Help! 12 days in Slovenia and Croatia

because its beautiful! people asked us that a lot. lol sept is a wonderful time to travel in this area. sobe are great. we booked ahead of time but i would actually dare go outside my comfort zone at least in dubrov and plitvice if you want to wing it. we had a car so cant help with public trans. be sure to see plitvice and at least one island.

I was in Croatia in September 2009. We found accommodations as we went including a soba in Dubrovnik; however, we did have a car so we could drive around (although it did not take long to find a place). With four days in Dubrovnik, you will probably want to consider some day trip options from the city.

Hi, I was in both these countries in June. Slovenia has turned out to be one of my favorite countries, it is stunningly beautiful as it encompasses the Julian Alps. I spent a couple days in Lake Bled and felt peaceful the whole time. There were fun things to do like riding the taboggan and climbing in the trees at the adventure park. There are days trips for paragliding, river rafting, hiking, canyoning, horseback riding, etc. the Lake is beautiful there, and just taking the train through the country was amazing..........As to Croatia, it is not my favorite place, but is worth experiencing in this lifetime, the country terrain is dry, rocky, mountainous. the road from the capital city of Zagreb to the sea is good. the coastal towns are interesting. Dubrovnik is ok for a day.....if I had to do this country again, I would opt for a cruise from the north end of the Adriatic down along the coast. This is just my two cents, and I hope you enjoy your time whatever you decide to do.

How to best spend your time in Dubrovnik? You'll need a day to walk the walls and explore the city. I'd recommend a day trip to Montenegro; the Bay of Kotor is absolutely gorgeous. You can take a day trip to Mljet or some of the smaller islands around Dubrovnik.

Regarding where to stay -- when we go to that part of Croatia we don't stay in Dubrovnik, but prefer Cavtat, a small fishing village a few miles south of Dubrovnik (near the Dubrovnik airport). It's quiet and picturesque, and we love it. You'd probably want to book ahead for Cavtat, as it's smaller and not so many rooms available. Check Trip Advisor for hotels and B&Bs. From Cavtat, you can visit Dubrovnik by boat or bus, and you can also do the tour to Montenegro. But you also have the option to just relax and and sit by the harbor and watch the yachts dock.

For your 6 days between Ljubljana and Dubrovnik, I'd suggest the following places in Croatia that you won't see on your Best of Eastern Europe tour. Take the train from Ljubljana to Zagreb. Zagreb is worth an overnight, or you can continue on directly to Split by train or bus. Spend 2 nights/1 full day in Split. Take the hydrofoil to Hvar and spend 2 nights there. If you still have an extra night, either continue on to Korcula for a night or (if more adventurous) take the early hydrofoil back to Split and a bus to Mostar for the night. Buy next day bus ticket to Dubrovnik upon arrival in Mostar (local currency required). If going from Hvar to Dubrovnik, take either the coastal ferry from Stari Grad or return to Split by hydrofoil and take a bus to Dubrovnik. Note that the hydrofoils and ferries run on summer schedules through Sept 30. While in Dubrovnik, consider taking a day tour to Montenegro. As for places to stay, I would splurge on Hotel Dubrovnik in central Zagreb and can recommend Base Rooms in Split (except Friday or Saturday night - very noisy), Ivana and Pasko Ukic rooms in Hvar and Hotel Fortuna in Mostar. I stayed at Jadranka and Milan Benussi rooms in Dubrovnik, but they're very popular and my be fully booked by now. All of these recommendations except Hotel Fortuna would be sobe, and all sobe I stayed in were very nice, clean and affordable.