si=w7VstV-oLoVEQLr7

Finally Herceg Novi before crossing the border into higher prices and more tourists. Herceg Novi https://youtu.be/nNtT4Mh2ZTc?si=E8XAPiylEc7xlH0m

Wait, forgot, more wine and Oysters ……

The problem with Montenegro is you gotta know someone to make the best of it. After all, you are going to a place as of yet not over-touristed and over documented and over supported with a tourist industry.

Mr. E, starting in Croatia would pretty much defeat the idea of using Ljubljana as a transitional city to adjust to jet lag so I guess I'll have to deal with the somewhat bigger crowds in Croatia. Hopefully in May they still won't be so bad.

I did something similar to your plan when I went to Montenegro a few years ago. However, I flew in to Dubrovnik and caught a ferry to Korcula the same day - using that as my “get over jet lag” stop. I spent 5 nights (4 full days) at the end of August. I spent one day wandering Korcula town, a day on a wine tour, a day with the water taxi on the beaches, and a day doing nothing. I also went to the Moreška show one evening. It was perfect.

Then I took the ferry back to Dubrovnik and a driver met me to head to Montenegro, where I had a rental car for most of my trip. If you can figure out a way to spend a couple of nights near Durmitor National Park and also Stari Bar, that would show you some of Montenegro’s contrasts, along with your coastal experiences. Consider Skadar Lake as well.

I do have to agree with awrzesinski that you have a very heavy beach plan for perhaps too early for beach weather. I would think that May would be a lot better than April. But both countries also make a wonderful September trip.

The average temperature for May 30 in Dubrovnik (your mid-point) is 52F to 69F. That’s average so I would plan on temps 5F below and 5F above. So 47F to 74F. Today’s projected is 55F to 65F. Ljubljana was a bit cooler yesterday 41F to 66F. In Dubrovnik in April and May it’s going to be overcast close to half the time you are there, vs 30% decreasing below 20% as June progresses. Rain chance is 20% to 30% dropping to near 10% in June. So, a coat and a rain cover make sense for the trip. And those boats to the islands, pick one that has an indoor cabin. An extra layer for the morning hikes/walks is probably sensible.

Plan a lot of indoor activities too, that will help, especially in the mornings. I am lucky there, I like wineries and there are a lot in Montenegro and Croatia. All of the cities on your list have very nice hotels if the weather changes that could be a nice excuse to hold up in the hotel and rest.

Durmitor National Park is very pretty and there is just one more layer of clothing to enjoy. Easily done. Averages in April are 35F to 55F but close to 70F by June.

I did go to Montenegro last May. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/montenegro/a-week-trup-report I live close, so the cost of the risk is low, and my plans were trout fishing in the high country. I got rained out the first day and went to the coast where it’s a bit dryer. But it was too early in the year for my interests to enjoy much, the weather was miserable for my taste (pretty much the averages) and other things came up so I took an earlier flight home; 40€. I used the same travel company I always use for Montenegro. I just called with the good news; they got me out of my hotel obligations and sent me a transfer to the airport. Not much trouble. This year I put it off until 11 June.

Still among my favorite places in Europe and if you go in with the right attitude and expectations you will enjoy; and I cant think of a better time to beat the tourist crunch. You have it well worked out, go have a blast.

Cavtat is close to the airport yes, but that’s a small convenience to hinge two nights on. Just stay in Dubrovnik, and day trip to Cavtat.

I really appreciate all the help so far. Based on what you’ve all suggested I did more research and I’m thinking I may want to increase my time in Montenegro, which may mean decreasing some time in Croatia. I mostly want to spend 3-4 nights in each stop since I want this to be a slower moving, more relaxing trip. I think once I have my flights I can decide where to spend the last night. Fortunately I have plenty of time to fine tune my itinerary.

One of my favorites is taking the famous mountain P1 road to Kotor and stopping for prosciutto. P1 Mountain Road https://youtu.be/QSz5hZVNxQ8?si=kAUpMBWDbSSztzt5...

The views from that road are spectacular. However, it has 25 numbered 180 degree turns and about 75 other switch back turns. Very small (in my opinion) guard rails on the drop off side, but large busses do travel the road. If any in your party are subject to motion sickness or have a fear of heights, you might want to skip this road. A Google search will yield a number of other videos of the road.

Don't mean to be Debbie Downer, just offering food for thought so you don't unknowingly get into a situation you didn't anticipate.

TC, I've been on the road, either up or down not less than 4 times. Full size tour buses routinely make the trip, as im the video. Just a part of the landscape.

KRS with a base in Kotor and one in Stati Bar most of coastal Montengro, wineries, oysters, olives, beaches, walled towns of Budva and Ulcinj, Lake Shkodra (we havent even discussed that yet), Ostrog, the P1 and prosciutto, Boka Kotorska (Kotor Bay), Perast, tge islands, caves submarine base, Herceg Novi, Tivat ..... all with in an hour of one base or the other.

My next trip is all repeats, and in 8 days I'll never get far from the coast. Tara canyon repeat and the train, maybe if I go fishing in tge Fall.

Have a blast.