Lake Bled at dawn, its small island and church in still turquoise water with forested hills behind.

Trips · The Balkans

Lake Bled to the Albanian Riviera.

Our favorite road trip: three weeks through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania.

Why go

One of our favorite places on Earth.

We’ve been to the Balkans three times, and it’s absolutely one of our favorite places on Earth. The food, the coastline, the mix of cultures, the historic walled cities. The Balkans has it all.

This is the best of our road trips in one route, from Lake Bled to the Albanian Riviera.

The route

  1. Ljubljana and Lake Bled · Slovenia · 3 nights
  2. Zagreb, Rastoke and Plitvice National Park · Croatia · 2 nights
  3. Šibenik, Trogir and Split · Croatia · 2 nights
  4. Hvar · Croatia · 2 nights
  5. Mostar · Bosnia and Herzegovina · 1 night
  6. Dubrovnik and Cavtat · Croatia · 3 nights
  7. Perast and Kotor · Montenegro · 2 nights
  8. Tirana and Dhërmi · Albania · 3 nights
  9. Gjirokastër, Sarandë and Ksamil · Albania · 2 nights

21 days, 20 nights. One rental car, plus the ferry to Hvar. Fly into Ljubljana; fly home from Tirana, or take the short ferry from Sarandë to Corfu.

What we’d skip

  • The Hvar day trip. Give it two nights.
  • The Mostar day trip. The Old Bridge is why everyone comes. The old town around it is the reason to stay the night.
  • Kotor to the Riviera in one go. It’s too long for one day. Break it with a night in Tirana.
  • Fixing the route before pricing the car. One-way rentals across borders can be expensive.

Best time to go

Spring or early summer, if Plitvice National Park matters most: that’s when the waterfalls are at their biggest.

Our three trips ran from late August to mid-September. In peak season, allow one to two hours at the border crossings, and book the Hvar ferry ahead.

Ceci on a wooden jetty at Lake Bled beside a traditional wooden pletna boat, the island in the distance.
Lake Bled.
Scott and Ceci together by the river in Rastoke, green trees and a bridge behind them.
Rastoke.
Turquoise lakes at Plitvice, framed by green forest and pale limestone cliffs.
Plitvice National Park.
An overhead view of a sailing catamaran at anchor in turquoise water off Hvar.
Off Hvar.
Ceci in a red patterned dress on the rocks above Dubrovnik at sunset.
Above Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik's stone walls and red roofs on a rocky headland above clear blue water.
Dubrovnik.
Ceci in a red dress holding a fan, with the Bay of Kotor and its mountains behind her.
The Bay of Kotor.
The Old Bridge in Mostar arching over the Neretva River, seen from above with the old town around it.
Mostar.
Ceci sitting on a wooden deck over the sea in Dhërmi, potted palms beside her.
Dhërmi.
A resort beach in Dhërmi, rows of white loungers beside clear blue water.
Dhërmi.
Ceci standing on top of a stone arch at Gjirokastër Castle under a bright sky with white clouds.
Gjirokastër Castle.
A beach club in Dhërmi at dusk, orange umbrellas and loungers on a pebble beach below pine trees.
Dhërmi, at dusk.
Sailboat masts reflected in a still marina on Brač at sunrise, a church tower behind them.
Brač, first thing.
Sunrise over Sarandë from a hotel balcony, a small boat on the bay below.
Sunrise over Sarandë.
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