North of Croatia and Slovenia road trip
- Irene
- Oct 22, 2023
- 12 min read
Updated: May 23, 2024
This is one of the best road trips we have ever done. It basically has it all! Incredible nature, cute cities and nice gastronomy! Definitely an area that so many people overlook and they shouldn’t!
The ideal time to go would be spring or autumn. We went at the beginning of June and it was the perfect temperature. It was hot but not crazy and the nature was at full bloom.
Day 1: Zagreb
Ideally you will arrive into Zagreb airport where you will get the rental car. You can spend your afternoon and night in Zagreb. I would recommend to book your accommodation around the “lower town” area, as close as possible to the Park Zrinjevac, which is lovely. “Pierrot & Pierrette Gajeva 6” in particular is a very nice option to stay at.
On your first day you can visit the following:
Kaptol - Kaptol is the Upper Town or old part of the city. Here you will find the cathedral and different churches. It is very nice to walk around and explore.
Cathedral of Zagreb - a Roman Catholic cathedral-church and the second tallest building in Croatia. It is the most monumental sacral building in Gothic style southeast of the Alps. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and to kings Saint Stephen and Saint Ladislaus. The cathedral is typically Gothic, as is its sacristy, which is of great architectural value. Its prominent spires are considered to be landmarks as they are visible from most parts of the city.
St. Mark's Church - This 19-century church replaced an original one from the 13th century and includes many works of Ivan Mestrovic, Croatia's most famous sculptor.
Stone gate - the eastern gate to medieval Gradec Town, which is now a shrine. According to legend, a great fire in 1731 destroyed every part of the wooden gate except for the painting of the Virgin and Child (by an unknown 17th-century artist). People believe that the painting possesses miraculous powers and come regularly to pray, light candles and leave flowers.
Park Zrinjevac – you should also check out the park which is very nice and surrounded by beautiful buildings.
For dinner, you can go to “Batak Centar Cvjetni” and try their grill dishes.
Day 2: Plitvice National Park (route E)
Be prepared to visit one of the most impressive places I have ever been to! It is just stunning and for some reason not as popular as other places in Europe.
We drove here from Zagreb and it only took us 2 hours. The road is in perfect condition and it was a very easy drive. The accommodation we chose near the park was “Hotel Degenija”, super well located, amazing staff and with a very nice swimming pool to relax after the walks.
Once we arrived we went to do the check in, left our things and made our way to the park to do the 1st walk. When you visit the official website of the park, you will notice that there are 8 marked trails that you can follow. I really enjoyed having 2 days to explore the area so we could split the walk in to 2 days instead of rushing around trying to fit everything in 1 day.
The first day we did route E which takes you to the upper lakes. Route E starts at entrance 2 and takes 2 to 3 hours depending on how fit you are.
Parking at entrance 1 is much closer to the actual entrance to the park, however, it is much busier than entrance 2. It was much more pleasant the day that we started at entrance 2 as we were almost on our own doing the trail and I would recommend to go to this one if you don’t mind walking slightly longer.
Something to take into account is that the 1st day you will have to enter the park from the entrance that you have booked the tickets online for, however on the second day you can start wherever you want.
We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant “Degenija’s restaurant “, which is one of the most popular ones in the area. Loads of people that are staying somewhere else near the park also come here for dinner so remember to book in the morning or as soon as you can to not have bad surprise! The restaurant offers traditional Croatian dishes as well as international cuisine.
Day 3: Plitvice National Park (route B)
The second day we did route B that takes you to the lower lakes. Route B starts at entrance 1 and takes 3 to 4 hours. We started quite early as we wanted to make sure we had finished by lunch time. Route E was in my opinion a bit more intense and tiring however after trail B we barely felt tired! I think that on route B you just spend more time on the longer boat and bus routes.
If you want to avoid entrance 1, you can do route F instead of B on the second day.
More useful tips to visit the national park can be found in this post.
After lunch, we made our way towards Pula. It took us around 3.30 hours and in this case the road wasn’t great. There were many points where we had to drive through very narrow paths (they couldn’t even be called roads!) and obviously you need to be much more careful around those.
We finally arrived at Pula and went for a quick easy dinner and to our accommodation. If you would like to stay somewhere with a swimming pool, I would recommend “Monvidal Residence”, which is a 15 min walk from the city centre. If you prefer a place right in the heart of the city, “Emi Luxury Apartments” is a great option.
Day 4: Pula
Pula holds some of the most incredible roman monuments that I have ever seen given specially that the city is not huge. I would recommend, apart from visiting the main sights, to get lost around the streets in the city centre near the Augustus temple.
Pula Arena - is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers entirely preserved. It was constructed between 27 BC and AD 68 and is among the world's six largest surviving Roman arenas. It is very impressive to see how perfect condition it’s in and how big it is. In our case, we just walked around instead of going in as we read in some blogs that you could see practically the same from inside and outside.
Arch of the Sergii - an Ancient Roman triumphal arch which commemorates three members of the Sergii family who served in the twenty-ninth legion that participated in the Battle of Actium. The Sergii were a powerful family of officials in the colony and retained their power for centuries.
Mosaic “ The punishment of Dirce” – it was found in 1959 during construction work near the Chapel of St. Mary Formosa. The multicoloured mosaic floor, dated to the 3rd century AD, covered the whole floor of the central room of a Roman residential house. The central panel depicts the myth of the Naiad-nymph Dirce, the wife of Lycus of Thebes, who, as punishment for the mistreatment of her niece Antiope, was tied to a wild bull and torn limb from limb.
Temple of Augustus - a very well-preserved Roman temple dedicated to the first Roman emperor, Augustus, it was probably built at some point between 27 BC and AD 14. It was built on a podium with a tetrastyle prostyle porch of Corinthian columns. After the Arena, I think this was my favourite place again just because it is so well preserved, which is amazing considering how long ago it was actually built. The square where it is located is also great so definitely do not miss this stop.
For lunch a very nice stop in the area is “Rendez-vous”, they have a small terrace that is very nice and the seafood and fish were great.
Fortress Kastel - an old fortress built by the Venetians, situated on a hill in the centre of Pula. Because of its dominating position, the fortress was always used for defence of the city, bay and port. The Castle was built between 1630 and 1633.
For dinner we went to “Bistro Alighieri” and we loved it. I would definitely recommend either to go early or to book a table as there was a huge queue at some point. It is located in a very nice and quiet square with a big outside terrace, the spot was fantastic and the food was as well!
Day 5: Rovinj, Trieste and Ljubljana
The drive from Pula to Ljubljana takes around 3 hours. However, to make it more entertaining we decided to do stops along the way to do some sightseeing. This day we had breakfast in Croatia, lunch in Italy and dinner in Slovenia!
Our first stop was Rovinj which is just 50 min drive from Pula. The road is in perfect condition so it is a very easy drive. Rovinj, like Pula, is not a huge town so you can walk everywhere. The main things that you shouldn’t miss are:
Old Town – the city centre is full of narrow pedestrian streets which are very charming and full of character, full of little shops and cafes.
St. Euphemia Cathedral – after a steep walk through the narrow streets, you will arrive at the cathedral in the heart of Rovinj. The cathedral was built from 1725 to 1736 and contains the relics of Saint Euphemia, which are preserved in a Roman sarcophagus from the sixth century.
Rovinj Port – is the busy part of the town and where you will find most of its restaurants. I would recommend to walk all the way to the “new” port so you can enjoy incredible views of Rovinj old town from there.
Balbi’s Arch - was built in 1678–79 and leads to Grisia Street standing as the old town gate. On one side, there is the carved head of a Turk while on the other is the carved head of a Venetian.
I loved Rovinj so much and I regret not being able to spend a night here. If you can add a night to your road trip and stay here these are some helpful tips:
If you want to go to the beach, note that all the beaches in this part of the country do not have sand and instead are pebble beaches. A few nice options in the area are: Beach Lone Bay (Rovinj), Mulini Beach (Rovinj), Cyclon’s Beach (Pula) and Hawaiian Cove Beach (Pula).
You can also do a boat day trip from Rovinj that can take you to islands and a few hidden beaches in one day. In the Rovinj port you will see a few companies advertising their services.
For lunch we stopped in Trieste in Italy and of course had some nice pasta and a walk around the city centre before making our final part of the drive into Ljubljana.
**It is important to know that you need to pay the toll fee vignette online to drive through the Slovenian roads (there are no physical tolls in the country). You can pay the toll vignette using the following link https://evinjeta.dars.si/selfcare/en/email-verification;eventId=9 [evinjeta.dars.si]
Day 6: Ljubljana
In Ljubljana, we stayed at “Unique apartments”, which is a very cute apartment in a great location right in the city centre. If you prefer a hotel, “Hotel Heritage” is in a privileged position overlooking the river.
For me the best part of Ljubljana was the riverside walk with all the bars and terraces.
What you shouldn’t miss in Ljubljana:
Dragon Bridge: this bridge is interesting because there is a legend that says that Jason (the founder of Ljubljana) and his Argonauts killed a dragon. This is one of the four dragon statues on the bridge. According to the legend, when a virgin crosses the bridge, the dragons will wag their tails.
Ljubljana Cathedral: also named Saint Nicholas's Cathedral, it was a Gothic church in the early 18th century, that was replaced by a Baroque building. It is easily recognizable for its green dome and twin towers and stands at Cyril and Methodius Square.
Town Square: a major square in Ljubljana where the townhall is located. In front of Town Hall stands a copy of the Robba Fountain. Near the square stands Ljubljana Cathedral.
Ljubljana Castle: built about 900 years ago and stands on a hill above the city. The castle offers views of the city, while housing a museum with an exhibition on Slovenian history, a puppet museum, and a number of historical rooms. In my opinion, paying for the ticket is not worth it. You can enter the castle grounds for free and the ticket only gives you access to the rooms mentioned previously that are not mind blowing compared to other castles that we have visited in Europe. To get to the castle you can either walk or take the funicular. The walk takes around 10 min from the bottom but is obviously a steep climb. The funicular tickets for adults is 4€ return or 2.20€ for a single ticket.
Triple Bridge: as the name indicates, it is a group of three bridges next to each other across the Ljubljanica River which connects the historical medieval town on one bank and the modern city on the other.
Prešeren Square: the central square that is part of the old town's pedestrian zone and a major meeting point where festivals, concerts, sports, political events, and protests take place. Prešeren Square gained its current appearance in the 17th century, when the baroque-style Franciscan Church of the Annunciation was built.
River tour: even though this is a very touristic attraction, we found it very relaxing! You will see many companies offering their services alongside the river but pretty much all the tours cost 12€ per person and take between 45 to 30 min.
For dinner you can go for dinner to “Robba” or “Julija” but make sure that you book well in advance as these are very popular places. If you feel like having an ice cream after dinner, you can go to “DiMatteo Gelateria”.
Day 7: Ljubljana to Lake Bled
It will take you just 40 mins to drive to the lake Bled from Ljubljana so it is super easy to get there.
In Lake Bled we stayed at “Vila Alpina” and it was very nice. If you want something more fancy with lake views, I would recommend “Adora Luxury Hotel”. One tip here is that I would not recommend to stay near “Bled city centre”, that area was super busy and it doesn’t have any charm. It is also further from the island in the lake and other attractions.
On our first day at the lake we did the following activities:
Hike to a viewpoint so you can enjoy the views from above: we hiked to the view point called “Ojstrica”. I would not recommend to do this hike if you are not in good shape and I would not do it with kids either. Even though the distance is not very long, it is very steep and the terrain quite challenging full of rocks, therefore it would be ideal if you wear hiking boots. However, once you get there you will be mind blown by the view!
Swimming in the lake: there are few spots assigned where you can swim in the lake, just make sure you are going to the free ones and not to any of the ones where you have to pay. We went to Velika Zaka and it was great and super relaxing, take with you your aqua shoes (similar to diving or snorkelling neoprene boots) as there are some pebbles and small rocks.
For lunch you can go to “Restavracija Sova” and after lunch have a walk around the lake or cycle around it. The walk is very easy to follow and it is very well paved so easy for everyone to do.
For dinner, the restaurant “Ostarija Peglez’n” is a good option serving Slovenian food in a very cosy atmosphere with a cute terrace as well.
Day 8: Lake Bled
During our last day we took a rowing boat to the island and went to the castle.
In terms of the boat you can choose between rowing yourself to the island, or go in one of the traditional pletna boats that you will see at many points which are navigated by the pletnar (local rower). The price of the traditional boat is 13 euro per person and you can take it opposite Penzion Mlino hotel. We decided to do it ourselves and rented the boat at “B&B Carman” that costed 15 euro for one hour. For us one hour was enough to get to the island, check out the church and come back. I recommend these spots to rent the boats as they are closer to the island and it is therefore quicker to get to there.
In the island you will find the Church of Mary the Queen, also known as the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary, or Our Lady of the Lake. Of special interest in the church is a bell of wishes, made by Francesco Patavino from Padova way back in 1534. The legend says that those who ring the bell and make a wish, will see their wish come true. But there’s one rule: you can make only one wish.
I highly recommend going to the castle. Bled Castle is one of the best-preserved and maintained citadels in Slovenia. The first written mention of the castle dates back to 1011. The entrance ticket to the Bled Castle costs EUR 13.00 per adult.
I found it very charming and I liked it more that the Ljubljana castle. The views of the lake and island are also incredible so a very good option if you don’t want to/ cannot do the hike of the previous day.
After this we made our way to Zagreb airport which took us 2.30h.
Thank you for including your driving times! We are going to be there in a couple of weeks, this post was very helpful.