RS Best of Adriatic: where did you fly into? AKA should we do Budapest?

We flew into Venice and took a Go Opti driving transfer right from Marco Polo Airport to the front door of our hotel in Ljubljana. It was inexpensive and relaxing after an overnight flight.

Coming home we flew from Dubrovnik to Zagreb and spent a day there. Zagreb is worth at least a day if not two. And from Zagreb you could fly to any number of places to continue your trip.

Hi Peggy, the Adriatic tour is excellent! I did it in 2023. I was in England & Wales ahead of time and flew from London to Ljubljana with Easy Jet.

I recommend arriving a day or two ahead to take the half-day tour of the nearby caves!

Hi Peggy,
We did the tour in 2023, it’s great! Flew into Ljubljana on AirFrance/Hop! from Paris (CDG). Flew out of Dubrovnik on Air France with an overnight at CDG and back to Minneapolis on Delta the next day. Enjoy!

Hi Peggy,

I did this tour 5 months ago...it's excellent by the way! I was coming from San Francisco, CA and flew United SFO to Munich, then a flight to Graz, Austria where I spent 3 nights. Graz is Austria's 'second city' and it was really lovely and gave me time to get over some jet lag. I took a direct train from Graz to Ljubljana and spent 2 nights there before the tour started. Easy train journey and really enjoyed all my extra time prior to the tour and helped me be ready for the busy tour schedule. Highly recommended! You'll have a wonderful time! If you can be in Ljubljana on a Friday night they have a wonderful 'Open Kitchen' in the square, tons of different food stalls, drinks and music, so much fun!

Best of Adriatic only hits two thirds of the best. I would consider extending the trip further south and possibly inland.

The easiest is further south into Montenegro. If nothing else, at least the bay of Kotor but the entire coast down to Ulcinj is worth the time. Think of Croatia before the tourists found it. Here is a good overview: https://youtu.be/hdOPWI2Ftgg?si=7k7N5V7leAVGbDO8 but I posted some location specific videos here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/montenegro/podgorica-to-dubrovnik-by-car There is also a good contact for trip planning in the region in this post.

More complex and time consuming but equally worth the time is inland a bit. Sarajevo is one of the most fascinating cities in the region https://youtu.be/bejCig2XoEw?si=iQftDlNSLFXOkR3B , or if you enjoy nature there is the Tara River Canyon and places like the Ostrog monastery.

Naturally I think my adopted hometown of Budapest is a brilliant idea and that works better with Montenegro than with Slovenia. To reach Ljubljana from Budapest its a crazy long train or bus or flight. To reach Budapest from Montenegro its a discount flight from Podgorica in about 80 minutes. Flights are on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. Podgorica is only a few hours from Dubrovnik if you just want to leave from Dubrovnik to Budapest .... or at least maybe stay one night in Perast on the Bay of Kotor. A good video on Budapest: https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared AND Anthony Bourdain describing how visually pleasurable Budapest is: https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX

I flew to Ljubljana to start this tour. Knowing what I know now, I'd consider taking Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, doing a free one night layover there, and then going on to Ljubljana.

Carol now retired, that's an excellent idea.

Okay Peggy, the work is done. We figured it out for you. You will spend a night in Istanbul on the way to Ljb. Then do the RS tour. Then four nights in Montenegro before catching a flight out of Podgorica to budapest for 4 more nights.

Haha! Wonderful! Thank goodness for all of you, my tour organizers. Now I’ll just need to start earning all that PTO! Thanks for all of the fantastic suggestions.

We did this tour a few year ago and LOVED it! We flew into Venice where we spent a few days. We also booked a GoOpti like someone already suggested and it was really easy and economical. Someone in our tour group flew into Ljubljana but headed up to Lake Bled and stayed in a hotel on the lake for a few days. I was quite envious of them after visiting Lake Bled! Depending on the time of year you go, if the weather is nice, this might be a fun option. On the tour I really wish we had had more time in Lake Bled. I guess it depends on how you like to start your tour. If you want to ease into things, Lake Bled might be a nice option. It's very picturesque and feels very "vacationy." If memory serves, it's only about 45-60 minutes from Ljubljana. Enjoy your tour!!

Now I’ll just need to start earning all that PTO!

We are sending a committee to talk to your boss Monday morning.

I’m doing Best of the Adriatic in May. I decided to fly into Zagreb (via Istanbul on Turkish). Hired a company to give me a full day tour around Zagreb, then drive me to Ljubljana in the evening. Kind of expensive, but well worth having the guiding and logistics taken care of. Let me know if you have any questions or would like the name of the company in Zagreb.

Which May trip are you on, Laura? We're going to be on the one that begins May 25.

Hi,
We did the Adriatic Tour in the fall and loved it. We enjoyed two nights in Zagreb prior to the tour, taking GoOpti to Ljubljana. We also spent two extra nights in Ljubljana, a city I really enjoyed. If the Ljubljana Festival is on when you are there, I recommend checking what’s on offer; the concert we attended was a trip highlight!
Happy travels,
Mary Lou

Hi Peggy!

We did this tour in April 2024 and absolutely loved it. We flew to Ljubljana and departed from Dubrovnik. We wished we would have arrived a day earlier to Ljubljana because it is such a great city to explore and I would have enjoyed seeing the caves. Slovenia was amazing and also wished we had more time to explore this great country. If you can spend a couple of days at the end of this tour, I would recommend exploring Montenegro. Enjoy your trip!

We are going on this tour first 2 weeks in September. We are flying Delta/Air France-Atlanta/Paris/Ljubljana a day ahead of time. Then out of Dubrovnik to Amsterdam (KLM) with overnight layover then on to Atlanta on Delta. I really wanted to fly to Zagreb for a few days before flying home but my husband’s work schedule really doesn’t allow for more than 2 weeks to be gone.

Just signed up for the Best of the Adriatic ending September 6. We are going to fly into Zabreg for a few days prior. After the tour (which ends in Dubrovnik), we would like to return to Budapest for more exploration (we were there last November and loved it). But before heading to Budapest we would like to spend at least a week further exploring into Montenegro and/or possibly to Sarajevo. Then on to Budapest and fly home from there. We do not want to rent a car. Open to any suggestions on where to go and what to see. And how to get around. Possible day tours? Thank you so much. Regina

Regina,

Budapest, Montenegro and Sarajevo. Three of my favorite places.

I love Sarajevo, but unfortunately it is a real stretch from Dubrovnik. Its easier to justify if you stop in Mostar, but the RS tour already does Mostar so …..

I would think of something like this; but this is all with private guides/transfers. These are pretty affordable in Montenegro. A lot less than Western Europe or even Croatia. Where do you find these transfers/guides? I got that covered too. And some videos of the Montenegro are here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/montenegro/podgorica-to-dubrovnik-by-car

Day 1 (RS’s day 14) Herceg Novi, Perast and Kotor
N1 Perast or Kotor

Day 2 Perast and Kotor and boat tour of the bay
N2 Perast or Kotor

Day 3 Ostrog Monastery and Đurđevića Tara Bridge & Canyon
N3 near the Đurđevića Tara Bridge

Day 4 Zip lines or tour around the canyon in the morning, then south to Stari Bar.
N4 Stari Bar

Day 5 to Budva
N5 and N6 Budva

Day 7 Wizz Air flight from Podgorica Montenegro, direct, non-stop to Budapest in about 1:20 hour and starting under $50 but only on Thursday and Sunday. The rest of the week Air Serbia has good fares through Belgrade in under 5 hours.

MAP https://maps.app.goo.gl/YJQn4ycwEPyQJyHJ8

Person who can plan the whole trip (and do a much better job than I just did: Dijana Krkotic, Guide & Tour Designer, Doclea Travel, +382 69 277 749 (whatsapp), [email protected], www.docleatravel.com

Mr. E,
I was hoping you would respond! Thank you so much for all of this information. It sounds like a perfect plan and we will look into all of this. Thanks for the links and the guide information. I will keep everyone posted once we get our actual plans made. Right now we just have the tour booked. Thanks again . Regina

Regina, I wind up in Croatia or Bosnia or Montenegro at least once a year ... sometimes twice. I've gone often enough to know what i want to see and do. Usually fly fishing and a little tourism. Still, I call Dijana to work out the details. The hotel I wanted this May in Budva didn't show the room I wanted available, she got it. Also found a great winery to tour and sample. And she's taking care of the transfer from the airport to the high country and back to the coast. I couldn't do near as well on my own.