I am quite psyched. My best friend and I are going to Croatia for a week in early June.

We just purchased our plane tickets. We are flying from Philadelphia to London for $577 RT (I know! - unbelievable fare - I consider it a total fluke through Orbitz, and I haven't seen any prices that low to match it since), and then I just purchased RT tickets from London to Zagreb through Wizzair for $147 RT. (there are no direct flights from US to Croatia).

So, now that the big stuff is out of the way, I am looking forward to planning the rest of our trip. I imagine we will rent a car. We will probably spend our half days (first and last) in Zagreb, but I am open to all of your suggestions beyond that. I am definitely interested in hanging out along the Dalmation coast, and want to spend time in Dubrovnik and vicinity. (We don't have anywhere near enough time to see Croatia like we should, but it's better than not at all).

Places to stay, places to visit, places to eat?

Wizzair fly from Luton so i assume you will be changing airports in London.Going to Dubrovnik in the time you have is a bit of a stretch,it's a long drive there and back and you will cover a lot of the same ground.I think you are trying to do too much but it's up to you,make sure you visit Plitvice no matter where else you go.
We are regular visitors to Croatia and here are the two best car hire deals we found.
www.auto-europe.com
www.economycarrentals.com

We were in Croatia for a month last summer. Flights operate several times a day from Zagreb to Dubrovnik on Croatian Airways - the cost is a mere 40 euro each way, probably a bit less with a r/t purchase. Since the drive by bus or car would average between 9 and 13 hours, the 45 minute flight makes this all so much easier. We landed in Zagreb and immediately drove to Rovinj, and then slowly made our way down the coast stopping for several days each in Rab, Zadar and finally dumping the car at Split airport. From Split, we took the bus to Dubrovnik - itself a 4.5 hour trip. We spent four nights in Dubrovnik, took a bus to the airport and were in Zagreb for the final week.

You are correct in thinking a week is not nearly enough time - the country is full of great sites and things to do. Happy trails,

-Richard

Thanks for the advice so far - I appreciate it.

I'm going to get a hold of one of the many guide books that are out there - any that come highly recommended by anyone?

I think I'm liking the idea of that Croatian Airways flight. Perhaps we'll work our way down south by car (I definitely do not want to miss Plitvice Park), with Dubrovnik as our last stop, and fly back from there at the end of our week to Zagreb.

Is there much to see/do in Zagreb? Anything we should set aside some time to see or visit there?

Terry,
In my opinion, for that part of the world, you can't beat the Bradt Guide Books.
http://www.bradt-travelguides.com
Croatia's third etition just came out in May 2007 so it is still very current.
ISBN: 9781841621920

Terry,

I remembered writing a fairly long post about Croatia guidebooks a while back, and when I found the thread here, it turned out that you'd posted on that thread, too. So just in case you'd forgotten you'd read it, I thought I'd link to it.

One thing about Dubrovnik--the walled old town is quite small and it is PACKED during the day. I was there in mid-May, not even at the absolute height of tourist season, and it was wall-to-wall people on the Stradun at times. This was at the end of my trip, and coming after Vis, which was still lovely and peaceful, I found it pretty off-putting. People just poured in off bus tours and cruise ships. If you can, try and walk the walls right after they open or very late in the day, and if you're out during the height of the day, wander around some of the more out-of-the-way side streets.

Thanks for that link, KT. I knew I had read it somewhere! Thanks also Deborah for your rec, too. It looks like a good guidebook, too.

I'm trying to make this trip as slow as possible, but it definitely won't be my slowest trip, for sure.

Check the luggage restrictions for Wizz Air. They are pretty tight. I have flown them before a few times. All experiences were ok.

Good to know you had good interfaces with Wizzair, Tony. When I bought the tickets, the luggage restrictions were plastered all over the registration page. Fortunately for us, we are traveling light!

Terry, I'm sorry I can't offer any rec's for Croatia as I haven't had the chance to visit yet. I do wish to say have a wonderful trip. I'm very excited for you. It's going to be great. Take lots of photos and I look forward to reading your trip report. See you soon. Barb Cabot

I spent a few weeks in Dubrovnik in 2002 and in August 2007 was in Zadar, Punat on Island of Krk, Split and Zagreb, and I can heartily recommend all of these, especially Zadar and Split. The town of Split can be a little daunting, but the beaches north and south of the city are amazing. I was told by locals that Korcula is the best island near Split, but I did not get there. I went to the local tourist accomodation office in Split downtown, and reserved a wonderful inexpensive room in a home locally owned by a friendly helpful retired teacher, only blocks from the city center and amazingly quiet. I was happy to get breakfast on my own. Zadar is just as interesting and beautiful as Dubrovnik without the crowds. Zagreb is nice, but can't compare to the dramatic coastal towns during the summer.

Terry, you know how much we loved Croatia last Fall, and I look forward to talking to you about it again in Savannah!

We loved the island of Hvar, Rovinj, Dubrovnik....well, just everything. Anywhere you go will be wonderful because the people are so friendly and welcoming, and the landscape is amazing.

I do have to say that our two weeks there were the most difficult I've ever had planning a trip. I spend a lot of time on the computer doing research. But you probably have already experienced that yourself.

I look forward to returning someday. You'll have a great trip!

Indeed, this is not an easy trip to plan. First, we only have a week to enjoy in Croatia. But I can see already how difficult this is becoming to try to decide which beautiful area to visit - it all sounds so good. I am enjoying the research and I truly appreciate all of your input and tips.

Here's a poser: We are flying into and out of Zagreb. Do you think we should fly down to Dubrovnik from there and work our way back to Zagreb by car over the ensuing week, or should we rent a car from Zagreb and work our way to Dubrovnik, finishing our last two days there, then flying back to Zagreb?

(disclaimer: I know, I know - not enough time to visit even a pinch of all the lovely places there are to see, but we have to deal with our time limitations just the same!)

Also, as much as I am dying to see Istria/Rovinj/and that area, I believe we will have to defer that area for another trip. We have definitely decided that we don't want to miss Dubrovnik, and it would be too much traveling to try to do all that in only a week's time.

I had a week in Croatia in April last year, and while it was quite short, we got to see some amazing things.

We flew into Zagreb but didn't spend anytime there as we were keen to make it to the coast. We spent a night at Plivice which are definitely worth seeing. We then headed to Split for a night before heading to Hvar and Brac. Brac was an amazing island, in April we had the beach to ourself, but i'm sure it would be very different in the summertime. We finished our trip in Dubrovnik which was def another highlight.

Personally I'd finish there and then fly back to Zagreb as it really is such an amazing city

Either way you decide to do it, I would recommend NOT having a car in Dubrovnik especially if you are staying in the center which is completely pedestrianized. Parking is more than tight, even for residents, and the navigation is tricky. The trip from the Dubrovnik airport in Cilipi to the actual city is about a 1/2 hour bus ride; there are places in the city to either pick or drop rental cars however. If the weather is nice in Dubrovnik, do go out to Lokrum - when we were there last July, it was so hot (100+ degrees daily) we had to go swimming every day.

I would also recommend spending a day/night in Zagreb - while many ignore it completely in favor of the coast, we found it to be delightful - full of great restaurants, museums/galleries, a vast park and a lively cafe scene set amidst wonderful Austro/Hungarian architecture...in late July, everyone was on the coast, and the city was seemingly empty. Happy trails,

-Richard

I can see I have some island decisions to make, and it doesn't look easy. Hvar, Korcula, Krk, Brac, Lokrum - oh my. So many islands, so little time? How to decide?

I am definitely leaning towards finishing up our trip in Dubrovnik as opposed to Zagreb - it sounds like it will be a highlight.

Richard, thanks for pointing out not to discount Zagreb. Since we are starting there, is there any place you would recommend to stay for two women travellers? We are interested in safe, economical, clean, pleasant, good proximity to town's sites. A B&B? Hotel? Thanks for your input.

We stayed at the Premier Hotel Astoria, part of the Best Western franchise. It was very centrally located, around four blocks from Trg Ban Jelacic (the main square in the old town center). The facilities were excellent, the room spacious and quiet, the staff gracious and they have an excellent breakfast buffet. We payed something around US$110 per night for the room (of course, the dollar is now so feeble, I'd expect to pay somewhat more). We strolled through the city until 2 or 3am on several evenings, and we never felt even the slightest bit unsafe. See it now before it goes the way of Prague (a wonderful, albeit now very, very crowded city). Cheers,

-Richard

I'll check out that hotel, thanks.

Hello!
I'm new to this forum and found it by accident but am glad I did stumble upon it!
I am also planning a trip to Croatia for my husband and I. We are planning on the following itinerary:
Drive from Amsterdam to Bled, Slovenia. Spend a few nights in Bled. Drive from there to Plitvice National Park where we will overnight. We will then go down the coast to Dubrovnik and spend a few nights there (on the outskirts of the city). We then plan on going back up to Split and staying in that region for a few nights (Trogir perhaps). We are also spending a couple nights in Hvar (or Brac - but I think Hvar), Krk and Pula. We'll then drive home!
This is our first trip to this part of Europe, and we are very excited. We have about 18 days for the trip. There is so much to see in Croatia, but I think the above itinerary gives us a fair overview of the highlights. We've decided to skip Zagreb this time and stick to the coast. We are traveling with our small dog so if anyone has tips about dog-friendly places, please let me know!
I am just looking for recommendations for accommodations. We prefer apartments because of the dog (gives him a secure place to stay during the day when we do indoor stuff!). But this time we are also considering camping in some areas (Plitvice, Hvar and Krk). Our budget is about 60/euros a night for apartment. We like quiet places, with nice natural surroundings.
This is also our first time driving in mainland Europe. Does the Autobahn have hotels where we can overnight with our dog? (I assume so but can't find real evidence of this!). We're used to driving long trips in the States, but aren't really sure to expect over here.
Anyways, I've rambled enough. We are also planning a second longer trip to other parts of Europe which I'll post somewhere else!
Thanks in advance,
Leila

quote:

Originally posted by bodiecoe:
Hello!
I'm new to this forum and found it by accident but am glad I did stumble upon it!
I am also planning a trip to Croatia for my husband and I.

Welcome to Slow Travel, Leila!

To get things started, I did a search on Croatia using the Find button at the top of this page and what I got were about 16 pages of links to previous discussions related to Croatia. Click here and you will have access to these discussions, which should be a good start.

But it would be best if you would refine somewhat the specific questions you have. I am sure members will join in the discussion and bring their contribution.

quote:

Our budget is about 60/euros a night for apartment.

This will not be a problem at all. With the exception of Dubrovnick, I have never spent more the 40 euros a night on an apartment along the coast.

Tony, did you pre-book, or did you find where to stay when you arrived?

If you pre-booked, did you use an agency? Any companies to recommend or stay away from?

Many thanks,