comment on my croatia itinerary please!
 

Hi guys, I will be arriving in Dubrovnik on Sunday, 3 April 2016 at about 1600hrs, and will be flying back home from Zagreb on Wednesday, 20 April 2016 at about 1400hrs.

I have planned to visit Bosnia, particularly Mostar and Sarajevo for a few days as well.

My itinerary so far looks like this:

3 April 2016 - Spend night in Dubrovnik

4 April 2016 - Spend night in Dubrovnik

5 April 2016 - Spend night in Dubrovnik

6 April 2016 - Bus to Mostar / Spend night in Mostar

7 April 2016 - Spend night in Mosar

8 April 2016 - Bus to Sarajevo / Spend night in Sarajevo

9 April 2016 - Spend night in Sarajevo

10 April 2016 - Morning bus to Split / Spend night in Split

11 April 2016 - Spend night in Split

12 April 2016 - Spend night in Split

13 April 2016 - Bus to Zadar / Spend night in Zadar

14 April 2016 - Spend night in Zadar

15 April 2016 - Bus to Plitvice / Spend night in Plitvice

16 April 2016 - Visit Plitvice Park / Bus to Rovinj / Spend night in Rovinj

17 April 2016 - Spend night in Rovinj

18 April 2016 - Bus to Zagreb / Spend night in Zagreb

19 April 2016 - Spend night in Zagreb

20 April 2016 - Fly back home

In essence, I will be spending 3 nights in Zagreb, 2 nights in Mostar, 2 nights in Sarajevo, 3 nights in Split, 2 nights in Zadar, 1 night in Plitvice, 2 nights in Rovinj, 2 nights in Zagreb.

Do you think my itinerary is feasible? Do you think I should just visit Plitvice as a day trip, and move on to my next city on the same day? Or should I just miss it entirely?

Is the order of visit also logical? Should I go from Plitvice to Zagreb instead, and then visit Rovinj?

Thanks a lot for your help!

I think you have the right order of the places on your itinerary, and generally speaking, the right number of nights per location. Personally, I'd subtract a night from Mostar and add it to Sarajevo, as there is much more to see in Sarajevo. And I would not eliminate Plitvice or try to do it as a day trip.

But you'll be spending a lot of time on buses, and for that reason alone, suggest cutting back. With a rental car I think your plan would be feasible, but since you're relying on buses, I would cut Rovinj. It's a lovely town, but it's way out of the way, and it's not worth going all that way and spending two nights unless you are planning to visit some of the hill towns, which would be hard to do without a car.

If you are willing to do that, then keep Mostar at two nights, add a night in Sarajevo, subtract a night from Split, and add two nights in Hvar or another island that is easily accessible from Split.

So this is what I'd recommend:

3 nights Dubrovnik
2 nights Mostar
3 nights Sarajevo
2 nights Split
2 nights Hvar
2 nights Zadar
1 night Plitvice
2 nights Zagreb

Whatever you decide, have a great trip! Croatia and Bosnia are beautiful places to visit.

Hi nocloset! Thanks a lot for your suggestion. Since this will be my first time in croatia/bosnia, I wanted to see all the highlights. I guess it's not really feasible with public transportation.

With regards to Mostar, I planned with the consideration that I will most likely reach at 12pm, and will take the bus at 9am to sarajevo,
hence if I only stay a night it will be less than 24 hours (including sleeping time!). Will I be able to see most sights within that timeframe if I cut Mostar to 01 night?

Agree that your trip generally should be a very nice one!

Like nocloset, I'd be inclined to shift a night from Mostar to Sarajevo.

And nocloset makes a good point about Rovinj, although I'm not sure I come to the same conclusion. April is, I think, early for the parts of Croatia that rely heavily on tourism, and I'm really not sure what Hvar or Rovinj will be like then. Another consideration is when you would be able to leave the Plitvice Lakes -- getting from there to Rovinj after a visit to the park could be a bit tricky.

(The Plitvice Lakes National Park is, IMO, the single most un-missable of Croatia's many splendors. Not only are the lakes connected by travertine waterfall formations, each lake has unique microbiota, and as a result, the lakes are different colors. The best way to see that is to make a single, long loop through the park -- something on the order of 6 hours or more. By all means, start at the lowest part of the park so you are facing the falls as you proceed.)

I loved Split and would NOT cut time there. Too, I thought Zagreb seriously underrated, so you might want to add time there -- JMO.

Hope that helps!

I agree to drop Rovinj from your itinerary. You can save it for another trip, perhaps one that includes Slovenia and NE Italy :) It is gorgeous there, but too far out of the way for just two nights and a day.

IME, that timing for Mostar (from noon until 9 a.m. the next day) should work nicely.

Thanks all. At this point, I am set on cutting Mostar to 1 night and spending 3 nights in Sarajevo.

Is Hvar not fully "operational" in Apr?

When I visited Mostar, I arrived late morning or early afternoon, stayed overnight, and left the following morning. It felt like the right amount of time. If you can, book a room at Muslibegovic House (http://www.muslibegovichouse.com/).

Hvar and other islands off the coast don't hit peak season until June, so it's probably true that it won't be fully operational in April. There will certainly be limited ferry schedules. But it's very pleasant and very pretty, so surely it's worth at least one night, even in April. I think seeing it when it's less crowded will be an advantage.

If you stay a few nights in Split, take a bus over to Trogir for at least an afternoon. It's an easy day trip.