Hello everyone,
My husband and I are taking an EMPIRES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN cruise on Viking Star 5/16/2019 – 5/25/2019. The cruise starts in Athens and goes to Venice with stops to Santorini, Olympia, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Zadar and Koper.
After the cruise, we are planning to spend another 2 weeks travelling in Slovenia and Croatia. We plan on following the itinerary below.
• May 25 Rent a car in Venice and drive to Lake Bled. Night in Bled.
• May 26 Explore Lake Bled. Night in Bled.
• May 27. Drive through Julian Alps to Ljubljana. Night in Ljubljana.
• May 28. Explore Ljubljana. Night in Ljubljana.
• May 29. In the morning drive to Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle. In the afternoon drive to Zagreb. Night in Zagreb.
• May 30. Explore Old Town Zagreb. In the late afternoon drive to Plitvice Lakes National Park. Night at the park.
• May 31. Explore Plitvice Lakes National Park. Night at the park.
• June 1. Drive from Plitvice Lakes to Piran/Portoroz. Night in Portoroz.
• June 2 – June 3. Rest in Portoroz. Could take a day trip to Rovinj. Night in Portoroz.
• June 4. In the morning drive to Venice. Return the car and explore Venice. Night in Venice.
• June 5 – June 6. Explore Venice. Night in Venice.
• June 7. Flight home.
I would appreciate any critique and suggestions on our itinerary. We are in our early 70’s and would like to make sure we are not overzealous. We would also appreciate advice and suggestions on hotels, restaurants and city tours. Thank you for your time.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Overall looks a bit hurried, but do-able as long as you're OK with a fast pace. Other thoughts...
Try to arrive at Plitvice in the afternoon and enjoy a few hours in the park before it gets dark. Enjoy a few hours the next morning, then you're free to move on - this could save you a day.
I'm not sure I'd spend that much time in Piran/Portoroz. I'd rather do an overnight in Rovinj, which seemed much more charming.
We did a trip to the area in late May/early June, too. It's an excellent time to go. Prepare for a little potential rain.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
I adored Piran. I didn't have much time in Portoroz - I dropped my rental car there and headed by bus to Piran. Portoroz looked like a fairly modern resort without much appeal to me vs. the old town charm of Piran. Without having actually spend any real time there other than passing through, someone will have to explain the appeal of Portoroz to me.
Rovinj is lovely too. There are some interesting hill towns in Istria nearby as well that are worth exploring.
Still, after your cruise where you spend so much time visiting the coastal towns anyway, I'd wonder why you'd want to spend much more time in the coastal towns like Piran? Instead, I might spend an extra night in Ljubljana and and in Bled and stay more inland - explore more of the small towns. Ljubljana is small so doesn't need much time to see, but it is a gem - a great place to come back to at night after exploring places nearby.
I don't see a need to spend two nights at Plitvice - as David said, and afternoon and a morning are enough. Try to get into the park first thing when it opens at 7am to avoid the crowds. Consider staying in one of the overpriced park hotels (run by the park) so you can get your ticket stamped from the day before the enter the park a second day without paying again. And the hotels are super convenient: exit the hotel and walk down into the park.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your suggestions and advice! We will adjust our itinerary accordingly.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5372 posts
Portoroz is essentially Piran. Getting from one to the other is easy, but I'd rather stay in Piran itself as Portoroz is very modern with lots of condos. As well, when you dock in Koper, you'll be right next to Piran. As there isn't much to see in Koper, just see Piran on that day. You also need to consider the time it takes to cross the Slovenian/Croatian border. Not a small thing. To go from Plitvice to Portoroz and then to do a day trip back to Rovinj will be very time consuming. I'd suggest instead going from Plitvice to Rovinj, skipping Piran/Portoroz and then going from Rovinj to Venice.