This is a broad topic on "choosing where to go next?"

Evan,
First, I can't answer re Croatia as I have never been there.

Re Dordogne, one of my favorite areas of France (others are Brittany, Provence/Luberon and Paris). Love, love, love the variety of things to see and do there. We were there for ten days in June 2023 (seven people, from 9 yrs to 80 yrs of age.) Rented a house (through gites-de-france) and did something wonderful each day. We visited two caves (Font de Gaum and Lascaaux IV), two castles (Beynac and Castelnaud-la-Chapelle), one small market (La Roque Gageac) and one large one (Sarlat), went kayaking on the Dordogne River, enjoyed going to the local boulangerie/patisserie daily, wandering around small villages (e.g. Domme). We ate well at local restaurants and cafes and cooked and barbecued at our gite and swam at the pool there. Our 9 and 12 year old grandchildren referred to it as "home" during our stay. All in all it was one of our best, most interesting, and most relaxed vacations. We only got to see and do about half of what we wanted, so now we need to return. It was wonderful!

Re Turkey, we did it on a tour with Insight Tours. I believe it was between their Wonders of Turkey tour and their Treasures of Turkey tour. It checked all the boxes of what we wanted to see and more. Because of our total lack of any knowledge of the language, and some trepidation about driving there, the tour was perfect for us. I don't know if I would go if all I could see was just Istanbul and maybe a place close by (e.g. Gallipoli). I would try to get there for a longer trip so I could visit Cappadocia and Pamukkale and Izmir. It was also a supberb trip because our guide was so knowledgable and engaging. Our group of about 30 were really, really nice and we enjoyed seeing the sights with them. (We usually travel on our own, except where the language/transportation/culture is sufficiently different that we feel the need to rely on a guide...Kenya, China, Egypt, Turkey.) We often look back on that tour as one of our favorite vacations. That being said, if you just have about a week, Istanbul with a side trip to Ephesus (a must!) will be very enjoyable. There should be guided day trips available if you go on your own and want to venture out of Istanbbul.

With either of these choices, I would base myself in one place for the week and do day trips. In the Dordogne you do not necessarily need to move, although you could spend half the week in the western part of the area and half the week in the eastern part, just to shorten your drive times. In Istanbul, just stay in the city for a week, but an overnighter in say, Ephesus would work out and maybe another day trip to Gallipoli.

I hope you have a wonderful time, whatever you decide! Bon voyage!

I can only speak to the Dordogne, we were there late Sept/ early Oct and loved it. One of my all time favourite trips. I don't know about Spring weather, but I was wearing shorts on a few days in October and a light jacket in the evening. It's a rural setting and definitely had that feel with friendly locals. The complete opposite of most people's "French" experiences of Paris. Here's my Trip Report if you're interested. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-part-2-hills-and-castles-dordogne

Thank you!
I'll be happy if others feel like chiming in.

I printed these two pages out, to show to my wife.
Allan - I went to your trip report and figured I'd print it out. Looks good. But then some of the comments were fun to read (I love to dream!). So I printed it all out. Ouch!
But now all of us can read it and write on it.

Thank you.

Evan

You mention:

I'm self employed and only "go away" for 11 days/10nights (fly on Thursday, land on Friday, return in two Mondays.

So, that means you have just 9 full days. You will likely arrive late in the afternoon on Friday if your travel involves a transfer through LHR, FRA or some other mega airport like CDG and you will probably begin your return home early on the day of departure.

IF the Dordogne is going to be part of your plan, then I suggest you limit your travel to France, or perhaps France and Northern Spain. Makes no sense to include France and somewhere else that is far away and neither culturally nor geographically related.

If, on the other other hand, you are looking for alternatives, then that's a conversation for you, your wife and travel companion(s). Why ask a bunch of strangers who may or may not know (1) what we/they are talking about and (2) will not know what rings your and your companions' bells.

That said, I will venture one thought, fwiw. Self-guided bike travel. It is close to the ground, gets you close to the local culture and local residents, and allows you to focus on one area. You are more of a visitor, rather than just another tourist. And with that in mind, I will offer our trip report from 2023 that included a bit on our self-guided bike tours in the Dordogne and along the Loire.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/fabulous-tour-de-france-2-weeks-on-foot-and-by-train-2-weeks-by-e-bike. Should you choose to do a bike tour in the Dordogne, you may well wish to consider arranging e-bikes.

Fred
I know that you guys don't know me and I don't know you, etc
I wish I had friends who traveled independently, internationally. My wife and I have gone to Europe many times but the few friends that have traveled have primarily gone on Viking River Cruises.

When I told my wife that I had created this topic, she laughed a bit. So, she concurs with you.

My emphasis on the word "FEEL" was to hear subjective info.
Kind of like "who-all would like to go out to eat and talk about travel?"

I appreciate the feedback (above) that if we go to Turkey we should 1) have more time to see more or 2) stay in Istanbul. THAT IS HELPFUL.

I was feeling frustrated the our list was expanding instead of focusing. We've 'never' had so many places we were debating about and I normally read / research a lot in prep for a trip. If we really want to go in April, I don't want to dawdle around.

I'm hoping to hear from someone about Croatia and what it's like for daytrips from Split, etc
It's easy for me to see how we'd see the Dordogne region.

Try entering Croatia in the search bar above, then filter for forum, and one year or less or two years or less.

Our visit to Turkey was only Istanbul and Troy and Ephesus. It was great and I definitely think this should be on everyone's bucket list. I disagree with those who think you should not go to Turkey if you don't have time to go elsewhere in Turkey.

I, too, have only been to Dordogne. I was there in late September 2018. It was beautiful and largely empty of tourists. I had a blast driving around there to see the caves and the little towns. For such a short trip, it seems like this area would be "easier" to get to (meaning, take less time). Not to add to your problem, but I would put Basque Country back on the table. San Sebastián makes a great base for day trips by car or bus. I went there right after Dordogne and can't wait to get back.

Evan

We did a Central Europe trip in 2018 that was 3 days in Prague, 4 in Vienna and 11 in Croatia. So I’ll pick up your invite to talk about Croatia a bit.

Zagreb was a more minor, regional capital of the Austrian Hungarian empire and lacks the spectacular sights of Vienna or Prague. But its Museum of Naive Art was charming and its old town was accessible, walkable and a treat for a few hours. We were only there 24 hours, which may not have done it justice but seemed like enough. In 2018, the scars and damage of the war between Coats and Serbs related to the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia was very much still a presence, as was the Stalinist style, Tito era buildings just beyond the limits of the old city.

Plitvice Lakes NP is spectacular. Its quietness and small waterfalls and lakes everywhere was as enchanting to me as the grandeur of Yosemite’s towering cliffs and waterfalls. We headed to the Dalmatian coast and stopped at Zadar, Krka NP and Trogir on our way to Split. The two small cities were charming, not spectacular, and reflected their past as Venetian outposts 500+ years earlier. Sadat in particular had a wonderful vibe.

Split has an interesting history and the legacy of Diocletian’s Palace and Roman and Venetian influences was lovely, as is its setting, though I wouldn’t consider it a great city. We did have some lovely food in Split and elsewhere in Croatia. Italian influenced; seafood, pasta and meats. Somehow it all started seeming to be the same after a week, however.

We did our first bike trip in Croatia. It was a guided trip and we loved it. The company that ran it was based in Split and they were tremendous. https://www.meridienten.com/ I highly recommend them. They have both guided and self-guided tours. It was 6 days of cycling: Split, islands of Brac, Hvar and Korcula, and finally cycling and van transfer down the Peljesac Peninsula to Dubrovnik. The islands are charming and, as I mentioned before, cycling is a wonderful way to get around and see more - beyond the tourist track. One thing about the islands, the beaches are pebbly rather than sandy. Dubrovnik’s old walled city is spectacular, but tourism and tour boat impacts are significant.

Split would not be a bad base. Krka, Zadar, Trogir, and many islands are accessible as day trips from there. i'd say Plitvice and Zagreb are too far as day trips. Not sure about Dubrovnik, esp since you can now drive between Split and Dubrovnik without having to cross a border for Bosnia.

Our trip did not include Istria, which is close to Venice, heavily influenced by Italian culture and which was part of Italy prior to WW2. IF I have managed to interest you in cycling, Meridien Ten offers trips in Ischia, as well.

As to where you should go, that’s for you and your wife and companions to decide. You will eat better in the Dordogne.

What a great conundrum to have!
I'm only going to chime in on weather, broadly.
April will be cooler than September, and probably fewer tourists if you end up in Croatia or Turkey.
We've been to Turkey in April, May, September and October. (Istanbul, Izmir, Fethiye, Marmaris, Kusadasi, Ephesus.). All were very pleasant. Cooler in April. Some really hot days in May and September.
And we've been to Croatia in April, May and September. You can just start to swim in the sea by mid to late May. September is glorious. Split is a fabulous base. From there you can get around easily by ferry and bus.
For Dubrovnik and visits to Ephesus, do a quick check of the cruise schedules (Izmir and Kusadasi for Ephesus). If you can plan your visit for a day when there are fewer ships in port it will be much more pleasant.
happy planning
Nancy

Split is worthy of a day itself. Options for day trips might be Krka National Park, Hvar (or another island), or Trogir. Or Zadar for a long day. If you set up camp in Dubrovnik, with 3 nights (2 days) you wouldn’t need any day trips.

With only 10 nights and the fact that you seem to like being more settled, I might suggest only 2 bases. If your places of interest weren’t spread out so much, it would be easier to do 3 bases.