Croatia
 

We're a family of 5 traveling to Croatia and Prague in late August. We plan on spending
5 days In Croatia and would like to see Plitivka National Park, Krka National Park and
suggested sights along the Dalmation Coast.
What are the best cities to fly in and out of and is it fairly easy to rent a car there? Also, are
there any hotel recommendations

Five days is very little time to try to fly into/out of Croatia and see much. (Does that mean four nights? Or six days/five nights?) You could fly into Zagreb, drive to Plitvice Lakes National Park (about two hours drive), spend the night there (either at a hotel in the park itself or a nearby B&B), see the park the next day (easy to see in 6 hours or so), and drive on to Krka (which I didn't see). Maybe spend a night in Trogir near Split, drop the car there, take a catamaran from Split to Hvar, spend 1-2 nights there, catamaran back to Split, and fly out of there. Or skip Hvar, drive from Split to Dubrovnik, drop the car (don't need one there), and fly home out of Dubrovnik. But that would be a fairly rushed trip either way.

Yes, it's easy to rent a car in Croatia. You may even be able to pick up in one city, drop in another.

As Andrew indicates, 5 days (whether 4 or 6 nights) is extremely limited time for this part of Croatia.

As I trust you know, the Plitvice Lakes National Park is between Zagreb and Split. The Krka National Park is just outside of Skradin, which is near Sibenik, which is north of Split. IMO, you need to plan on a full day (or close to it) for each site. I strongly recommend staying overight in Plitvice and also overnight in Sibenik or Skradin. For the Plitvice Lakes, I recommend planning on about 6 hours in a single visit. Although you can visit parts in much less time, you probably wouldn't be able to see much of what makes these lakes so special and you also wouldn't see much that would differentiate them from the Krka National Park. It really takes close to 6 hours to see both the lower and upper lakes at Plitvice. There are rangers at the entrances who can help you plan a route. You'll probably want 1-2 hours in the Krka National Park,and will likely need another 1-2 hours to get into and out of the park (I know you can get there from Skradin by foot or boat and I recommend going in one way and out the other; I don't know about cars). If you base in Sibenik, you'll need another few hours to get to and from Skradin. I stayed in, and enjoyed, Sibenik; I spent a pleasant hour in Skradin, which has far less infrastructure for tourists (although it has some).

If those are your two highest priorities, you might want to consider concentrating on them and nearby locations -- maybe Zagreb and/or Split (the two cities that are most likely to suit your needs for a flight) and/or Trogir and/or Sibenik.

I think you would be pressing it to add "suggested sights along the Dalmation Coast" to this particular trip. Just my opinion.

If you don't already have one, I strongly recommend that you get a good guide book or two. I found the Rough Guide particularly useful for this region, but think ANY guidebook would be useful given your aspirations.

Good luck!

Sarah - KJA has offered some great advice. Croatia is long and narrow. We have been there 3 times, with each trip concentrating on a different area. Total time in Croatia on those 3 trips - 21 days.

(Thanks, sssteve! In 2009, I spent about 3 weeks in Croatia on a trip that also included bits of nearby parts of what was once Yugoslavia, for a total of 30 days. You were one of those who gave me great advice in advance of that trip. I remain indebted! I LOVED that trip! :-) )

"What are the best cities to fly in and out?"

Where will you come from?
From European capitals, direct flights to Zadar are the best solution if you want to visit Plitvicka Jezera and Sibenik (Skradin/Krka Falls Park).
If you want to spend the remaining 2 days around Split and may be Hvar or Vis Island, fly back from Split; if you plan to head from Zadar to Pag - Rab, fly back from Rijeka, if you prefer to take the ferry to Mali Losinj and Pula, fly back from Pula.

What would be your suggestion if we flew in and out of Split? We would like
to find an area to use as a home base and take day excursions from there. Any recommendations for apartments that we can rent?

Given that you hope to visit the Plitvice Lakes National Park, I would think that renting a car would be very much to your advantage. Unfortunately, having a rental car while in Split would probably be a decided disadvantage! You might want to consider basing in Sibenik or Zadar.

Flying into/out of Split could work. You might also check options for open jaw, Split and Zagreb.

Are the Split and Zadar airports about the same as far as number of flights
and airlines that service them? We'll be flying in from Munich and then flying
out to Prague. Thinking about looking for an apartment to rent in either Sibenik, Zadar
or the Split area. Any thoughts on what area would be the best?

Check a flight website like skyscanner.
Considering late August is high season, I would consider somewhere like Sibenik, which may be slightly less crowded. Would be convenient for visiting Zadar and Krka.

Sibenik has the advantage of being in between Zadar and Split and, as I already mentioned, is convenient for a visit to the Krka National Park.

(BTW, yorkshire, I was recently reminded of how helpful you were to me when I planned my trip to this area -- thanks again!)

Thanks kja, I always note your travels as well!