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A few questions on Itinerary suggestions and tips for a 16 day trip to Croatia with my 11 yr old Son

I will be traveling to Croatia in the middle of June flying into Dubrovnik 4 nights - Korcula 2 nights - Havar 2 nights - Brac 1 night - Split 3 nights - Plitvice lakes 1 night - Rovinj 3 nights (flying out of Pula to London). That is what I have outlined for a basic itinerary. I'm choosing to spend 4 nights in Dubrovnik as I want to take a day trip to Mostar, the first day will be recovering from the 18hr of travel and figure it can be spent exploring some and relaxing. But I'm wondering if 3 nights is too many for Split if I spend time on the islands before I get to split. My idea was to wait and get a car rental in Split, but I read that some of the islands you might want or need a car. Any advice here is much appreciated.

The second part of this question is things to do with my Son, the one and only thing on his list is renting a bike, he would like to do some mountain biking ( Mom is a novice). Is there a good place either on my list or maybe somewhere else to consider for biking? I figure seeing some caves, kayaking, and beach time could all be factored in. This will be my Son's first trip overseas and so I really want him to experience the culture, but without boring him too much. All ideas welcome!

Lastly, if you have other suggestions on places to go instead of what I'm thinking I'm all open to ideas. Thanks!

Posted by
6113 posts

I would take a night off Split and add it to the islands, which would give you 6 days for islands. I would then opt for 2 not 3 islands, rather than wasting time in transfer as the scenery isn’t that different. If you opt for Hvar, stay in Stari Grad, Vrboska or Jelsa rather than Hvar town, as these places offer much better value and won’t be overrun with party goers.

June can be very hot for cycling. There are bike hire shops, but I am not sure if they are mountain bikes or just regular bikes.

The only place I have seen kayaking is in Omis on the mainland.

I always hire a car at Split airport when I holiday on Hvar, but I just spend 2-3 weeks there and don’t island hop.

Posted by
151 posts

Wait until you get to Rovinj for cycling, the area is mostly flat but you can get off-road if you want. There is a good choice of hire bikes available.

Posted by
1700 posts

Does your son like nature? I assume he is active since he likes bike riding. So I think you should keep the 3 nights in Split and this way you could do a day trip to Krka National Park. I like the idea of visiting 2 islands instead of 3 so that you aren’t wasting time traveling. You will get your beach time on the islands. There is also swimming in Dubrovnik. And you will both get a lot of exercise walking the walls in Dubrovnik. I think there is also hiking on Lokrum Island, which is an easy day trip from Dubrovnik. Normally, I would suggest 3 nights is enough for Dubrovnik, including your day trip to Mostar, but If your son is active and likes the outdoors, then Lokrum Island might be a good idea.

We visited Hvar for a day so we didn’t need a car. I’m not really sure if you need a car or not on the islands. Hopefully there are others on this forum who can help you with that.

If you haven’t already done so, I recommend purchasing some good guidebooks, such as Michelin’s Green Guide, Rough Guide, and/or Lonely Planet.