Four of us will be traveling mid September to Croatia for the first time. We fly into Venice (as a bonus destination) , spending 2 nights there since we arrive late at 7 p.m. We looked at taking the ferry over to Croatia but the schedule was restrictive. We are leaning towards taking GoOpti in the morning over to Rijeka to pick up a rental car. We fly out of Dubrovnik. We have 11 nights total and would appreciate advice on fine tuning our itinerary.
Once in Croatia, we know we want to see/do:
- Plitvice Lakes Park,
- Krka National Park,
- walled cities,
- Diocletian’s Palace,
- beach time/sea kayaking/gorgeous Adriatic water
- Wine tasting
- Local culture
- Great seafood
We are thinking we will only need the car for the first part of the trip, but welcome thoughts on this. We have read a car is not helpful once you get on the islands and certainly not in Dubrovnik.
We like water and the islands definitely are a draw. We want to make sure to allow time in the itinerary to relax and enjoy the culture and country. In addition to the 2 nights in Venice, were thinking of 1 night near Plitvice Lakes Park the night before visiting, 2 nights in Split, 2 nights on Hvar, 2 nights on Korkula and 2 nights in Dubrovnik. Recently we read that Hvar is expensive and more of a party destination. We want to be wise with our expenditures and are not into partying, so are considering dropping Hvar.
Thoughts on the best places to visit/stay? Did we miss an important island? What changes would you suggest to the itinerary?
Lastly, our flight out from Dubrovnik is at 9 a.m. Should we stay that last night somewhere closer to the airport or is it easy enough to get from the city center to the airport?
Thank you all for your input. I’m so grateful to have found this travel community. The various questions/replies are so very helpful.