Slovenia/Northern Croatia one week

Hi. We did Lake Bled including Vintner Gorge and Ljubljana last summer and really enjoyed them. No need for a car for those; travel between them and to/from airport is easy using public transit. Both areas touristy but few Americans. Ljubljana is very walkable / user friendly; really active, pleasant night time scene along river. Have a great trip!

Ljubljana is such a great little city. Beautiful, chill vibe, felt like I could’ve stayed forever. Summer is amazing, absolutely everyone is out in full force enjoying the riverside. You could do four nights easy.

Lake Bled was gorgeous, but small really. I would normally say it’s day trip territory. However, with Vintgar Gorge on your agenda you could justify a night or two here. I have not been to the gorge, but it’s supposedly pretty easy to get to by bike of bus from Bled. Don’t miss the summer luge! It’s a crazy one!

If you’re heading to the coast, look into Piran. Similar “Venetian port town” to Rovinj but closer (and Slovenian.) Plitvice is not a good fit this time around. It is really a long way from everything, especially from Slovenia. You’d almost certainly be forced to rent a car and deal with all the baggage that entails. It’s a big outlier geographically, and you just don’t have the time.

LUB is lovely and interesting. At Lake Bled, you can use taxi or bus to visit the castle, cathedral & Vintgar Gorge. The drive over the Julian Alps is very scenic and very curvy. I don't think the big buses use it - we never saw any. You can drive it and go as fast as you feel comfortable with as there are periodic turnouts for passing and viewing. One advantage of driving is the Soca Valley, the WW1 Kobarid museum & mausoleum, and the Skocjan Caves. Skip Rovinj & Croatia this trip. Piran is OK - typical of cities in the Adriatic. Good highway back to LUB.

Thank you all for suggestions and advice! Maybe I’ll challenge myself to do the Julia Alps drive!!

If you have any accommodations recommendations for any of the stopes, please feel free to share!

Dana

Definitely do not visit Plitvice Lakes National Park on a day trip. It gets totally blasted by day-trippers. Your other idea is much better--to spend the night there. I agree with the others, though, that you have plenty to keep you busy without going that far south.

Both the Postojna and Skocjan Caves are accessible by public transportation, but I had a bit of a walk from the bus stop to Skocjan. Postojna is more touristy; it has colored lights. Skocjan is more natural. Both are beautiful.

I liked Vintgar Gorge, but if you've been to gorges in the US, it won't be shockingly different, in which case it needn't be a top priority.

Istria is easier to visit with a car, but I managed without one. I liked Rovinj (where I stayed), Porec (colorful) and the little hilltop village of Vrsar. Not being a big fan of Roman ruins, I skipped Pula. I also took a once-a-week (Wednesday as of 2015) bus tour of Inland Istria, which I really enjoyed. It went to Motovun, Groznjan, an ethnographic museum (in Pazin, I believe) and a winery (for a tasting). But as with Plitvice, I'm doubtful you have time for Istria. It's not a one-day sort of destination.

Thanks, Amanda! I'll look into those!

Dana, I stayed at Mescanka Rooms in Ljubljana and loved it. Spacious and cozy, right on the river, with great air conditioning. You’re right in the action there, but it’s practically soundproof.

I did the Julian Alps drive today. In late April this year, the roads were dry, but up near the top of
the pass there was still snow on the sides of the road.

Hardly a car in sight. Relatively stressless, but, you have to be decisive about things like pulling over,
because once you pass that stop point, you can't go back to it, and, you have to be careful getting
back on the road, as you often don't get a lot of sightlines for oncoming traffic. I wonder what it is
like in high season with presumably lots more cars on the road.

The turns on the way up going southbound are all cobbled, for extra traction I assume. But not on
the descent. And most of them are switchbacks. Going southbound, you are on the inside most
of the time going up, but on the descent you're on the outside, which may make for a couple of
interesting situations but in general it's not a difficult drive.

I will say that the idea of a day trip from Ljubljana all the way around seems like a lot for one day.

Julian Alps are impressive, but I perfectly understand your driving difficulties in the mountains - same here. I checked the road on Google Maps someday and decided that I'm not ready for such a trip as a driver yet. Therefore, cannot share personal experience regarding driving in the Alps.

Although, I would definitely recommend you to explore Lake Bled and Vintgar. There should be no difficulties with getting there from Ljubljana by public transport, and even if you decide to drive there on your own, the trip will not be stressful. If you decide to visit both locations, I would recommend devoting 2 days to this trip, so that you won't need to hurry and have enough time for hiking and exploring the area. Caves like Škocjan and Postojna are also worth visiting, you can even do this during one day. Also, consider Soča Valley, there are plenty of greats views there, and, if interested, you can do some rafting.

You may also want to explore the coast and visit Piran, that's a beautiful small city. Koper is one more option, but personally I prefer Piran. Ljubljana itself is great too, with numerous attractions, nice city center, and a lot of fine restaurants and cafes. I would recommend spending at least a couple of days there.

Thanks, @andrew & @shoeflyer, I've posted my revised itinerary at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/slovenia/5-7-day-slovenia-itinerary-suggestions-revised-plan-thanks-to-suggestions after some great tips from fellow RS Forum members!

Hi,

We had a 3 week trip to Croatia and Slovenia in 2015 or so. Had a rental car. Loved the Vintgar Gorge and was an easy drive from Lake Bled that allowed us to see some of the other things mentioned in Rick's books. The Julian Alps drive has lots of hairpin curves and some bike traffic (when we were there)--only you know what your comfort level is. It appeared a not-too-difficult drive to me, but then my husband was driving. Maybe easier with an automatic than a stick shift?

Rovinj is a dream and is a coast town. Really beautiful. It is also near/part of Istria which is sometimes called the "Tuscany of Croatia." Whatever you choose will be great. Enjoy it.

Thank you, @Kaye!