If you could only pick one…

Hm Lumbarda maybe...? Take a look

Well, Korcula is the only island I spent time on, but I had an amazing experience there and recommend it without hesitation. It has everything you listed, and is very easy to arrange stuff on your own rather than through private services (though that’s available too.)

As much as I loved Split, if you’re not super into nightlife I think two nights is appropriate. Add another night to an island or Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik has a lot of good day trip options, along with kayaking, etc. An extra day there would not be a bad thing either.

Have you read up on each one, looked at pics? What is your priory? (sightseeing or beaches, etc.)
Do you have to take the car? It limits you to ferries only, whereas without a car you can use catamarans.
Starting from Dubrovnik and keeping the car, I would look at Korcula or Korcula and Lumbarda (much more quiet).
When you zoom in on Google Maps, you can see the ferry ports (dotted lines)--that might help you envision what is possible.
Jadrolinija operates ferries and catamarans. Krilo just catamarans.

I’d choose the island of Vis, and on a sunny day take a boat trip to the stunning blue cave at Bisevo.

Maybe 2 nights Split, 4 nights Vis, 4 nights Dubrovnik, with a day trip to Montenegro.

You’d drop off the car in Split. You could rent one for a day or two on Vis if you wanted. After Vis, return to Split on the ferry & take a bus to Dubrovnik. Maybe rent a car for a day or two in Dubrovnik to do day trips.

My top two would be Korcula and Brac. Both have a good variety of things to see and do, including great beaches, wineries and historical sites.

Hands down, my choice would be Korcula. Just to clarify, Lumbarda is located on the Island of Korcula, it is not a separate island. I would also take a day away from Split.

I’m LOVING this!!! Ok after these reports this is what I’m thinking:
2 nights Dubrovnik
3 nights Lumbarda- on Korcula (day trips to Mjlet and other islands
3 nights Vis (day trips to other islands)
2 nights Split
If anyone wants to tweak the rest of our trip please help! Remember we LOVE to hike or anything outdoors with a little sightseeing thrown in. Also hiking=eating more so we do care about having good restaurants around. Numbers=nights, not days.
2- Bay of Kotor
2- Mostar
2- Dubrovnik
3- Lumbarda
3- Vis
2- Split
3- Plitvice
3- Istria
3- Bohinj
3- Logarska Dolina

THANK YOU!!!

Interesting trip - a little different that the normal layout we see here. You’ll be seeing some amazing scenery!

Sounds great, what is the car situation? It is difficult to do cross border rentals, but you can do a lot of this easily by public transport.
We have rented scooters on Vis and Korcula. On Korcula, I'd do a car next time, if needed (it depends).

They are charging us $225 to drop it in Slovenia. For us it’s worth it to not hassle with dropping off one, taking public transportation to pick up another. We know we don’t need a car everywhere we are going but we do like having one on hand for flexibility.

I agree--you are all set then! (Some agencies charge much more so you are lucky.) If you share where you pick up the car, we can offer tips on your rote north, as not all islands have connections--sometimes you have to zigzag back and forth to the mainland.
2- Bay of Kotor
2- Mostar
2- Dubrovnik
3- Lumbarda
3- Vis
2- Split
3- Plitvice
3- Istria
3- Bohinj
3- Logarska Dolina

Outdoor suggestions: The path up above Kotor is a great hike. You are only in Dubrovnik a short time, but you can go over to Lokrum and swim. Lumbarda is great for bike riding through the vineyards. With a car or scooter, you can get to some amazing beaches. You often park along the road and trek down to them. Pupnatska Luka was one we enjoyed.
On Vis, they can show you how to get to the great beaches at the tourist office--like Stiniva. Scooter was the most fun ever here, on the bigger islands it can be a little hairy to be honest. They tried to talk us out of it in Korcula.
I'd probably just enjoy Split, but you can day trip to Brac or Hvar.
Plitvice is utterly amazing.
I have not been to Istria, but there is a converted rail trail in the interior and also Učka Nature Park, near Opatija/Lovran.
https://www.istra.hr/en/experience/sports-and-outdoor/trekking

We are picking up our car in Dubrovnik and dropping in Ljubljana.

You actually do not have that tricky of a route I realize now.
2- Dubrovnik -- pick up car, drive to Korcula ferry at Orebic
3- Lumbarda -- return to mainland the way you came and drive north to Split, then park car or take it to Vis via ferry.
OR, drive across Korcula to Vela Luka and take a car ferry to Split, then you could do your Vis/Split order in which way you wish (and according to ferry schedules)
3- Vis
2- Split

Be sure to make sure you are looking at car ferry schedules on the Jadrolinija website, as they also run catamarans on these routes.

Aly, we are in the early stages of planning our trip to Dubrovnik and the islands; we are also avid hikers. What hikes are you looking forward to the most? If you are willing to share any of the hiking information you have found, I would love some inspiration for my research. Thanks!

I actually haven’t marked any specific hikes yet but I do have an All Trails account that works excellent all over the world. I used it extensively last spring in the south of France and loved it! When it gets closer I’ll start marking some but I actually leave for Scotland tomorrow and have been doing research on hikes there! When I get back I will start looking more into Croatia!

Jesse, there is a book by Cicerone that describes some hikes. You can find it on Amazon.