Two week Croatia itinerary summer 2026 Split and Dubrovnik or add Zagreb too

My experience has been more of Croatia as a nature lover's paradise, but there are many more towns you could explore. I would do some more reading and determine which places are of interest to you. If you find interest in Istria for example, then you might want to add another stop.
Zagreb-Split-Dubrovnik would be easy by public transport and offer many day trips, but since you will not be doing the things I am more familiar with, you could fit in more towns that are too far for day trips. Make sense?
If you spell out specifically what day trips you are interested in, that might spur more ideas. You could also consider adding in some time in the neighboring countries.

That makes perfect sense, thank you. I’m definitely more into walking around historic towns, visiting museums, castles, and archaeological sites, and I would never pass up a good winery. Based on that, which towns or regions would you say best fit those interests?

I meant more what specific places--like do you want to see each town with historic interest (there is a limited number and they are scattered along the long coast--I'd say roughly Zagreb, Rovinj (Porec, Pula), Krk, Zadar, Sibenik, Split, Hvar, Korcula, Brac (has some pretty towns and a cool monastery), and Dubrovnik are the ones to consider. I am just trying to suss out if you want to replace the "nature time" with more movement to get to more towns, or if focusing on the south would be enough.
It's also summer, so do you want to avoid the islands or only do day trips?
I have heard the Pag region and the area north of Dubrovnik (Peljesac) mentioned for wine. Peljesac would be easy with a private driver. Istria is most difficult without a car, but paid drivers could supplement. the coast is always doable by bus or ferry. The long skinny geography means it sometimes makes more sense to move along rather than backtrack.
If you like a slower pace and lots of day trips, I would put the majority of your time in Split, and make one stop on an island en route to Dubrovnik (Brac or Korcula would be good choices for you I think). With two weeks, four stops would not be too much if you decide to include Zagreb.

I have taken many friends and family members on a tour of Croatia. Our itinerary usually goes like this:
Split, Korčula, Dubrovnik, Zagreb.
These are the cities we know very well and feel you get a nice rounded Croatian Experience.

From Split we usually go to Trogir for lunch and Krka national park for a nice stroll.
From Dubrovnik we ferry over to Lokrum, another national park, for a stroll and maybe beach time.
On Korčula you can go to a winery or take a boat Taxi to a smaller Island to swim.
Zagreb has a nice castle nearby called Trakoscan. But Zagreb has plenty to keep you busy for a few days.

There are other places you can visit as a day trip such as
From Dubrovnik - Cavtat, Mljet, and although a long drive there is Mostar, Medjugorje, and Kotor.
From Split - Zadar, Šibenik, and again a long drive to Mostar.

If you are interested in some day trips with a driver, we have used this company a few times. In fact we have him booked for a day next September already.

Privatedriverguideincroatia.com

Good luck with your planning. And any other questions you have just ask.

I like both Ljubljana and Zagreb a lot. Since they're about 2-1/2 hours apart by either bus or train, they pair very nicely. And they are quite different. Ljubljana is a charming place to wander, though it's true it doesn't have a lot of museums/indoor sights. It's an easy base for a side trip to Lake Bled. The lake is beautiful but so small you can walk around it in a few hours. If walking all the way around the lake isn't something you want to do and you don't care about going up to the castle or taking the boat trip out to the little church in the lake, part of the day is enough for Lake Bled. There's bus service from Ljubljana, and I suspect a taxi would be a reasonable option for a family.

Either of the two Slovenian cave systems (less touristy Skocjan and more touristy Postojna) can be seen on a day trip from Ljubljana. I think public transportation gets you closer to Postojna, but I found Skocjan walkable from the nearest bus stop. There are also bus tours from Ljubljana, of course, but that will run up the cost.

It's too bad there are no express trains (and not all that many trains of any type) in Croatia, because it does slow a traveler's progress from town to town. I'd agree that you will probably want to spend over half your time in Croatia.

Along the coast you can also do the ferries.

https://www.jadrolinija.hr/en

Without much nature sightseeing im not sure how I could spend 2 weeks in Croatia. And not wanting to change hotels often makes it even more difficult. I've been to Croatis 3 times entertaining family and friends, its not too hard for me because I live relatively close, and there isn't a city I would want to spend more than 3 nights in. Compound tgat with the distances and...... but we are all different.

You can fly into Dubrovnik and depart from Split or vice versa.

From Dubrovnik, possible daytrips are: Lokrum Island; Cavtat, walled city of Ston, Kotor.

From Split, possible daytrips include Salona Roman Ruins; Trogir; Šibenik; Krka National Park; Hvar Town which has a castle above the town. These are all 30-75 minutes away by bus or catamaran.

Korcula Town on Korcula Island could be a base between Dubrovnik and Split. There are vineyards that offer wine-tasting both on the island and also on the Peljesac Peninsula which is accessible by a 20-minute ferry from Korcula Town to Orebic.
Korcula Town— which is where catamarans dock, is about 2.5 hours from Split and 2 hours from
Dubrovnik.

You also can swap in Zagreb for Korcula.

Thanks for the suggestions, that really helps. Right now I’m thinking of landing in Zagreb and spending two full days there, then heading to Split for about six days, and then Dubrovnik for another five to six days before flying home to Los Angeles. I want that amount of time in Split and Dubrovnik so I can take plenty of day trips without feeling rushed.

With two weeks in Croatia, you’ll be able to do that!

Consider spending 2 or 3 nights in Mostar, it's quite different from Split and Dubrovnik.

These are the day trips out of Dubrovnik that I am familiar with. My three trips to Dubrovnik were rather short but I managed to get one or two of these in on each trip. The visit to Mostar and Blagaj Tekija and to Kravica Waterfall was from Sarajevo not from Dubrovnik.

Kotor is a small less impressive version of Dubrovnik. The real beauty is between the border and Kotor but folks in buses and canned tours miss it. That would be Herceg Novi which I would plan as a 1.5-hour drive including border crossing time. Then 1.5 hours at a minimum to see the old center. The next stop is Perast which is the real jewel on the bay. That is another 1 hour to reach, and once there you need a solid 2.5 hours to do the boat trip, see the islands, and look around the town. Great place for lunch. Now, Kotor. Another 30 minutes’ drive and an hour in Kotor. Total Kotor and back, done right with a car, is maybe 10 hours. And you didn’t get to see where they hang the prosciutto. That would add about 2 more hours onto the trip. I am negative about the excursion even though I enjoy Montenegro 2 to 1 over Croatia. Now if you spend a night in Kotor and do a few stops on the way there and a few on the way back to Dubrovnik, that’s another ball game.

Lokrum and Elaphiti Islands and Mljet National Park are nature preserve sorts of stops. So, probably not what you are looking for. It didn’t light my fire either.

Mostar. Well, Mostar is downright interesting. It’s a little closer to Split, but darn near 3 hours with the border crossing from both. Then it would be a shame to go and not see Blagaj Tekija. Wait, throw in another 90 minutes so you can stop at Kravica Waterfall. No this isn’t nature like Plitvice, here you put on your swimsuit and dive in with the locals (and other tourists). Lots of fun in a beautiful setting. Round trip, by car, will be 7 hours for maybe 4 hours of sightseeing. One night in Mostar would be nice. More than that would be more than I would be interested in.

Wineries. The ones that I know of are out on the Pelješac Peninsula, so 1 to 2 hours drive each way depending on which one. You are bringing children, correct?

Cavtat yes, even if you just spend the night before your flight home. It’s closer to the airport than is Dubrovnik. Beautiful town.

Finally, the best for last: Korčula. Wonderful place. 3 hours by car. Maybe twice that in a bus … but that’s just a wild guess. I cant help you with busses as I know a guy that does transfers and I just think for all the extra I get the investment is worth it.

From Split, well I have even less personal experience from Split. But there are a number of villages and towns and islands within an hour. The only place I have been was Trogir and it was nice and close. And Šibenik which is about an hour north and a good stop if you are coming down from the north but not sure I would make a special trip to it otherwise. Ston is too far but I liked it as a stop on the way into Dubrovnik. Other than that I will leave Split to someone like Barbara that has experience. Actually listen to her when ever she and I disagree, she knows her stuff.

Please do come back when you have your plans worked out. I suspect you will come up with a lot unthought of here and thats how we all learn. I know my firends and I will get dragged back to Croatia again in the next 18 months. New ideas will be helpful

I’m glad to hear you’re spending some time in Zagreb. IMO it’s almost criminally overlooked.

Per your revised outline, the only adjustment I’d make is Split. While I think you will enjoy it a lot, and I certainly enjoyed it more than many, I felt like two full days/three nights was about right. While the old town within the palace walls is super cool, the actual Roman sights appear a lot more meaty than they are. You can see all those sights in less than 30min. Six days feels like an overload. A day trip is fine here and there, but in summer you’re often square in the hottest, busiest part of the day. You don’t want to lean too hard on that.

And honestly, the reason I’d recommend shaving a couple days off Split is because moving a few days to either Hvar or Korcula is a natural and simple stop between Split and Dubrovnik. I stayed in Korcula, and small as it is it packs some terrific history and atmosphere. I never got tired of walking its streets. Chances are your day trips from Split would sort of overlap with one of these island towns anyway. With two weeks, including an island experience is achievable, practical, and easy.

You haven’t mentioned Plitvice at all, and yeah it’s kind of a tricky overnight, but gosh I’ll be darned if it isn’t one of the most incredible places I’ve visited. And that’s another thing that’s basically on the way. I’d have a hard time not stopping. You might want to sit everyone down, look at some pictures and make sure you’re on the same page. Odds are you won’t come back this way soon, and FOMO is Croatia’s middle name.

Last advice, take advantage of local guides. They’re a great resource in the Balkans and reasonably priced. Make sure you pick up some real good water shoes. The coast is covered in sea urchins. Good luck!