Istria, Sarajevo, or Montenegro?

What is the rest of your itinerary?

Andrew--sorry I'm delayed, but I'm ready to get this planned. We will rent a car in Rovinj, then see Istria and Slovenia. From there, Plitvice Lakes. From here, we would like to see Sarajevo (get there inland or from Split?), Korcula, Dubrovnik, Montenegro, and Mostar. I'm trying to decide which route is the best, both from a scenic viewpoint and efficient. We have 24 days. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Andrew--sorry I'm delayed, but I'm ready to get this planned. We will rent a car in Rovinj, then see Istria and Slovenia. From there, Plitvice Lakes. From here, we would like to see Sarajevo (get there inland or from Split?), Korcula, Dubrovnik, Montenegro, and Mostar. I'm trying to decide which route is the best, both from a scenic viewpoint and efficient. We have 24 days. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

OK, then you could do this: 23 nights. I assume 24 days means 23 nights in country (I organize by nights and where I sleep).

Rovinj 3 nights
Ljubljana 3 nights
Plitvice 1 night
Sarajevo 3 nights
Mostar 1 night
Montenegro 3 nights
Dubrovnik 3 nights
Korcula 3 nights
Split 3 nights

You could add a night to Ljubljana and cut a night off of Dubrovnik, which is lovely but not very big. I assume Montenegro might mean several towns.

Korcula could be two nights too. So could Split. Mostar probably doesn't need more than a night.

We enjoyed the smaller hill towns in Istria around Motovun. We also found Mostar & Sarajevo fascinating but be prepared as it can be somber as there is still a lot of focus on the 1990s war. We booked a walking tour in Mostar with Alma Elezovic (In Rick’s guidebook). She provides a good overview of BiH history.

I can't say what is better than what. That's subjective. Personally, after seeing Dubrovnik, Kotor was a let down so I would skip it. I would stop in Perast and visit the islands and if walking narrow streets and lots of steps is your thing then spend the night. The bay really is besutiful in the evening and there is this beautiful reastraunt on the edge of the bay. Then drive past Kotor and over the mountains to Budva. Lovely town for a night or two. If that's as far onto Montenegro then you miss a lot of my favorite country. You need at least 5 days ..

James E--I am intrigued by Montenegro. What are your favorite parts? We are considering skipping Sarajevo, which would be educational, and seeing more of Montenegro. Thoughts?

I will send you a PM