Flights to Ljubiana and home to from croatia

I dont know if it will be much better, but look at the flights out of Podgorica and Tivat instead of Dubrovnik.

First, let's make sure you are using the "multi-city" option and not trying to book two one way tickets.

Where are you looking for tickets? I suggest looking at Google Flights then buying direct from the airline involved.

What date do you want to fly? (Are you giving yourself an extra day or two for any possible delays or jet lag?)

Since you are from New Jersey, I'm going to assume you want to fly out of EWR and not PHL. Or are you closer to PHL?

Look closely at flight via London. NYC to London is the busiest route across the Atlantic and usually has the best prices. The bad part is that except for the British Airways flight, for all others, especially the discount ones, you will have to change airports. Perhaps an overnight in London between flights?

Flights are more expensive to Ljubljana than they are to Zagreb. I don’t know why. We ran into this on our recent trip to the area.

If you check out the Ljubljana airport website, you will see the airlines and routes that
go into Ljubljana, same for Dubrovnik departures.

Unless you buy separate tickets (which carries its own set of risks), most people will buy
airline tickets based on the airlines/alliances that are in their home city.

As noted, Zagreb is the best alternative to Ljubljana. It's about a 2 hour bus ride between.

Flights are more expensive to Ljubljana than they are to Zagreb. I
don’t know why. We ran into this on our recent trip to the area.

Croatia still has a flag carrier (Croatia Airlines) flying out of Zagreb. Slovenia's flag carrier (Adria Airways) went bankrupt and ceased operations in 2019, significantly decreasing competition and increasing airfares at Ljubljana's airport.

I took this tour back in 2008.

I traveled from Venice (where I spent a couple of days before the start of the tour) via train. That train route no longer runs, but a number of people have reported using the Go Opti shuttle service between Venice and Ljubljana.

I flew back from Dubrovnik, but stayed a couple of extra days so that I could get a one-stop flight rather than a two-stop flight. If you have any flexibility, check the flights on different days as I discovered some flights do not run daily.

If you are thinking about a stay in another city and then a short flight to Ljubljana, check the airport wiki page. It will give you an idea of what airlines and departure cities are options:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ljubljana_Airport

My vote based on very little beyond it involves my favorite airline, my favorite airport in Europe and two post tour stops in two of my favorite places ....

EWR to LJU on Turkish Air with a layover in Istanbul.

Dubrovnik to Montenegro for 1 but preferably 4 nights then

TGD or TIV to Istanbul on Turkish Air for 3 to 6 nights, then Turkish Air to EWR.

Economy for maybe < 400.000 HUF.

First off, my personal experience in this region was that booking direct with a single airline got me the best selection of flights. The big travel websites just didn’t show everything available. It may not be cheap, but going through a single carrier w/ multi-city is definitely going to work better than trying to piecemeal together yourself.

Unfortunately, June is pretty much in season and these are very popular destinations. There’s nothing direct, you’re always changing planes. You’re only 4 months out right now, the price will not be coming down. Airfare has only gone up in recent years, it would be hard to find a deal.

Ljubljana’s airport is an expensive one to fly into. It’s said locals will use alternatives in Austria, Venice or Zagreb. Venice and Zagreb are actually both decent options with easy bus connections to Ljubljana. Zagreb may be your best bet. (And a heck of a city, with a very nice airport.)

Dubrovnik will probably just be what it is. There’s not much you can do, as far as alternative airports nearby. It’s going to be a heck of trip though, I promise :)