Slovenia and Croatia

March 13, 2005 11:54 PM

Two active thirtysomething guys, two to three weeks in Slovenia and/or Croatia this (late) summer. What should we do? Ideally mix up the vigorous outdoors with the culture and the relaxing. Offbeat/non-guidebook advice is particularly welcome.
posted by gottabefunky to travel & transportation (16 comments total)

Rough Guides are excellent for offbeat advice and history, despite being "guidebooks". I learned more embarassing and hilarious facts about Welsh history than my parents could ever teach me.
posted by AlexReynolds at 12:15 AM on March 14, 2005

Kayaking on the Adriatic was fun – lots of islands to explore.
posted by Tenuki at 12:34 AM on March 14, 2005

For relaxation: Piran. Cheap hotels, great restaurants, rent a dinghy and sail in the Adriatic. More info.
posted by Rumple at 12:37 AM on March 14, 2005

MetaFilter member Ljubljana has a great Slovenia blog (Carniola) you could check.
posted by pracowity at 6:05 AM on March 14, 2005

And you could pick up some salamander brandy.
posted by pracowity at 6:17 AM on March 14, 2005

don't go the rough guide, it's always seemed to point me to precisely the beaten track. i'd check lonely planet. croatia is absolutely gorgeous, although don't forget that late summer is going to be hot as hell there, and touristy. i'd go in september or june if you can. anyway, check out zagreb but don't go to split, check out dubrovnik and the various small towns around the coast. in general, avoid "old-city" restuarants of *any* eastern european cities; they tend to be expensive, inauthentic, and full of obese americans.
llublejana is a great city, and bled is wonderful one day excursion that has some great hiking. in general, slovenia is alps-locked, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to hike if you wish.
posted by yonation at 8:10 AM on March 14, 2005

Slovenia has very friendly small medeival towns (Ptuj, Kranj) great alpine mountains and some of the world's best trout fishing, easy train transport to everywhere, and a tiny coastline. Croatia has a great coastline, but Zagreb itself is only worth a trip in the summer for the zillions of cafes that clog the streets. Good seafood as well.

As in all parts of east Europe and the Balkans, the best experiences are never in the big cities or tourist spots, but in oddball boondock towns and villages where foreigners are considered entertainment and are showered with hospitality.
posted by zaelic at 8:14 AM on March 14, 2005

Do not use the Lonely Planet book on Slovenia - it is extremely out of date. Ljubljana is a wonderful city to spend a few days in walking around the tiny town, through the triple bridge, and up to the castle. I second Bled - but try to call ahead to get a cab from the train station or it is a 5k walk to the lake. Depending on the season, Bled could be hopping, or dead. Rent a car and drive up in the mountains, is beautiful. Be prepared for language difficulties - Slovenian is pretty rough to English-tuned ears - and this comes from someone with a grandmother who is full Slovenian. Most people speak some English (especially the young), and those who didn't you could at least try to speak a form of Sloveniglish which worked.
posted by plemeljr at 8:51 AM on March 14, 2005

Croatian beaches are amazing; the Adriatic is a deep, bright color blue that you will never see anywhere else (I think it has one of the highest salt contents in the world). My bf and I drove up the Adriatic coast from Dubrovnik to Rijeka which was one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. Do not go to Dubrovnik, unless you are into huge crowds of Italian tourists; Split is a more industrial, dveloped town so not as interesting; Zadar is this limestone paved midieval city which is great. Most everyone speaks English. I am dying to go to Plitvice National Park "The Land of the Falling Lakes," after I saw the Nature documentary.
posted by scazza at 9:37 AM on March 14, 2005

Almost all young slovenes can communicate in English, and in the mountains most folks can deal with pidgin German, or Italian along the coast. A trip through the Soca Valley up towards Mt. Trglav is a must if you are mountain-obsessed. There is a lot of extreme-sporty mountain biking, kayaking and river-boarding in the Soca, based in the town of Bovec (which got hit badly by an earthquake a few years ago.) This border region was where some of the nastiest and most meaningless fighting of WWI took place (the Val d'Isonzo in Italian) , and Hemingway was an army nurse here. Bohinj Lake and the Sava Bohinjka river are another mountain attraction. Near Bled

Croatia is also pretty mountainous, but not as Alpine as Slovenia. Basically the sea coast is the slavic suburb of Venice. Beaches are rocky instead of sandy, but the night time bar scenes everywhere remind you this is ex-Yugo (known in better times as The Most Promiscuous Place in The World.) Wonderful eats. Good prsut (air dried ham), seafood and wine, but not really cheap.
posted by zaelic at 9:43 AM on March 14, 2005

Oh and as for crowds, we were there in the second half of August and the crowds were only bad in Dubrovnik.

It doesn't seem that anyone has mentioned that in Croatia everyone rents rooms in their houses out. When we got off the ferry from Italy there were people with signs. After the war, Croatians had to rebuild a lot so adding on extra rooms (and new roofs; all the newer cities like Dubrovnik have these bright orange roofs) became a thing. So, you will see tons of signs for rooms for rent, look around and find the best price and location. Staying in a hotel is a waste of money since all these rooms for rent are new, the people are so wonderful and kind, you'll really see Croatian culture (like using old military shells for various purposes).
posted by scazza at 9:44 AM on March 14, 2005

Another thing to add, the food in Croatia is cheap and fresh. When we stayed in the small town of Drvenik and ordered mussles, we watched them walk over to the water and pull them out of the sea. Fucking amazing.
posted by scazza at 9:46 AM on March 14, 2005

Just because Dubrovnik is crowded, doesn't mean you're allowed to not go there. There's a reason it's on the United Nations list of world treasures. (What a great travelogue that would be!)

May I be the first (!) to recommend the island of Hvar.
posted by Aknaton at 10:19 AM on March 14, 2005

I think when you get back you should post a summary or what you think the best things you did were. I've been thinking about a trip to Slovenia for the late fall.
posted by spicynuts at 12:30 PM on March 14, 2005

yeah, i second the staying at rooms -- if you can survive the barrage of little old ladies at the bus station, and negotiate, you can stay in some fucking gorgeous places for very cheap.
posted by yonation at 3:04 PM on March 14, 2005

Islands of Hvar and Korcula -- taking the ferry down the coast to Dubrovnik is good. You can also do worse than going down the coast past Dubrovnik into Montenegro and the Bay of Kotor ... Kotor is an interesting Venetian town, and the bay is the only fjord on the Mediterrannean. April is probably the ideal time to be there if your schedule is flexible. Oh yeah, and third the "stay in rooms/pensiones" while there. And eat lots of grilled octopus and grilled & stuffed squid.
posted by Rumple at 11:35 PM on March 14, 2005