Itinerary for Croatia/Slovenia

I have a hard time picturing a visit to Plitvice that does not include an overnight given the drive time from Split.
Perhaps you could rent a car in Split, use it for Plitvice and Istria and then drop in Zagreb (or possibly somewhere in Istria), bus to Ljubljana. That may not be the perfect solution in a tight timeline but something like that could be the solution.

Just completed a couple weeks in Slovenia & Croatia.

Stopped in Trogir for lunch. Trogir is worth visiting, but it’s tiny— about 1,600 feet by 800 feet. For me, it would be difficult to spend more than a few hours there. Not only that—but it’s quite expensive compared to Split and Zagreb.

I would highly recommend substituting in two nights in Split and one night at Plitvice Lakes NP for the three you have in Trogir. From Diocletian’s Palace, you can catch bus #37 nearby to Trogir and be there in about 30 minutes. See it as a daytrip from Split.

From Plitvice Lakes NP to Zagreb is 2:15 hours by bus. Then 2:15 hours by bus or train to Ljubljana. Then 1:15 by bus/train from Ljubljana to Lake Bled. To get to Bled by public transit from Plitvice Lakes NP basically requires going through Zagreb and then Ljubljana.

Have you considered Lake Bohinj? Lake Bohinj is actually inside Triglav National Park— which Lake Bled is not. Bohinj is far less touristed and is less expensive. Lake Bohinj is just 45 minutes beyond Lake Bled. Ribcev Laz is a good base town for Lake Bohinj.

Rovinj is the outlier in your plan and is going to be a substantial time sink from your route. We skipped it for that reason.

I would also suggest a night in Plitvice and take a day from Rovinj. We have visited 107 countries, and Plitvice is in our top 10 experiences. You WANT to go and thoroughly enjoy it.

We stayed one night in Rovinj, one night in Ljubliana, and 3 nights in Lake Bled. Spectacular area for scenery and hiking!
We are sorry that we missed the Julian Alps....

We rented a car for our two week journey through Slovenia and Croatia.

Sounds like you have about 11 nights total? I wouldnt burn one night at Plitvice either. You are going in April, not exactly the high season so that should help on the crowds. They now have timed tickets I believe and they limit the number that go in; all that should be helping a little. There is a trip report from a few weeks ago where the OP went to Plitvice late morning and everything worked out fine. That was in August I believe. I went once in early July late morning and I also had no trouble with crowds, but I paid for a driver, got an early start out of Zagreb and got dropped off at the gate about 10:30 .... had all wanted in about 3 hours and exit stage left to a waiting car to Split.

By the way, I am in the minority position on this.

I agree that you should stay in Split 2 nights, then rent a car to drive to Plitvice, spending the night and hiking the next morning. You could stop at Trogir for a few hours along the way----we didn't think Trogir was worth the hassle of traffic and parking. You'd need a car in Istria anyway unless you plan to pay for tours to drive you around. Rovinj itself (IMO) doesn't have much to see or do. Then you could drive to Slovenia and base yourself near Lake Bohinj. We loved staying in Radovlijica and just took the train into Llubliana for a day trip. We only spent an hour at Lake Bled but loved hiking other areas nearby. If you pick up a rental car in Split, you should return it in Zagreb.

Thanks for all your assistance thus far. Here is the updated itinerary, but I still need help with the last leg of the trip.

Flight booked to Dubrovnik 4/27/26 - stay 3 nights in Dubrovnik with a day trip to Mostar (hotel booked)
Ferry to Korcula for 2 nights (hotel booked)
Ferry to Split for 3 nights (hotel booked)
Pick up rental car when leaving Split and drive to Plitvice Lakes 1 night (hotel booked)

Then the tricky part: the easiest would be to forgo Istria and drive to Zagreb for 2 nights, turn in car and take the train or bus to Ljubliana for 3 nights, see Lake Bled as a day trip then fly home.

I'd love to see Istria, but not sure how the rental car would work, where could we return it before heading to Ljubliana?

Any ideas would be great!

If you want to drive all the way from Plitvice Lakes NP just to see Rovinj (3.5 hrs) you could return the car to the airport in Pula (1-hr.) and then go to Zagreb by bus (4 hrs).
The tortuous routing just to see Rovinj is why we skipped it.
If you really want to see a Venetian coastal town ( which is all Rovinj is) you can just go to PIRAN in Slovenia. Piran— like Rovinj— is also highly recommended by Rick Steves. Piran is a 90-minute drive from Ljubljana, or a two-hour bus trip. The ŠKOCJAN CAVES, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are also directly on the way to Piran from Ljubljana and are spectacular.

Have a great trip!

If you find that the rental car is starting to dictate your trip, then consider hiring transfers. There was a time this was cheap in Croatia but I am not sure anything is cheap in Croatia any longer. But still worth at least pricing it out and making the comparison. I always check the options and each trip I do something different. One advantage sometimes is with the right driver they know places inbetween you never heard of and you might get the opportunity to do more exploring than if you drove yourself. And those 6 hour a day drives arent so bad when someone else is doing the driving. Its how I went from Zagreb to Plitvice and Split in one day. With a few stops in great little villages the driver knew about. I know one source for finding a driver if any of this interests you.

Mr E,
Yes I would like the name of a driver if you have one. Thank you!

Sorry, today it got to travel. I go to the Balkans twice a year and I found someone who has become my go to person for transfers and great places to visit and things to do that are not yet on the tourist radars.

There is no right or wrong on this but never hurts to explore options.

Dijana Krkotic
Doclea Travel
+39 389 765 5935 (phone or WhatsApp)
[email protected]
www.docleatravel.com