How to combine Slovenia and Croatia in one trip

Crossing from Slovenia to Croatia

According to the Slovenian government, the border with Croatia runs for 672 km, more than half of the country’s 1,322 km of land frontier. Crossing is straightforward, with two caveats. The Tourist Board says Slovenia has reintroduced temporary checks on that border, and the FCDO asks travellers coming from Croatia to use only crossings open to all. Since both countries are in Schengen, days in either count towards your 90 in 180. Everything that’s required is in Slovenia entry requirements.

Ljubljana to Zagreb and Rijeka by train or coach

Without a car the two still link up well. The Tourist Board lists trains between Ljubljana and Zagreb, some with a change at Dobova, and two trains a day from Ljubljana to Rijeka and two more to Opatija. By coach, Nomago connects Ljubljana with Zagreb airport, so you can fly into Zagreb and start in Slovenia, or the reverse. The route between the two capitals is in Zagreb to Ljubljana.

By car, with one warning

A car gives you more freedom, especially for Istria. The one thing to remember is that each country charges for its roads in its own way. Slovenian motorways and expressways take the DARS e-vignette, registered to your number plate and useless across the border. If you’re hiring, check if you’re allowed to take the car across the border, because that’s up to the rental company. How the vignette works is in the Slovenia vignette.

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How I’d split the days between the two

On a first ten-day trip I’d spend seven days in Slovenia and three in Croatia. Slovenia needs time for the mountains, and the nearest part of Croatia makes a relaxed finale. With two weeks you can slow down, perhaps flying into Zagreb, crossing Slovenia from east to west and finishing on the coast. My Slovenia-only route, so you can see what to trim, is in Slovenia in a week. If you’d rather join a ready-made tour, I compare them in Slovenia holidays.

Two Slovenia and Croatia routes

The first follows the coast. From Piran, at the tip of Slovenian Istria, you carry on into Croatian Istria without backtracking. The second runs inland, flying in or out of Zagreb and using Ljubljana as the hinge. For something different, the Kolpa river in Bela Krajina forms the border with Croatia and the Tourist Board lists it with the warmest and cleanest of Slovenian rivers; to me it’s the prettiest frontier in the country.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Piran and pick one that fits your day.

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