Really appreciate perspective on proposed Croatia itinerary before final booking

Fast paced but looks well thought out to me. If you can only add one additional night, I would personally choose Mostar over Zadar, although Zadar is nice. And drop the car when you arrive in Dubrovnik. I rented from UniRent, which has a city location not hard to get to and closer than the airport. They have an office in Zagreb but I have not seen it - I used Split.

Brad, I think the basic itinerary is fine - at least from the standpoint of starting and ending points. You might be able to fine-tune the itinerary later, but the open-jaw into Zagreb out of Dubrovnik makes sense. It would not be a mistake.

But you might consider doing this itinerary in reverse and starting in Dubrovnik, ending in Zagreb. I am biased against Zagreb - I think it's worth seeing but not worth spending much time in. It's kind of a bland, stuffy capital city with some interesting buildings and walks. Zagreb does have its champions - we all have personal preferences. (I've been there twice.) But to me, arriving late afternoon after Plitvice and flying out the next day is plenty of time to get the gist.

Dubrovnik is a much more magical and enchanting place to start the trip and get over jet lag in my view than Zagreb. You wouldn't have to pick up the car for a few days instead of having to drive the next day after arrival.

You could do:

Dubrovnik (3 nights)
Mostar (1 night)
Island (2 nights) - drive to Split, ferry to Hvar or Vis maybe
Split (2 nights)
Plitvice (1 night)
Zagreb (1 night)

You didn't mention wanting to spend a night on an island, but you might consider it. Split is a nice base to do day trips, but staying on an island a few nights adds a dimension to it vs. day trips. I just got back from my third trip to Croatia and spent a few nights in Split and island hopped for a few days. I visited Hvar, Brac, and Vis (had been to Korcula on a previous trip). Vis really blew me away to the point where I came back for two more nights. Hvar was beautiful but too ritzy for me. Korcula Town was great too but it seems less convenient on your itinerary. Vis was just right.

I'd recommend a night in Mostar. It gets very busy with day trippers in the daytime but much more quiet at night and quite a contrast to tourist Croatia.

I'm not sure I'd try to see both Krka National Park and Plitvice unless parks are your thing. At Krka, the highlight is one huge cascading waterfall, Skradinski Buk. You could just see that if anything - this waterfall dwarfs any at Plitvice. But...Plitvice is superior as an experience; there is no highlight there. The whole park is the highlight.

Consider staying at one of overpriced park hotels in Plitvice - very convenient, let you walk right into the park, plus you can get your park tickets from the day before stamped to enter the park again a second day. I'd recommend getting into the park at 7am when it opens the final day (easier if you aren't getting over jet lag if you start in Zagreb), and if you stay at a park hotel, that's easier.

You could even consider flying into Dubrovnik, out of Split if you can get a great flight connection out of Split or something. You could drive up to Plitvice, then drive back to Trogir and spend the final night there (Trogir is very close to the Split airport). Trogir is a charming little town through a bit touristy maybe - but it might give you a final taste of being on the Adriatic at the end of your vacation.

You want to start the very first thing in the morning from the upper entrance at Plitvice. You will have a much more pleasant experience working your way down through the park with less crowding. If you use your phone as a camera, have a lanyard to put it on here.

There is a reason RS tours stay in the park. That convenient fast start on the upper entrance makes a big difference.

Thanks so much. I am looking into a night in Mostar if we get an extra night. And will look into that car rental which I had not heard of.

Wow. Added thanks to Andrew and Carol.
I did look into places to stay IN the Plitvice park... but not very cost efficient rooms arrangements to cover family of 6....so decided we will probably drive in...but the extra day in ticket is what could really work for us...and I am not aware of ay other way to get that without paying nearly double except staying in park.

Staying on island rather than Split is appealing...but making Split the base allows no car ferry process / wait....time.
As for direction.... my sense is that Zagreb will be nice 'welcome to Europe' and the more special will come... with Dubrovnik a charming end or family. If needed to tight...I could see starting Dubrovnik to Split. I don't think I would find as good of flights from Split.

Stay in the park, TIME is your most valuable commodity while on vacation.

We stayed at Plitvice Miric Inn which is 5 minutes from Entrance 2. In 2019 the rate was 130 euros which included a magnificent home-made breakfast buffet. They also offer a delicious dinner for 20 euros per person. We did have to purchase 2-day tickets for Plitvice but we thought it was worth it. I have read, but I don't know from first-hand experience, that the hotels inside the parks aren't very appealing, and many people recommended Plitvice Miric Inn. We were very happy with our stay there. Don't know how rates compare to Hotel Degenija or how far away Degenija is from the entrance.

I also responded to your post on the other forum.

Do you come from an area with beautiful wilderness etc?

Imo dedicating 2 to going to pltvice is too much imo. Frankly, and this is just my opinion, it’s quite underwhelming if you come from an area that has natural beauty.

As others have mentioned as well I’d probably spend a night or two on an island rather than going back and forth from split. The car ferry is very easy to use and each time we booked it we could book any sailing time we wanted, so worrying about waiting etc. isn’t really a concern imo.

I’d probably go to Hvar or Korcula and spend a night or two.

The drive from Split/The islands to Mostar is a pretty straightforward one, also from Mostar to Dubrovnik so I’d probably do them both in one shot and have more time in each location than breaking them up staying other places in between

Just a matter of opinion, Tyler. I found Plitvice Lakes overwhelmingly beautiful, enough that I returned a second time years later. And I live 30 minutes from the Columbia Gorge and a little further from Silver Falls State Park, both of which offer unrivaled natural beauty. But it's quite different from the look of Plitvice.

Tonight (1/20) is a big opportunity for you. The Rick Steves Festival of Europe will be featuring Croatia and Slovenia. You can register for the webinar on this website, or you can wait a few days and they will post the recording of the event online here.

If you go in person, there is an opportunity to ask questions in real time and get them answered.

I will add I stayed in a really cute 2 bedroom rental just a few minutes from Plitvice parking. So, while staying in the park definitely has its advantages, for a family of 6 you may have other priorities (like space and cost) and it will be ok.

And I agree that if you can manage an island stay, it would really be nice. If you don’t want to mess with the car on the ferry, you could turn it in at Split - and then get a second 2 day rental in Dubrovnik for the overnight to Mostar from there. A little messier, though.

I agree with Andrew about Plitvice. It's stunningly beautiful and very different from anything I have seen elsewhere. And I live in New England which is filled with natural beauty, from the ocean to the mountains to the lakes.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose. But both my wife and I who are from Vancouver and have Whistler and the pacific north west surrounding us were both.. I wouldn’t say let down.. but underwhelmed by Plitvice. Especially given the cost (both of accommodation and entrance) and also the inconvenience of getting to and from the park. We spent 3.5 weeks in Croatia with a rental car for 3 of it and in hindsight, knowing now what plitvice is, I probably wouldn’t have visited even with the month we spent in Croatia.

Personally in hindsight I would have much rather spent those 2 days and went to Brac, or spent a day at Krka and went to a different town up the coast from split

I REALLY DO APPRECIATE each response. They are helping me. Have some responses and questions below.

I know see flights from Los Angeles that are most reasonable appear to be Turkish Airlines… and no matter which days we settle on… will arrive in Zageb around 8pm. Would have preferred to arrive early and see town briefly, then depart the next morning. With this later arrival, I am thinking to walk town for about 4 hours the next day… likely 10 to 2 (not likely earlier with our just arrived young adult dynamics)…then drive to Plitvice to arrive around 5pm. Does mid morning 4 hours seem fitting if staying near the central sites?

Many suggest advantage of staying INSIDE the Plitvice Park at one of the few hotels. We will be doing hike from Entrance 1. The hotels are farly costly in the rooms required for family of 6… so Ihave though better to stay at really noce place just outsode…with great grounds and more. I was thinking that the quick couple km drive would not add much to the morning timing of getting started the next day. So I wanted to ask if I am missing a lot. Is there usually a line at the anetrance that I will have to wait in? If choosing a hotel in the pasrk, would I need to choose one at the Entrance 1 we will be entering? Is there a really different vibe within the park?

Now will be able to add a day…so likely stay a night in Mostar for cultural diversity if adds.

In Dubrovnik… still unsettled between staying in old city or Place just outside. I think young adult kids in particular might like how engaging it is to be “in it” … while balcony views outside appeal to me though best of lower area where it appears the stairs involved are less extreme.)
Any perspective ???

In Dubrovnik, RS tour stayed at the Hotel Aquarius https://www.hotel-aquarius.net/

It was outside of the old city and a short city bus ride away. Some tour members took Uber instead and it was extremely cheap between the hotel and the old city. It has a lovely pool area and the staff were extremely kind. Air Conditioned, elevator, nice breakfast. Grocery Store about two blocks away, Tourist pedestrian street about 1 block away with a variety of restaurants. Bus stop to old city less than 5 minutes walk away. Possible to go for a short walk and end up at the shore line with some good walks there as well.

The hotel arranged a taxi for me to the airport at the end of my stay and it was quite reasonable and efficient.

If you buy your plitvice tickets online you can go into any entrance, there was no one else at the guard post at entrance 3 for us however I doubt even in busy times there would be much of a line at the main entrances

In Dubrovnik we stayed in Lapad and it’s a very easy bus ride to the old town or a short 10-15 minute Uber. Walking is about 45 minutes but an interesting walk.

I think the hills, especially the sea-side hills in the area between Lapad and the old town would be a cool area to stay in

I've been to Dubrovnik twice. The first time, I dropped my rental car upon arrival by the Pile Gate and stayed just outside of it, a 5 minute walk or less in. I stayed three nights. The location was great I thought - to me, no real advantage vs. staying "inside." I greatly appreciated the proximity to the old town, especially at night, when the tour groups leave and Dubrovnik seems just magical.

The second time, I kept my car and had only one night. I stayed in Lapad (cheaper hotel, cheap car parking) and took the bus to the old town. It worked out well for a one night trip, but I wouldn't want to do it every day. Lapad is not a bad area - there are beaches there and restaurants, etc. just a little bland vs. the old town.

Some people choose to stay in Cavtat and take the bus into Dubrovnik. I understand Cavtat itself is a nice town but I haven't been there.

Timing for entering Plitvice was no problem for me. But I was there Sept. 2021, so not typical. But the drive is not far and it’s pretty.

And look at apartments in Dubrovnik also. I stayed inside the walls once and stayed near the ferry harbor in a nice hotel the second time. Both locations had their perks.

We stayed inside the walls in Dubrovnik, and we loved it. It's so beautiful and atmospheric, especially at night. I know everyone is different, but I can't imagine going to Dubrovnik and not staying inside the walls. We stayed at Karmen Apartments.
http://www.karmendu.com/

Stay within the walls of Dubrovnik. Our first visit we stayed in lapad and it was nice but annoying to get to the city. Time wasted. Every trip since then we have stayed inside the walls. How many places can you stay within medieval walls? There is a beach a very short walk away. We would be on the beach between 7 and 8 am and have it mostly to ourselves with some locals. it was then a quick walk to our B&B to shower. It’s always nice to be able to pop back for a quick rest if needed also.
I see you included the island of Lokrum which is a quick ferry ride from the main port. You can go swimming, hiking, have lunch, or bring a picnic. (No stores on the island). Just a note, if you are going there to swim, take the earliest ferry and follow the older people to the best swimming area. You could even kayak there. An added bonus is if you are a GofT fan you’ll recognize many places.
Another bonus if you stay within the walls, the young adults can go out by themselves in the evening and you don’t have to worry about them getting lost. It is extremely safe.

We LOVED Plitvice, and we spend a lot of times in the Rocky Mountains and have been to other very beautiful places. It helped that we stayed in the park and did both late afternoon/early evening and early morning visits (included in the cost of our stay). We often had nobody else in sight!

We were also glad that we stayed overnight in Zadar. (We spent 2 nights there, actually.) The sunsets are breathtaking, and The Greeting to the Sun can be enjoyed only after dark.

Look into taking a boat tour to the Blue Cave while you're in Split. It's really cool.

Do go to Lokrum Island. It's a lovely getaway from Dubrovnik, which gets very hot inside the walls. Bring your swimsuits to swim in "The Dead Sea."

We stayed in an apartment not far outside the city walls, and we had gorgeous views. We loved it.

Also, here is my report from our trip to Croatia in May 2022, in case you might find it helpful:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/croatia-and-ireland-may-2022-castles-and-forts-and-water-oh-my

Tyler, We live nearby, in Seattle. We enjoy the same Cascade Mountain Range. I love our mountains, as well as your Whistler/Blackcomb - summer and winter.

That said, different strokes is indeed true. I found Plitvice as magnificent as Yosemite, though in a very different, quieter, subdued and subtle way. The cascades of water, the clarity of the water, the lakes that poured from one to the next enchanted me.

True, its not the Alps, the Cascades, the Rockies or the Sierra Nevadas. Nor is a Sauvignon Blanc a Cabernet Sauvignon.

BRAD (OP) - There are hotels just outside the park at Plitvice; we spent a night there, just minutes from Plitvice. Got an early start in Plitvice, walked a lengthy upper lakes trail to the boat, then after the boat trip we continued on a lengthy lower lakes trail. After that, we drove to Zadar in time to wander through the town in the late afternoon, have dinner and then enjoy the sunset at the Sea Organ.

It must have been 1 to 2 hours from Plitvice to Zadar, where we spent the night. From Zadar, we spent a pretty full day to get Split, but we spent 3 hours or so at Krka NP (both similar to and different from Plitvice; more river than chain of lakes; plus we could swim at Krka, unlike Plitvice). Further along the way to Split, we spent an hour-and-a-half wandering through Trogir, visiting the Cathedral there, and going up its tower. Incredible views!

I suggest you do it this way, since you are contemplating back-tracking from Split to Trogir and possibly Krka, anyway.

I want to thank each of you for your valuable advice. I have updated our plans. I was able to add two days which opened up some options. While initially considering adding Zadar overnight between Plitvice and Split… the limited diversity from other places…and limited good accommodations for family of 6 adults… led me to shift to readjust and now include an island stay…choosing Brac. I was drawn to Brac because it appears easiest to car ferry to from Split and then be back quickly to Split to get on to drive to Mostar, is good for genuine island feel and variety of activities, and will not be redundant with the prior multi-island boat trip.

I will begin booking this coming week and welcome any perspective or suggestions.

New Current Plan
May 23 (Tues) Depart LAX 6:35pm
May 24 (Wed) – Arrive in Zagreb (Croatia’s capital) 7:40pm
May 25 (Th) – Short walk of Old Town Zagreb / Drive to Plitvice Lakes Park
May 26 (Fri) – Hike Plitvice Lake & Falls / Drive to Split on coast
May 27 (Sat) – Split – local Diocletian Palace and old town area
May 28 (Sun) – Split - Boat tour Blue Cave & islands incl Hvar
May 29 (Mon) – Ferry (9am) to Brac Island (Skrip, Pućišća, Bol / Zlatni Rat)
May 30 (Tues) – Brac Island (Pustinja Blaca, Milna)
May 31 (Wed) – Brac to Mostar (in Bosnia - Herzegovina) for afternoon / evening
June 1 (Th) – Mostar morning then drive to Dubrovnik (Return rental car)
June 2 (Fri) – Dubrovnik – Walk Old Town Walls & Old City Sites
June 3 (Sat) – Dubrovnik – Mt. Srd Cable Car & Fort Lovrijenac / Aft. open for beach or old town
June 4 (Sun) - Dubrovnik – Lokum Island / Aft. open for beach or old town
June 5 (Mon) – Return (Dep 6:15am arr LAX 5pm)

Looks like a lovely trip.

Enjoy!

Like your itinerary. We too did the PLJ with our kids.

Here's a note of caution: There are three routes from Zagreb (my fav small European city) to PLJ. Pull up Google maps and route the trip from Z to PLJ. You can either go to Karlovac and go south on a small road or stay on the big road to go to PLJ from a more southern small road. DO NOT GO DIRECTLY FROM KARLOVAC!! We did that in 2011. It was hair-raising. It's a small forested road with a lot of tight turns. We had a number of locals behind us who were very impatient at my driving and would pass us in very hazardous ways, including on turns.

Looks like a great trip! Have fun!

The itinerary does not specify when you will return the car. With a party of 6, car is a good idea. We had a car in 2011. Do be very careful in Split. I still have PTSD about driving there - we lost our information about our apartment. I turned into a small street, and suddenly found myself driving in the most hazardous place I remember ever being in. Also Dubrovnik - DO NOT drive there. We had a professional driver and it took about 45 min to find our sobe. Streets in old Dubrovnik are all 1-way, so if you miss the turn, it's about 3 K to get back to the spot.

Moral of the story - get your directions very well, and don't lose the information about where you are staying. We stayed in a nice apartment in Split which was not inside the Palace. Also in Dubrovnik - our apartment warned "456 steps from the apartment to the Stradum", and that was accurate - I think I counted them.

From Split, we took a boat ride to Trogir, which was fun. From Dubrovnik, we took a boat to Cavtat.

Driving in Croatia is nothing compared to places like Ireland etc. lol

If you can, get a car with apple car play or the Samsung equivalent. Having the visual GPS on the dash all but prevents the one way misses etc. outside of the very centre and surrounding areas of the old town Dubrovnik its very easy driving imo.

All so helpful.
Two questions.
Did drive Ireland so I think I will do okay here. As for the GPS… in Ireland I paid for my cell service to use international so used phone navigation. Worked well. And ideal if car has Apple CarPlay but not critical. However, is cell service solid through this area of Croatia?

Has anyone used car ferries and could advise as to how long ahead one really needs to have car there and if the passengers besides driver could come closer to departure? (Are tickets separate for the car and passengers?)

Thanks.

Brad, Croatia has good mobile coverage in my experience. I have not driven there since 2015, and at that time I used my GPS (brought it from home), but today I'd just use my Android phone for car navigation e.g. with Google Maps. (I used that in Slovenia.) I even had cell service on the ferries! (But, the ferries may provide WiFi through their own mobile connections. The Jadrolinija ferries I was on last October all had WiFi I think but I didn't get WiFI reception unless I was down in the lounge. I used my phone's data while up on the top deck outside, where I spent most of my time.)

I didn't drive a car on the ferries, but I took a number of Jadrolinija car ferry rides in October as a passenger. Passengers can arrive pretty close to departure as long as they have tickets. I suppose the ferries can reach a passenger capacity, but that's hard to imagine unless you are traveling at a very busy time. I bought most of my ferry tickets online with my phone from the Jadrolinija website , but in one instance I waited too long closer to departure to buy a ticket and online tickets were sold out. I had to get one from a ticket window near the ferry at the last minute. Otherwise, my phone worked great for buying tickets if I bought them not at the last minute.

You can go through the process of buying a ticket ahead of time (try it now) to see how it works without completing the purchase:

https://www.jadrolinija.hr/en/

I did see people driving onto the ferries not too far from departure. You don't have to have the car on the ferry half an hour ahead of time or something, but of course I would try to arrive early and get in line to board the car.

Some of the Jadrolinija (sp) ferry’s allow you to book a specific time, so as long as you arrived 30 min before your scheduled departure I think you’d always get on given you booked a specific time.

In reference to the apple car play, having your phone is all fine or having someone attempting to navigate via google maps is fine. However when you have a large heads up display with google maps running etc. it’s much easier to follow than the audible instructions or the screen of a phone. That’s why I say it’s nice to have apple car play. However the fiat panda we rented in Croatia had a CD deck comparable to a 1992 Honda civic so the woman we rented from kinda laughed when I asked if it had apple car play lol

I will just add my 2 cents since I was in Croatia 9 days (but traveling solo with no car rental!) during August last year. During my time (3 nights) in Dubrovnik, I took an early bus South to Kotor in Montenegro and took a 3 hour speed boat tour (that leaves from a park adjacent to where the "smaller" cruise ships dock) of the bay of Kotor -it wasn't a beautifully sunny day, but the bay was absolutely gorgeous and one of the highlights of my entire time in Eastern Europe (including the 2 nights in Slovenia at Lake Bled and 3 1/2 days in Austria) The 3 hour bay tour included going into an old WW2 submarine hideout tunnel where they filmed a scene from a James Bond movie, and also stopping at a little island with a church/museum in the middle of the bay that was so picturesque and interesting. They also brought us to the Blue Cave where we could swim for about a 1/2 hour at the end of the tour, the tide/waves were a bit too high for our boat (with cloth top) to fit into the Blue cave, but we could still see the amazing color of the water from near the mouth of the cave, and the area was beautiful to swim in. The other things I'm glad I included in my tour of Croatia besides Plitvice, was spending a night on Korcula and enjoying the absolutely gorgeous clean water swimming there, as well as visiting the amazing intact Colloseum "Arena" in Pula, in the Istrian peninsula in Northern Croatia. I'm sure you will have a marvelous time, but trust me, even if you have to deduct part of your time in Split, you will really enjoy the marvelous Montenegro area, and with a rental car (if you have ability to take across to Montenegro) you have even more freedom to see it than I had with the Flixbus from Dubrovnik. Enjoy!

Swimming is not permitted in the Blue Cave.