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Croatia Itinerary question

Posted by on

Thank you all! you've been a great help so far! (we are going to be in town for a total of 12 nights and 12 days (this is including the day we arrive but not the day we depart, arriving into Zagreb and out of Dubrovnik).

So 2 night in Zagreb > stop off in Rastoke to eat look around and eat > evening arrival Plitvice Lake > wake early to avoid crowds tour all day > head toward Split by way of Skradin or Sibenik (do we spend two nights in Plitvice area to sleep in the next day and take our time heading to one or both of these small towns and fit Zadar in there somewhere too? arriving late evening in Split? > Day 1 in Slit we tour the Palace, Riva and Marjan Hill > Day 2 boat to Trogir and explore > Day 3 Makaraska or just head to our next destination of an island and which island is best for a family of 5 to have some beach time and charm. Maybe two nights on an island (Hvar or Korcula?) > final destination Cavtat or Dubrovnik? Between the iland and Dubrovnik, we would have about 5 nights to divided between the locations, we fly out of Dubrovnik 12:30 PM on our final day.

Posted by
27104 posts

I think seeing Plitvice, Sibenik and Zadar and still getting to Split the same day would be a push, but I have never had a car at my disposal in Europe, so my advice is colored by experience with a lot of bus schedules. I know the distance you'd be driving wouldn't be all that long.

From my 2015 experience I'd say the estimated times posted on the Plitvice website for the various walking routes are conservative. I know I finished mine much earlier than I had expected, and the mid-day crowding in the park really slowed me down. On the other hand, I didn't take more than 3 or 4 pictures, and I wolfed down my yogurt in 5 minutes while sitting on a log. If you get into the park early and just snack out of a backpack as you walk around, I think there's an excellent chance you'll be out of the park by 1 PM, maybe earlier. Allow more time if there's a photographer in your group and you plan to take the longest route through the park.

I haven't been to Sibenik, but I know it has been recommended on this forum. I quite liked Zadar. It's popular but not overrun like Dubrovnik. On the other hand, it's not as spectacular as Dubrovnik. The medieval area is a peninsula onto which I am sure you cannot drive. I don't know how close you can park. In some cities it's easy to burn a fair amount of time finding parking and then walking from the parking spot to what you want to see. Zadar isn't a tiny place, so you might also be slowed by traffic on the way to the elusive parking spot. One of the sights in Zadar, the Monument to the Sun, can't really be appreciated until after sunset.

Maybe plan to spend that night in Sibenik? If you get in early you can see all you want of the town that day and get an early start to Split the next morning. If you are late arriving in Sibenik you can spend the morning--or part of the morning--there before driving on to Split. Of course, these options presume your Split lodgings will allow you to drop off your luggage if you arrive before check-in time; it wouldn't be a great idea to leave it in the car.

Posted by
6 posts

Zadar, Skradin, and Sibenik in one day would be too much. I recommend staying in Plitvice for two nights, and then explore two of these three. It's hard to say which of these places not to visit. I would go for Zadar and Sibenik. Both are amazing charming towns featuring UNESCO heritage sites.

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