Dubrovnik or Malta for 3 days late April 2022?

Why not fly to Cappadocia in Turkey? It has a landscape that looks like you're on another planet, there
are centuries-old underground cities you can tour, and great hiking ( google "Goreme Outdoor Museum").
You can fly in an hour to either Nevsehir or Kayserei Airport from Istanbul for hundreds of dollars less than
Malta or Croatia.

Yes, 3-4 full days is too much for Dubrovnik (just the old city) and not enough for Malta (unless you only see Valetta and you enjoy all the museums and attrctions there)....BUT, if you pair Dubrovnik with a side trip to Montanegro, then it's perfect.

If it were me, I would probably do a Princes Islands side trip from Istanbul or see Bursa. I would just stay in Turkey, and even see more of Istanbul.

I agree with the above posts about staying in Turkey.

Create a post on the Turkey forum asking for help on defining a three day after your stay in Istanbul. Believe you will be pleasantly amazed at how many additional layers to discovering Turkey exists for your travel enjoyment.

Thanks for the replies. We have been to Cappadocia and many other parts of Turkey. It’s all beautiful! We have an airline deal that makes it very worth going to a nearby country.
Does anyone think it makes sense to do Dubrovnik and Split?
Agnes, you mentioned Dubrovnik and Montenegro. Where in Montenegro? How would we get from Dubrovnik to Montenegro?

The Bay of Kotor in Montenegro would make a nice excursion and you can take a shuttle to get there.

If the flights work, I would head to Malta. Sticking to as few countries as possible is advisable at present and therefore I wouldn’t combine Croatia with Montenegro. Malta is easy to get around by bus and 4 days would give you a flavour if its history and culture. Dubrovnik can be seen in 2 days.

I would do Croatia & Montenegro. Fly into the Dubrovnik airport, which is south of the city near a gorgeous little seaside village called Cavtat. Stay in Cavtat 3-4 nights. Spend one day in Dubrovnik (via bus or boat from Cavtat). Take a day trip to Montenegro via rental car or tour (Perast on the Bay of Kotor is gorgeous). And for your third day, you can relax and enjoy beautiful Cavtat or take a boat trip to three little nearby islands.