Croatia in October

There was another post about visiting Croatian islands in October. I chrecked a couple of ferrys and it appeared that they scale way back about 10 October. With that limited research and not much else I suspect that 10 October might be the end date for a lot of Croatia. Dubrovnik is so popular that it might be an exception. I know a guide in Dubrovnik if you want to call her and discuss. Plitvice has a good website with your answers.

Are you planning to rent a car? Istria can be explored without one, but it will require more research. October is probably a popular time in Istria given truffle season. Let us know what you wanted to see in that region and we can provide inout on whether a week is adequate. I’d choose either Istria by car or the Plitvice-Split-Dubrovnik route, which I found easy by bus.

I did a similar trip last fall from Venice to Ljubljana to Zagreb to Split to Dubrovnik and would say you will need more than a week to visit all the places you have listed. Even allocating only a single day in Venice, followed by a six-hour bus transfer from Venice to Zagreb, you will already be on day 3 if you plan to spend a full day in Zagreb with your son. That leaves you with only three to four remaining days, depending on when your return flight is planned. A trip at such a breakneck pace is not likely to be very enjoyable.

My advice is to reconsider the itinerary and either add time to the trip or cut the number of destinations.

There might be a big difference between mid to late September and mid-October. Since you want to see Plitvice do it enroute to Split, do 2 nights in Split and you will need 2 nights at a minimum in Dubrovnik. Private transfers would be best if you can afford it. I know one if you are interested. But do a lot of research on whats open for your dates in October before you do any worry about planning and time.

October is a great time to visit northern Croatia but if you only have a week that is very rushed. Croatian islands frequented by Americans will be shutting down but you are not planning to visit those places. Istra is the most touristed county in Croatia in October and Split and Dubrovnik may be visited year round. If you want to visit Plitvice that is best done with a car especially in October which is the start of shoulder season.

That plan is far too much for a week though. Venice to Zagreb bus is also a long day, it is kind of difficult to get from Venice to Zagreb really. Zagreb also has a bit to do and you may want more than a day there.

I think you have a few options.

You could fly to Zagreb and then rent a car and drive to Venice via Plitvice and Istria, you could easily do this in a week, and fly out of Venice. One way rental car option may be expensive though.

You could do Zagreb to Istra and return so two nights Zagreb, one night Plitvice, three nights Istra and then drive back to Zagreb for a night.

A simple itinerary would be two nights Zagreb, one night Plitvice, two nights Split, two nights Dubrovnik. This might be fine for you but to me it is a bit basic with lots of driving, there are lots of highlights along the way which you miss.

You could also do three nights Zagreb with a day trip to Plitvice and four nights Dubrovnik region, flying Zagreb to Dubrovnik, with two nights in Montenegro. That might not be so bad but Montenegro is also more seasonal than Dubrovnik.

Another option is to plan day trips from Zagreb with a possible night in Plitvice. From Zagreb you can see Trakošćan castle and Varaždin in a day, Ljubljana/Lake Bled in Slovenia, Celje and Sava/Savinja river valley in Slovenia, Graz in Austria, Rijeka/Opatija, Plitvice, maybe Plešivica wine region. If you do not mind a day of driving you can even be in Italian Alps for lunch, see the northern part of Triglavski park in Slovenia, and be back in Zagreb for dinner. Balaton in Hungary is possible as well but I do not think it is as nice as the other places listed. Then you could fly to Dubrovnik and spend two or three nights there and fly out. This would also provide flexibility if October is rainy.

Do not stress too much, you will not go wrong, none of these places should be avoided in October.

Two weeks with all these targets would be tight. With one week you definitely need to narrow down. Zagreb-Plitvice-Split is a solid spine, I’d work off that. Split is a city with actual sights, so you’re not weather dependent.

Istria should be right out. It’s an outlier on most itineraries. I’d also skip Dubrovnik this time, also just too much of an outlier. Or if you did, I’d fly there right from Zagreb.

I’d also say VENICE is actually a big outlier too. A day here can be fun and all, but logistically costly. If nothing else, I’d get a cheap flight from there to Zagreb versus taking a bus.

Another alternative: Venice bus to Ljubljana, can your son meet you in Ljubljana? Then onward to Zagreb. It’s a shorter bus ride from Venice, it’s a great town, and bus between there and Zagreb is very cheap and easy.

I do not agree with some of that. I would not exclude Istria, it is most visited county in Croatia in October. I would also not fly from Venice to Zagreb over taking the bus. It is neither cost nor time effective as there are no direct flights. The direct bus Venice to Zagreb also goes via Ljubljana so there is no need to stop there if you are trying to get to Zagreb.

Is also check the ferry from Venice to Istria (Venezialines is the one I know of). You could meeting your son in Istria and spend the week, then end in Zagreb.

Venezia lines do not have a live schedule right now. I am not sure if they are operating. Adriatic lines however offer ferries until 13. October to Poreč every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and limited schedule to Rovinj on three days in October, so the ferry could be an option from Venice if timing works.

Thank you all! I really appreciate the responses and this is the type of advice I was looking for. My big takeaway is that the itinerary was a bit too ambitious and should be pared down. That I can work on! I did not plan on renting a car, but instead planned on taking buses from place to place and enjoy the views along the way.

A weather question: is October typically a rainy month in Croatia? Not a deal-breaker by any means, just good to know when planning. I've been reading the Croatia & Slovenia guide book which has been quite helpful.

To be more specific, the dates I am looking at would be October 9-18 with the 9th and 18th dedicated to airplane travel. Would Dubrovnik be mostly shut down by the end of that week anyway?

Dubrovnik does not shut down; it is not a small village. October is one of the few months I’d want to go there myself, as I imagine summer is pretty unbearable. Split is much larger so no concern there either. And Plitvice gets so crowded, October is likely to be a fine time to visit there as well. I like the website Wunderground for checking weather stats. Your guidebook may have that info as well, in a general sense.

For rain. Visit a weather source on line.
For whats open in Dubrovnik, ask a local guide.. I offered one you could contact.

For Plitvice go to the official website.
For transportstion, a bus is cheap but takes a lot of time and you will still need local transportation to and from bus stops. Research that. A rental car will be over $1000 with the drop fee and gas and parking. Private transfers with a guide and stops along the way from Zageb to Plitvice to Dubrovnik my wild guess is less than the rental car. Again I have one reference but do research more.

October is one of the rainiest months in Croatia and it can be very rainy, but in general I would not say it is a bad month to visit especially if you can be flexible with your itinerary.

As mentioned Dubrovnik would not be shut down. It is possible some restaurants may not be open but even that would surprise me. You can see everything in one full day with Dubrovnik pass, so you only need two nights there, but you may want to do three with the weather. I would strongly recommend flying to Dubrovnik from Zagreb if you can. Flight is short and easy and the bus ride would be very long.

Plitvice in October may not be the best time to visit if upper lakes are closed for weather which is not impossible. I do not go to Plitvice anymore if upper lakes are closed, lower lakes are beautiful but to me it is not worth the journey. You can still do Plitvice as a day trip using Flixbus in October. I would rent a car even just for Plitvice for more flexibility though. That lets you stop at Rastoke and maybe the little castle in Karlovac.

Rental cars will not necessarily be over 1000 $, I booked one for a week for just over 200 € in season this year. You may be able to get good deals on rental cars in October as well.

If you are just taking the bus though then Ljubljana stop may be worth while. Only ferry from Venice to Poreč which makes sense is on the 10th which does not give you much time for Venice. One easy bus/flight itinerary would be with nights in: 9-10. Venice, 11. Ljubljana, 12-14. Zagreb with day trip to Plitvice, fly to Dubrovnik, then 15-17. Dubrovnik. If you find a day you could add it to Ljubljana and see Bled but that itinerary is pretty tight as it is.

You can also travel by train Ljubljana > Zagreb, the river valley is beautiful.