Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
night will draw the shades on your sightseeing before dinnertime. You may find the climate
chart in the appendix helpful.
Seasonal Changes:
Becauseofthisregion'sextremeseasonality,specificssuchasopen-
ingtimesandpricesareespeciallyflexible.It'snotunusualforahoteltochargesixdifferent
rates for the same room, depending on the time of year. (A hotel receptionist once showed
meanentirebookwithliterallyhundredsofpotentialratestheycouldcharge,basedonroom
size, type, views, season, and length of stay.) With every visit, I dutifully hike around these
townstryingtopindownhoursfortouristoffices,travelagencies,andmuseums.Andevery
time, they change. It's always smart to call ahead to double-check opening times.
Depending on the length of your trip, and taking geographic proximity into account, here
are my recommended priorities.
3 days: Dubrovnik
5 days, add: Mostar, Split
7 days, add: Kor
č
ula or Hvar (for a relaxing island experience); Montenegro's Bay of Kotor
(for dramatic scenery); or Sarajevo (for a more in-depth look at Bosnia)
8 days, add: Plitvice Lakes
10 days, add: Lake Bled and the Julian Alps
12 days, add: Ljubljana, more time for Dalmatian islands
14 days, add: Istria
16 days, add: Whatever you skipped on day 7 (Kor
č
ula/Hvar, Montenegro, or Sarajevo)
18 days, add: The Karst, Zagreb
21 days, add: More mountains (Logarska Dolina) or coastal villages (Piran, Mljet)
More time, add: Ptuj, Opatija, and even more islands and coastal villages
Croatia and Slovenia: Best Two-Week Trip by Car
Day
Plan
Sleep in
1
Arrive at Ljubljana's airport and take a taxi to Lake Bled
Lake Bled
2
Relax at Lake Bled
Lake Bled
3
Pick up car, drive through Julian Alps, end in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
4
Ljubljana
Ljubljana
