I am finishing a 4 week trip, with about 3 weeks of that in Croatia. For a quick run down, here is where I was: 2 nights Dubrovnik, 1 night Mostar, 1 night Trogir, 3 nights Zadar, 5 nights Rovinj, 5 nights Slovenia (did a report on this separately because I really enjoyed it), 1 night Plitvice, 3 nights Split, 2 nights Hvar, 3 nights Korcula, 2 nights back in Dubrovnik for the return flight.
Except for a B&B in Mostar, 1 night in Ljubljana, and the last 2 nights in Dubrovnik, I stayed exclusively in apartments rented through booking.com and that was almost 100% a good experience. Occasionally there was a time lag in getting in or in finding the apartment, but it all worked out. And owners were 100% responsive, even if I never met them.
Overall impressions:
I loved Dubrovnik, but 2 nights with a morning arrival on the first day was enough. I stayed in the old city - great location for wandering and not bad for arriving and leaving. It’s small enough that entering or exiting through one of the gates wasn’t too much walking with a suitcase. While there, I walked the walls, rode the cable car, went to Lokrum for an afternoon, and attended a small concert in a church by the Pile Gate. I picked up a rental car in town as I was leaving for the next couple of weeks.
Mostar: I feel the definite need to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina for more time. I feel like I just dipped one toe in the water (not literally, though). I made a stop at Vrelo Bune on the way to Mostar, and left an offering of my sunglasses which fell out of my purse into the river. The next day I intended to stop at Kravice Falls but Google Maps and I had a falling out….. it kept wanting me to walk but I insisted on driving. We settled our differences by the end of the day. Ha! So next time…..
Trogir: extremely charming and small old city. While I did enjoy it, on this trip because of all the other places I was staying, I could have missed it and not missed out on Croatia’s charms.
Zadar: Again I stayed in the city center. This is where I learned how to park (and not to park - ha!). One day was spent seeing everything in the old city and one full day was a day trip to Krka National Park (about an hour’s drive). In the evening, I loved walking to the waterfront in all directions just to relax: the sea organ, the light installation, the yachts, the parking meters (lol).
While I was here, there were 2 weddings in the cathedral - it was fun to watch the process of singing, guitars, accordion, light sticks, and more that went on the outside in the square as guests exited first, then waited for the bride and groom to exit the cathedral. Regular people (like me) were just sitting around having dinner in the square or nearby - as guests celebrated. :)