Itinerary for Croatia/Slovenia and Plitvice Park

Looks pretty good. I think you will find most people do recommend the night
in Plitvice as it helps with crowd avoidance.

One option might be to reduce time in Split to add a night in Ljubljana. But it
depends a bit on your arrival and departure times in each place. 2 nights can
be 2 half+ days and a full day, or it can be a full day if you arrive late and leave
early.

With just a quick glance, I would eliminate Rovinj and spread those days throughout your plan. There is nothing in particular shared that could not be accomplished by elsewhere.
End in Zagreb and take bus or train from there.

I was just in Rovijn this summer, and having been there I’m confident you could drop it and not notice the difference. It’s a big detour for a place that is basically a bigger, more resorty Korcula. Istria on the whole doesn’t make a lot of sense if you’re coming up from the Dalmatian Coast. Redistributing those nights is an easy upgrade on the whole itinerary.

First, you definitely want to keep that night in Plitvice to avoid the crowds and get the most out of it. It’s a bit early in the year for swimming. If you were going to Croatia with the intent to swim and relax, I’d add another night in Korcula. In April I might keep it at 2 nights. Adding a night to Dubrovnik and/or Ljubljana would be an easy win. Dubrovnik has a ton of options for day trips, activities and excursions, so 4 nights is not crazy. Ljubljana is one of my favorite places. I’ve stayed 7 night over two trips and hated leaving both times. Right now, 2 nights is not enough time imo.

Opinions on Split are divided. I enjoyed it quite a bit, though I think 2 nights is about right. I should note that Diocletian’s Palace sights sound like an afternoon of sightseeing, but are more like 20min. So again, if you’re not hitting the beaches you don’t necessarily need a ton of time here.

What is not on your itinerary, and would make a logical addition if you dropped Rovinj, is Zagreb. It’s a good waypoint between Plitvice and Ljubljana, you can drop the rental and proceed by bus there, and it’s a lovely underrated city to boot. You could pass through with a few hours of sightseeing, but I’d spend a night or two if possible. I’ll put it this way: while I’m not sure where I’d go on the coast again, I would absolutely make sure I have time in both Zagreb and Ljubljana on my next trip.

I've been to all the places on your itinerary except for Rovinj. I would definitely spend one night in Plitvice so that you can visit the park when it is hopefully the least crowded: late afternoon on arrival day, and first thing in the morning the next day.

I would keep the 3 nights in Split. This way you could visit Hvar for a day, or visit Trogir, and have some time for sightseeing in Split. Split has a wonderful location on the water, the Riva is beautiful, the architecture is beautiful, and wandering around Diocletians Palace is fun. Split is unique with the city built in and through the palace ruins. We hired Maya Benzon, who Rick recommends, for a 2-hour private guided tour of Old Town Split and the palace. We enjoyed the Ethnographic Museum.

Two nights in Ljubljana is fine if you want to keep the itinerary as is.

Because I have read that it takes a long time to travel to Rovinj, I would agree with the other posters who suggest dropping Rovinj and adding those nights to your other destinations, such as Ljubljana. And I like awrzesinski's suggestion of spending a night or two in Zagreb. We loved Zagreb. It's very different from Dubrovnik and Split. And it makes for a nice logical stop between Plitvice and Ljubljana. We took the train from Zagreb to Ljubljana. Very easy train ride, inexpensive, and about 2 hours long.

I have yet to read a review by a person who did a day trip to Plitvice that said they regretted it. I did a day trip, was fine. You are talking about April which is not exactly high season. If you go mid-week I suspect that will help. I arrived at 10:30 and stepped out of the transfer car and bought a ticket and walked in. But i only wanted about 3 hours of the place. If you want to walk for 6 hours i guess the number of people on the trails will increase by the end of your stay. How much? No one knows. If you drive yourself allow time to get lost, find parking, walk from parking, etc. You might look at package day tours. You buy for the transportation and the skip the line arrangements they have. Abandon the "tour" if you like. Now hire a transfer for the onward journey. Or the bus.

Mr E obviously hasn't read my comments on Plitvice. After I returned from my 2015 trip, during which I daytripped to Plitvice from Zagreb, I started warning people about midday conditions in the park and told people I didn't recommend it as a day trip from Zagreb (or Split).

I've been to Plitvice three times; the first two times it was in Yugoslavia and under-visited. I've experienced the park under both very good and dreadful conditions. There's a world of difference.

I don't know how much lighter visitor levels will be at the end of April (early May?) than they were for me in mid-summer 2015. I agree that a mid-week visit might help. Quite a lot of the people in line with me (for a full hour) in 2015 seemed to be speaking Serbo-Croatian.

Thank you all for your input. Using your suggestions, I made the following changes:
I added a night to Dubrovnik, took a night from Split and canceled Rovinj that leaves 5 nights. Will drop the car in Zagreb. Trying to decide if we should spend a night in Zagreb, if so do you have any suggestions for lodging? Also, do you suggest renting a car in Slovenia?

4 nights Dubrovnik
2 nights Korcula
2 nights Split
1 night Plitivice Lakes (rent car in Split)
? Zagreb (return car in Zagreb driving back from Plitvice
? nights Ljubljana (travel from zagreb Flixbus)

For Zagreb, I can recommend the Hotel Jagerhorn. Very centrally located near the main square. Delicious breakfast. And they have a nice courtyard where you can have breakfast.

We took the train from Zagreb to Ljubljana.

We rented a car for a day while in Ljubljana so that we could drive over the mountains to Lake Bled.

Your new itinerary is very close to what my first trip was. I had zero regrets, this is real solid. I would absolutely stay a night in Zagreb, and two would not be crazy. I think it has a full day of sightseeing in it. 4 nights in Ljubljana is also not crazy, and makes a day trip to Bled or elsewhere an easy call. This is kind of a coin toss imo. Renting a car in Slovenia is not a necessity, but if you are interested in seeing one of the caves would be convenient. There’s also good small group tour companies running out of Ljubljana that can do this for you at a reasonable price (see Slovenia Explorer.)

In Zagreb, Hotel Jagerhorn is a nice choice. Superb location and helpful, friendly staff. I’d stick with Flixbus to Ljubljana. The train is not an upgrade and took longer in my experience. The bus station is a quick tram ride from Jelevic square and costs like a nickel. The station itself is easy to understand. Both drop you at Ljubljana’s train station. Had good experiences with multiple rides on Flixbus.

Have you decided what you will do with 4 nights in Dubrovnik?

Mr E, we have a daytrip to Mostar reserved and a Dubrovnik walking tour. Thoughts?

Excellent ideas. Bodnia & Herzegovina (BiH) still has a lot of unspoiled places between the great sights. See if the Mostar trip stops at the Blagaj Tekija Monastery and the Kravica Waterfalls (bring a swim suit). Its a long day with stops but hard not to do at least a drive by. Spend the night in Mostar even. Then it works great. You have enough time in Dubrovnik. For many, done right, this can be the crown of the trip.

https://youtu.be/3i_9oniJtZU?si=U_Eyg9wcySmMmNmx.

https://youtu.be/vZ-OD5Jd-f0?si=mBdRVIsrbcSdnpyR.

Either a tour or a guide. Yes, the guide isn't cheap but this trip is worth it. And cheaper if you hire a guide out of Bosnia & Herzegovina and I might have a suggestion for that. I did these last Spring but I did them on the way to Sarajevo from a place I was fishing in BiH. I know a very good guide for personal walking tours in Dubrovnik too. I've been in Croatia and BiH several times, wonderful trip.

Our itinerary is in reverse but it may help you. We start in Ljubljana for 3 nights, then take a 2 hour Flixbus to Zagreb for one night. From there we are taking a 1 day tour that brings us to Plitvice Lakes for several hours of walking/hiking and another vehicle picks us up and takes us to Split. It's a very long day but it relieves us from renting a car. After 2 nights in Split, it's off to Hvar, and then to Dubrovnik and hopefully a 1 day tour in Montenegro. By the way, we booked a 1 day Viator tour in Ljubljana that takes us to the caves, castle and Lake Bled. It's a long day but there were we were happy with the itinerary and seeing it in 1 day. Happy travels.

Mr E, we have a day trip to Mostar reserved and a Dubrovnik walking
tour. Thoughts?

quinmj, As interesting to me as Mostar were the stops on the way. One at Kravica Waterfall because it just seemed more of a local thing. Sort of like a day at the lake in the US. And you can swim 😉 Then the stop at the Blagaj Tekke Dervish Monastery also felt to be more “real” than Mostar; and the setting was beautiful. Either makes a good stop for snack. Trying to do both on a day trip might be a bit much, but one or the other would be worth the investment. Mostar is also very fascinating.

Teri, I like your plan. I will be yelled at again for saying this, but unless I had unlimited time and money on my trip spending a night at Plitvice just isn’t something that interests me. But then 3 hours of walking was enough for me. For those that want to spend 8 hours, maybe its different. I did it as a day trip and it was just perfect. Pretty much like your plan. Get dropped off at the gate and get picked up after. I read the reviews on Viator for two of the more established day trip companies. Added up to 5,000 reviews. The ones that scored the trip as a 1 or 2 stars because of crowds I could count on one hand.

You said hopefully a tour to Montenegro. Depends on your activity level and interests. Above I mention Kravica waterfalls. At the end of a long trip I could be happy with a day at the lake. If I did take someone to Montenegro after Dubrovnik I think maybe I would go to Kotor, but only long enough to get on one boat trip for the afternoon. After Dubrovnik, Kotor is nice but not as nice. But the bay is full of amazing sights and it’s a nice change in travel pace.

To be clear, I am not suggesting one needs 8 hours (or even 6 hours) at Plitvice Lakes National Park. You can have a very nice visit in about 4 hours, though if you're using public transportation, it may be tricky to figure out what time you need to head for the exit near the bus stop. It's the timing of the visit I consider important; that's what argues for an overnight stay.

Photos of crowds at the park

The three most crowded photos in that gallery are approximately what I encountered 10-1/2 years ago (albeit in the summer).

I like Kotor more than Mr. E does. There are some interesting small churches and an art museum I enjoyed. It's a very atmospheric place if there's not a large cruise ship in port (a big "if", I admit).

I like Kotor more than Mr. E does.

No, I love Kotor, but on the question of what to do in conjuction with Dubrovnik on that special holiday when you may never return to the Balkans again; I choose differently. I think the varied experience of Bosnia is a better deal for a day trip after Croatia. Now, if you take 3 or 4 days, then Kotor it is, but Kotor on the way to more of Montenegro which in my humble opinion puts Croatia to shame on 3 out of 4 measurements (and loses on the fourth). As for Kotor, it looks like I will be back for trip 5 in June (oysters). I was working on that trip today.

As for Plitvice, I wouldnt go on a Saturday afternoon in July or August. April? Probalby a different situation. Mine was late July, wasnt bad. But a one-off experience is anecdotal thats why i read the reviews. Knowing which gate to go would help and having the tickets before you get there would help; both I am assuming will be covered by the tour. The tour, which if you are not taking back I dont see why you cant dump the tour once you are in the gate .... or maybe the guide adds some value. I also noticed on their website that the are limiting the number of tickets sold each hour. I think thats somehting only started since COVID. That might be helping. I sure wish we had some more RS types here that went during the day.

And I will throw out one more thought. If Plitvice is something that you find highly emotionally moving or interesting way beyond the normal interest. Then yes, sure, you really ought to do it at its absolute best and that means spending the night in one of their tourist hotels. If it is sort of on par with a what you expect and hope to see in Split ... then maybe not the night. Its all personal. There is no wrong.