Travel Advice - anyone familiar with Croatia/SLovenia?

[dajop]

Just after some advice, and thought I might ask other AFF's if anyone is familiar with has travelled to Croatia/Slovenia.

On upcoming trip have allocated 5 days to this area (it is a short trip, mainly focussing on Italy, but as I have been to Italy before, I'd like to have a few days somewhere I haven't been to).

Now I was originally thinking a couple of days in Dubrovnik, a couple in Slovenia (Ljubljana/Lake Bled) leaving a day to get between the two with some time in Zagreb. However, a friend has suggested you just can't miss Split. Aaagh! That tightens everything up, meaning a day and half per location with late night flights/train. Anyone who has visited these areas have any recommendations?

As an aside, in organising travel plans to/from London, I discovered QFF and BMI pts are not terrifiic, given the significant +++'s in Europe. And to the Balkans, Easyjet and other LCC's are not that low cost at all. Best options getting there (into Balkans out of Italy or vice versa) are on BA, Swiss or Lufthansa. All on points earning fares.

 

[serfty]

Flew to/from DBV last year in June (Part of a LONE4) - a nice place.

If you are sightseeing, 1½ days should do Dubrovnick, maybe even drive down from Split.

I hired a car and drove to Medjugorje and back- a Lovely drive along the Adriatic coast.

 

[RB]

Keeping in mind I am approx 50, beer drinker who enjoys people watching rather than nightclubs, not a fan of most cities & enjoy hiking. My last visit to this area was approx 5 yrs ago.
Dubrovnik- old town has become an enclave of trendy expensive shops that displays little regard to history
Hvar & Korcula were great islands for a visit- island hopped on ferries & stayed in apartments rented out by locals who met the ferries
Split- arrived here on ferry from Ancona & only spent short time looking around the port area
Mostar- thoroughly enjoyed a couple of nights there
Sarajevo-interesting for short stop to consider the role in history
Plitvice Lakes- an amazing experience especially if you stay near there & get in before & after the day bus trips
Ljubljana- relatively small so still had character & enjoyable.
Bled- one of my favourite spots. Fantastic walking available & The Pub was a great spot for beers, fresh trout & meeting tourists from around the globe
Zagreb- more a bland city & cheap to moderate rooms are thin on the ground

Hope this helps but 5 days is not going to do justice to the offerings

 

[odysseus]

Ljubljana and Bled are both doable in a short time as they're quite small. I lived there for a while and 'it's a great place to visit' as they say. There's a lot of nice things to see, but you can go past them all in less than a day, unless you particularly wanted to spend more time there. Ljubljana has markets on a Saturday... but beware - they don't like you touching the merchandise (they do the selection themselves). Also, trading hours aren't that long, being a small place.

 

[borsa]

Just after some advice, and thought I might ask other AFF's if anyone is familiar with has travelled to Croatia/Slovenia.

On upcoming trip have allocated 5 days to this area (it is a short trip, mainly focussing on Italy, but as I have been to Italy before, I'd like to have a few days somewhere I haven't been to).

......................................................................................................
Have just been to Dubrovnik on a three day/four night Miles and More sidetrip from Zurich. Dubrovnik itself is quite small and has lost a lot of its charm (last visited 30 years ago!) but still worth a trip, as is Cavtat 20 kms to the south. Hired a car and drove down to Montenegro - Herzognovi, Budva and Kotor on one day and to Korcula the next. No day trips to Korcula by ferry, but it may be possible to take a ferry from Split to Dubrovnik stopping off at Korcula - see Jadrolinija Ferry line - which also goes from Ancona to Split.

Last year, drove from Austria to Bled (beautiful but it rained all day, so it rather spoilt it) then to Ljubljana, still a rather ugly Communist era city, although the old part of town is gradually improving, but not worth going out of your way to visit. From there drove back to Austria via the Dolomites and the German speaking part of Italy - Sudtirol around Meran/Merano. If you are in Italy anyway have you considered this part of the country. If you are driving, there is a fabulous mountain pass (2700m) from Meran (I always stay at nearby Dorf Tirol/ Tirolo) called the Timmelsjoch, over to Oetztal in Austria, with new ski resorts to stay at on the way - the pass normally opens in June and is closed for winter. The Dolomites in fine weather are fantastic.

If you need any more info, please let me know.

 

[dajop]

Thanks for the suggestions and comments. Much of it seems to reflect and confirm what I've (sort of) read elsewhere. We were going to do bus between Split and Dubrovnik, but sounds like a car might be better with some stops at different points along the way/around the towns at either end.

Have booked some airfares, a veritable smorgasbord of star alliance carriers. Aside from the NZ flights to LHR from HKG (got a great Y+ 2 for 1 deal), now have Swiss flights into LJU (on Swiss & Adria Airlines metal), Croatia Airlines domestically, and Lufthansa back from Naples. So it will be interesting in the air as well as the ground I suspect. Just have to work out where to put the miles, short sectors probably means Air NZ, and not bmi or SQ.

One thing very interesting, within 5 minutes of booking the Croatia Airlines flights (on their website) I got a call from Citibank asking me to verify. Very efficient.