7 days in Croatia - planning suggestions

There's also daily bus service (last I checked) from Dubrovnik to Korcula, and (last I checked - I took this bus ten years ago) it left Dubrovnik late in the afternoon. So if your flight into Dubrovnik arrives early in the day, you could try to head to Korcula the same day and come back and spend your time in Dubrovnik at the end before flying on to Pula.

But...I'm not aware of any convenient flight from Dubrovnik to Pula. Are you? It might be faster to take the ferry from Korcula to Split and rent a car or take a bus from there on to Pula. (There is a direct flight between Zadar and Pula if that helps.)

Many people would take the ferry from Korcula to Split, rent a car, drive to Pula/Istria, then drive to Zagreb, stopping at the amazing Plitvice Lakes National Park on the way. This is one of the highlights of Croatia, though it is now very popular and can get crowded mid-day.

Personally, with only a week, I would try to spend as much time as possible seeing things and the least amount of time in transit. Is Pula a must see for you?

One week is barely enough to cover Dubrovnik, an island (October isn’t the best time for the islands, as many places close at the end of September when the weather usually turns) and Split, particularly if you are going to lose your first day or 2 with jet lag. You can get the bus from Dubrovnik to Korcula - it takes the short ferry route.

Personally, with only a week, I would try to spend as much time as
possible seeing things and the least amount of time in transit. Is
Pula a must see for you?

One week is barely enough to cover Dubrovnik, an island (October isn’t
the best time for the islands, as many places close at the end of
September when the weather usually turns) and Split, particularly if
you are going to lose your first day or 2 with jet lag. You can get
the bus from Dubrovnik to Korcula - it takes the short ferry route.

Thanks for your reply and your suggestions. Pula is not a must see. In fact, I wanted to see Diocletians Palace in Split, but I didn't want to book a hotel there. We're interested in ancient architecture but trying to avoid the big cities. Do you have any experience with unique small cities within easy access to Split that would be good for a couple of days? Thanks for your help.

There are not a lot of cities on the southern coast--Split is the only place I would really call a city.
If you stay in Dubrovnik and Korcula (a good amount for a week), and get an evening flight out of Split, you might be able to arrive in Split early enough to see the palace before flying out. Check the Krilo and Jadrolinija schedules for arrival times in Split.

Split may be a "big" city but the old town certainly doesn't feel like it. Depending on how you arrive/depart you may ride through the newer part on a bus but the bus (including the bus from the airport) or ferry will deposit you at one end of the old town and you can walk all the way across it in 15-20 minutes (not including sightseeing/stops of course). It is a heavily touristed city, but not as bad as Dubrovnik. Pula has an amazing Roman arena and temple but otherwise was not a very impressive city. We visited it as a day trip from Rovinj and a few hours was plenty. I have not been to Zagreb but it didn't seem interesting enough to include in either of my two trips to Croatia - first one was 8 nights (4 Dubrovnik, 2 Korcula, 2 Split) second trip just this past July was 14 nights (6 Rovinj, 1 Plitvice, 1 Zadar, 1 Sibenik, 2 Hvar island, 3 Split.) If you prefer smaller towns and have limited time I would definitely drop Zagreb.

With only 7 days you are going to have to be very selective. Maybe either Split up to the Istrian peninsula OR Split down to Dubrovnik. And even with that you will need to cut out a lot.

Here's my photos of Croatia, maybe they can help you choose - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f244307974

Hi Michael,

If you are flying into Dubrovnik and planing to take a flight from Zagreb to Vienna you could do the route Dubrovnik - Korcula - Split - Plitvice - Zagreb. I believe Split won't be very crowded in October and there are several interesting small authentic cities near Split which you can check here https://mappingcroatia.com/places-to-visit-near-split-authentic-dalmatian-towns/ . Another interesting addition to your stay in (or near) Split could be remarkable Roman ruins of Salona just 5 km northeast of Split.

As someone already mentioned October is not really the best time to visit Croatian islands (especially smaller ones) as most of the places are closed by the end of September. Even though I think Korcula is one of the most beautiful islands in Croatia think of visiting Hvar instead or doing a day trip to Lopud while in Dubrovnik or Hvar/Brac if you decide to spend a few days in Split.

In case you decide to skip Split you could visit Sibenik or Zadar instead - both are rather small historical cities with interesting architecture that offer more authentic feeling than Split does.