# Croatia in August. Book or not?



## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

We have travelled every year in August to France and also done Germany and Czech and never booked. We love the freedom of following the weather and having no pressure to get from A to B with deadlines.
For all you experts on Croatia can you think back to your visits if you did them in August and let me know if there were vacancies at the campsites at Croatia AND on the route down through Austria.
We have a 3.8 ton van so may meet restrictions. 
If we have to book , how long would you allow to travel from Dover down to Croatia.

Chris


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

chrisgog said:


> We have travelled every year in August to France and also done Germany and Czech and never booked. We love the freedom of following the weather and having no pressure to get from A to B with deadlines.
> For all you experts on Croatia can you think back to your visits if you did them in August and let me know if there were vacancies at the campsites at Croatia AND on the route down through Austria.
> We have a 3.8 ton van so may meet restrictions.
> If we have to book , how long would you allow to travel from Dover down to Croatia.
> ...


2/3 days max via S'berg and the Tauern autobahn

Croatia will be full over the European summer hols prob best to book

Hope this helps

Wups


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

we did the same trip this august, fram calais i drove 6hr into germany then stayed on a stellplatz for 1 night, then drove down to westendorf and stayed there for 5 or so days then drove another 6 hrs via bled down to pula where we stopped for a while, not once did we pre book and we didnt have any probs, if you need any info just ask, my knowledge is very limited but will try my best.


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## sarahessex (Nov 18, 2006)

Hello
We did this again in August for the second year running. We drove from Calais to Lake Chiemsee on the first day & stayed at a stellplatz, and then an early start down to Croatia arriving at about 4pm in the afternoon to Baska. We didnt book as we were told by the site that we didnt need to - however - I would advise that you check when the bank holiday is as we had the last pitch on the site we were staying on. The previous year we went to IPula & Rovinj & again didnt book anywhere, and had no problems.
We also had a 3.8 tonne m/home & didnt encounter any restrictions - in fact in Austria it was quicker as we had a GO box and we could zip through the tolls without having to queue.
If you need any other info please feel free to pm me.
Sarah


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## cilkad (Jan 4, 2007)

August is the busiest but I don't think you need to book. There are a lot of campsites in Croatia and I am sure you'll be OK. Don't know about Austria though.
Regards,
Cilka


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## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

Thanks all,
I will study and look out for information for the next few months. We did Germany last year so Austria will be a new adventure with that GO box! May be back in touch with a few of you for more information
Thanks again
Chris


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

i know its cheeky and some wont aprove but we never buy a go box i just buy a vignette instead  and when i bougt the slovenian vignette they ony charged us as 3500kg and really we are 3850kg  :wink: 
i would have just played the thick tourist bit lol


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## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

tommytli

Our van was originally plated at 3500 but we complained and had a new plate issued for 385o but we have not put the heavier plate in the van. It isd 3850 on the log book.

How do the Austrians (and Sloveynians) know what weight you are?Do they look at the log book, weigh your van, check the plate or is it up to you to say what you want?
Chris


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## cilkad (Jan 4, 2007)

In Slovenia motorhomes belong to the same category as cars so you can just buy the vignette - I haven't heard of anybody having their MH weighted in Slovenia (which may be the case in Austria).
I must say we are very happy about this because it is much much cheaper than paying the toll before. 
Regards,
Cilka


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## hmh (Jun 25, 2008)

*Croatia in August*

Hi, 
We entered Slovenia (in 2006) on a back road, running due North from Croatia, (a beautiful route by the way) and didn't know there was a toll until I read it on this forum . . .we may have paid tolls on the Motorway going to Ljubljana, I don't remember. Mostly we stuck to smaller roads.

Ljubljana itself is delightful, full of students, and has excellent public transport, which locals use, so there is very little traffic. We intended to park outside and take a bus, but accidentally ended up in the town, and parked on a side street with a parking meter.

The disappearing lake near Postojna is worth a visit and we did "wild camp" there in a quiet corner, and no-one bothered us.

The narrow Croatian coastal strip was busy even in June, so I should imagine pre-booking a few key places for August would be a good idea. We liked taking ferries to the islands (just turn up, you can't pre-book, and you have to pay cash). The S. of the coastal strip and islands, is nicer than the North, less full of Austrians.

We wished we had parked up at one of the campsites (called Autocamps) S. of Dubrovnik, and taken the ferry into the town. Avoid Saturday, and it is possible to find out which day of the week the cruise ships are in - avoid that too. There were 8000 passengers onshore the day we chose! It is a lovely city though.

I think the Northern inland part of Croatia would be less busy, though less to see for the tourist. If you can't find a campsite, you might be able to park up behind a restaurant if you eat there. If there is a campsite, you must use it!

It was worth taking a trip into the more touristy parts of Montenegro, to see Kotor for example. It feels rather 3rd world in comparison with Croatia, but the food we bought in the tiny shops called Mini-markets beside the road was more authentic and flavoursome than anything we bought in Croatia itself - they do a sort of ripened cream which we used instead of butter, with local sour cherry jam . . .mmm!

Have a nice trip!

Helen


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## RoadProAndy (May 23, 2005)

If you have time, don't hesitate to go to Albania. I went there this August and had a fantastic time! Montenegro too was great.

Re vignettes, I got stopped going into Switzerland and was told that, as the vehicle was over 3.5 tons, I'd have to pay a special tax. The good news was that, having paid the tax, I didn't need to buy a vignette! I actually saved money - which was a first.

RoadProAndy


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## hmh (Jun 25, 2008)

*Croatia in August - and Albania?*

Would love to hear more about Albania!

Have you written it up anywhere?

Helen


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

chrisgog said:


> tommytli
> 
> Our van was originally plated at 3500 but we complained and had a new plate issued for 385o but we have not put the heavier plate in the van. It isd 3850 on the log book.
> 
> ...


im not sure, when going to austria we just pull into a german service station and ask for a vignette for austria, they never ask anything about weight etc so i just stick it in the window, slovenia there was a toll booth just before a really long tunnel (not sure of the name) and when we paid there we also asked for the vignette for slovenia, he never asked about weight and we were charged around 24 euros for the tunnel and the vignette.
when i get the van back from ford i will be able to tell you the exact price because i still have a the reciepts. we enjoyed the trip so much we are doing it again ourselfs in august, without booking anything.


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## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

well we have prebooked 5 nights at Lake Bled in Slovenia and reluctant to book anymore. Booked through ccc club. They are no longer doing Croatia next year as not enough people booked there! 
We have allowed ourselves just under a week to get to Slovenia then after that we will have 3 weeks to explore Croatia. Just ordered the "Bord Atlas too as seen they have some sites in Croatia listed.

Anyone else travelled without booking in August?
Chris


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## lalala (Aug 13, 2009)

Hi everyone, great to read of your journeys. Can I ask those who went to Montenegro if they got insurance before going or bought it at the border. Two years ago our insurance company wouldn't extend our green card to Montenegro.
thanks
lala
I now see that someone has asked the same question earlier but didn't get any replies.


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## cilkad (Jan 4, 2007)

Chris, when are you coming? Would be great to meet you here in Bled and then I can give you more information about Croatia as well.
Regards,
Cilka


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## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

27th July for 5 nights. Heard it is supposed to be good at Lke Bled
Chris


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

I envy you; Slovenia is a wonderful country with the friendliest people in Europe. We went to Slovenia and Croatia in September and did find busy campsites and in 2 places could not find a sea front pitch but there were always pitches. A lot of Germans spend the summer there - it's not far for them to go !

Check that your satnav has maps for these countries. Local garages and tourist offices in Slovenia have very good free maps which we found very helpful.

If you can learn a few words of the language you will find people will laugh with you and be tremendously helpful and pleased. I was surprised how like Russian the Croatian language is. The only time since leaving school that I have found any use for it !

G


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