From the landing in Ljubljana (as of early this year I had no idea where or how to pronounce Ljubljana) I was taken with this capital of Slovenia and university city. Everything works here and is safe here and is friendly here. This is a very walkable city. We took a food tour with at least 6 stops of various foods from the country shaped like a chicken. Our next day was a trip to Skocjan Caves... and a WOW moment! if you are ever in Slovenia go to these caves... that is all I can say. After our walk around and thru the caves we went to the Lipica Stud farm and saw the performance. This is a 400 yr old stud farm to the Archduke Charles II of the Hapsburg empire. Again... WOW. You get up close to these Lipizzaner horses that you might also see in Vienna.
That night we met up with the RS tour of BO Adriatic. This is a tour that just doesn't stop giving. The sights and stops are full of wonder.
Highlights... break off from the group and meet the people of Slovenia and Croatia. You will have a much better time. We had a dinner in Motovun of fresh white truffles on omelet or polenta. WOW again. and the owner Nicholi was so happy to chat about truffles, the war, etc. White truffle season had just started when we arrived.
Lake Bled is as lovely as expected. The WWI museum was interesting due to the man who lived and loved this area and studied all aspects of WWI and this area around Kobarid. The reward was a stop at Borus Winery and a lovely lunch with great Slovenian wine.
Then our stop in Motovun.. a true gem. Loved the Istrian peninsula.. Look for the app on Istrian peninsula tourism. free download and very good. We then went to Pula.. another gem. Don't miss the amphitheater and the market area.
On to Rovinj, a fun town that begs you to climb up the narrow streets to the Church of St. Euphemia.. don't miss the sarcophagus and story of this Saint. Good shopping on the way up or down, but also venture off the main pedestrian walkway up and see life in Rovinj. We were there on a sunday and what a sight. so much people watching. FUN.
Next day was a stop in the morning to Opatija, a seaside resort town. Try the Valium pizza at Roko... you will be ready for the drive to Plitvice Lakes National Park.
the Plitvice Lakes is just plain AWESOME! Do not miss this! And we did this in the pouring rain. I would do it again.
Leaving rain soaked we headed to perhaps my favorite city of Croatia... Split. Absolutely lovely from every aspect. We had drinks on the steps of Diocletian's palace courtyard while listening to US pop music and watching a woman in a komono walk past. I had a great conversation with a man who lived his entire life in Split.
After a super good time in Split (included a Game of thrones tour and a bike tour) left for Hvar and Korcula... both super great fun. Hvar was fun, but more expensive. Korcula was our take some time off. I could have stayed an extra day. Love love love Korcula.
Our next stop was Bosnia-H, and Mostar. This is when we split from the group because we had a good friend who was coming from Sarajevo to have dinner with us. The interesting thing was there was an international bridge jumping contest scheduled for the next day. Unfortunately, we did not see anyone jumping.
From Mostar, which is actual in Herzegovina, we had the tour of the south of Bosnia and much recent history of the war.
On to Dubrovnik... all I can say is go there.... walk the wall. Go there... did I say Go there. Loved loved loved Dubrovnik, even with all the tourists.
An incredible location to tour!
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
Gee i agree with how wonderful Croatia etc. is. For yrs i had been looking at going to the adriatic but it did not seem worth the xtra distances and that so many of the sights are far apart. So it has been off my list. But when sis in law asked if i would like to take a guided tour, i changed my mind.
It was a wonderful trip!
Posted by
Arcadia, CA
584 posts
Thanks for a great report! I'm going to take this tour next fall, so now I'm really excited. Which food tour did you take in Ljubljana? The one time I was in Plitvice it was pouring rain too. And, like you said, I'd do it again too. Glad you had such a great time.
Posted by
Portland, CT
276 posts
I'm taking this tour next Fall. I plan on arriving a few days early and tour. One of the caves are on the list. Undecided on the next. Thanks for your report. I'm excited to tour this part of the world.
Posted by
OP
midwest- Michigan
489 posts
I usually use Trip Advisor for side trips or food tours. Look at the comments and the different web sites. Sometimes they do day time tours others in the evening. We did an evening one because we had to eat anyway and we wanted to be moving to get over jet lag. We had so much to eat and drink. Very good time with travelers from all over the world. 2 young women from New Zealand, a family of 4 from Liverpool, a couple from Israel. We were the only Americans. We had some interesting conversations while waiting for food to arrive at every table.
Oh, I also forgot to add that in Dubrovnik you must go to Buza Bar.. We went twice, because it was dark the first time, but the next day we had great views and fun. If you go for the sunset, go very early.