gglave

I'm trying to put together an itinerary for a trip to Croatia this summer with my family (me, my wife, 2 kids aged nearly-7 & 9). We'll likely rent a car for most of the duration.

Trying to get it finalized by this weekend so I can book the hotels.

Would love any feedback you might have on the itinerary - What am I missing, what am I doing wrong? Biggest outstanding question for me getting from Dubrovnik back to Zagreb. Either a long day of driving, or perhaps just fly back up.

Thanks in advance for any feedback you might have.

Sun Jul 16 Day: Fly to Zagreb from London

Sun Jul 16 Eve: Sleep Zagreb

Mon Jul 17 Day: Zagreb

Mon Jul 17 Eve: Sleep Zagreb

Tue Jul 18 Day: Pick up rental car, drive to Plitvice Lakes

Tue Jul 18 Eve: Sleep vicinity plitvice lakes

Wed Jul 19 Day: Plitvice Lakes

Wed Jul 19 Eve: Sleep vicinity plitvice lakes

Thu Jul 20 Day: Drive to Zadar

Thu Jul 20 Eve: Sleep Zadar

Fri Jul 21 Day: Zadar

Fri Jul 21 Eve: Sleep Zadar

Sat Jul 22 Day: Drive to Split

Sat Jul 22 Eve: Sleep Split

Sun Jul 23 Day: Split

Sun Jul 23 Eve: Sleep Split

Mon Jul 24 Day: Split

Mon Jul 24 Eve: Sleep Split

Tue Jul 25 Day: Ferry Split to Hvar

Tue Jul 25 Eve: Sleep Hvar

Wed Jul 26 Day: Hvar

Wed Jul 26 Eve: Sleep Hvar

Thu Jul 27 Day: Hvar

Thu Jul 27 Eve: Sleep Hvar

Fri Jul 28 Day: Hvar

Fri Jul 28 Eve: Sleep Hvar

Sat Jul 29 Day: Ferry Hvar to Split

Sat Jul 29 Eve: Sleep Split

Sun Jul 30 Day: Drive Split to Dubrovnik

Sun Jul 30 Eve: Sleep Dubrovnik

Mon Jul 31 Day: Dubrovnik

Mon Jul 31 Eve: Sleep Dubrovnik

Tue Aug 01 Day: Dubrovnik

Tue Aug 01 Eve: Sleep Dubrovnik

Wed Aug 02 Day: Drive or fly Zagreb to Dubrovnik

Wed Aug 02 Eve: Sleep Zagreb

Thu Aug 03 Day: Fly to London from Zagreb

yurtripper

Personally, I'd add a day to Plitvice and take it off Split or Dubrovnik. Your kids might enjoy having 2 full days to spend at the lakes also.

sinfonia

Only, as discussed elsewhere here on FT, that you need to go through Bosnia to get from Split to Dubrovnik (unless you take the Ploce ferry) so you might ensure that the car that you are renting is permitted to pass through Bosnia. In our experience, renting from Sixt in Croatia, it was, but I don't know about other/smaller companies. My guess is that most companies in Croatia allow passage through Bosnia since Croatians are accustomed to dealing with this, but it just might be worth checking into. Sounds like a terrific trip.

Also, I guess I would just say to be open to perhaps spending time in smaller towns on the drive and shaving some of that time off of Split or Dubrovnik instead - you may be surprised how charming many of them are.

MaxVO

The option to cross into Bosnia (or Montenegro) typically adds a surcharge to every day of your rental. Some roads are also very twisty, and cross borders multiple times. Make sure you have plenty of passport pages to waste.

wanderlustFL

My spouse and I visited Croatia in 2015 for 11 days and loved it. Here are a few observations about our trip that you may find useful:

1. The main roads throughout the country are very easy to navigate with excellent signage. IMO, much better than what you would find in neighboring Italy. Post the 90's civil war the EU provided significant funding for the rebuilding effort of infrastructure and it shows.
2. Although we did not visit the capital, I had done some research on Zagreb before planning our trip. My impression is that while not a bad city, there is not a lot to do as a tourist so passing through quickly would be my recommendation.
3. You fail to include the Istrian Peninsula on your journey (northern coast neighboring Slovenia). I think this is a mistake. Rovinj is one of the main towns in the region and is very charming and nicely situated right on the Adriatic. We stayed at the Monti Mulini in Rovinj. I am not sure of your budget but if you can splurge a bit this hotel is highly recommended. This area was long under Venetian influence. In fact, you feel like you are in Italy except prices are much lower and most people speak English.
4. There is a great national park between Zadar and Split called Krka. This is also highly recommended. It contains amazing water falls and there is a beautiful island located there with direct boat service within the park. I would imagine your family would love the experience
5. Zadar is cute but we were somewhat disappointed. If it were me, I would limit the stay to one night only as it breaks the trip up nicely (assuming you go to Rovinj) on the way to Split. Also, as Krka National Park is on the way from Zadar to Split, you allow time for exploration here before heading on.
6. Consider the fast ferry from Split to Dubrovnik. Split is pretty congested so you don't need a car there. And the same is true for Dubrovnik. The "fast" ferry is not that all fast (3-4 hrs as I recall), but it is convenient. Just note that there is no outdoor seating on the boat so sightseeing of the islands where you stop along the way (Hvar and Korcula---pronounced Kor-shoo-la) is very limited.
7. In Dubrovnik we stayed at the Villa Dubrovnik. It is drop dead gorgeous with sweeping views of the old walled city. We loved the location too as it was just far enough away from the crowds in the walled city that can get overwhelming at times. Again, be forewarned that this is a great splurge but if money allows most definitely recommended. They also have an authentic Venetian Vaporetto to ferry you directly to old walled city. That was a treat.
8. Definitely consider flying out of Dubrovnik. Also note that you do not necessarily have to route through Zagreb. Flights to several European hubs are possible, including LHR, MUC, FRA, MAD and CDG.

Just my thoughts, but I hope this helps.