RS 14 Day Best of Adriatic Tour

Laurie, Have you considering call ETBD and asking the question? Edwin

Hi Laurie. (I live in Edina too.) What do mean about it being daunting? I just went to Expedia and checked (use Multiple Destinations option) and there are easy flghts from MSP - one stop in Paris on the way over and two stops on the way back, all booked on one ticket. Or am I misunderstanding your question?

I took this tour a couple of years ago. Finding decent flights at a reasonable price was very challenging. I spent time in Italy before the trip. I traveled to Ljubljana from Venice. When I went, I took the train from Venice to Villach where I was supposed to switch to a different train. When I arrived in Villach, they were doing work on the track and instead of the train, there was a substitute bus for a portion of the trip and we then switched to a train and then back to a bus. The whole trip from Venice to Ljubljana took about 6 hours because of the substitute bus. I think the train route between Venice and Villach has changed since I took the tour, so the options may be different. Because of the train schedule, the only option that arrived at a reasonable time required me to arrive the night before the tour started. There is a night train between Venice and Ljubljana that is faster, but it arrives around 2am and I wasn't so comfortable getting in at that time of night. I stayed at Hotel Emonec because I could not get into the tour hotel. The hotel was basic, very clean, and conveniently located, but a bit noisy. A number of people in my group flew into Zagreb, stayed there a couple of days before the trip and then took the train to Ljubljana. Another option that I considered was flying into London, spending a couple of days there and then flying to Ljubljana. I stayed in Dubrovnik two extra days after the trip. I flew Dubrovnik - Vienna - Washington (Croatia Air and Austrian Air). Dubrovnik is a challenge to get back from without multiple connections. For example, in flying back to DC, some days the route went through both Zagreb and Vienna and other days only Vienna. Obviously, you won't be flying back to DC, but I think the lesson learned is to look at the departures out of Dubrovnik on different days. There are some flights that are only on certain days of the week.

One other option that I considered ... there was a discount airline called Tuifly that had one-way flights from Dubrovnik to Munich on certain days of the week.

You might consider flying r/t MSP to Zagreb. From Zagreb take a train to Ljubljana. Some of the trains are non-stop and take less and 2 1/2 hours. From Dubrovnik fly to Zagreb (e.g. Croatia Airlines - check website directly). Have a great trip.

Thanks, Laura. That was exactly the kind of information I was looking for. And, it confirms what I have found in my searches. I was hoping someone had found an easier way. As a solo traveler I just am not comfortable making that many changes trying to get somewhere and back. If I had a traveling partner, I'd be up for the adventure, but not alone.

Bob, thanks. I re-did my search and found the flights you mentioned. I must have been having a 'blonde' moment the other day when I was searching.

Just wanted to add that there turned out to be nothing terribly complex about the travel (even the surprise bus/train/bus thing). I just found that I had limited options to choose from at a reasonable price. I too was traveling on my own.