I haven't been on the board for sometime, but I am busy now planning a return trip to Italy in May. On this trip we plan to stay in northern Italy with a visit to Istria and Zagreb, Croatia. We will be traveling by car with another couple.

Here is our itinerary, it is not a slow as I would like, but is defined by the two days we are committed to spending with friends in Zagreb. Our only long driving day will be from Zagreb to Milan at the end of our trip. We can always use a little help from fellow slow travelers on fine tuning the trip.

We are considering spending two nights in Slovenia either in Ljubljana or the Julian Alps, any experience or hotels in this area would be much appreciated. We have visited the coastal areas of Croatia and Montenegro on previous trips and won't be venturing that far this time.

Asti, Peidmont – 4 nights
Parma – 4 nights
Venice – 4 nights
Slovenia – 2 nights
Rovinj, Istria – 3 nights
Zagreb – 2 nights
Milan - 2 nights

Wow, when I look at this, I can see that we are moving much to fast during our last week.
Cracker

For what it's worth, my opinion is that you should skip Istria and divide your time between Zagreb and Ljubljana. We spent 4 days in Istria in 2007, and, while it was enjoyable, it was so much like Italy--yet not exactly Italy-- that we were underwhelmed. On the other hand, Zagreb and Ljubljana were both unique and amazing, worthy of 3-4 nights each, especially if you take a day trip to to Bled from Ljubljana (first choice) or to the Plitvice Lakes from Zagreb.

Is there any way you can return from Zagreb to Milan by air or take an open-jaw round-trip flight? That final drive sounds pretty dreadful to me. If that is not possible, I would break up the drive back to Milan with a stop somewhere (Treviso? Padua?)and arrive at lodgings near Malpensa the evening before departure to U.S.

Indeed plenty there.

I'm a massive fan of Piemonte, though Asti and Milan seem to stick out a little too much on this itinery.

Would it interest you to consider Ravenna, Bologna, Ferrara, Trieste, Modena as alternatives in Italy, thus keeping to to Nort-east Italy, but also allowing you to turn some of those locations into day trips instead of overnight stays.

The logic is less base locations, less hassle booking, less cheking in & out and packing/unpacking... and hopefully a couple of extra days in the places you choose to base yourselves.

... but do find time in the future to return to Piemonte - a week around Torino, Cuneo, Asti, Alba, the great wine regions and various othern places would just scratch the surface.

regards

Ian

I'm interested in this post, as we've considered a similar trip. Not next year, but sometime....
In Sept. we are going for three weeks to coastal Croatia. I wanted to include northern Croatia and Slovenia, but decided to limit my scope and allow time to focus on sea and islands in a slower style.

I have visions of a car trip that includes parts of Austria, Venice, Slovenia, and Istria. Slovenia and Istria will be new to us, Austria and Venice are familiar. Apparently, we should include Zagreb and certainly that Slitvice Park.
Wish I could offer you some advice - I'll just absorb what others offer.
Linda

Jeanne - Thanks for the feedback. Our son and family are meeting us in Rovinj for a few days before we all go to Zagreb. My DIL is from Zagreb and has family there that we will be visiting, so that part of our trip is planned around them. Our son and family visit Croatia every summer and he has always thought we would love Istria since it is so similar to Italy. Do you have a hotel recommendation in Ljubljana? I am looking forward to spending a day or two there.

Ian- Thanks for your help. We are hoping to visit Bologna and Modena on day trips while in or near Parma. I am working on lodging confirmation at an agriturismo outside of Parma to make getting around with the car easier. We are hoping to see a cheese production operation while there and a balsamico product facility in the Modena area. We did consider Trieste rather than Ljubljana, I'll have to revisit that idea.

Thanks,

Cracker

You have picked some wonderful destinations and I have been to all of them---but not on the same trip. I would start with the car logistics. You may find that you cannot take the car into Slovenia and Croatia and still have insurance. Check that out--it may have changed. That may cause you to drop the car in Trieste and adjust from there. We did train to Ljubljana from there and then got another car later, which we dropped in Koper on the way back. Nice trip, but check what is feasible.

Hey MP--It is so nice to see you back on board. I've thought so much about e-mailing you but just kept putting it off. We've missed you (my little family has.)

Here is another thought. We were in Croatia last year and there is so much to recommend it. Rather than trying to do all that you have outlined, what about dropping the Italian nights and use this trip for Croatia? If you link here Croatia and start with they July 20 entry, you will be at my blog entries about our trip.

You know you'll get back to Italy.

BTW--How are the grannies?

Hi Jane - I can't believe that you of all people would recommend that we skip Italy... for shame. I'm afraid that I am incapable of doing that, just as I am of visiting Italy and skipping Venice. I have read your blog on Croatia, what a great trip. We did a similar trip in 2006, visiting the Dalmatian Coast from Montenegro (six weeks after they gained independence) as far north as Losinj, it was one of our best trips ever. This trip to Croatia is more about meeting extended family members and letting our grandson, Nicholas (9) show us all of his favorite places in Zagreb. They seem to be primarily a toy shop, park and favorite outdoor cafe. I will PM you about the grannies.

Linda – Your trip in Sept is going to be fantastic, you can see from my comments above that it was one of our best. If you haven't read Jane's blog entries on their trip, you are in for a treat.

Bob – I have DH working on the car for the trip, as you say, it is an issue, but I hope not a major problem as I assume we can return it in Italy and rent another in Slovenia or Croatia for the rest of the trip. I'll post when I see how this works out. Thanks for the heads up.

Happy New Year,
Cracker

Re Ljubljana hotel: We stayed at the Grand Hotel Executive, chosen because of its great location in central Ljubljana about a block or so from the central bridge and adjacent to the old town. It allowed us to walk everywhere we wanted to go in this charming city, and there were plenty of restaurants and shops nearby. We found the accomocations very satisfactory, though we usually prefer smaller inns or boutique hotels.

Hi Cracker--Yes, my saying to skip Italy is bizarre, now that you mention it. I didn't know that you had already spend time in Croatia--probably should have known.

I got your pm and will wait to answer tonight when I have time to do you justice .

Bob asked a good question regarding driving our rental car from Italy to Croatia. We found that the car we were renting in Italy for the four of us (Mercedes C220 wagon) from Auto Europe would not be allowed to cross the border into Croatia, but we were able to rent a slightly smaller car from them for our week in Croatia (Renault Scenic Wagon). It wasn't really a problem as we were staying in Venice for several nights and were thinking of turning the car in there and renting another when we left anyway, which is what we decided to do.

We did decide not to try and cram Slovenia into this trip as we were pressed for time and needed to be in Rovinj on a set date to meet our son and family. Our new itinerary is not slow travel, but hopefully not so speedy that we can't enjoy the areas that we are visiting.

Asti 4 nights
Parma 4 nights
Venice 4 nights
Muggia/Trieste 2 nights
Rovinj 3 nights
Zagreb 2 nights
Desenzano del Garda 1 night
Milan airport 1 night

We are leaving in early May, I hope to add hotel reviews in the Istria area when we return since we don't have many on the board now.

Cracker

I like it--a very unique itinerary.
Where are you staying in Asti? I hope you have looked at Villa Sampaguita.

Yes Bob, we are staying at Villa Sampaquita and looking forward to a great time there.

After Asti we are staying at Agriturismo Leoni just outside Parma which I also think will be great fun. While in Parma we have booked with Parmagolosa for tours of the production of Parmesan cheese, Parma ham and Traditional Balsamic Vinegar.

Cracker

Terrific !
Say hi to Tim and Rina for me.