We are planning to do a one week catamaran charter out of Split and I am working on plans for independent travel before and after the charter to maximize exploration of coastal Croatia. Our total trip will be about 15 days, but the amount of time before and after the 7 day charter are completely flexible.
My plan right now is to fly into Venice, shuttle to Trieste, Italy (stay overnight)
In the morning take the high speed ferry from Trieste down to Rovinj (We enjoy seeing an area from the water perspective) stay a night or two in Rovinj.
From there we would drive to Sibenik to stay over a night or two.
Drive to Trogir to stay for another couple of days, visiting Primosten on the way.
Do the charter trip of the islands.
Return to Split to spend a night or two. (We have been to Split before and love it)
From Split do the scenic coastal drive south to Dubrovnik for a day or two to end the trip. (We have been to Dubrovnik before but only for the day.)
I realize that Sibenik, Trogir and Split are in close proximity but I think that sometimes you lose some of the magic if you don’t stay in a town overnight and experience it after the day tourists go home.
We prefer the medieval cities with old towns, pretty scenery and good food.
As well, we have been to Krka national park but are open to ideas to visit others if they are easily accessible..
My questions…
Are these the right towns to visit and stay in? And how long should we allot to each place?
Do the pros outweigh the cons to rent a car? Sometimes the angst of navigating and finding parking isn’t worth it and using a combination of car service/taxi/Uber is actually more care free.
My husband’s impression was that Rovinj and Sibenik looked very similar so it would be redundant. Is that the case?
Any suggestions for other places to visit or an alternate route?