Itinerary on the works.... help please

Hey Johnston perhaps you can follow this 3 weeks Itinerary for CROATIA

"Arriving in ZAGREB very early and driving to Bled."

I suggest drive to Bled the next day. After a long cross Atlantic flight, you will need a good night sleep to start your road trip fresh the next day. Jet Lag can be an issue first day.

Day 1 Sleep in ZAGREB

Day 2, 3, & 4 Sleep in BLED

Day 5 & 6 Sleep in ROVINJ

Day 7 Sleep in PLITVICE

Day 8 & 9 Sleep in ZADAR

Day 10 & 11 Sleep in TROJIR

Day 12, 13 & 14 Sleep in SPLIT

Day 15 & 16 Sleep in HVAR

Day 17 & 18 Sleep in KOTOR

Day 19, 20 & 21 Sleep in DUBRONIK. Returning car as soon we arrive here

Thank you Jean!
Hmmm..... I see you’re leaving Bosnia out all together.... have you been to Bosnia and didn’t care for it?

Bosnia is ok but Croatia has so much to offer. There is a reason they called Dubrovnik the pearl of the Adriatic. The Croatian coast is comparable to the French Riviera.

I call Dubrovnik the DisneyLand of the Adriatic. Wall to Wall tourists, no locals at all living inside the walls, except those serving the tourists. Okay, to be truthful, i understand the permanent population inside the walls is 800. Beautiful??? Stunning place! (everyone needs a little Disney in their lives) The evenings were beautiful when everyone either returned to their ships or their rooms outside the walls. So, stay inside the walls. Also note that all of the storefronts are identical .... standardized renovation. And all the bright red roof are replacements after the shelling during the war. Those same building for the most part have reconstructed interiors (bombs went all the way through.... we met a gentleman who was there and described what happened). The sort of rustic red roofs are the original ones.... Dont get me wrong. Glad I went. Enjoyed it very much for what it was.

As for Kotor. Very "nice" place, but a disappointment after Dubrovnik. I would suggest going all the way to Budva or spending the night in Perast, see the islands, dine on the edge of the bay, relax and get emotionally ready for Dubrovnik.

Jean you definitely have a good point.

James I do not need Disney in my life..... what month did you go?
I would definitely will look at Budva and Perast I have a few days to play with and I’m looking for something to make it count.

Thank you Jean and James for your input :)

I was there in May. It's a beautiful place; but a lot of the "real" is long gone. Inside the walls exists for the sole purpose of entertaining tourists (very nearly at least). I'm glad I went. Enjoyed 2 nights there.

James,
And I thought May is not their high season! Well we’re book for 3 nights in Dubronik but staying about 10 min away from town in a beautiful Airb&b with ocean views and a beach to go swimming. So I will try my best to no suffer too much ;)

It's a beautiful town. Go inside the walls for dinner and walk the streets after the sun sets. Best part of our stay. The first day scope out some places to eat and see if you can make reservations as things get crowded and full.

Budva was less "spectacular" but more real. Best day there was hiring a boat for fishing off the coast. Then we carried the fish into town to a restaurant that cooked them.

Kotor did very little for me. But maybe I didn't give it the time it deserved.

Disney insinuates it is make believe, which Dubrovnik is not. It has a long and interesting history and if people actually took a historic walking tour or visited the museums, they would discover their story. In the same vain you could say Venice is the Disney of Italy. Dubrovnik is crowded for a reason, it is a unique, interesting, walled city with friendly people.

Venice is a Disneyland. Okay, it's all about what moves you. I spoke to a citizen who lived within the walls and he said the locals were down to less than 800. So the living culture within the walls is near dead. Then, as you walked through town did you notice that every first floor entrance and adjacent window was identical? Standardized renovation for tourism, so the street level architectural heritage is gone. What is left are the building interiors and as 2/3 were destroyed during the war then rebuilt as support for tourism, that not really worth the time. So what's left? The Ambiance! Its magnificent. And the layout of the town and roof tops from the top of the renovated and rebuilt city walls. Now if you love museums, this may all work for you. If you love Venice, it will definitely work for you. If you enjoy more those places where tourists dont out number the local population and where there is still a living culture then you might enjoy it, but it will still ring a bit hollow in some regards. But I'm more of a culture fan than renovated church fan, and I might be in the minority.