Sooners11

We are flying in and out of Zagreb in March and will have 10 days traveling . We are traveling by car with 4 kids (8, 6, and 1 year old twins) and a nanny. This trip is to explore and see all that we can in reason. I know it will be chaotic traveling with the kids but we are use to it and know what to expect. We have traveled Italy without kids but that is all we have been to in Europe. We plan to stay in a different city every night or spend 2 nights in some cities. Driving and packing up each day is not a concern.
My main question is would you stick to smaller towns to visit like in the Istria part of Croatia and then head into Slovenia and Austria? Or would you go for bigger cities to visit like Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Ljubljana?
Mostly considering what would be best and most entertaining for the kids.

bilboburgler

I'd stay small
I'd stay in small B&Bs and rural places
March is winter, you do know how miserable it can be?
If everyone does like mud and rain I might reconsider and think about cities, but if I was doing cities only I might question 1) why come? 2) why a car ('cause of all the stuff...)?

After some thought I might go south and head for Sicily

neckervd

Weather is always unpredictable in this area.
The warmest and probvably sunniest places will be in Dalmacia: Split and the Islands (Hvar is the driest).
Things to see there: historic cities of Split, Trogir, Hvar, Sibenik, Krka National Park, Pčlitvie National Park
If you go towards the Istrian Coast, you shouldn't miss the Caves of Skokjan (San Cassiano) or Postojna and the stud of Lipizza.

I know all the small cities between Zagreb and Budapest on the one hand and between Zagreb an Vienna on he other hand, but that wouldn't be my first choice in March (and with kids).

Travel_Nerd

Is your 10 days on the ground or does that include your travel days to/from home? If it isn't, then you only really have 8 days to travel and sightsee.

With kids, less is more. Having multiple one-night or two night stays will wreak havoc on all of you. The babies especially (probably anyway) need routines. Constantly moving your suitcases would not be enjoyable, not to mention the time you'd lose sightseeing.

Assuming you have the full 10 days, I'd chose no more than 2 bases, 3 might be possible but pushing it with the amount of you traveling.

Think of your itinerary in terms of nights, not days and add for transit. So, 3 nights in one town gives you 2 days for sightseeing and activeactivities, 2 nights gives you 1 day, etc. Do not underestimate how long it will take to get each of you out the door (even with a nanny), transit times between destinations, plus checking in/out of lodging. And eating for that matter - making the multiple 1 or 2 night stays even more hectic.

And of course the weather just may be miserable. Id choose towns with a lot of museum and indoor options. Croatia, especially the coast, may not have a lot of indoor-centric activiities if the weather is terrible. Speaking from experience of getting rained out in both Dubrovnik and Korcula, Dubrovnik was better for that but it was still NOT enjoyable. Just food for thought...

Sassafrass

It seems you are used to travel with all the littles, so no need for advice in that regard. Just thinking about the one night stays and moving so often. If the twins still nap during the day, will you have a stroller for them or will they be at the hotel with the nanny?
In regards to weather, it has been a long time, but we ended up abandoning plans part way through a trip when the weather turned so bad we were stuck in a hotel room. Another time, rain and wind trapped our travel group for a couple of hours outside with only an awning for shelter. We should have been better prepared in both cases, so give lots of consideration to choosing places where it would be OK for the little ones to be inside if necessary, perhaps even places with an indoor pool. Plan for possible bad weather and you will probably have perfect weather.
Can you plan for places like Vienna where there are things indoors that would work, but also where there are day trips, parks, etc. if the weather is great?

mike1728

Zagreb to Varazdin…1 hour by car. Trackoscan Castle half day trip. Varazdin to Ptuj, Slovenia, 50 min by car or Maribor…1 hour by car. Graz Austria 2 hours. To Ljubljana, 2 hours by car. Return Zagreb….90 min by car. Doing this loop in April. All kinds of day trips via car from all of the aforementioned destinations. Lots of stuff for the kids. Parks, waterfalls, castles, ect