Croatia/Slovenia Travel

Anybody have any insight on travel here? My wife’s manicurist is from there and raves about her country. From what I can tell it is very much like Italy terrain and architecturally, 1% of entire country is under vine (that is a lot of grapes!) and is supposed to be a better value compared to other mediterranean countries.

Were going to be in France early fall and looking for someplace new for an add on week. We like to cycle, eat great food, visit wineries, hike, explore.

TIA

Saw an entertaining piece from Rick Steves.

Looking at a map, they got screwed on the ocean front property.

Croatia has the nice sea villages.

Croatia is more about the ocean. Slovenia is more about the mountains. Beautiful region. They were spared the destruction of the breakup of the former Republic of Yugoslavia. More like Austria, to my mind, than Italy.
Great wines made just across the border from the Collio region of Friuli in Italy. Similar terroir, but much less expensive. Some producers make wine from both sides of the border.

Love Slovenia!

The capital is really young and hip and the countryside spectacular. You are very close to many countries and driving easy ( with GPS ). Wines evolving- Jeruzalem area very pretty and Movia has a wine bar in the capital.

Oh Slovenia is pretty sweet… went for 2 weeks last summer Croatia and Slovenia… I really liked most of Slovenia.

Ljubljana- fun, young, hip definitely. some really good food.
Lake Bled - spend 2-3 days here… the lake is beautiful, and there’s some cool drives/hikes around the area, including an interesting gorge hike/walk
Caves - there are a few famous ones… we went to two with names starting with Skoc and Post… i forget the full names. One is more touristy… one is more intimate… both are awesome.

So yah 1 weeek add on. perfect timing. .hit it.

+1. I highly recommend a trip through the Friuli/Alto Adige then east into the Vipava Valley of SL. Was just there in March and it is stunning just a few km. into SL. Very rural. I can recommend stuff in the Vipava valley if you want. I would think biking through Friuli and Alto Adige wuld be heaven. Some great places there again PM if interested.

Ended up booking trip to Croatia’s Dalmation Islands. Flying in to Dubrovnik and out of Split. Trying to decide on cycling options, anybody do this trip before? There are a lot of different outfits seemingly doing the same routes so we are leaning towards self guided trip with Meridien Ten which is a local Croatian company. Been wanting to do this trip for a while, really supposed to be a special place - beautiful, undiscovered (somewhat), semi- challenging biking, great food/wine.

Reach out to Leo, he might have some contacts for you.

Please post back here after you return, I’m very interested in your experience. Again, the Steves show will give some high level insight.

Looks like you already figured out what you want to do. Dubrovnik and Split are two great towns to visit. Try to visit Trogir which is close to Split. 3 islands are must see down there, Brac, Hvar and Korcula.
If you get chance, further north (few hours drive) is National park plitvice which is one of earths most beautiful places Plitvice Lakes National Park - Wikipedia

I had the pleasure of traveling through Slovenia with a Slovene winemaker I met in France. Jeruzlem is a beautiful place, we stopped at a restaurant that made its own wines (mostly whites out this way) and they brought out a platter of local food that blew our minds. Lake Bled is a must visit, but if your looking for wines Brda is awesome. I had one of the best winery tasting visits of my life (I’ve been to a lot of tasting room/cellardoors before) at Edi Simcic. Amazing wine and hospitality. Home made olive oils and cured meets sitting by an indoor fire. Take a translator.

here is my post about croatia on another thread fwiw:

I was in Croatia back in July. We had an amazing trip driving the country side and cruising along the Adriatic. We visited several wineries near Zagreb and also from the island of Hvar, Mljet and Korcula. The standout wineries/wines for me were:

Tomac - the winery is located near Jasterbarsko (about 30 minutes away from Zagreb). They make Pinot Noirs, Rieslings, White Blends (Chardonnay and other locally grown varieties), but their claim to fame is their sparkling wines. The winemaker (Tomislav) spent time learning/working in Champagne – which you can clearly see in his wines (taste, profile, style, etc.) Probably the top sparking producer in the country according to Edi Maletic and Ivan Pejic (the two Croatian Research Scientists who were credited in tracing the Zinfandel’s root back to Croatia) – and I wholeheartedly agree. Keep an eye out for this.

Korak – also near Jasterbarsko ,sits on top of a hill with a stunning panoramic view of the lush country side with neatly lined up rows of vines ala Germany’s Mosel Region. Arguably the top Pinot Noir producer in the country – the 07 Pinot Noir was my wine of the trip (perfect balance – fruit, structure, acidity and length). Also keep an eye out for this.

Zlatan – from the island of Hvar. The Barrique Plavac Mali along with the Reserve Plavac Mali was pretty darn tasty. We docked on the other side of the island and loaded up on these puppies. We ran out halfway through our voyage so we stocked up via Konzum (THE grocery chain of Croatia).

Bibich – there was a Bibich wine outlet in Vodice – nice wines (white and red).

Kutjevo – they make a nice Grasevina. Light, crisp and refreshing. They are pretty much available everywhere. They also come in 1ltr bottles. A nice qpr.

The people in Croatia are warm, friendly and generous. You will have a great time in Rovinj. Love the narrow hilly streets. Dubrovnik was quite a site, I would’ve enjoyed it more but the temp was just too freakin hot.

Sretan put,

I agree with Leo, Hvar and Korcula are a must.

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So this is our itinerary starting in Dubrovnik and ending in Split.

“This self guided bike tour is covering all the most important and most beautiful sites of Dalmatia, coastal part of Croatia. We can suggest and provide accommodation in Dubrovnik for you, and you should spend 1 or 2 nights there. Dubrovnik’s historical sites as well as the old town can be seen in 1 day. In this day you will have time to relax, besides visiting the sites. It is very touristic town, but worth visiting. You should definitely walk the city walls (if they are not packed with guests from tour ships) from where you will have great view on the old town and endless sea. We will pick you up from your accommodation and transfer to peninsula Peljesac, where your bike tours starts. This is due to heavy traffic coming to/from Dubrovnik on the only road that connects Dubrovnik with the rest of Croatia. You will spend 2 nights in Korcula and Hvar town, both being probably most beautiful and well preserved ancient towns. You will have 2 days on each island and plenty of time to explore the coast, rural and ancient villages, eat great homemade food, and choose your bike distance, from easy to very long and hard rides. Connection between those 2 islands, Hvar and Korcula is done with private 8 or 9 meter power boat, which is very safe and stabile – definitely another highlight of your bike trip. Finish your self guided tour in 1700 years old town Split, cultural and administrative centre of Dalmatia. Easy biking is possible in Split as well. Connections between Peljesac and Korcula, Hvar and Split are provided by official ferry company, which is another authentic experience. Both of those ferries depart several times a day, so you can decide when to leave. Of course, all of this will be explained to your during the welcome briefing.
Being local’s we can proudly say this tour covers the most beautiful area of Croatian coast in a very short time!”

Thanks for the input!

Sounds great and when in Split don’t forget about Trogir, it’s only 30 km north and worth seeing.

Lake Bled - spend 2-3 days here… the lake is beautiful, and there’s some cool drives/hikes around the area, including an interesting gorge hike/walk [quote from Markye]

Highly recommend this area. It is very special and unique; even more beautiful than Lake Tahoe on a smaller scale. Magical setting and the castle across the lake lights up at night into something from another planet. Quality lodging, especially R&C Vila Bled, a former summer palace for Tito and a class place unto itself. Great country wines as well as from Fruili and Austria.

Leo,

Janice and I are going to Croatia. Flying into Dubrovnik, doing the islands (Korkula and Hvar), then Split, before heading to Plitvice Lakes National Park for an overnight. We depart from Zagreb. My original plan was to depart Dubrovnik to Korcula by boat and spend 2 days and a night. Then take the boat from Korcula to Hvar and spend 2 days there, before departing to Split for 3 or 4 days. I plan on using my points to stay at Le Meriden (just outside) Split.

It was suggested to me < need your imput > that I could bus it from Dubrovnik to Split, then do day trips out of Split to Korcula and Hvar. Day trips sound very appealing. If I go that route, I think I’ll be spending lots of time on boats commuting, and less time enjoying myself.

What’s your opinion?

Thanks.

Dan,
Korcula, Hvar and Brac deserve more than just a day trip as they are unique in their beauty and peace. Split, Trogir, Dubrovnik, Zagreb and Plitvice can be a day trip.

We’ll be there May and June!

August for the Blums. Still working out details