Help with 10-day itinerary, Dubrovnik / Split / Hvar

What are your interests? What do you like to do? Korcula would make a great insertion into your itinerary. You could also add time to Split and Hvar. It should still be warm and great for swimming, hiking, boat trips. There are vineyards and of course the minor sites that you can find--small villages, churches, etc. See the wall at Ston and eat mussels, near Korcula on the Peljesac peninsula.

I would add at least one more night to Split and perhaps two nights to Split, so a total of 2 or 3 nights in Split. One night only gives you a half day on arrival day and a half day on departure day. We loved exploring Old Town and Diocletian's Palace. We hired Maya Benzon, recommended by Rick for a 2-hour private guided tour of Old Town and Diocletian's Palace. Well worth it.

You could also visit Trogir from Split. And Split has some interesting museums such as the Ethnographic Museum. It is a lovely city with its location on the Adriatic and its beautiful architecture. There's also a large outdoor market. You can have a drink on the Riva and admire the scenery and people watch.

And with the extra night you could perhaps stay in Mostar. I think including Sarajevo is just too much moving around.

Or, instead of Mostar, spend a night in Korcula, as valadelphia recommends. Since you have to take the ferry from Split to Hvar, then you could continue on to Korcula, and then to Cavtat.

Another thought, since you were initially interested in Bosnia. Maybe Sarajevo would be too much, but if you keep Mostar, you could make use of a car in the Hercegovina area--I have not been but bookmarked the tourism page for when I return to the area:
https://www.tourismbih.com/
There are waterfalls and some interesting sounding sites.
Near Split, another place less outdoors focused than my initial response would be the cathedral in Sibenik.

Thank you! Such great advice. I was just looking at Sibenik and have read that you can visit Sibenik and Trogir in one day. Now I'm thinking 3 nights Dubrovnik. Rent a car for one night in Mostar. Drive to Split for three nights. Do a driving day trip from Split to Sibenik and Trogir. Dump the rental car and spend the other day touring Split. / Ferry to Hvar for 2 nights / Ferry to Dubrovnik and transfer to Cavat for the final day/night before our departure flight the next day.

We don't mind a beach day, but are more into culture and exploring new areas.

Am I missing anything big?

I was just looking at Sibenik and have read that you can visit Sibenik
and Trogir in one day. Now I'm thinking 3 nights Dubrovnik. Rent a car
for one night in Mostar. Drive to Split for three nights. Do a driving
day trip from Split to Sibenik and Trogir. Dump the rental car and
spend the other day touring Split. / Ferry to Hvar for 2 nights /
Ferry to Dubrovnik and transfer to Cavat for the final day/night
before our departure flight the next day.

That sounds pretty great. I am more of a nature nut, but you might check for places you can stop while you have the car--the Roman ruins of Solana are outside Split so maybe you can stop on the way into town. Also nearby is the fortress of Klis. En route to Mostar, the monastery at Blagaj was one thing I had noted. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/blagajs-dervish-monastery
Near Sibenik, Primosten is a pretty little place.
You might compare Korcula with Hvar since it sounds like you are interested in cultural experiences, but both islands are really great.

Thank you. I really appreciate your help.

You're welcome--it's a beautiful country, can't wait to get back again for trip #5!

All good suggestions. We hired a driver for a day trip to Montenegro from Dubrovnik and Did day trip to Krka National Park from Split. Both totally worth it

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll check it out.

Plitvice lakes are very beautiful but it's quite far from Dubrovnik, even from Split it's about 2h30. So maybe not ideal. Krka is also a beautiful national park and closer to Split.

I would atleast spend 2 nights in Split. It was our favourite city in Croatia. Keep in mind that Split is a lot bigger than Dubrovnik. The old town of Dubrovnik is beautiful but it's pretty small. We spend 3 nights there and 2 would have been enough in my opinion.

I would certainly cross the border to Montenegro and use those 3 nights to discover the Kotor bay. It is so beautiful you should definitely check it out. Herceg novi, Perast and Kotor are must sees. If you like something posh and big yachts check out Porto Montenegro.

This will make some people wonder, but I've been to Plitvice lakes and for me it was an over tourist populated yawner. But I admit I am not common in my travel interests. I just prefer being in a culture more than an attraction. I have also been to Jajce and Travnik and Sarajevo (but oddly not Mostar) and a rather large and beautiful mountain lake (full of rather large and beautiful trout --- and tasty) whose name escapes me at present and an number of places in-between. One of the beauties of BiH is that it is a beauty and the tourists haven't found it to a large degree yet. But hurry because I would bet that its on the list of places to go "bad" if the world continues on its current course.

For my odd taste in travel, there are few places I enjoyed more than BiH. I would go back in a heartbeat. Fishing was quite excellent too. Some good pictures advice here: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-bosnia-herzegovina/

And now for a plug that a few must be thinking I give all too often. But she has planned some good trips in the Balkans for myself and a few acquaintances. For simple planning services to full fledged guided tours. For BiH I would opt for a tour as being to ask questions gives a lot of context to what you will see. Not just ancient history, but the history of the last 30 years.

Dijana Krkotic
Executive director
Doclea Travel
Address: Bulevar Sv. Petra
Cetinjskog br. 79
81 000 Podgorica
Phone: +382 20 675 197
Mob: +382 69 277 749
E-mail:dijana@docleatravel.com

Oh, and you asked about Montenegro. She can do that too.

After Dubrovnik I think Kotor will be a bit disappointing but if you do go, see if you can identify what they have in common in small detail ... then ask yourself why). But the drive along Kotor bay with stops in Herceg Novi and Perast is amazing and worth every moment. Start early and maybe stop in Kotor for a quick snack, but take the time to drive up the P1 road to Restoran Zora and see the prosciutto hanging (and eat it). Along the way into Montenegro there is an olive oil producer that will give you the tour and instruction on how to grade and appreciate it; and a nice winery too.......

You already have your flights and that is great, but if you can change them, flying out of Sarajevo (if you go to BiH) or Podgorica (if you go to Montenegro) gives you a lot more time and no back tracking. Heck, you have worked hard all your life, add a week to the trip and fly back from Budapest (maybe $100 with a fully Monty ticket on Wizz Air and takes about 90 minutes). and if I am there, I buy the first glass of wine.

AND (sorry, this is a part of the world I love and return to from time to time), and, for not much more than the cost of Croatian car rental, pretty sure you can still hire a driver or even a guide with a car to get your from Montenegro.

Thank you for the info Mister E. Is it difficult to find parking in the towns along the Montenegro Bay? I'm wondering if we should do this as a day trip from Dubrovnik or whether we should spend one less night in Dubrovnik and rent a car and do this trip on our own with an overnight in Herceg Novi or Perast. We would continue on from the Montenegro area to Mostar before heading to Split.

Thank you for the info Mister E. Is it difficult to find parking in the towns along the Montenegro Bay? I'm wondering if we should do this as a day trip from Dubrovnik or whether we should spend one less night in Dubrovnik and rent a car and do this trip on our own with an overnight in Herceg Novi or Perast. We would continue on from the Montenegro area to Mostar before heading to Split.

A lot of Herceg Novi is pedestrian so you will have to find a place to park and walk.
Last time I was in Perast, about 18 months ago, we had to park at the outskirts and ride a golf cart in.
Kotor has parking outside the gate to the old town.

If you wanted to spend the night, my pick would be Perast. i first stayed here about 10 years ago, and liked it enough where I keep returning to it. Love the restaurant in front on the edge of the bay too. But there are a number of very nice places to stay. https://hotelconte.me/

Rent a car if that makes you most comfortable, but other than getting from point A to point B it won't serve a lot of purpose. This really is a good trip for a driver and a better trip with a guide; and Montenegro guides are cheap and will get you in Dubrovnik; and return you to the airport if that's what you want.

One of my favorite little facts: Montenegro is not in the EuroZone. The currency in Montenegro is the ..... well ..... the Euro, They basically said, we are going to use it whether you like it or not and the EU just sort of kept their mouth shut.

But another troubled country thanks to outside influences; and a country with the possibility of something really ugly happening some day. But my G-d its beautiful. Look up Ostrog Monastery and the cafe at the Hotel Sokoline. The food is good, but all you will remember is the view. You can cover a lot of it in a few days with planning and transportation.

Dump the car and gain additional perspective via travel of ancient times using ferries to sail on the Dalmatian coast. EZ, inexpensive, less hassle and leave the driving to the captain.

You don't need a driver nor a guide for the Kotor area. It's very easy to drive, you only have one main road.
Herceg novi: you can park next to the main road on a parking for 1 euro. Then you can walk downwards to the city centre.
Perast: there are parkings at both sides of the village.
Kotor: has quite a lot of parking just out of the city centre.