Slovenia to Split: The Self-Launched 9-Day Independent Version

Fly or train into Ljubljana (FlixBus/Venice connections are cheap if you're combining with Italy). Check into a hostel or guesthouse in the old town or along the Ljubljanica river — Hostel Celica (a converted prison, genuinely good) or a private room at a riverside guesthouse. Spend the afternoon wandering the car-free centre: Preseren Square, the Triple Bridge, the central market under the colonnades, and the funicular or 20-minute walk up to Ljubljana Castle for sunset. Dinner of struklji and local wine along the river. Pick up a Urbana card for city buses if needed.

🚌Airport shuttle or city bus into town (~£4). Everything in the centre is walkable.

🛏Hostel Celica or old-town guesthouse (dorm from ~£18, private room ~£40-50)

• →Self-guided stroll: Preseren Square, Triple Bridge, Robba's Fountain
• →Ljubljana Castle (funicular return ~£8)
• →Riverside dinner and market browse

Take an early direct train from Ljubljana to Lesce-Bled (~50 min, ~£5) or the bus straight to Bled bus station (~1h15, ~£5). Walk the lake shore to the boat jetty and buy a seat on a traditional pletna boat to the island yourself at the jetty (~£15 return, includes 30 min on the island to climb the church bell tower). Walk up to Bled Castle on foot (~£13 entry, or just admire from below if you're counting pennies). Eat krempita (Bled cream cake) at a lakeside cafe — Park Hotel or the stand near the jetty. Swim at the Velika Zaka lido if it's warm; the summer toboggan run at Straza is a fun cheap extra. Train back to Ljubljana in the evening.

🚌Train Ljubljana–Lesce-Bled ~£5 each way; or bus ~£5

🛏Same Ljubljana hostel/guesthouse

• →Pletna boat to Bled Island (~£15)
• →Church of St Mary bell tower climb
• →Bled Castle and lakeside walk
• →Krempita tasting

Book a Postojna Cave entry slot online in advance (GetYourGuide or postojnska-jama.eu, ~£25-28 including the electric train ride through the galleries — one of the few real must-book activities). Get there by FlixBus or train to Postojna (~1h, ~£6) and walk 10 min to the cave. After the cave, take a local bus or Bolt to Smartno in the Goriska Brda hills (~£8-10), a tiny Venetian-style medieval hamlet among vineyards, and do a walk-in tasting at one of the family wineries (Klet Brda or a small vintner, ~£10-15 for 4-5 pours). Continue by bus via Nova Gorica to the coast — sleep in Piran or Portoroz (Piran is far prettier and cheaper; a 15-min bus from Portoroz).

🚌Bus/train Ljubljana–Postojna ~£6; local buses Postojna–Smartno–Nova Gorica–Piran ~£12 total

🛏Guesthouse or hostel room in Piran old town (~£30-40 private, dorm ~£20)

• →Postojna Cave electric train tour (~£26, book ahead)
• →Smartno medieval village wander
• →Goriska Brda wine tasting (~£12)

Cross into Croatia by bus (Piran–Koper–Buje–Groznjan, or a cheap cross-border shuttle/FlixBus; roughly £10-15 and 2-3 hours). Base yourself in Porec, whose UNESCO Euphrasian Basilica and Venetian lanes are worth an evening. From Porec, hire a scooter or take a local bus/taxi to Groznjan — a hilltop artists' colony full of tiny galleries and workshops you can just wander into — then to Motovun, the truffle capital on its vine-covered hill (walk the town walls, ~£4, and pop into the Church of St Stephen). For the truffle-hunting experience the tour includes, book an independent Istrian truffle hunt + tasting direct with a local family (e.g. Zigante's competitors in Motovun or Paladini in Livade, ~£35-45 with a dog and guide — book by email/through GetYourGuide a week ahead). Otherwise feast on truffle pasta in Livade.

🚌Cross-border bus Piran–Porec ~£12; local bus/scooter hire for the hill towns ~£12

🛏Porec guesthouse or hostel private room (~£30-35)

• →Groznjan galleries and workshops (free to wander)
• →Independent truffle hunt + tasting (~£40, book ahead)
• →Motovun walls and Church of St Stephen (~£4)

Local bus or catamaran down the coast to Rovinj (~£5, 45 min). Get lost in the old town: climb the bell tower of St Euphemia (~£3) for the classic view, walk Grisia Street's galleries, and swim off the rocks at Zlatni Rt forest park. Then bus to Lim Bay (~£4) and eat oysters straight from the water at a roadside shack or the Romualdo restaurant area (~£10-15 for a plate of oysters and mussels — the tour's tasting for a fraction). Finish in Pula: the Roman amphitheatre (outside is free; entry ~£8), Temple of Augustus, the Triumphal Arch of the Sergii and Twin Gates are all in a 10-minute radius. Bus back to Porec in the evening (~£5).

🚌Local buses Porec–Rovinj–Lim–Pula–Porec ~£14 total

🛏Porec guesthouse (same as night 4)

• →Rovinj old town and St Euphemia bell tower (~£3)
• →Lim Bay oyster and mussel tasting (~£13)
• →Pula amphitheatre and Roman sights (~£8)

Morning bus up the coast to Opatija (~1h, ~£6) for a coffee and a stroll along the Lungomare, the 12km Habsburg seaside promenade — completely free and one of the loveliest walks in the Adriatic. Then take a bus/FlixBus onward to Plitvice (~3h with a change in Rijeka or Karlovac, ~£15). Book your Plitvice National Park ticket online for tomorrow's first entry slot (peak season they sell out — ~£33 in July/August, ~£12 low season; book at np-plitvicka-jezera.hr or GetYourGuide). Sleep in a guesthouse in Mukinje or Jezerce, a 15-20 min walk from Entrance 2 — much cheaper than the park hotels.

🚌Bus Porec–Opatija ~£6; bus Opatija–Plitvice ~£15

🛏Sobe/guesthouse in Mukinje or Jezerce (~£30-35 private room)

• →Lungomare promenade in Opatija (free)
• →Book Plitvice entry ticket online
• →Evening in the village

Be at Entrance 2 for opening time (7-8am) to beat the day-trip crowds. The lakes are easy to do independently: the ticket includes the panorama train and the electric boat across Lake Kozjak. Follow the Upper Lakes first then the Lower Lakes down to the Veliki Slap waterfall — 3-4 hours at an easy pace, and honestly better at your own speed than in a guided group. Mid-afternoon, take the bus from Plitvice to Split (~3.5h, ~£18; FlixBus or the local Autotransbus line). If you want, hop off at Trogir for a 1.5h stop — the walled island town's Cathedral of St Lawrence, Kamerlengo Castle and Land Gate are all within five minutes of the bus station. Then local bus Trogir–Split (~£3) and check into a hostel near the old town.

🚌Bus Plitvice–Trogir/Split ~£18; local bus Trogir–Split ~£3

🛏Split hostel dorm near Diocletian's Palace (~£22) or private room (~£40)

• →Self-guided Plitvice Lakes walk with boat and panorama train (ticket ~£33 peak / ~£12 off-season)
• →Trogir old town stop
• →Evening on the Riva promenade

Morning: explore Diocletian's Palace on foot — the peristyle, the subterranean cellars (small entry fee ~£6), the Cathedral of St Domnius and the former Temple of Jupiter (~£4 combined). Grab a cheap breakfast at the morning green market just outside the walls. Then take the high-speed catamaran from Split to Hvar town (Jadrolinija or Kapetan Luka, ~1h, ~£14-18 return if booked as same-day return — book ahead in July/August). Wander the harbour, the Renaissance cathedral, the Benedictine convent lace museum and the Franciscan monastery, then climb to the Spanish Fortress (~£5) for the view. Swim at Pokonji Dol or take a water taxi to the Pakleni Islands (~£10-15). Evening catamaran back to Split for a final dinner of gregada fish stew (the tour's included dinner, self-funded).

🚌Catamaran Split–Hvar return ~£16

🛏Split hostel (same as night 7)

• →Diocletian's Palace, cellars, Cathedral of St Domnius, Temple of Jupiter (~£10)
• →Hvar town walk and Spanish Fortress (~£5)
• →Pakleni Islands water taxi (optional ~£12)

Last morning coffee on the Riva, a final swim at Bacvice beach (five minutes from the old town), and transfer to Split airport by local bus (~£5, 30 min) or onward by ferry to Italy (Split–Ancona) or bus to Dubrovnik if you're extending. If you're flying onward from Zagreb or Ljubljana, buses and trains run direct.

🚌Local bus to Split airport ~£5

🛏—

• →Bacvice beach swim
• →Riva coffee
• →Airport transfer