Balkadriatic
April 9, 2024 12:26 PM Subscribe
I am considering travelling down the Adriatic coast (not necessarily sticking strictly to the coast) from perhaps Slovenia to Albania. I would be taking public transport and have about 2 weeks to do the trip.
Any advice?
Main concerns: is everything well connected enough? Any must-see places or places to skip? Is 2 weeks far too short? I like nature, beaches, hiking and discovering new cultures.
Main concerns: is everything well connected enough? Any must-see places or places to skip? Is 2 weeks far too short? I like nature, beaches, hiking and discovering new cultures.
That entire stretch is also home to many of the region's coolest Spomenik, so if you're a fan of that odd, but compelling era of concrete public art, you can see as many as you can find time for, and probably a few on accident, even if you aren't setting time aside.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:57 PM on April 9 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:57 PM on April 9 [2 favorites]
The Istria region of Croatia was great. We loved Rovinj (coastal, with nice places to swim) and Motovun (a medieval town on a hill). At the southern tip of Istria is Pula, which has some very well-preserved Roman ruins, such as the Temple of Augustus and the Pula Arena. On the way down from Slovenia, perhaps visit Predjama Castle, which is built into the side of a mountain with caves below.
If you need transportation, look into DayTrip. They are a bit pricey, but very convenient when other transportation isn't available.
Have fun!
posted by Don_K at 2:19 PM on April 9
If you need transportation, look into DayTrip. They are a bit pricey, but very convenient when other transportation isn't available.
Have fun!
posted by Don_K at 2:19 PM on April 9
I spent 2 weeks in Albania several years ago and still regret not having more time. However, i don't think the rail service there is very useful. There is for example no train station in Tirana, the Capital.
However, a bus service is in operation, also international, eg from Vienna to Tirana. Not exactly a luxury coach however.
For train advice in Europe, the best i found is the man in Seat 61. Accurate and detailed. Of course He also offers train Info for example for Croatia etc.
He even hast descriptions of the actual station buildings.
posted by 15L06 at 2:42 PM on April 9
However, a bus service is in operation, also international, eg from Vienna to Tirana. Not exactly a luxury coach however.
For train advice in Europe, the best i found is the man in Seat 61. Accurate and detailed. Of course He also offers train Info for example for Croatia etc.
He even hast descriptions of the actual station buildings.
posted by 15L06 at 2:42 PM on April 9
Two weeks is short to cover the whole Adriatic coast unless you are ok with having some big travel days and skipping a lot of area. (e.g. Rick Steves sample 2 week itinerary for Slovenia and Croatia)
I spent a month in Croatia and Slovenia (3 weeks + 1 week) last June, but haven't been elsewhere on the Adriatic. I traveled with a friend and we spent several days in Dubrovnik, rented a car to drive north, took FlixBus from Zagreb to Ljubljana, then rented another car for a week in Slovenia. In Croatia mostly we drove to a town, stayed near the town center, and walked everywhere. When doing more outdoorsy things the car was helpful for flexibility (coming and going at the times we wanted rather than watching the bus schedule).
Train service was spotty and not useful for my trip, but FlixBus and other bus services went between towns. You can also take ferries between some towns (e.g. Dubrovnik and Split) and especially to the islands.
Coastal areas I really enjoyed in Croatia: Rovinj (Istria), Sibenik, Dubrovnik (busy but not packed in early June), and especially the island Korcula (could easily have spent 5 days there).
Croatia is also home to Plitvice Lakes National Park, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We stayed at a lodge just outside the park, got there as it opened, then spent a full day hiking and then crashed at the lodge for a second night. Similarly for hiking, Krka National Park, nearish to Sibenik.
We didn't enjoy Split and were regretting not just pushing on to Sibenik, but Split is good for connections to the islands and I assume transit.
In Slovenia we were more inland, in Ljubljana (beautiful), Idrija, and Lake Bled -- gorgeous mountains.
Yes yes yes to spomenik. The really dramatic ones are outside of towns, often in the mountains, and I didn't see any public transit around them. But most towns had a monument of some sort.
English is widely-spoken but learn to say a few words in the local language and the already-friendly people will become even friendlier!
posted by esoterrica at 2:51 PM on April 9 [2 favorites]
I spent a month in Croatia and Slovenia (3 weeks + 1 week) last June, but haven't been elsewhere on the Adriatic. I traveled with a friend and we spent several days in Dubrovnik, rented a car to drive north, took FlixBus from Zagreb to Ljubljana, then rented another car for a week in Slovenia. In Croatia mostly we drove to a town, stayed near the town center, and walked everywhere. When doing more outdoorsy things the car was helpful for flexibility (coming and going at the times we wanted rather than watching the bus schedule).
Train service was spotty and not useful for my trip, but FlixBus and other bus services went between towns. You can also take ferries between some towns (e.g. Dubrovnik and Split) and especially to the islands.
Coastal areas I really enjoyed in Croatia: Rovinj (Istria), Sibenik, Dubrovnik (busy but not packed in early June), and especially the island Korcula (could easily have spent 5 days there).
Croatia is also home to Plitvice Lakes National Park, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We stayed at a lodge just outside the park, got there as it opened, then spent a full day hiking and then crashed at the lodge for a second night. Similarly for hiking, Krka National Park, nearish to Sibenik.
We didn't enjoy Split and were regretting not just pushing on to Sibenik, but Split is good for connections to the islands and I assume transit.
In Slovenia we were more inland, in Ljubljana (beautiful), Idrija, and Lake Bled -- gorgeous mountains.
Yes yes yes to spomenik. The really dramatic ones are outside of towns, often in the mountains, and I didn't see any public transit around them. But most towns had a monument of some sort.
English is widely-spoken but learn to say a few words in the local language and the already-friendly people will become even friendlier!
posted by esoterrica at 2:51 PM on April 9 [2 favorites]
I visited the region in late summer 2022, getting the train from Zagreb down to Split, then a bus inland to Mostar, then the train to Sarajevo, then (in the absence of a reasonable land-based connection) flying to Belgrade, then the train to Podgorica, then circling Montenegro by car via Žabljak, the bay of Kotor, Cetinje and Ulcinj, then getting the bus to cross into Albania, visit Shkoder, Tirana, Berat, Gjirokaster and Saranda for Butrint and finally taking the ferry to Corfu, all over about six weeks.
Aside from a bus breakdown from Split to Mostar that left us on the side of the road for a few hours (above a glittering bay but in the middle of nowhere), everything transit-wise worked well with perhaps 15-minute delays here and there.
Online ticket purchases in English seemed to be spotty for domestic connections but might be better now, and the best information I found was often by emailing/messaging my next accommodation and asking for their advice on what my onward travel options were; they encouraged me to travel earlier in the day and to book as far in advance as I could for buses and trains, which were always full even in late September on weekdays.
For the kind of trip you’d like to take, I think two weeks would be pushing it if you wanted to relax, especially if you are planning to visit smaller places with less-frequent connections.
I spent the least time in Croatia; Zagreb to Split is a long day but a pretty train journey. The palace of Diocletian being the old town itself is spectacular, but it’s also a large city and quite hilly.
If you could hire a car in Montenegro, you’d have a lot more freedom to zip around to places like Perast (my favorite spot in the whole country), the charming old capital Cetinje or the huge, mostly empty beaches near Ulcinj, each lovely but perhaps not worth an overnight if you have to endure a half day’s journey by bus to get there when you could have driven it in 90 minutes. I was shocked at how bad traffic was around the bay of Kotor, and in Kotor town itself; it seemed like any kind of schedule for buses simply didn’t bear much resemblance to reality, and when buses did arrive they were full of standees as well as seated passengers, and so driving my own vehicle (which I rented from Terrae-Car for a surprisingly reasonable cost) saved me at least a day’s worth of delay during my week or so in the country. I should have rented it in Podgorica and returned it in Ulcinj, and then got a minibus from there to Shkoder (it’s only a bit over 25 miles away), but the Podgorica to Shkoder route was much more frequently served and so was more forgiving if I missed it, I seem to recall.
In Albania, there seemed to be a more robust bus transit system between the large cities, perhaps because fewer people own cars; I did note, though, that while the coast and the main tourist spots are relatively frequently served, a few more journeys than I expected, like Berat to Gjirokaster, involved a bus that dropped you at a junction outside town where a pre-arranged car/taxi/van would drive you into town itself. I had just one small carry-on wheeled suitcase and a small backpack and enjoyed the adventure of it, but many other travelers I met felt this was unusual or unpleasant, especially when they had a lot of luggage or a huge backpack and had to hold it on their lap.
Overall, it’s a lovely region of the world wherever you go, but the demand for buses along the whole Croatian and Montenegrin coast really seemed to outstrip supply, with the number of tourists in the Bay of Kotor in particular feeling well beyond what the transport infrastructure could handle. Albania, meanwhile, was much less crowded and traffic seemed absent outside central Tirana, but also required the traveler using public transport to be flexible enough to deal with mid-journey vehicle swaps and not overburden themselves or the other passengers with their luggage.
posted by mdonley at 3:44 PM on April 9 [1 favorite]
Aside from a bus breakdown from Split to Mostar that left us on the side of the road for a few hours (above a glittering bay but in the middle of nowhere), everything transit-wise worked well with perhaps 15-minute delays here and there.
Online ticket purchases in English seemed to be spotty for domestic connections but might be better now, and the best information I found was often by emailing/messaging my next accommodation and asking for their advice on what my onward travel options were; they encouraged me to travel earlier in the day and to book as far in advance as I could for buses and trains, which were always full even in late September on weekdays.
For the kind of trip you’d like to take, I think two weeks would be pushing it if you wanted to relax, especially if you are planning to visit smaller places with less-frequent connections.
I spent the least time in Croatia; Zagreb to Split is a long day but a pretty train journey. The palace of Diocletian being the old town itself is spectacular, but it’s also a large city and quite hilly.
If you could hire a car in Montenegro, you’d have a lot more freedom to zip around to places like Perast (my favorite spot in the whole country), the charming old capital Cetinje or the huge, mostly empty beaches near Ulcinj, each lovely but perhaps not worth an overnight if you have to endure a half day’s journey by bus to get there when you could have driven it in 90 minutes. I was shocked at how bad traffic was around the bay of Kotor, and in Kotor town itself; it seemed like any kind of schedule for buses simply didn’t bear much resemblance to reality, and when buses did arrive they were full of standees as well as seated passengers, and so driving my own vehicle (which I rented from Terrae-Car for a surprisingly reasonable cost) saved me at least a day’s worth of delay during my week or so in the country. I should have rented it in Podgorica and returned it in Ulcinj, and then got a minibus from there to Shkoder (it’s only a bit over 25 miles away), but the Podgorica to Shkoder route was much more frequently served and so was more forgiving if I missed it, I seem to recall.
In Albania, there seemed to be a more robust bus transit system between the large cities, perhaps because fewer people own cars; I did note, though, that while the coast and the main tourist spots are relatively frequently served, a few more journeys than I expected, like Berat to Gjirokaster, involved a bus that dropped you at a junction outside town where a pre-arranged car/taxi/van would drive you into town itself. I had just one small carry-on wheeled suitcase and a small backpack and enjoyed the adventure of it, but many other travelers I met felt this was unusual or unpleasant, especially when they had a lot of luggage or a huge backpack and had to hold it on their lap.
Overall, it’s a lovely region of the world wherever you go, but the demand for buses along the whole Croatian and Montenegrin coast really seemed to outstrip supply, with the number of tourists in the Bay of Kotor in particular feeling well beyond what the transport infrastructure could handle. Albania, meanwhile, was much less crowded and traffic seemed absent outside central Tirana, but also required the traveler using public transport to be flexible enough to deal with mid-journey vehicle swaps and not overburden themselves or the other passengers with their luggage.
posted by mdonley at 3:44 PM on April 9 [1 favorite]
If you do pivot and rent a car, be advised that the drive north from Dubrovnik is through a pretty mountainous area. We rented a hybrid and regretted it almost instantly. It was hours on end of us having to redline the tachometer to get to 98% of the speed limit, while other cars honked and yelled at us.
Either go for something with more horsepower or stick with the bus and let it be someone else's problem.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:13 PM on April 9 [1 favorite]
Either go for something with more horsepower or stick with the bus and let it be someone else's problem.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:13 PM on April 9 [1 favorite]
We were going to do something similar in 2002, which fell through, but we did notice temperatures in late June, early July on the Bay of Kotor were around 40C for at least a week, and you might need to account for that.
posted by biffa at 4:59 PM on April 9
posted by biffa at 4:59 PM on April 9
Have water-shoes if you plan on entering the Adriatic waters. Those rocks cut very sharp.
posted by amar at 10:44 PM on April 9
posted by amar at 10:44 PM on April 9
Response by poster: Thank you for the answers so far! I may narrow down my trip to just a few countries then. Driving is not an option for me.
posted by iamsuper at 1:45 AM on April 10
posted by iamsuper at 1:45 AM on April 10
Plitvice Lakes National Park, an UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest national park in Croatia, is breathtaking. It's a popular destination, but it's big enough to not feel crowded even in the high season. It's a bit out of the way, near the border with Bosnia, but there's bus service from Zagreb (and probably other cities).
posted by easy, lucky, free at 9:20 AM on April 10
posted by easy, lucky, free at 9:20 AM on April 10
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People are going to say to go to Croatia--and you totally should, it's the best--but Dubrovnik and Split are, I am told, back up to pre-pandemic levels of being very crowded. Dubrovnik is amazing, but during peak times, the walled old town meters the number of tourists who can enter. Literally, they may tell you it's too full and to wait or come back later. So if you're going in-season, you will need to evaluate your desired vibe and decide if you want to stay in go-go-go mode or if you might like to parcel out some time in less crowded areas.
You could, for instance, stay in Kaštela, directly next to Split, rather than in Split itself. From there, you can still go into Split to see the sights. You could make time for less crowded (but still tourist-friendly) islands like Hvar, Vis, and Brač. We didn't get to Zadar, but by all accounts, it's lovely, though at only 75,000 in population, it's smaller and doesn't draw the same crowds. The Sea Organ there looks awesome. Pula is famously gorgeous, too.
Croatian people are extremely kind, overwhelmingly speak English (at least in tourist areas) and the food is the most delicious possible combination of Eastern European comfort food, fresh seafood, and Italian cuisine. It's almost impossible to have a bad meal in Croatia.
Once you get a sense for which cities/towns you might want to visit, rome2rio.com can help you get a sense of public transit options.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:48 PM on April 9 [8 favorites]