In a few weeks I leave for both a small boat cruise on the Dalmatian coast and some time traveling in both Croatia and Slovenia by bus. Any words of advice or recommendations?
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People are really, really tall out there. You’ll likely be dwarfed by children. We call it the Land of the Giants. 
That’s all.
Have a great time, we loved those countries!
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I’ve been to both countries and had a great time. We went on a small boat cruise along the Dalmatian coast. If you get a chance to go swimming off the boat, do so. The Adriatic is beautiful. You’ll probably stop at one of the islands. We went to: Hvar (lots of nightlife, beaches, and a monastery where the nuns make agave lace) Korcula, Pag (great cheese), and Trogir. There are wineries near Dubrovnik. I thought Grgic Vina, just north of Dubrovnik, was the best. The winemaker is the same Grgic who has an award-winning winery in the Napa Valley. (Grgic immigrated to the US and started his winery in CA. He went back to Croatia in 1996 and started a winery there.)
We also spent time in Dubrovnik and Split (both are in Dalmatia). If you watched the Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik is where much of it was filmed and Diocletian’s Palace in Split was also a site for the show. We did walking tours in both cities.
Lake Bled in Slovenia was beautiful. We also toured the Postojna Caves. Our last stop in Slovenia was Ljubljana (capitol of Slovenia). We did a walking tour there, but stayed in a hotel outside of the city (Grad Otocec) that was once a castle.
Enjoy your trip. Everyone working in the hotels, restaurants, shops, and tourist areas speaks English. Learn a few phrases in Croatian and you’ll get great service.
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I’ve not yet been there, but Plitvice Lakes National Park is on my bucket list.
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My daughter went to Plitvice Lakes when she was visiting Croatia this spring during her study abroad semester in Europe, and she was blown away. She said for her it was the highlight of the whole trip. We made a quick trip to Croatia in June to see the usual suspects (Dubrovnik and Split), loved them both and want to come back someday to explore this beautiful country more. I heard that the northern part of the Dalmatian coast is worth visiting–still beautiful but less touristy and expensive than Dubrovnik and Split.
One off-the-beaten-track recommendation for Dubrovnik: Red History Museum. We had a very rainy day there and needed to find something to do indoors, came across this place, and it was quite interesting; it’s dedicated to the history and daily life of socialist Yugoslavia and has an interactive component. I myself grew up in the former USSR and was worried that museum would be a bit tacky but it’s informative and fun.
(Responded to @stradmom because of the mention of Plitvice Lakes but the info is for the OP as well or anyone, of course).
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Krka National Park and Falls near Zadar.
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One of the coolest things we did in Croatia was to go out on a small boat the lake at mali ston and pick oysters from the oyster farm. Gorgeous area. Plitvice hiking is also amazing but can get really crowded at peak times, loved Hvar, glamorous little island. We travel a lot and Croatia is by far the best country I’ve ever visited. Enjoy!
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Italian food is very good and cheap in both countries. Basic truck stops have fantastic coffee (why can’t we do that here!). Lake Bled is lovely, and if you look at what Rick Steves does in his Best of Adriatic tours, you have a good idea of what is really interesting, he picks the best things of each country.
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We took a wonderful family trip there about 10 years ago, so my information is perhaps dated. Had a wonderful time in Dubrovnik. Just a beautiful city. We were in Split for a short time. I don’t remember it as that interesting. We went to a beautiful island with crystal clear water (whose name I forget). The only place that was a little odd was an island called Hvar (it was beautiful and crystal clear water too). However, it seemed like the meeting place of the idle Euro rich males, who came in on yachts, and younger, very attractive females who came via the ferry. ShawWife said they should have a sign on the entrance to the ferry that if you don’t look stunning in a bikini, you should not enter the ferry. So, it was an odd meat market scene at night, although the scenery was excellent.
We took a ferry down the coast, which was fun.
The food was largely Italian (right across the Adriatic) but it was not great compared to Italy. However, the one really bright spot was octopus, which was the best I’d ever tasted.
I have been fortunate to have traveled to many places (for many years, I might take a dozen or more trips outside of North America for work and another two to five for pleasure) and Croatia is one of the places I plan to return to. Delightful place for a family vacation. We could not work in the Plitvice Lake Park and definitely plan to return.
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Thanks for information on that museum. In prep for the trip, I am trying to review the complicated history of the region. Understanding the disparate lives of ordinary people around the globe is why I travel. Now, let’s see how the time works out!
An old friend has family roots on Losinj and mentioned that it is lovely but far less touristed than the famous sites. Perhaps another trip!
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Thanks, it was interesting to see that itinerary. His new guidebook just came out and is fantastic. We will go to Lake Bled.
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Thanks so much for the ideas and affirmation of plans. Has anyone traveled by bus in country? After the tour will be traveling by local bus and I still need to buy tickets. We will go to Plitvice and stay in the area.
From Shawbridge, “The only place that was a little odd was an island called Hvar (it was beautiful and crystal clear water too). However, it seemed like the meeting place of the idle Euro rich males, who came in on yachts, and younger, very attractive females who came via the ferry. ShawWife said they should have a sign on the entrance to the ferry that if you don’t look stunning in a bikini, you should not enter the ferry.”
This is a perhaps a more complete description than found in guidebooks, of what “nightlife” on Hvar entails. Let’s see how it has evolved. Recently, our guides, who have a family home on Hvar posted a photo of the Bezos yacht nearby, with support boat. As oldsters from the Midwest, we may enjoy gawking.
OregonMom2024, the oysters are intriguing!
D traveled by bus on her interrailing trip last year. She got the ferry from Italy to Split, then the bus to Zadar, which was their base for day excursions by boat and to Plitvice. Then the bus to Zagreb to get the train back to Switzerland. All worked smoothly, the buses were clean and on time (and very cheap).
Note that she traveled by bus on main routes, her trip to Plitvice was an organized tour.
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For part of my last trip (2019) we traveled by bus from
Split to Zagreb. My cousin and I were with a group interested in Croatian genealogy; we went with local genealogists who took us to the national archives where many village records are now kept. My cousin was able to get birth/marriage info for her grandparents.
The bus we traveled on was clean and in good repair. In Zagreb we did a walking tour of the city—went to St Mark’s Church and did the funicular rail trip. We also visited the national parliament (Sabor).
While in Zagreb on our own, we came across a weird but interesting place—Museum of Broken Relationships—dedicated to love and loss and the stories/artifacts that accompany these events. It’s strange. Apparently, there is a similar museum in LA.
There are two fairly interesting sites in Split. One is Diocletian’s Palace (dates back to 400BC) where you can go on a tour and learn about the history. At the entrance to palace is a very large statue of Gregor Nin (a Croatian cleric). Rubbing the toe of the statue is supposed to bring good luck. If you do so, you’ll see that the toe is really worn. Ivan Mestrovic was the sculptor (Croatia’s claim to fame) who created the statue in 1929. You can also visit the Mestrovic Gallery to see his other works (the second site). I really enjoyed viewing his work. The gallery is in a beautiful setting (IIRC, this was his home). Mestrovic immigrated to the US and taught at Notre Dame University.
I wasn’t that impressed with Croatian food. My favorites were crni risot (black risotto), pasticada (a Dalmatian beef stew) that’s served with gnocchi, and burek, a cheese pie that’s served in other Eastern European countries.
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burek is yummy. people came and sold homemade burek on the beach back when I was last there, in the late 80s, when it was still Yugoslavia. Very different times, so no travel tips from me 
In Mexico City, there was a museum with an exhibit associated with the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb. Rather fascinating and makes one contemplate past broken relationships. But don’t need to see it twice. Interesting regarding the Mestrovic gallery. We will do some touring in Split.
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I agree with the Plitvice Lakes National Park recommendation. It is stunning. If you are able it is worth hiring a car to explore the tiny ‘cities’ on the Istrian peninsula. I believe there are 13 but we were so fascinated that we managed only 3 in a day. We stayed at Cavtat, south of Dubrovnik the first time we went and Rovinj the second. They were a wonderful contrast. We’re off again this year, this time to the Split area. As you might have gathered we rather like the country and its people.
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Split is a very interesting town. Love the Old Town area, it is magical. I would love to stay there awhile!
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FYI we rented a car to drive from split to plitvice and then returned it in Zagreb. Easy to drive there, roads are great and well marked.
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Sounds fun! Good to know roads are easy to drive.
For us, challenging drive in another country would turn into a lot of marriage-buster moments. (We did recently rent a car from Florence airport to Rome airport. Not too bad, but I was happy to have the other hubby up front nag-ivating while my hubby drove.)