We shut the laptops at 16:00 on a Friday in October. A bowl of soup waited on the table — Bruno’s way of marking the line between work and everything else. Four and a half hours later we rolled into Frankfurt, sandwiches from home still in the bag, and walked straight into the wrong niu hotel. The lobby staff at Holiday Inn — the niu, Air Frankfurt Messe by IHG had a good laugh with us at 22:00. The room was lovely once we found it. That escape — 2,500 km in 12 days, chasing the plitvice lakes waterfalls and the Adriatic coast — was the reset we needed.
Morning came early. We were on the road by 08:00, bockwurst and a hamburger for lunch somewhere in Germany, and pulled into Zagreb at 17:30 under clear skies. The Art Hotel Like sat tucked on a quiet street. Our top-floor room had exposed wooden beams and a raised bed that felt like a treehouse.
That evening brought the first real travel blunder: we both forgot toothbrushes. Mine was at home in Almere; Bruno’s was in Frankfurt. Separate drugstore hunts, fully booked restaurants, and finally a table outside with sea bass and black risotto. We went to bed early.
Rain was forecast for the next day. At breakfast we checked the radar, looked at each other, and pivoted to Plitvice by 10:00 AM.
Caves, Upgrades, and a Police Stop
Our host at Country House Plitvice messaged about the downpour and suggested Barac Caves as a detour. We found salamanders clinging to damp walls and bats overhead in chambers with zero other tourists. When we arrived at our accommodation at 15:00, a cancellation had gifted us a free room upgrade. An afternoon nap, a massive meat platter at Degenija, two glasses of wine — then blue lights in the rearview mirror. Bruno told the officer honestly he’d had two glasses. The officer checked our papers, skipped the breathalyzer, and waved us on. We made it back in time to rest for the park.
Plitvice in Three Hours — The Waterfall Route That Works
The beds at Country House Plitvice were hard. Sleep came in fragments. But morning sun and fried eggs eaten outside on a wooden table changed the mood. Our host had mapped a 5.5-hour walking loop through Plitvice Lakes National Park. We took the boat across Lake Kozjak, the bus from Station 3 to the upper lakes, and walked down through the waterfalls to the lower lakes, then the boat back. Three hours. Photos taken, crowds mostly avoided, done by lunch. The plitvice lakes waterfalls sequence — boardwalks over turquoise water, the Great Waterfall thundering into the canyon — matched every photo we’d seen and then some. Practical note: the boat runs every 30 minutes April through October, hourly off-season. The bus from Station 3 cuts two hours off the full loop. Tickets include both boat and bus; buy at Entrance 1 or 2. Waterproof shoes matter — boardwalks catch spray even on dry days.
Two hours north to Zadar. Guesthouse Emma, a sunset at the Sea Organ where wind plays pipes like a slow jazz set, Roman ruins underfoot, cevapcici for me and squid for Bruno at a table spilling onto the stone.
Split — Towers, Pebbles, and Shellfish
Next morning we hit three stops before Split: the fortress on Trogir’s boulevard, Solin’s QR-code colosseum rising from excavations, Klis castle ruins clinging to a ridge. Best Location Rooms in Split was small and fine. Fifteen minutes to the old walls. Gemini found a shellfish restaurant outside the center — mussels, scampi, white wine, zero tourists. Day two in Split: a multi-pass for the tomb, treasury, baptistery, cathedral, and the bell tower climb that tested my vertigo. Pebble beach afternoon, traditional fish dinner, second night in the same room.
Dubrovnik — Walls, Islands, and Peka
Dubrovnik demanded an early start. Ston’s walls rose steep toward Mali Ston. We turned back halfway, legs burning, but explored the left side thoroughly. The View apartment lived up to its name — and its 200 stairs down to the city. Once down, we weren’t climbing back until nightfall. Harbor wander, wine, pizza, spare ribs, early bed. The Elaphiti boat at 10:30 AM touched Koločep, Lopud, Šipan. Beach time at the last stop. Peka lamb reservation at 20:00 — ordered two hours ahead, slow-cooked under a bell, worth every minute. Climbing back up The View in the dark felt like earning the meal.
The Slow Return — Ljubljana Rat, Stuttgart Takeout, Home
The return north was slower by design. Ljubljana, Slovenia Crib, canal dinner, early crash. Day 12: fatigue won. Boat trip skipped. Dinner across from the Crib brought the trip’s most unexpected moment — a rat at the next table. Free tiramisu as apology. Day 13: Germany, Stuttgart walk, Vietnamese takeout in a paper bag. Day 14: breakfast, final stretch home. The trip ended not with a highlight reel but with the quiet satisfaction of having driven it all.
For Readers Who Prefer to Fly — Alternative Logistics
If you plan to fly into Croatia and rent a car, one option is to fly into Zagreb (ZAG) or Split (SPU) and rent one-way to Dubrovnik (DBV) or return to the same airport. AutoEurope offers car rental in Croatia . For flight search, Aviasales compares options. A ferry alternative exists: Jadrolinija coastal ferry Rijeka to Dubrovnik (car and passengers, overnight). For a Slovenia add-on, fly Ljubljana (LJU) and rent a car for a 3-day Julian Alps loop.
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