Two-Week itinerary for Croatia (using public transport)

It looks like a good leisurely plan. See if you can make it to Trogir while you're in Split, it's just a quick bus ride away.

Hi, Agnes! Just noticed that it's only half an hour away from Split. Will definitely consider a day trip to Trogir. Thanks for the suggestion :)

Yeah, Trogir is a fun day trip from Split. We took a boat - it was a fun boat ride - 45 min maybe.

I think your plan is good, not too many places, 3 days in each location. Personally, I think Zagreb deserves more than 1 full day. There's a lot there - the central market, the Museum of Croatian Naive Art, the Cathedral, the Botanical Garden. There are several good museums.

I agree about Zagreb, but everyone is seduced by the coast and the islands.

Looks like I will be cutting out Plitvice from this plan and extending the stay at Zagreb by a day. Unfortunately, all the 3 hotels at the Plitvice National park are completely booked. Don't want to stay too far away since we're relying on public transport.
Thanks for the suggestion about Zagreb - wasn't sure where to extend the trip :)

If you really want to see Plitvice, you can still do it as a day trip. It is located along the old Zagreb-Split highway and many buses take that route, so you could board a bus in the morning, get off at Plitvice and board another bus to Split in the evening. You would end up with only half a day in the park, but it's better than nothing. I believe someone mentioned there was luggage storage at the park. I am not sure about that, but if true, then it could be done. Not as enjoyable as staying the night, but doable.

I cannot recommend day-trips to Plitvice because of my experience in 2015, when it was a total zoo by mid-morning. But I hate to see you cut it out if you have a night available. Have you checked booking.com? I believe I saw a number of small lodging options outside the park but nearby. You can use Google Maps to verify their distances from the park. There may even be places that provide transportation to the park. You'd just need to verify that they are manageably near the bus line.

I had a good experience with a Plitvice day trip in late May of this year. I booked a tour rather than using the buses (it was pricey but convenient), though I believe it can also be done with public buses. Because it was shoulder season, the crowds mid-day were reasonable. It was busy but not to the extent I think it is during high season at mid-day, and I was easily able to take as many pictures as I wanted and still stick with the tour group. I cannot recommend Plitvice enough, so definitely consider a day trip!

Plitvice is definitely one of the highlights of Croatia if not of Europe.

Why not fly out of Dubrovnik? I don't know the answer, but that is my plan for our trip in late May. Fly into Ljubljana and out of Dubrovnik? Is there a better way from US West Coast?

Penny, flight connections differ for everyone depending on where you are starting out - and when, because some flights are seasonal. I live in Portland; someone else in SFO or LAX on the west cost might get better flight connections into one city pair than another.

My last few times flying to Slovenia, it's been easier to fly to Venice instead of Ljubljana. Flying to Ljubljana would have meant an extra flight connection somewhere, vs just taking a three hour shuttle from Venice to Ljubljana. Each extra flight connection adds more uncertainty.

If you find great flight connections that work for you into Ljubljana out of Dubrovnik, without too many connecting flights or awful layovers, than go for it. May not work for others. Zagreb generally has better connections to the rest of Europe, daily than Dubrovnik does.

Plitvice wins everytime over Zagreb. Why not stay in a hotel slightly farther away and take a taxi?

In my opinion that the time for split is too long, even if trogir is included.
You may try to use one day to visit brac before going to hvar.
Hvar is worth 2 days.