What would we do if we had almost a month in May? This query led us to one of the most beautiful parts of the world - the Balkans, erstwhile part of one country - Yugoslavia.
Click the interactive map and you will see our detailed itinerary.
25 Days
3275 Kms Driving
5 Countries - Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro & Croatia
Applied visa from Croatian embassy - big mistake. They take 2 full months..so avoid and go with Slovenia or even Italy!! Slovenia, Italy & Croatia are part of Schengen area, while the other 3 are not…border crossing is very smooth but for queues at the border. Indians with multiple entry Schengen visas can enter these countries without any issue.
We booked air tickets into Venice; FinnAir has some of the sweetest deals for flights ex Delhi. What used to be a 6+ hour flight journey is closer to 8-9 due to Ukraine war!! Booked via Smartbuy and got 5x points. Used smartbuy points and took Air India from Chennai to Delhi. The planes were brand new and service was superb.
How long per country?
Slovenia - 4 days; while we stayed in Ljubjlana and drove around; would recommend staying atleast 1 night in Lake Bled.
Serbia - Belgrade was our base for 3 nights
Bosnia Herzegovnia - Sarajevo 2 nights and 1 day in Mostar
Montenegro - Perast for 2 nights; could have done 2 more days in this beautiful country
Croatia - 8 days - Dubrovnik 4, Split 3 and Hvar 1. If we were to redo this, we would cut Dubrovnik to 3 days maximum; better to drive around this country.
Used the transfer window with Magnus to Accor; Stayed in some fascinating properties in Montenegro and Serbia, while staying at the city center in Slovenia & Bosnia. Croatia is very expensive and Airbnb worked out better!
Rented a car from Sixt Ljubljana Train Station and had no issues both in driving, road conditions and safety! We read that cars needed to be rented in one of these countries to be driven around and hence, took a bus from Venice to Ljubljana.
These countries are beautiful, with stunning landscapes, superb infrastructure and very friendly people…most even speak English!! Beautiful beaches though they are not sandy but gravel. They are also very very safe.
Cost - Croatia esp Dubrovnik is very expensive…every other place is reasonable.
Food - Meat and Seafood is just yummy; being close to both Greece & Italy, vegetarians had no issues either.
Currency - Euros work in most places; conversion can be done in Serbia & Bosnia. Credit card is widely accepted.
Weather - while it was crica 40c at home in chennai, we had the most fabulous 10-20c at most places.
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