Croatia to Macedonia in 2 weeks?

Hi all,

We have 2 weeks and want to go to Croatia to travel down the coast, go to some islands as well. Then we would like to continue down to Bosnia /Herzegovina, Serbia/Montenegro) and if possible Macedonia (Skopje).
Can anybody give advice, which places are worth to be seen in Croatia, espescially along the coast?

We will be flying in from Germany. Would Zagreb be a good starting point or are there better located airports?

Is there a "nice route" down to Macedonia that can be recommended? What places should we definitely stop?

I am very grateful for any advice! Thanx in advance!
Groeggi

From Germany you could also take the Night Train to Zagreb. It's more relaxing, probably less touristy and of course more
environment-friendly and maybe even cheaper. (See: www.nachtzugreise.de)<BR>For the Coast you should take perhaps the direct Night Train from Germany to Rijeka.
Of course there are Airports in Rijeka, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik, also served by Budget Airlines,
but anyway I d' recommend to take the Train.

It's nearly impossible to do Dalmatia/Bosnia/Montenegro/Serbia and Macedonia in 2 Weeks, it will require a lot of travelling.

Interesting Points on the Coast of Dalmatia are:

Zadar, Sibenik, Trogir, Split, Hvar, Korcula, Dubrovnik

I would suggest the following Itinerary:

Day 0: Night Train from Munich (leaving 23:45) to Zagreb,
Day 1: then by Bus on to Zadar (arr. at about noon)
Day 2: Zadar to Split (3 hrs by bus) in the late afternoon
Day 3: Split
Day 4: Travel by Bus or Ferry to either Korcula or Hvar (I'd recommend Korcula)
Day 5: Travel By Bus or Ferry to Dubrovnik
Day 6: Dubrovnik
Day 7: Travel to Kotor
Day 8: Kotor
Day 9: Daytrip to Cetinje and Budva
Day 10: Kotor-Bar (Train)-Beograd. This is a very spectacular Train trip indeed, not to mention quite authentic,
as you will share your coach with absolutely average serbian people on their way home from the holidays.
Day 11: Beograd
Day 12: Beograd
Day 13: Beograd-Zagreb in the Morning, late evening return to Germany.

Of course you could cut out Zadar and go directly to Split (also by Night Train from Zagreb),
Buses along the Coast are running about every 30 mins from Zadar to Dubrovnik.

You could easily spend two weeks in Croatia and not feel as if you have seen Croatia. So keep your expectations in check as to how much you can see. Travel in the Balkans can be quite slow. You've got mountains to navigate and often poor roads, so travel will take much more time than the distances appear on a map. Not knowing exactly what you want to do or see makes it hard to give recommendations, but you might start at www.balkanology.com.<BR><BR>Dave<BR>

its a shame not to have a car. the trip from montenegro to serbia is quite cool and you could visit several places like the biograd lake in montenegro, the orthodox mediavel monastery mileseva in serbia with a very famous frescoe,stay overnight on zlatibor and eat lepinja (type of bread) with kajmak (its a dairy product you cant find in the west or croatia) and zlatibor is also famous for its prosciutto. and then continue towards belgrade.
or then,if you dont want to go all the way to belgrade you could drive to nis,visit the skull tower and continue towards macedonia.

If you like scenic medieval towns, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Split and may be Korcula and Trogir are musts. There is a well preserved roman amphitheatre at Pula. If you like sandy beaches, you go to Lopar (Rab Island), Hvar town (boat excursions to islands with sandy beaches), Lumbarda (Korcula Island), Lopud Island (near Dubrovnik) and Ulcinj. In my opinion, Zagreb is less worth seeing than the mentioned coastal towns. If you don't live in Munich or Zurich, you waste your time with the expensive night trains. You better book a low cost flight to Split or Dubrovnik. Once in Dalmatia, it is more relaxing to go by boat. In high season, there are almost daily services from Split to Hvar - Korcula - Dubrovnik - Bari (www.jadrolinija.hr) and from Bar to Bari. It is also possible to go by boat from Venice to Pula , from Pula to Zadar as well as from Acona to Zadar, Split and Hvar.
I wouldn't go from Montenegro via Serbia to Macedonia; you loose too much time. The railway line from Podgrica to Belgrade is in fact phantastic. Unfortunately, it cannot fully compete with western eruopean security standards. In any case, it is easier to go by train from Rijeka to Skopje than from Podgrica. I don't know where you want to go in Macedonia. As the macedonian highlight, the Llake Ohrid lies on the border with Albania, it could be easier to travel via Tirana.

Dubrovnik and Kotor are both very cool. I've never been to Lake Ohrid in Macedonia, but I've heard it's very nice. I've been to Skopje and wasn't impressed.