Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The map and the two-week itinerary above include all of the stops in the first 14 days.
As you plan your trip, don't underestimate the long distances. People tell me, “I've got
four days, and I want to see Lake Bled and Dubrovnik”—not realizing they'll waste at least
a full day driving nonstop to connect those two sights. If you have a week or less, choose to
focusononeareaortheother:eitherthesouth(DalmatianCoast—Dubrovnik,Split,andthe
islands—plus Mostar and Montenegro) or the north (Slovenia, Istria, and maybe Zagreb).
The worth-a-detour Plitvice Lakes are stranded in no-man's land between these two areas,
but reachable from either one (easiest by car, possible by bus). Sarajevo also requires a de-
tour, but those who make the trek won't regret it (about 2.5 hours beyond Mostar, and not
“on the way” to anything else in this topic—though frequent and affordable flights between
Sarajevo and Zagreb make it more convenient than it seems).
Top 10 Small Coastal Towns
1. Rovinj (Croatia)
2. Kor
č
ula (Croatia)
3. Hvar (Croatia)
4. Piran (Slovenia)
5. Kotor (Montenegro)
6. Opatija (Croatia)
7. Cavtat (Croatia)
8. Perast (Montenegro)
9. Trogir (Croatia)
10. Pore
č
(Croatia)
Where Should I Go?
The perfect Croatian vacation is like a carefully refined recipe—a dash of this, a pinch of
that, a slow simmer...and before long, you've got a delicious feast. Overwhelmed with op-
tions, people often ask me how to prioritize their time. Here's my tried-and-true recipe:
Begin with the biggies.
Dubrovnikisamust, period. Ifyoulike bigcities, Split isenter-
taining. Plitvice Lakes National Park, while difficult to reach, rarely disappoints. The bust-
lingcapitalcity,Zagreb—whilefarfromCroatia'sfamedbeaches—isvastlyunderrated,and
much appreciated by urbanites.
