Is this Croatia itinerary realistic?

What time do you land in Split the first day - 10am? 5pm? Makes a big difference, right?

Why can't you fly into Dubrovnik to start? That would save a lot of time, and you wouldn't need the rental car as long. You don't want a car in Dubrovnik anyway.

Why not overnight in Mostar vs. driving back to Dubrovnik then back up to Split?

Or...skip the car entirely. Fly into Dubrovnik, take a paid day trip/tour up to Mostar and back, take the catamaran from Dubrovnik to Hvar, Hvar to Split and then fly out?

It's "realistic" since it's possible, but most people would find it a rushed trip.

Thanks Andrew.

Answers:
Re: when we land.—We land spu at 1:35 pm

Re: Fly to Dubrovnik, not Split—i would much rather fly from naples directly into Dubrovnik. Unfortunately, all flights from naples to dubrovnik that day are either 8 hour affairs and/or get in to Dubrovnik around 9pm. Our travel day from Naples to split is less than 4 hrs, we land SPU at at 1:35 and ought to be in Dubrovnik by 5-6pm. And even having to drive those few hours—it’s daylight and we’re in-country and we’re exploring as soon as we hit the ground on our schedule.

Re: overnight in Mostar:—We could, at this point we’ve just discussed keeping it to a day trip, but totally open to changing our minds on that.

Re: ditching the car entirely—we like driving. We like the flexibility and mobility and all the abilities a car provides and affords. I dont mind paying for the convenience.

Re: realistic but rushing—this is the answer to my question—thank you.

You e been reading too many top 10 lists or something. 4 full days and you want to do Dubrovnik, Mostar, Hvar and Plitvice? And you’re flying into Split? This is really a crazy plan. You will not experience anything.

Perhaps you're right. Definitely crazy. I basically took this itinerary from Rick and swapped out Plitvice for Split. Granted 5 days and 5 nights may not be enough...

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/slovenia-croatia-itinerary

Doing something independently on a RS tour schedule isn’t very realistic and certainly very rushed. On a tour someone else is taking care of everything as opposed to things that can happen doing it on your own.

My point of view isn't going to be terribly popular.

I went to Plitvice at the tail end of COVID when Croatia was one of the few countries open; but tourism was definitely down. So luckily when I arrived about 10am the park was only moderately crowded. I left my luggage in the honor system luggage room (the honor was that when you got your bags after the hike, you didn’t take anyone else’s bag too.)

Let me tell you, rounding the corner on the path, seeing the first pool was amazing. Absolutely amazing. The second pool, a tad bit less amazing, the third yet a tiny, tiny, tiny bit less amazing and so on. I am going to guess from the stories here that what we experienced as far as the crowd goes it was something like what you would experience today if you showed up at 7:30 in the morning. The families of somewhat unruly children, dogs, selfie sticks, narrow board walks wasn’t the end of the world. After all each pond was ……… never mind. I am thrilled about the first hour, maybe two hours there. Glad for that much.

Split to the Plitvice lakes is about a 3 hour drive. So, for the pleasure of this you are going to spend 6 hours on the road. If you are into the beauty of the place and that outweighs the crowds, just how long do you think you will want to be hiking wood paved trails? For six hours on the road, better be at least 4 hours of pool after glorious pool after glorious pool.

There are two lovely 2 star hotels nearby. And for $125 to $175 a night we opted to pass on spending the night during the planning. That would have made them the second most expensive hotel for us on that trip in Croatia (the most expensive a 4star inside the walls of Dubrovnik).

Basically for your trip of 5 full days (and two half days), you are devoting the equivalent of a day and a half at Plitvice; more than what you have in Dubrovnik. And the cost of that excursion is probably 3 or 4 times more than the cost of any other day on your trip.

Everyone has their interests, G-d knows I am into some pretty offbeat things and spend the time and money to enjoy them to everyone’s dismay. So no judgment there. Just pointing out the time and circumstances that you may encounter.

My trip worked out pretty good. I flew into Zagreb (which for my offbeat personality was a wonderful city), then to Plitvice, then Split ( but I got to Split on a weekend when all the European trust fund brats were in town getting drunk and obnoxious so really did not enjoy it much), then on to Dubrovnik. My total in Croatia drive time was only about 2 hours more than a round trip from Split to Plitvice.

I also weighted the difference in cost between renting a car one way with drop off fees, my enjoyment of looking out the window in awe as opposed to worrying about driving and missing a turn and decided to hire a driver/guide for the trip. Actually 3 turned out to be cheaper (one for each leg of the trip). The savings on the cost of the Plitvice hotel pretty much paid for the cost of the driver on at least one leg of the trip.

I honestly think that for this trip Plitvice, whether or not you would enjoy it, doesn’t make a lot of sense since it is the opposite direction from everything else. I know the pull, but I think I would cut it - especially if you keep Mostar.

I might suggest:
9/5: land, get rental car, drive straight to Mostar (overnight Mostar)
9/6: spend most of the day in Mostar, drive to Dubrovnik and return the car (overnight Dubrovnik)
9/6: sightsee Dubrovnik (overnight Dubrovnik)
9/7: ferry to Hvar (overnight Hvar)
9/8: Sightsee Hvar (overnight Hvar)
9/9: ferry Split and sightsee Split (overnight Split)
9/10: fly out

If you truly need a park and a day trip from Split, consider Krka National Park. It’s closer.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it to the extent we stayed. But I am also happy it worked into the route to Split and Dubrovnik. Because for my interests and sources of enjoyment it would not have been worth a 6 hour drive side trip when there is so much to see and do on a limited schedule. I do enjoy Croatia, almost as much as Montenegro.

I wouldn't plan my trips based on Rick Steves' tours. They are typically only one and two night stays with an occasional 3-night stay. His staff plan these tours, and if something goes wrong, your tour guide can solve the problem on these fast paced tours. As an independent traveler, you have to depend on yourself. And you don't have a lot of time to solve any problems that arise because you are at your destination for a short amount of time Additionally, 1 night stays are not enjoyable; too fast paced; you don't see much. Some of the sites are drive bys. And too many 2-night stays are not enjoyable either.

The drive from Plitvice Lakes to Split is 3 hours. I don't see how you would have time to visit Plitvice in the morning, drive back to Split, and see Diocletian's Palace before you have to drive to the airport to catch your flight.