Croatia Itinerary Help - Split / Hvar / Dubrovnik

Stay within the old town walls. We’ve been to Dubrovnik over 6 times and only once did will stay outside, in Lapad. The convenience of just walking out the door and being in the city can’t be surpassed. We don’t find the prices inside the old town to be outrageous. We paid €294 for 3 nights at Bed&Breakfast Andio, off the Main Street, last October. Finding a parking spot near Dubrovnik’s old town is difficult and very expensive. Put that money towards your accommodations.
As to how many nights, we have never been to Hvar but we like to stay at least 3 nights at each destination. We don’t like moving around quickly. From Hvar you could take a day trip to Korcula.

Our recent itinerary was 5 nights in Dubrovnik. It looked like this:
Thursday: Arrive early afternoon flight to Dubrovnik; check into apartment that was about a 15 minute walk to Old Town; have dinner and stroll the Old Town

Friday: Day trip to Mostar with our private guide

Saturday: Explore Dubrovnik; Homeland War Museum etc.

Sunday: Day trip to Montenegro again with our guide

Monday: Another day in Dubrovnik; walked the walls etc.

Tuesday: Toured the Peljesac Wine Peninsula; wine tastings and lunch with our guide; ferry from Orebic to Korcula.
We felt this timeline provided us with more than enough time in Dubrovnik itself.

I can't speak to Hvar, because we chose Korcula instead, and it was a highlight of our time in Croatia.
After 3 nights in Korcula, (in an amazing apartment) we took a ferry to Split for 3 nights. We were not big fans of Split; it was our least favorite destination in Croatia.

Our 3 day guide in Croatia was Petar Vlasic, and he is absolutely fabulous! Professional, knowledgeable, personable and an excellent value for the services that he provides. Highly recommend him if that is something that appeals to you. https://www.dubrovnikrivieratours.com/category/tours/

I stayed in Hvar for a night on my own during the RS Adriatic tour, and I enjoyed it a lot! I would select the three nights in Hvar and five in Dubrovnik.

If you’re whole plan is open, I would give Split three nights, Hvar three nights, and Dubrovnik & day trips six nights.

Just for reference, during the RS tour, our Croatia places to sleep were in Motovun, Plitvice, Split, Korcula & Dubrovnik.

There’s no right or wrong answer to your questions. However, given the options you have chosen, I would say 3 nights Hvar & 5 nights Dubrovnik. And truthfully, I think the parameters of space needed and budget (neither of which we know about in your case) should determine whether or not you stay within the walls. I did, but that doesn’t mean you have to.

I would stay the three nights in Hvar. A decent percent of Dubrovnik’s allure is the water/swimming, and the islands like Hvar will offer a superior experience. Dubrovnik is kind of a weird place: Highly enjoyable but extremely touristy. Five nights will be plenty imo. You can really “see” everything there is to see within a day or two. Getting out of town for the day trips is a decent say to avoid some of the crowds.

Considering you’re taking two long day trips from Dubrovnik, you can make a better case for staying outside the city. That’s basically two days you’re not there. Personally, I had a great place inside the walls and though expensive I was glad to have it. Being able to pop in for a refresher, or have a quick swim before a change and a cocktail were huge add-ons for me.

Would reccomend to also think about staying outside the city.

It is very nice to be there, but Lapad also has its charm and it might be convinient to take day tours.

Apart from Hvar, maybe would consider Korčula (very authentic, great wine area, and you can do Hvar in a day tour

Kind regards