2 Week Croatia Iteneriary - your opiniin

I assume you are planning on having a car for part or all of this trip?

I didn't visit Zadar or Zagreb on my Croatia visit last year, so I can't address questions about those destinations.

I'd suggest not picking up your car until you depart Split, and then return it when you arrive in Zagreb. If you do that, then go by ferry from Dubrovnik to Hvar, and visit Split after you depart Hvar, rather than as a day trip, so you don't have to take the same ferry twice.

Whether or not you decide to spend a night in Zadar, I'd recommend spending a night at/near Plitvice Lakes, so you can visit the park either early or later in the day (rather than doing it as a day trip from anywhere). You could either go there before you head to Rovinj, or on your way from Rovinj to Zagreb. Either way, you're stuck doing some backtracking.

Another alternative is to pick up your car when you leave Dubrovnik, drive to Mostar and spend the night there, and then head to Split. You can then visit Hvar as a day trip, and you could use the car to make other day trips from Split (such as Trogir).

In the absence of any information about your interests, I'd advise you not to short change Zagreb by doing a day trip to Plitvice from there, 3 nights equaling just 2 days. Zagreb is an interesting and attractive city, with plenty to see and do. People are very friendly, and the streets are lively.

You will drive right past Plitvice (slight detour via the D1) anyway - I don't see any point in backtracking from Zagreb. I recommend spending a night in/near the park and seeing the park first thing in the morning before the big tour groups arrive. If you plan to see Istrian hill towns, one option might be to depart Rovinj, stop in a few hill towns, then make it into Plitvice by nightfall. (Might turn into a long driving day - map it out on Google Maps and decide if that's too much for you.) There isn't much of a town at Plitvice (basically no restaurants save one pizza place), but there is plenty of lodging nearby, including a few hotels in the park itself (overpriced but convenient).

People are mixed regarding Zagreb. I was not a fan, having spent a few nights there on my first trip to Croatia. I didn't hate it, but I was pretty much done with it after half a day. On a recent trip, I choose to return to several places in Croatia I'd enjoyed before but even though I was flying out of Zagreb at the end, I avoided spending time there and spent a night in the nearby town of Samobor instead. I don't know if you would like Zagreb or not - some people do, some don't.

Zadar is worth a visit. So is Sibenik. So is Krka National Park. So is Opatija and the Kvarner Gulf. You will pass near/through all of them driving north. The question is, where do you want to spend your time? You can't see everything. You probably aren't making a mistake by spending a night in Zadar, though.

Thank you all for your input. So I think I will stop in Piltvice on the way to Rovinj, staying 1 night in or near the park. No back tracking. I may keep the same amount of nights in Zagreb and take 1 day in Slovania....oh my, I'm adding more...lol.

From Hvar, you will have to go to Split anyway, so to avoid backtracking, either spend a night less in Hvar and one in Split or stay in Split and do a day trip to Hvar. Trogir near Split is a must, so I would stay in Split for the 4 nights. The ferry service to the islands reduces slightly once you get into September.

Jennifer, I was hoping for some beach time that's why I was considering staying in Hvar. How long is the Hvar/Split ferry and any idea of the fare? Thanks in advance.

I haven't been to Zagreb, and seeing that you want beach time I would say to cut out a night from Zagreb. I would definitely get into Slovenia if you can. Beautiful country and Ljubljana and Bled could really be done in one long day.

I recently returned from six nights in Croatia, having done 2 nights in Dubrovnik, 2 in Hvar and 2 in Split. If I could do it again I would do another day in Dubrovnik and one less in Split. I am a big beach person and out of the three places, I actually enjoyed Dubrovnik beaches most. Hvar was nice but, more of a young person's party place from what I saw. You should definitely rent a boat for the day when in Hvar and visit the Pakleni Islands which are like a 45 minute boat ride away from the waterfront. Split has a nice waterfront for restaurants and we did a day trip from there to Krka National Park, but we were pretty underwhelmed by Split itself.

• Depending on the number of day trips you do from Dubrovnik, you may want to add an extra day there. If you take two day trips elsewhere, you should really spend an extra day there. If you only day one day trip, your three nights should be fine.
• Zadar wasn't really worth it for me. Some others like it. If there is something that you want to see there or near there, then definitely go. But if you don't have any particular reason for visiting, you'd probably be better off going to the places where you have direct interests. You could use Zadar as an overnight only location on your way to Plitvice from Split.
• I would divide the Hvar/Split segment into two days Hvar and two days Split. It will only take one day to see Diocletian's Palace and the surrounding Old Town and Riva. You could either move on towards Zadar/Plitvice or use the second day to go to Solin/Trogir.
• Look into other day trips from Zagreb. Definitely go to Plitvice on the way from Split, but if you have time in Zagreb, you could day trip up into Slovenia or take a day trip out into the Croatian countryside.

Yes, I am considering skipping Zadar - going from Split to Plitvice directly. I also did decide to spend 4 nights in Hvar. Found this, what appears to be a charming house about 5km from town and its essentially an island. We couldn't resist. Step outside our door and there is the ocean - i looks so quaint and gets great reviews. I am trying, unsuccessfully to figure out the ferry schedules...rather confusing!

I do want to take a day in Slovania if possible.

There are daily ferries on Kapetan Luka from Dubrovnik to Hvar. Multiple ferries should still be departing from Hvar to Split in September, but when checking the schedule online, make to differentiate between ferries leaving from Hvar Town and those leaving from Stari Grad.

Thank you Mike for your assistance. I should have specified that we will have a car - it's the car ferry that has me confused. My travel to Hvar is September 9 and 13. Thanks again.

Oh, the dreaded car ferry. Now I understand. And I can't help you with that as I've only taken the ferries as a passenger only. I have to ask, however, are you going to drive around on Hvar or just stay in Hvar Town area? If the latter, it'd be easier to drop the car in Dubrovnik, ferry up to Hvar, then Split, and then rent a second car when you leave Split.

Was hoping to drive through the island but, more importantly the hotel where we will be staying is 5kl from town... And I don't want to depend on taxis back and forth, ugh!

Did you ever get an answer to the car ferry question ?

Try croatiaferries.com, hvarinfo.com and jadrolinija.hr.

We just returned from Croatia and drove a car from Split onto Hvar - there were only 3 ferry times at the end of May, but they start their summer schedule on June 1. I am not sure about September, so look carefully to make sure you are reading Summer versus Winter schedules.

It was easy to do.

Thank you Carla, I think I finally figured out the ferry schedule, I hope! 😃. How did you enjoy your trip? Do you mind sharing your itinerary?

We did a reverse of this itinerary ! And we traveled by car with friends who love to be outdoors.

We flew into Zagreb and immediately drove into Ljubljana.
1 night Ljubljana - next morning we hiked up to the castle, had lunch and drove to Lake Bled.
3 nights Lake Bled - we biked the lake, and hiked SEVERAL trails including Sap Slavica waterfall on Lake Bohinj and Vintgar Gorge
1 night Rovinj - loved walking and biking the town
1 night Plitvice - we drove here in the afternoon and visited the Park the following morning - walked EVERY trail and was out by 2 pm
1 night Split - we left the following day on the car ferry to Hvar after visiting Diocletian's Palace and hiking the Marjan Hill
2 nights Hvar
1 night Mostar - we drove here after taking the car ferry from Sucaraj to Drvinek
1 night Kotor
3 nights Dubrovnik

The itinerary for us was spot on - we savor a location and move on !

Carla, thanks so much for Sharing. That is quite the schedule. Sounds like a wonderful trip. So far I know we are spending 3 nights in Dubrovnik then onto 4 nights Hvar. From there Plitvice not sure if we should drive straight through or stop somewhere on the way. This portion is a bit fuzzy for me lol. Then on to Rovinj then Zagred, thinking of driving into Slovania for the day. Again fuzzy! :-) Amazing to me how 14 days can get eaten up so quickly! I am waiting for our maps to arrive then we will sit down study the roads and make firmer plans. Thanks again!

Someone suggested to us to arrive into Plitvice in the afternoon/early evening. This is an easy drive from Hvar/Split.

Then, you start the Lakes hike early the next morning and can do all the paths by 2 pm. They were right. We left and drove to our next destination.

Has anyone stayed in Makarska? I think I've read that it's where the Split locals go to vacation? Would it be a better option than Split?

Take a look at Trogir - I've read a lot of favorable reviews on this forum about this village.

You are close to Split.