regency Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Just planning a trip to Croatia in our trusted "Basil". Wondered if anyone had any tips. We have got about 5 weeks in all. Prefer not to do too many tolls. Also, if anybody has done any kayaking, again would appreciate any advice on areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Can't help with tolls avoidance as we use them if it helps us get to our destination a bit quicker. Slovenia has a vignette system but it's not expensive and Croatia has ordinary toll roads but I don't recollect using many as we were interested in seeing the country. You can buy the Slovenian vignette as you approach the border on the motorway, it's easy and fuss free. Anyway, here goes: Do visit Lake Bled in Slovenia, it's on your way and it's a delight, with a nice campsite at the end of the lake. I'd plan on at least three days there. Must-see sights are the old town of Slovenia's capital city Ljubljana. There's a decent campsite with a bus into town. Also in Slovenia an absolute must is the Postojna Caves which are amazing. You can overnight there for a few Euros. We took the west coast down to Dubrovnik visiting too many places to mention. Dubrovnik is a joy. Have at least three days there and again, there's a good site with a bus into town. Be careful of the Neum Corridor, which is a bit of Bosnia that you have to drive through for about 10 miles. Your insurance may not cover Bosnia but there's a work-around by taking a ferry to a peninsular that juts out beyond the corridor. You don't need to book and it's cheap and actually makes the journey more interesting. On the way back you must visit the Plitvice National Park, that was one of the highlights of the trip for us. About ten beautiful lakes all cascading down into each other and teeming with fish. Croatia is a lovely country and we'll be going back. Get the Rough Guides for Slovenia and Croatia as a start and begin planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobmac Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Hi we are also heading that way for first time beginning of May Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Bobmac - 2014-02-27 3:56 PM Hi we are also heading that way for first time beginning of May Bob And me, a week or so earlier though, maybe last week of April. I know of two others around the same time, I wonder if we will meet? H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur49 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Our route is usually A3 motorway all the way to Austrian border - don't forget your Vignette for Austrian motorways. I think its about £8 (2013). In addition it costs probably £7-£10 to go through some of the tunnels. Enter Slovenia, head for Maribor and have a couple of nights here www.campingcard.co.uk/gb/en/europe/slove...center-kekec-118217/ Into Croatia - try to avoid weekends as the border crossing can be painfully slow. But Croatia joined EU in July last year so queues should improve Head for Karlovac then Duga Resa and stop off for a few nights here www.campingcard.co.uk/gb/en/europe/croat.../camp-slapic-117621/ Where you go from here depends on what you want. It gets very hot on the Dalmatian coast but its beautiful We like the Peljesac peninsula in particular this site near Orebic www.campingcard.co.uk/gb/en/europe/croat...evio-camping-112331/ If you get to Dubrovnik we like Autocamp Kate on south side. Then take the water taxi in to the old town. Try to choose a day when cruise ships are not in! Incidentally, to get to Peljesac and/or Dubrovnik you need to take the ferry or drive 10km through Bosnia - the Neum Corridor. CHECK YOUR MOTOR INSURANCE BEFORE DRIVING THROUGH - SOME COMPANIES WON'T COVER BOSNIA and there is nowhere at the border to buy some. A lot of people chance it - we don't! Inland, the Plitvice Lakes are a must www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/ but sites nearby are 'money grabbers', sullen etc which is a contrast to the rest of Croatia There is a huge site at Omis on Dalmatian Coast. Best avoided. There is a mini camping 10 min walk from beautiful streets back off main road. Can't recall its name but access is tight between cliffs but once you're in its great. Toilet facilities basic but £10 per night. One night here and have a meal in Omis. If you have a big van probably impossible getting in. We have 6m PVC. Finally, take Camping Cheques and ACSI card and avoid huge sites eg this on on Pag island www.kampstrasko.com/ which can be packed in low season - we ended up in June about 1.5m yes 1.5m from our Dutch neighbour. Camping Horrenderoso........... These are our opinions only and we fully accept may be at variance with others. Wild camping is forbidden. Enjoy .... Arthur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Chodkowski Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 The island of Krk is well worth a visit, the small "city" of Trogir is wonderful and don't miss the Plitvice Lakes - a very full day at least. We have been to Croatia four times (but always September/October) and will go again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 All good info. thanks. Now a stupid question, my TomTom GPS does not have mapping for Croatia and from what I hear it is probably not worth getting. Will the sat nav part of the TomTom still work? i.e. can I enter Lat/Long and still get some sort of direction indication? H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwyn Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 There's going to be a lot of us in Croatia, we're off there again this spring, intending to go to Zagreb on the way and then hopefully do a bit of island hopping this time, Korkula and Rab and see how we go. As regards the tom tom we decided to buy a new tom tom rather than try and keep swapping from western europe to eastern europe so we now have one for each but we also have a good map courtesy of Amazon.............we ought to all carry some sort of a sign so we can identify each other lol!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 hallii - 2014-02-27 5:34 PM All good info. thanks. Now a stupid question, my TomTom GPS does not have mapping for Croatia and from what I hear it is probably not worth getting. Will the sat nav part of the TomTom still work? i.e. can I enter Lat/Long and still get some sort of direction indication? H Not really, you'll just get a blank screen. I've just been to Morocco and I did find the sat nav useful for reading the speed in kph and for telling me our altitude as we crossed the Atlas Mountains but it was no good for directions as there are no roads displayed, When in Croatia I used CoPilot Live on my Smartphone and got really good mapping. If you have a decent-sized smart phone you could consider CoPilot, I think it's brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 To the Croatian border from Calais, in a reasonably straight line, is about 1,000 miles, so 2,000 there and back. How long you get in Croatia will obviously depend on how long you take getting there. Dubrovnik is about another 600 miles from the border, so 1200 there and back. Two places we thought well worth a visit were Trogir and Split, especially Split. Two other places of interest in Istria are Pula and Rovinj. Also, if you don't mind a small diversion en-route, try Pula in Slovenia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Had Enough - 2014-02-27 5:45 PM hallii - 2014-02-27 5:34 PM All good info. thanks. Now a stupid question, my TomTom GPS does not have mapping for Croatia and from what I hear it is probably not worth getting. Will the sat nav part of the TomTom still work? i.e. can I enter Lat/Long and still get some sort of direction indication? H Not really, you'll just get a blank screen. I've just been to Morocco and I did find the sat nav useful for reading the speed in kph and for telling me our altitude as we crossed the Atlas Mountains but it was no good for directions as there are no roads displayed, When in Croatia I used CoPilot Live on my Smartphone and got really good mapping. If you have a decent-sized smart phone you could consider CoPilot, I think it's brilliant. Thanks, I have got Osmand on my android so I will have to use that, but I do like the idea of buying another tomtom with Eastern Europe on it! H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 We will be in Croatia all of June stopping a few days in Austria and Slovenia on the way. We will head for Dubrovnik but may not get there as there are so many places to stop at on the way. We are thinking about getting the ferry from Split to Ancona in Italy for the homeward route. (I dont like coming home the same way as I went out) Total time away will be six weeks. I have bought the Lonely Planet Guide to Croatia from Amazon at £10,41 it is well worth it, there is so much information in it.. You can get older issues for cheaper but Croatia is changing so fast I got the newest issue. My 4 year old Tom Tom has Croatia in the Western Europe maps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Cliffy - 2014-02-27 9:05 PM We will be in Croatia all of June stopping a few days in Austria and Slovenia on the way. We will head for Dubrovnik but may not get there as there are so many places to stop at on the way. We are thinking about getting the ferry from Split to Ancona in Italy for the homeward route. (I dont like coming home the same way as I went out) Total time away will be six weeks. I have bought the Lonely Planet Guide to Croatia from Amazon at £10,41 it is well worth it, there is so much information in it.. You can get older issues for cheaper but Croatia is changing so fast I got the newest issue. My 4 year old Tom Tom has Croatia in the Western Europe maps. It will be a pity if you don't get to Dubrovnik as for me it was the jewel in Croatia's crown. If you want to vary your journey you can go via Slovenia and western Croatia and return up the east of Croatia taking in the Plitvice National park (a must), Maribor and then Hungary. We went via Austria but returned via Italy, Trieste, Cortina and the Dolomites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Had Enough - 2014-02-27 9:19 PM Cliffy - 2014-02-27 9:05 PM We will be in Croatia all of June stopping a few days in Austria and Slovenia on the way. We will head for Dubrovnik but may not get there as there are so many places to stop at on the way. We are thinking about getting the ferry from Split to Ancona in Italy for the homeward route. (I dont like coming home the same way as I went out) Total time away will be six weeks. I have bought the Lonely Planet Guide to Croatia from Amazon at £10,41 it is well worth it, there is so much information in it.. You can get older issues for cheaper but Croatia is changing so fast I got the newest issue. My 4 year old Tom Tom has Croatia in the Western Europe maps. It will be a pity if you don't get to Dubrovnik as for me it was the jewel in Croatia's crown. If you want to vary your journey you can go via Slovenia and western Croatia and return up the east of Croatia taking in the Plitvice National park (a must), Maribor and then Hungary. We went via Austria but returned via Italy, Trieste, Cortina and the Dolomites. Dubrovnik does get good reviews so we will make an effort to get there even if we have to get a ferry around Bosnia. I will have a look at your suggestion for the return route. It will be July by the time we are due to return so eastern Croatian weather should be improving by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Brian Kirby - 2014-02-27 7:08 PM............. Also, if you don't mind a small diversion en-route, try Pula in Slovenia. Apologies, total nonsense, the town is Piran, not as above! :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 We have been a few times, last time in 2012 we toured Tuscany/Umbria and got the ferry from Ancona to Split, then meandered up the Coast island hopping...it was a lovely holiday.You have to do the National parks they are unmissable. We like Krk Island and Baska a lovely seaside town on the southern tip, waters crystal clear..unfortunately the same can't be said for the waters on Istria peninsula's west coast, which become filthier as you head towards Italy, some lovely Venetian towns though. also in high summer its a very busy area, while further south still busy but not as frantic and more relaxing. There is lots of info on previous threads if you use the "search" facility. We much prefer Italy though... the joyous people and wonderful food more to our tastes, but after years of the Tito dictatorship and wars, the people are a bit brow beaten, they have always prefered the germans and the Deutsche Mark though, its a favorite destination for germans... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hi We're very jealous about your planned trip to Croatia as we had a fantastic time there. Do agree with the Judge's comments about the National Parks, they are completely unmissable, absolutely fantastic. We found Tom Tom worth updating as having spent a lifetime travelling on motorways during our working life we now don't use them and the A roads in Croatia (unless you're driving a monster) are very adequate. (At the time of this trip we were driving a 6.5m camper). Completely agree about island or to be exact peninsular hopping to miss Bosnia which we did easly, the ferry back and forth very nice and the penisular itself well worth a visit. We are not particularly city orientated but we absolutely loved Dubrovnik. On our way down to Dubrovnik we were given a tip by a Dutchman which, thankfully, we followd. We travelled past the town of Dubrovnik on the A65 and stopped at a camp site called "Camping Kate". No real bells or whistles but an ideal situation, steps down to a village on the beach which has restaurants, bars etc, but more importantly has small ferry boats into the centre of Dubrovnik. It's rather like arriving in St Mark's Square in Venice by boat. To reoeat again, we cannot recommend Camping Kate enough, it is so ideally situated and the owners are extremely helpful and friendly. It alleviates the problem of driving into Dubrovnik and finding a parking place. Have a great time! Regards, Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regency Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Thank you to everybody that has replied to my request for tips on travelling to and around Croatia. Sounds like there will be quite a lot of us travelling at a similar time. Hope that we meet up with some of you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 FWIW, at Dubrovnik we stayed at Solitudo N42.66191 E18.07050. Largish, but well run and clean when we were there in 2008, and reasonbaly priced. Bus from site takes you to the old city gates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Charles Chodkowski - 2014-02-27 5:24 PM The island of Krk is well worth a visit, the small "city" of Trogir is wonderful and don't miss the Plitvice Lakes - a very full day at least.... ain. I'd agree with the above. We travelled to Croatia last May/June. Here are some of the sites that we used. GERMANY - Stellplatze at Sulzemoos – at a large motorhome dealers that is visible from the A8 - free. BLED - Camping Bled. Opposite end of the lake to the town. Clean site with all the usual facilities. The area is very picturesque. DUBROVNIK - Campsite Autokamp Kate About 8 miles south of Dubrovnik. A warm welcome and clean facilities. Lots of information (city plans etc.) and the local bus #10 to Dubrovnik stops near the entrance. Free wifi. SENJ - Autokamp Skver. Off the E65 about 45mls S of Rijeka at the N end of the town, opposite a filling station. A basic site facing the sea – more like a managed aire. 500m from the town centre. Clean facilities and English spoken. We also used convenient ACSI Camping Card sites. We found the peope to be helpful and friendly and English speaking. Don’t forget that vignettes are required for both Austria and Slovenia. We bought ours at garages near the respective borders. Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwyn Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Just thought I would add that if anyone sees our La Strada with 'Old Age Travellers' on the back as we are wandering down into Croatia, please say hallo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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