Interesting question! I'll be watching to see what others say.

I chose to visit Korcula, Hvar, and Rab because those were the 3 islands that most interested me. All three were beautiful IMHO. I wanted to visit Korcula for its stone carvings and the moresca. I wanted to visit Hvar for Stari Grad and its Tvrdalj "castle." (I spent just a few hours in Hvar Town.) And I visited Rab for its bell towers and setting. Loved all three.

My guess - and I could easily be wrong - is that the southern islands are easy to visit for those who are spending time in Split and Dubrovnik. (And most people don't visit the mainland between those 2 cities.) And many people head inland at Split to go to the (glorious) Plitvice Lakes. If they return to the coast, they don't do so until reaching Istria.

Thanks, kja. I suspect that not so many people here have visited both. And I think you may be right about many people's route through Croatia resulting in the northern islands being less visited. I think Rab looks beautiful but wonder whether Krk would make a good base where I could make day trips to Cres and Rab. I'll need to investigate further.

I would love to travel as far south as Dubrovnik but that would add a week which I don't really have. At the moment, just trying to sort out where to go as there are so many options and not so much time.

You might want to make sure you have a good sense of the frequency with which ferries connect your target destinations. And keep in mind that the schedules can be markedly different in high season than other times of the year. In addition to the Jadrolinija web site, I found the information in the Rough Guide very helpful for that part of my planning.

Dreamon, visiting the islands is all about the convenience of ferry travel. Do you know what time of year you will visit.

Visited Cres and Korcul and enjoed both of them.

I'll probably be there in May although I'm yet to book airfares. I've also decided against basing myself in Krk but beyond that haven't made any final decisions. Of the northern islands, Cres and Rab appeal the most.

I can't easily see a way of travelling from Cres to Rovinj. There is a ferry to the mainland (Brestova from memory) but not sure how to get the bus from there, despite checking the bus timetable. Any suggestions?

I suspect that many ferries in that part of the country won't be operating with any frequency until June 1 or later.

The ferry from Cres to Brestova is running throughout the year, and throughout the day from 06.00 until 19.00, with no Sunday service.
This part may seem complicated but it's not,you take a Rijeka bound bus to the first stop that connects with the Rijeka to Pula bus. Pula to Rovinj takes only 40 minutes and this service is far more frequent than Rijeka to Rovinj.

Thanks so much for this information. Do you know how I can find out where to link to the Rijeka to Pula bus? This website http://www.autotrans.hr/ shows one bus a day from Brestova to Rijeka.

Any comments on travelling in that part of the world in May? I know the ferries will be less frequent but hopefully still okay. This will be a Slovenia/Croatia holiday.

I spent my time in southern Croatia (and Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro) in May and my time in northern Croatia and Slovenia in June. (As I recall, I timed my trip to catch a specific ferry I wanted to use to travel between Split and Hvar that didn't run until 1 June; I don't remember which direction was at issue, and I'm pretty sure there were other ferries that were less well suited to my plans.)

I thought the time frame wonderful! Traveling generally from south to north, I was just within shoulder season almost everywhere, so my accommodations were less expensive than they would have been just a week or two later, and nothing was overly crowded. (Well, there were a lot of people at Plitvice Lakes, but in comparison to how crowded it can be during summer, it was nothing!)

Temperatures were lovely - not too hot during the day (except for an unusually and truly brutal day in Mostar and a day that was a bit too warm when I was in Kotor, so no hike to the very top of the walls for me). Evenings were perfect for dining al fresco (be sure you have something to put on if it cools down enough to want it). And there were lots of flowers blooming pretty much everywhere.

I didn't try to swim anywhere, nor did I see anyone swimming. I think the water would be too cold then.

The winds along the more northern islands can apparently be impressively strong and cold, so be sure to check your plans against them. By the time I reached Rab, in early June, they were over.

Thanks, kja. I'm really looking forward to this trip. Currently going through the painful process of cutting places out of the itinerary.

I so understand, dreamon - that's my least favorite part of planning ANY trip. I've actually taken to leaving notes around my home and place of work saying things like, "Remember what you WILL see!" And seriously, Croatia is wonderful, so you should have a great time no matter what you cut. Good luck!

Had a chat with my sister yesterday who lives in Rovinj, and she suggests the following route. Take the early morning catamaran from Cres to Rijeka, it goes every day and takes 1.5 hours. Your early arrival will give you a choice of buses to Rovinj.

Thank you, LittleVicky!