> I've read mixed things about Split -- some people seem to like it, others have said 2 hours for Diocletian Palace and then move on. Not sure if there's a consensus.

I'm quite certain that there is no consensus on Split - some people love it, others don't. I am squarely in the "love it" group - I found it vibrant and dynamic and fascinating. I spent a full day there, and wish I'd had more time.

Under option 1, I'm not sure I understand your rationale for flying from Split to Zagreb and then backtracking for a day trip to Plitvice Lakes, particularly since you don't seem to have plans to visit Zagreb: The Plitvice Lakes are between Split and Zagreb. I believe that there are bus options between Split and the Plitvice Lakes (although I've heard some reports of troubles catching a bus in the Plitvice area). Or you might consider renting a car.

> If we decide against Plitvice, how else would you utilize time on the back-end if Split isn't worth 1.5 days and 2 nights?

I am not recommending against the Plitvice Lakes - they are stunning and amazing and IMHO very well worth visiting. BUT if you have extra time in/around Split, some things to consider are a half day in Trogir or 1 or 2 days in Sibenik (perhaps including a 1/2 day in the Krka National Park, especially if you skip the Plitvice Lakes) or a day or so in Korcula (particularly if you can be there during one of the evenings when the moresca is performed). Or visit both Mostar and Kotor. Or whatever else catches your fancy of the many options in the area.

Are you committed to flying in and out of Dubrovnik? You would free up some time if you can avoid backtracking.

Hope that helps!

Unfortunately, we do have to fly in and out of DBV.

Under option 1, I'm not sure I understand your rationale for flying from Split to Zagreb and then backtracking for a day trip to Plitvice Lakes, particularly since you don't seem to have plans to visit Zagreb: The Plitvice Lakes are between Split and Zagreb. I believe that there are bus options between Split and the Plitvice Lakes (although I've heard some reports of troubles catching a bus in the Plitvice area). Or you might consider renting a car.

> In retrospect this makes no sense. I was working off an old itinerary and I think someone suggested flying from DBV to Zagreb to visit Plitvice -- I somehow conflated that when putting together my itinerary. Now looking at it, because it's equidistant, I agree flying from Split to Zagreb doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

> Perhaps, Option 2 with a possible day trip to Plitvice from Split is optimal? This way we wouldn't spend a day traveling (via ferry via plane) to somewhere just to get to the lakes...

> Alternatively, (I'm going off the top of my head here), but how about one less night in DBV, fly to Zagreb and work our way back and do the itinerary in reverse?

> So 3 Nights DBV, 2 Nights Zagreb, 1 Night Split, 3 Nights Hvar, 1 Night DBV?

> Have to look into it more, but seems like it might be more direct.

Appreciate the response.

I like the idea of the first plan, but here is an option or two. If you are not set on Plitvice, consider going to Krka Falls, NP. I have been to both and they are each incredible places. Plitvice is the type of destination that will take you some time if you are interested in seeing it all. There is alot of walking at the park and it is generally something to do over a good part of a day.

If you want to consider Krka Falls, that would take you less time. I think it is a beautiful place, but does not have the scope of Plitvice. You can also take a moment to swim at this park (which you can't do at Plitvice if I am not mistaken) since you are going to be there in the heat of August!

If you looked at a rental car and wanted it for a day, it would cost you less than two plane tickets from Split to Zagreb. The trip would be an hour to Krka by car and 3 hours to Plitvice (estimates each way).

I like your other ideas/places! Bus to DBV in your 2nd option is going to be long from Split. You might want to consider flying.

If you go to Plitvice, it needs at least an overnight. You can't do it any sort of justice as a daytrip. I've read Krka is hard to get to using public transportation.

Are you absolutely sure you must fly into and out of Dubrovnik? Maybe paying for a change would be worth it. Otherwise you waste time and money getting back there. Split has a big airport (bigger than Dubrovnik). Maybe you could fly out of there?

I've looked into it pretty extensively, there just doesn't seem to be any way to do it because she flies Aer Lingus through Dublin (random but shortest/cheapest way to get there from NY) and it only flies to DBV.

Given that flying into and out of DBV seems to be the only constant at this point, and putting Plitvice aside because we're in agreement that we'd rather spend more time in fewer places than the converse, how would you modify either itinerary with 10 nights in [predominantly] southern dalmatia?

Don't mean to harp on this, but just want to see if we can make Plitvice work one last time before abandoning it completely.


Is there any logical way to get to Plitvice given our DBV constraint?

We'd be open to renting a car.

Would the itinerary have to look something like:

Arrive DBV Afternoon
Day 1 - Afternoon DBV overnight there
Day 2 - DBV
Day 3 - Elafiti Islands overnight DBV
Day 4 - Bus to split ferry to Hvar overnight there
Day 5 - Hvar overnight
Day 6 - Hvar overnight
Day 7 - Ferry to split;rent car drive to Plit stay overnight
Day 8 - Plitvice day; drive to split and stay overnight
Day 9 - Split - Day
Day 10 - Bus to DBV; overnight DBV

Hi, I'm currently writing a series of posts on my Croatian itinerary that you might be interested in (next one to be published in a couple of hours). I would definitely go to Plitvice if I were you. It was the one of the highlights of our stay. We went to Mostar on the way from Split to Dubrovnik. www.aussieinfrance.com.

You haven't said what you look for when traveling, so it's hard to advise. I wouldn't spend so much time in Hvar, but I wouldn't overlook Split, either. I *was* disappointed when I went there because the Palace is literally right downtown, but I wanted to see it & I did. I would encourage you to go to go to Plitvice Lakes. We missed it & must return to Croatia to see that. We loved Zagreb, especially if you like museums & can't wait to return. I agree with the post about swimming in August; it will be hot & I suspect crowded with European holiday makers as well as others.

Thanks for the continued responses. To give a bit more color on our travel preferences:

As I said we'd rather spend more time in fewer places than the converse as a general proposition. I feel like this sums up up our travel preferences broadly. More specifically, we are not tour guide types preferring to explore on our own. We'd prefer reading about places in a guide book at our own leisure and eating/drinking our way through a place to get a sense for culture. Like museums, but not going to go out of my way to get to a museum unless it's truly special. We're pretty active so hiking/kayaking type activities are all great.

Accordingly, looking for some mix of active/leisure on this trip. We've heard good things about some kayaking between the elafiti islands from friends as a preferable way to see them versus on a tour or ferry.

Similarly, we'd really love to get to Plitvice, but if it is at the expense of having to rush around everywhere else we'd probably save it for another trip (Northern Croatia/Slovenia).

Not sure if that helps -- I don't think I've ever tried to explain what type of traveler I am. It's a pretty difficult task.

It really going to depend on the ferry schedules, but I think it certainly possible to include Plitvice or Krka.
There are plenty of buses to Plitvice if you do not want to rent a car. Krka is slightly more complicated without your own wheels I think.

By the way, from your description of your preferences, you are absolutely going to love Croatia.

With your limited schedule, I would definitely rent a car, because it might save you a few hours waiting for a bus somewhere. I have taken buses in Croatia and they are pretty nice, but sometimes having a car is just easier and more practical. In 2009, I rented a car in Zagreb, drove to Plitvice (overnight), drove on with a few more stops (one in Mostar) and dropped the car in Dubrovnik. Driving there was very easy - worst in Dubrovnik itself but not terrible.

Plitvice is really nice - definitely a highlight of my trip in 2009 - but with limited time and the need to fly into/out of Dubrovnik, you might skip Plitvice this trip and stick to the Dalmatian Coast, especially if you are planning to return to the region again. Stick to Dubrovnik, Hvar, Split, and possibly Mostar and/or Montenegro. Next time maybe you can do Zagreb, Plitvice, Istria, and some of Slovenia (which I visited in 2011 and also highly recommend).

I think your revised itinerary looks fine. Enjoy!

Thanks for the replies everyone. We just don't think there's enough time to do Plitvice this time around. So we're gonna stick around Dalmatia.

Revised itinerary forthcoming tomorrow for final thoughts before we start booking apartments/hotels etc.

Also just came across this spot in Bisevo -- considering a possible day trip, but just getting started on preliminary research. Figured I'd run it by you all:

http://atlasobscura.com/place/blue-cave-bisevo

Looks pretty incredible, so perhaps would be a good way to get our natural wonder fix if we're skipping Krka/Plitvice. Not sure if it loses its luster peak season if it's filled with tourists.

I don't think that getting to Vis and back is as easily done as you might think. Ferries would (I believe) run from Hvar and/or Split; when I checked into them a few years ago, they did not all run every day and rarely ran in each direction on any particular day, so, depending on the day of the week and the season, you might need to stay overnight on Vis. And once on Vis, you would need to find and pay for transportation to the cave. You could do much worse - from what I hear, Vis is very special. But be sure you know what getting there and back will entail before you make a decision.

I'm confused by your decision to give up on the Plitvice Lakes - I thought you identified an itinerary that included it quite nicely and in an otherwise very reasonable itinerary. And from what you say of your interests, it seems like something you would enjoy your time there very much.

Visiting Krka National Park within the basic framework of your itinerary is probably not the best option, but only you can decide whether it is better or worse than other options. Krka can be reached by public transportation, but reaching it easily for a single day trip may only be possible if you stay overnight in Sibenik, which is (as I recall) about 2 hours north of Split. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Sibenik, but I wouldn't have given up my time in Split, Trogir, or the Plitvice Lakes to get there.

You'll have to clock it out, but I would think it would make more sense to rent a car for a day (in Split), drive to Plitvice Lakes, spend the night, and return to Split the next day. You could do your hiking in the Plitvice Lakes either the 1st day (if you get an early start from Split) or the 2nd day, or a bit of both. Very do-able with the itinerary you posted at 10:55 a.m. on Apr. 18. Or you could rent a car for a day to visit the Krka National Park from Split. To get to Krka in time to have a reasonable amount of time to visit it before it closes, you might need to leave Split very early. But if you are going to rent a car for a day, my choice would be to use that time to go to the Plitvice Lakes.

Hope that helps!

zem52887: we'd rather spend more time in fewer places than the converse as a general proposition...we'd really love to get to Plitvice, but if it is at the expense of having to rush around everywhere else we'd probably save it for another trip (Northern Croatia/Slovenia).

That's why I suggested not doing Plitvice on this trip: zem has only 10 days in Croatia and adding Plitvice would eat up parts of two days just driving back/forth from Split; the other days would almost all involve driving or a boat ride. Sounds to me zem would prefer splitting the 10 days over Dubrovnik, Split, and Hvar with side trips. Others might prefer to cram more in and rush a little more. Depends on the person's travel style.

Of course, it would be even better to add more a few more days, but that presumably isn't an option here.

Kja - We really appreciate your advice, but I think Andrew summed up our preferences pretty well. As you suggest, I know we'd love Plitvice, but it just seems a little ambitious given that we'd be giving up Trogir/Solin/Montenegro or Mostar. This won't be our only trip so assuming we love Croatia, I'm sure there will be a time when we come back to do the rest of it.

That said, here's what we have (from the girlfriend's perspective):

Sat. Aug 25 Flying

Sun. Aug 26 Arrive in Dubrovnik 11:45am; check in; explore Dubrovnik

Mon. Aug 27 Spend day exploring Dubrovnik; Dubrovnik

Tues. Aug 28 Kayak Excursion throughout Elaphite Islands Dubrovnik

Wed. Aug 29 Montenegro Day Trip; Dubrovnik

Thurs. Aug 30 Ferry to Korcula (possibly continue on to Hvar) Korcula / Hvar tbd

Fri. Aug 31 Ferry to Hvar / Day in Hvar; Hvar

Sat. Sept 1 Spend the day in Hvar / maybe excursion to blue cave; Hvar

Sun. Sept 2 Ferry back to Split, explore Split; Split

Mon. Sept 3 Day in Split / Trogir for a few hours / Solin (ancient ruins - on same bus route as Trogir); Split

Tues. Sept 4 Wake up early & take bus back to DBV; DBV

Wed. Sept 5 Fly home at 12:30pm

We booked apartments for DBV - MirO Studio Apartments
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g295371-d1164978-Reviews-The_MirO_Studio_Apartments-Dubrovnik_Dubrovnik_Neretva_County_Dalmatia.html

Suggestions are welcome for accommodations in Split/Hvar/Korcula. Boutique hotels/apartments are preferred. Budget ideally under 200 a night, but might be willing to stretch for something special.

Also any food recommendations (hidden gems especially encouraged) that are not readily available on Tripadvisor are especially welcomed.

Thanks for everyone's help thus far.

I think one weakness in this itinerary is the last night back in Dubrovnik is kind of wasted: you already would have visited Dubrovnik at the beginning - and now you'll have a whole last day there at the end that you could be spending somewhere else.

One way to avoid this is to do your itinerary in reverse, but hop on a bus for Split as soon as you get into Dubrovnik. That means you wouldn't get into Split until later in the afternoon, though. You could also head from the airport directly for Korcula; I think there's a local travel agency that offers shuttle service from Dubrovnik (even the airport) to Korcula. Anyway, the point would be to do your time in Dubrovnik at the end and just depart from there.

You could also do Dubrovnik up front as planned but head for Split and come back south and do your last night in Korcula, then see if you can get the travel agency shuttle to Dubrovnik in the morning. There's also a very early bus from Korcula to Dubrovnik that would get you to the airport on time but it might make you nervous to rely on a bus to meet your flight going home.

If you stay in Korcula at all, I recommend the Apartments Lenni - google for them, they are in Trip Advisor, etc.

My girlfriend will have just been traveling for 15 hours to get to DBV so I'm not sure how anxious she'll be to hop on a bus and go to split upon arrival -- although that would make the most sense. In any event it's something to consider.

That last night really needs to be in DBV for ease of mind -- we don't want to have to rely on ferries or buses to get back to DBV to get to the airport on the morning of the flight.

Yes, I totally understand both sentiments. Scratch my idea of Korcula first too, probably, because the catamaran you'd probably be taking to Hvar leaves at the crack of dawn, which was bad enough for me when I had already been on local time for two weeks but it would be miserable to take that right after arriving in Croatia! I do think it's a shame to split your time in Dubrovnik between start and end of the trip, though.

Makes sense - enjoy!