Croatia/Montengro/Macendonia June 2016

From what I have heard, Zagreb is only worth a day. Your time would be better spent in Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik. Plitvice is 110 km south of Zagreb and 290 km north of Split. It's worth an overnight but can be done in a long daytrip from Split. I did about 5 of the 7 tiered lakes then made my way back to the bus stop. The last 2 public buses to Split go from outside the main ticket office at 4:30 pm and 6 pm. Krka Waterfall 40 km north off Split would be worth an overnight stay. My bus went through the town and there were plenty of guesthouses and restaurants. I would just get the public boats and stay in guesthouses on Hvar, Korcula and in Dubrovnik. 2-3 days is enough for Dubrovnik which will seem crowded and expensive after Korcula & although food prices were noticeably cheaper, hotel prices were much higher.. Don't miss Sven Stefi (St Stefan) in Montenegro. http://beta.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=5&p=1499055

Podgorica is thoroughly missable. And boring.

From Wikitravel on Plitvice Lakes: "There is a travel agency at the entrance to the park. From here, you can organize for a homestay. There are numerous locals who will rent bedrooms in their house and provide food for a competitive price.
Lodging[edit]
Several large hotels have been built by the entrance to the park. These largely cater to older European tourists. If you are looking for less expensive lodging, ask around- some local apartment owners rent out rooms for low prices, in the range of €10(75 KN)/person.
Camping[edit]
There is also a camping site in the nearby town, Korana (8km), mostly used by people visiting the park. Facilities are fine, good clean toilets, a small shop, and a couple of dining places. Camping can be made wherever you want; it is possible to choose a place between the trees, or a cosy hole in the hills or a more open place with a magnificent view. They also rent small bungalows if you don't want to carry camping gear."

I departed Montenegro to Tirane in Albania where I caught a bus to Pristina in Kosovo. After I finish looking around Kosovo I am off to Macedonia next week. Try to time a visit to Kotor when the big luxury liners are not moored in the harbour as each boat has 2500 extra people on it. It's like Geiranger Fjord where there were also 2 big boats when I visited Norway last year. They kill the mood and majesty a bit. Kotor esplanade and walking tracks get overwhelmed with tourists from the boats and the roads are packed with hire cars. In summer unless you are super fit and don't mind being super sweaty, I would only go as far as the church in this shot I took. There is a small town beach with a concrete pier. http://beta.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=5&p=1498923

Zagreb...depends on you and your interests.If you have no idea what there is to do there,why are you considering it?

Plitvice...bus is cheap and easy.If you want to go straight on to Split I'd probably spend the night in Plitvice and go next morning..it would be a VERY long day trip (Zagreb-Plitvice-Split).

Alternatively,some hours in Plitvice and take the next bus on to somewhere nearer,like Zadar for example.

Dubrovnik.Very pretty,very touristy..and expensive.You can get a 'taste of the city' in a few hours..its small,particularly inside the walls.Not really to my taste,so one day there was more than enough for me ;-)

I like Kotor a lot more..stunning natural beauty,much more economical than Dubrovnik.Also plenty of tourists,as mentioned above....if you avoid cruise ship times it is a lot quieter though! I stayed outisde the old city,in a nearby suburb,and it was great...very local.

On the transit to Skopje..how many days have you got?

Zagreb - Plitvice - Split: several buses daily
Split - Dubrovnik: many buses
Split - Korcula Island: 5 ferries resp catamarans daily
Korcula Island - Dubrovnik: 1 catamaran and 1 bus daily
Montenegro - Skopje:
a) bus via Nis (change at Nis)
b) bus via Tirana - Pogradec (change at Ulcinj, Shkoder and Tirana)
c) bus via Tirana - Prizren (change at Ulcinj, Shkoder, Tirana and Pristina)
d) bus via Berane - Rozaje - Pec - Pristina (many changes)
There are tons of places to visit along itineraries b), c) and d)

If you do go to Dubrovnik, the cable car runs up the steep hill behind the city and offers okay views from the terrace. If you want unobstructed views for photos without the wires cutting across then go down the stairs, outside, turn left and walk towards the castle like structure. Go around the back, (the front faces Dubrovnik over a cliff) and in the centre is a ticket office. It's well worth paying a little extra money for a ticket as the museum showcases the effect of the Yugoslav wars on Dubrovnik & was in itself interesting and good value for money. Then walk up 2 flights of stairs to the fenced terrace & voila! A wide angled, panoramic view of the whole coastline including Dubrovnik, without a single wire or tree blocking the view! Most tourists miss it.

Sounds great, thanks for the advice.
Transit to Skopje no real time limit.
Have you visited Skopje?

In that case I'd go via Albania,which is great...a really little known but fascinating country..

Skopje I thought was..ok.Lots of statues...

Ohrid is the star in Macedonia. ...

We spent a pleasant full day looking/walking around the central area of Zagreb (self guide walking tour from LP, museum of broken relationships and museum of naïve art were some highlights). Beyond that would need to look further afield.

I’d try to stay overnight at the Plitvice Lakes to give you at least half a day to look around all the lakes – they are quite fantastic). Not sure of the logistics of doing it by bus (we had hire car) – post 1 above should be helpful.

We considered a sailing trip option but unless you want to lie around on the boat to relax and swim it seemed a bit boring to us.

For the islands we did the following and worked for us –

Split 3 days (came from in by hire car)

Day ferry trip to Hvar from Split.

Ferry to Split to Korcula (left Split late afternoon and arrived early evening with guest house owner meeting us at the harbour).

Korcula 2 days including a day trip to Mljet island (from Korcula)

Mini bus from Korcula to Dubrovnik (which includes a short ferry trip from Korcula to the mainland) Had a reasonable departure time (930am from memory) compared to the bus which was very early. Used the following for the mini bus trip from Korcula to Dubrovnik
http://korkyra.info/about-us/

The ferry and bus times vary depending on the month however I expect in June will have the full options but probably need to book at least a couple of days in advance.

Split accommodation - Apartments Posejdon & Neptun, was fantastic in the walls of the old city
http://www.booking.com/hotel/hr/osejdon-eptun.en-gb.html?sid=05589ccabe0e77cef1872ac0780c1b42;dcid=4;dist=0;srfid=3d032ea783826e0b0f8a52197950cad5395a4603X1;type=total;ucfs=1&

Korcula accommodation - Guest House Leon, small room but very good and great location (above the travel office mention above)
http://www.booking.com/hotel/hr/guest-house-leon.en-gb.html?sid=05589ccabe0e77cef1872ac0780c1b42;dcid=4;dist=0;srfid=7b3713d62a97a2a64d3e414fb6ddf9ebd301aa8cX1;type=total;ucfs=1&

For Dubrovnik I’d suggest one day as a bare minimum, preferably two.

I’d recommend a walking tour to get you oriented –
www.dubrovnik-walking-tours.com

We did the Discover Dubrovnik walking tour and found it great. Tour guide was a local and very knowledgeable. Went for more than an hour and it was a free walking tour last year (the Croatian govt. is cracking down on free walking tours).

A couple of other highlights – walk around the city walls (do it early or late if there is a cruise ship(s) in town to avoid the crowds), the chair lift and museum at the top showing the history of the siege.

I am now in Skopje. The city looks great for photography. Lots of subjects to choose from. The bus from Kosovo was marked Shkupi (Albanian)so look for that name at the bus station.

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo1502707.htm