@ bilboburgler: I honestly don't know how to thank you for your thoughtful response to me (see post # 18). Of course, having a response from you to which I might react would make my task easier -- but let's not get caught up in technicalities. Like, just for one example, of course the food in Pula is more Italian than anything else -- Istria was part of Italy until WWII, as is made clear in any reasonably competent guide book for the area.

@kja, thanks for explaining about how you use your time on holiday, it makes a lot of sense.

I don't know if the OP is reading any travel books, like you I'm aware of the European political/geographical history but I don't know if the OP is.

To be 100% honest, one of the reasons I chose to end the trip in Zagreb was because of flights & schedule. We can depart ZAG at 7:45am and fly home via Frankfurt, Germany on Lufthansa. These particular flights seem to be the shortest/easiest available.

I think I have looked at every major airline that flies to Seattle from Europe: KLM, Air France, British Airways, Delta, etc. And the Lufthansa flights seem the best, schedule-wise, anyway. Maybe not the cheapest, though.

Reality Check: Would it be possible to do all of the following in a day-trip from Split?

I'm confused - all of these in one day? Or multiple day trips? In one day, no. Trogir for one day. Krka another (with Sibenik). Doing all of them one day is too ambitious.

Oh, dear. The formatting got messed up a bit. Yes, I did want to know if we could see all 4 sites in one, long day-trip from Split (we will have a car). I will find a way to incorporate them into our schedule.

Not really, no. I'm presuming you are wanting to do the full experience at Krka? That's at least 3 - 4 hours. Plus time in Sibenik itself. It's about 2 hours driving from Split to Krka roughly an hour from Trogir.

You could conceivably do Trogir and Sibenik in one day, but it would be rushed. Adding Krka in top of it would be impossible.

Even though you have a car - parking is a hassle in these towns - the later you arrive, the less available. You may find you spend more time trying to find parking than actually seeing.

Less is more. You are packing in a lot on this trip. You have a year to plan, research, and discuss with your travel partners. You may have to make some cuts here and there. These places will be there for your next trip, too.

Hi Karen - Yes, I have bookmarked your trip report and have been using some of your info for our trip. I will be arranging a walking tour with Maja.

As others have articulated, no -- you can NOT meaningfully combine them into a single day, even a long day.

Croatia is an incredibly rich destination when it comes to wonderful things to see and experience. You can not see them all in a trip of even a month and even at a very rapid, hard pace. You will have to make choices. That's the bad news. The good news is that you will see some wonderful things.

I'd rearrange this a bit. Instead of visiting Lipica while staying in Rovinj and then visiting Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle on the way I'd do a full travel day, setting off from Rovinj in the morning, stopping at Lipica first, then stop at Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle before heading to Bled in the late afternoon. A full day but the driving times make more sense this way - Rovinj to Lipica is almost two hours by car and once in Lipica, it's only a little over an hour to get to Bled and don't forget about that border you have to cross; visiting Lipica on a separate day means you'll end up crossing a controlled border three times. You'll also want to cross the border early on September 19, a Saturday. Roads and especially the border crossings are notoriously busy on weekends with all the day trippers and locals heading to the coast, as well as European tourists heading back home. Another thing to consider is whether you'd prefer visiting Skocjan Caves over Postojna, both are wonderful but different, just don't do both unless you really love caves.

Having a car in Bled enables you to do a driving loop through the Julian Alps/Triglav National Park, which includes the Soca Valley, well worth a visit. The whole area is great for hiking and the western part of the Julian Alps, especially the Soca Valley, has loads of WW1 history as it was the site of one of the main battlefronts of the war.

Another idea: since you're interested in wine, you could drive from Rovinj to Bled via the Soca Valley instead, passing through two of the best wine regions in the country, the Vipava Valley and Goriska Brda, (essentially something like this: https://goo.gl/maps/zMW53UmvwBWZsNkD8 ), although that would require an overnight stop in the wine region.

People on both sides of the border are European. Being European is not a nationality.

I can assure you that I am well aware of the nuances of European identity but perhaps I should have been clearer. By "European tourists" I meant tourists coming from European countries by car for longer than a day trip, e.g. for a week or two. Those are generally on the move on weekends, well-known to anyone who has ever had to commute to Ljubljana on the A1 or wanted to drive between Ljubljana and points southwest between June and September. These tourists are usually European as overseas tourists mostly fly there.

rtt0921 The only problem with visiting Lipica Farm on the way to Bled, is that there is a show at 3pm that we would like to see. It's not set in stone that we'll visit Lipica, but it is on the list of things I'd like to see.

rtt0921 sorry yes you might well have a complete understanding and I'm sorry if I caused offence. I was merely trying to be clear for everyone's understanding, including people who are visitors or even first-time visitors to the continent.

Makes sense. In that case I recommend you make a detour in one direction and drive via the Socerga border crossing, stopping along the way in the tiny village of Hrastovlje to visit the Church of the Holy Trinity, a small Romanesque church with intriguing frescoes and in the Buzet area, known for its truffles. Truffle season starts in September.

No worries, no offence caused. I agree it can be misinterpreted without the necessary context.

Oh, wow! rtt0921 I will be adding that to our itinerary. Thank you for all the tips & advice. This is going to be an amazing trip.