Help with Croatia and Slovenia itinerary

Also, we are going in July. I am aware that this is right in the midst of high-season, and though I'd prefer not to go then, it isn't optional this time around. Since it'll be busier, I'd like to work on securing accomodations ahead of time!

Jenny, we LOVED Lake Bled. And you could have fun with your daughter there, too. You can do a boat ride to Otok Island, swimming, walk around the lake, feed the ducks, ice cream, mini-golf, etc. And besides that, it's simply stunning! Is there a reason why you're going to drive from Dubrovnik as opposed to flying? We scored $60 one way tix from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, so I'm sure you could get cheap tix the other way around, too. Then if you wanted to drive instead of take a train, you could rent a car when you get to Zagreb. It would save you a day of driving... (Isn't it 10 hours driving from Dubrovnik to Zagreb?)
My advice for Dubrovnik is, make sure you find out exactly where your accomodations are, and whether you will have many steps. Our apartment was 120 steps up from the Stradun (and no way to drive to it). It was fine for us, but with a four year old (and a stroller?) it could be a nightmare. So just make sure that you stay somewhere that won't be difficult to get to by foot. Lokrum Island is the easiest island to get to. It's only about $10 pp round trip, and it goes every 30 minutes. The "Dead Sea" on the island is like a salt water pond (although they call it a lake) and ideal for swimming with a little one. Ice cream is plentiful in Dubrovnik! Enjoy and you can PM me, too, if you have any other questions!

I don't know that I'd drive from Dubrovnik to Split. I would opt to take the bus from Dubrovnik to Split, spend a few hours in Split and then pick up a car and stay overnight in Trogir. From there I would definitely go to Plitvice and then I'd go to Rovinj for a few days. After that, you can make a nice, scenic drive to Slovenia.

Thanks, ladies. I am not averse to taking the train, I just figured there might be some place woth stopping/staying in between...is there not?!

We were there last summer. We did Vienna-Budapest-Plitvice Lakes-Split-Ljubljana-Salzburg-Vienna. We had a car, and had no problems with it at all. With a 4 YO, a car will simplify things. Note: drivers in the mountains can be lunatics. We stayed in a pension near PL which was really quite nice. Get to PL early, or during the week - we went on Croatian National Day (which we were unaware of), and it was quite crowded. Split is very nice indeed. We did not get to Dubrovnik. The drive from Split up the coast and through the interior is very nice indeed. We did not go to Rovinj or the islands. We really enjoyed Ljubljana.

There are no trains from Dubrovnik to Split, so your choices will be drive, bus or ferry. If you drive, you could stop at Korcula along the way. Note that ferries don't run every day even in summer, so you'd need to plan around their sailing schedules. I prefer Hvar to Korcula, and it's more easily reached by catamaran from Split, although some people find the slow ferry ride along the coast from Dubrovnik to Hvar interesting and relaxing. If seeing Dubrovnik, Split, an island and Plitvice in Croatia (8 or so days), I'd suggest skipping Istria and Zagreb this trip and spending the rest of your time in Slovenia. As others have suggested, Lake Bled is a beautiful and restful place to spend to a couple of nights near the end of your trip. Ljubljana is also worth at least one full day.

UNABLE to post as one single post, so splitting it into two posts. POST 1 of 2 Hi Jenny: Here's our itinerary from last September. We visited Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia. My wife and I were traveling with a 3 1/2 year-old so we wanted the convenience of doing things on our own schedule and make the trip as relaxing for everyone. So we rented the car for the entire time and it was totally worth it. We didn't have to get up early or have to rush through anything; in fact, we could take a break anytime we wanted and see things when we wanted to see them. Also, driving in these countries is much more disciplined than what it is in the US. Remember to turn on your head lights at all times!

POST 2 of 2 Day 0: Fly out of US. Day 1: Arrive into Zagreb. Spend the night in Zagreb. Day 2: Sight-seeing in Zagreb. Rent a car and drive to Bled. Spend the night in Bled. Day 3: Sight-seeing in Bled. Spend the night in Bled. Day 4: See Vintgar Gorge. Spend the night in Bled. Day 5: Early morning drive to Ljubljana for Sight-seeing. Drive back to Bled. Spend the night in Bled. Day 6: Day trip around Julian Alps. Spend the night in Bled. Day 7: Drive to Plitvice in Croatia. See the Upper Lakes. Spend the night in Plitvice. Day 8: See the Lower Lakes in Plitvice. Drive to Split. Sight-seeing in Split and then drive to Trogir. Spend the night in Trogir. Day 9: Sight-seeing in Trogir. Spend the night in Trogir. Day 10: Sight-seeing in Trogir. Drive to Dubrovnik and return the car. Spend the night in Dubrovnik. Day 11: Sight-seeing in Dubrovnik. Spend the night in Dubrovnik. Day 12: Rent a car and drive to Mostar. Sight-seeing in Mostar. Drive back to Dubrovnik and return car. Spend the night in Dubrovnik. Day 13: Sight-seeing in Dubrovnik. Spend the night in Dubrovnik.
Day 14: Leave for US. Good luck! You will have a great time!! NOTE: I had to contact several Croatian ministers to get a multiple-entry tourist visa since the Croatian Consular section said they only issue single-entry visas for first-time travelers!

With regards to my itinerary posted above, I thought I should clarify that it was immensely expensive flying into Slovenia and out of Croatia, which is why I flew into Croatia (Zagreb), then crossed over into Slovenia, back into Croatia, then to Bosnia and then back to Croatia (Dubrovnik). Additionally, since I was renting a car for the entire time, it would have been terribly expensive renting the car in Slovenia and dropping it off in a different country. It was expensive renting the car in Zagreb and returning in Dubrovnik, but that was my best option. Cheers,
D

Hi Jenny, I was unable to post this as a single post so it might take several. POST 1 My wife and I and our two kids (10 & 7) spent 3+ weeks in Croatia and Slovenia in 2011. It was in the middle of a 90 day trip and this part was meant to help recharge our batteries, so we went pretty slow. In Dubrovnik we stayed for one week at Villa Celenca. We had an apartment. It is near Dubrovnik. Because of the length of our trip, we had a car. The apartment had a secure parking space. There is also a bus stop across the street. We could get our laundry done there and the owners, Mihael and Anna were very nice. It is a gated apartment with a pool. Our kids loved the dog and cats there. In Lake Bled we stayed for two weeks at Apartment Susnik. The apartment with a lake-view balcony was our favorite. The owner, Mia, was delightful and arranged to have our laundry done. The kids loved that the apartment had the Disney Channel in English. They don't watch it in the US, but we had been traveling for two months and it was nice to have something more familiar.

POST 2 In Rovinj we stayed at Villa Lili. It was fine. In Plitvice we stayed at the Plitvice Hotel - very much like a western business hotel. The kids loved the beaches at Rovinj and Dubrovnik (Sticovica), in Lake Bled they loved mini golf, driving to Ljubljana to see English language movies (in Podnapsi - subtitles), swimming at the public pool and the luge run. The walk around Plitvice was amazing. My wife and I loved it all. We toured Rovinj & Dubrovnik as well as Perast and Kotar in Montenegro. We visited the Postojna Cave. We all enjoyed Vintgar Gorge, the Julian Alps, Lake Bohinj and white water rafting in Slovenia. Slovenia is a very easy place for English speaking people - the people are exceptionally nice. We drove from Plitvice to Dubrovnik (5 1/2 hours with a stop for lunch) and Dubrovnik to Lake Bled (9-10 hours). Apartments worked the best for us, allowing us room to spread out and the option of making our own meals, as well as getting laundry done. Best of luck

Thanks everyone, for all the suggestions! Lots to ponder about and look over!

Jenny: I replied to your message, but for some reason the site was acting flaky. Let me know if you received both my messages... ...one about accomodations and the other about car rental. Regards,
D

Hi Jenny, Nice choice both Croatia and Slovenia are beautful. However, Dubrovnik gets really busy during the summer. I might consider staying near dubrovnik in Cavtat. It is also very beautiful and not nearly as crowded and only 15-20 minutes away by bus or ferry. Also, the places to stay will probably be a lot less. A great side trip from Dubrovnik, would be Montenegro. Kotor (in Montenegro) is a walled city like Dubrovnik without the crowds. It is an hour and half drive by car from Dubrovnik. The drive will take you along the bay of Kotor, one of the most beautiful places i've seen. Some other close things to see near Dubrovnik are Kravice Falls in Bosnia (a huge waterfall you can swim around) i dont think there is any swimming in Plitivce, probably a 2 hour drive. Mostar in Bosnia about 2 1/2 hours and Sarajevo about 3-4 hours. Driving towards Slovenia, is an island called Korcula, where Marco Polo was born. If you choose to go to Montenegro i can recommend a lot of other must sees. Erich

Hi Jenny, Nice choice both Croatia and Slovenia are beautful. However, Dubrovnik gets really busy during the summer. I might consider staying near dubrovnik in Cavtat. It is also very beautiful and not nearly as crowded and only 15-20 minutes away by bus or ferry. Also, the places to stay will probably be a lot less. A great side trip from Dubrovnik, would be Montenegro. Kotor (in Montenegro) is a walled city like Dubrovnik without the crowds. It is an hour and half drive by car from Dubrovnik. The drive will take you along the bay of Kotor, one of the most beautiful places i've seen. Some other close things to see near Dubrovnik are Kravice Falls in Bosnia (a huge waterfall you can swim around) i dont think there is any swimming in Plitivce, probably a 2 hour drive. Mostar in Bosnia about 2 1/2 hours and Sarajevo about 3-4 hours. Driving towards Slovenia, is an island called Korcula, where Marco Polo was born. If you choose to go to Montenegro i can recommend a lot of other must sees. Erich

I second Cavtat and Kotor. While Dubrovnik is beautiful it was packed with tourists from cruise ships even in late October. I was there a week ago. I spent a day in old town moved on. Cavtat is very charming and peaceful. The landscape around the Bay of Kotor is amazing.

Not sure when you are planning on going, but if you'd like to start in DBV I highly recommend going over to Lokrum island. There are pretty peacocks walking around and your dau would love it. There's lots of little caves to walk around and it's not as crowded as DBV is. Also, go to the caves in Slovenia - your dau will love it! The car will be a great asset to you in this, train/bus travel in those countries is a bit tough especially with a family.