Croatian holiday

[Oddyoboy]

My wife and myself are planning on going to Croatia in June. Anybody been there and taken the local tours? We are looking at taking the new AirTransat tour of Croatia. We really don't know what to expect

 

[Shannon]

There are a lot of places in Croatia.. where exactly is the AirTransat tour taking you? What kind of tours are you looking for and in what areas of Croatia? Elaborate a little so we can try to help..

 

[Oddyoboy]

Hi Shannon, thanks for your post. The trip takes us to Zagreb, Ljubljana, Plitvice, Split and Dubrovnik before we fly back to Zagreb for the last night. I think we will spend a couple night in each place. We are open to any suggestions as we would like to take in as much of the culture as we can. Thanks

 

[Shannon]

Hi Oddyboy, this really is too much moving around, for just two nights in each place. In my opinion, you should drop Ljubljana, and save it for another trip.

Instead, stay in Zagreb for a couple of days, then drive to Plitvice arriving in the late afternoon/early evening. Relax for the rest of the day/night, then go to Plitvice National Park the following day. Depending on how much energy you have, either continue on to Split after you see the park (which will take 5-6 hours) or spend another night and go to Split the next day. Spend at least three nights in Split, so you can have a good look at Split, visit Trogir, and maybe take a day trip to one of the islands.

Or you could visit Split then take a ferry out to Hvar Island for a few days. Assuming you would have a car, you could either drop it in Split, or take it to Hvar. Hvar is pretty great to explore with a car, but you can also do without and just enjoy Hvar town.

Dubrovnik will be very warm and very crowded, but there is much to see there. Actually you could leave Ljubljana in the itinerary, but save Dubrovnik for another trip. But I do think you need to drop one of them. If you do go to Dubrovnik, I would stay 3 nights - one when you arrive, and two more to explore Dubrovnik.

Hope this helps -
Shannon

 

[Oddyoboy]

Thanks Shannon, this will really help in our decision. It is good to know. One question... How is the driving there in Croatia? Are the roads safe (wide)?
Thanks

 

[Shannon]

Driving is pretty easy. You'll get the occasional "guy on your rear end" but the roads are in good condition. Fuel is expensive and there are some toll roads.

 

[Oddyoboy]

Thanks for the prompt reply. It is just like The Azores except for toll roads which the islands did not have. Thank you.

 

[Shannon]

Happy to help. Once you know where you want to sleep I am happy to give some lodging recs if you would like.

 

[Jan55612]

Oddyoboy, if you really want to have a fun experience, take a GrapeHops.com tour with Shannon. (Hope this is okay, Pauline.) I went to Croatia with Shannon (owner of GrapeHops) a couple of years ago. It. Was. Fabulous. Highly recommended!!

 

[Pauline]

Oddyoboy, if you really want to have a fun experience, take a GrapeHops.com tour with Shannon. (Hope this is okay, Pauline.) I went to Croatia with Shannon (owner of GrapeHops) a couple of years ago. It. Was. Fabulous. Highly recommended!!

Of course that is okay. I highly recommend any tour with Shannon! www.grapehops.com

 

[Bryan Gros]

I am looking to plan a similar trip for 2017, but in reverse. Starting in Dubrovnik and ending in Istria. The more I look into options, I keep chopping off locations--Slovenia is out, and likely Zagreb too.

My question is what is the best way to get from Split to Istria? Pula maybe? I'd rather not rent a car, and it doesn't look like there is a ferry from Split to Pula. Maybe split up the trip with a stop in Zadar?

If no good transit option, I suppose we could rent a car short term and spend a little time in the interior of Istria