Estram

Me again with another Croatia Question. My family of 5 (husband and three teenage daughter's) are finalizing our itinerary and would love input!
Arrive in Zagreb around 1:00 PM, hit the ground exploring for a half day, the next full day and the third day in the morning. First question, 1. do we leave around 12 and hit Rastoke and then continue on to Plitvice Lake region or 2. stay a third night in Zagreb still leave around mid day to arrive in time to see the lakes in the evening?
Arrive in Plitvice Lake area after either 2 or 3 nights in Zagreb. Tour the evening we arrive, stay overnight here, and tour again early the next morning. (Too much time here or just enough). Planing to hit the road around 2. Second question, do we stop in Zadar on our way through to Trogir (Third question, what area of town do we stay in in Trogir?).
Stay in Trogir for 3 nights.
Move along to an island (we are leaning toward Korcula over Hvar, opinions?) for 2 nights
Dubrovnik for 4 nights (last question, do we take one night away from Dubrovnik to add to Zagreb or the island?)

kja

It all depends on your interests, Estram, and NONE of us can speak to that! Some things to make sure you've considered:

• Are you likely to have jet lag and do you know how it will affect your family?
• Are the things you want to see in Zagreb open on the days you'll be there?
• Will you be able to reach the Plitvice Lakes by mid-afternoon at the latest? I trust you realize that you can not see them in the evening -- the park closes.
• As already noted, an afternoon and a morning, about 3 hours each, is enough for a typical visit to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. You'll need to add time to pack / unpack, get to / from your hotel, etc. The park is huge and has many trails other than the main ones; only you can decide if you want to visit them or if you want to plan on extra time in case the weather is not suitable for visiting when you had planned.
• If you want to stop in Zadar, do you have time to see / do what you want? And still have the time you need before and after?
• As noted on your other thread, Trogir is small and "area" is really not an issue. Have you looked at maps of any of the places you are thinking of visiting?
• Korcula and Hvar are very different places, and each has several cities. For Korcula, I would guess you are thinking about Korcula Town. For Hvar, are you thinking Hvar Town or Stari Grad? What is it that makes you consider any one of them? We would really need to know something of your interests if we are to comment on your choices.
• As already noted, 4 nights in Dubrovnik is way more than most people want -- the city itself takes only 1 or 1.5 days to visit. What would you do with the extra time?

isabel

Adding it up it looks like you have 13 nights. Is that right?

Zagreb - your minimum looks like about 48 hours there which seems like plenty. I've done two trips to Croatia, totaling over 3 weeks, and I never got to Zagreb as other places seemed much more interesting. But if you arrive there, certainly see it.

Plitvice Lakes - your plan looks good. We followed the advice of many here and arrived around 4 pm (tickets cheaper after that time) and were in the park until almost closing (7pm), then went in the following morning when it opened and left the area by 11. Crowds, even in July (last year) were manageable that way. If you stay in a park hotel (such as the Bellevue) they will stamp your tickets so you get into the park free the following day. Hotel is nothing to rave about but perfectly serviceable.

We went from Plitvice to Zadar for one night. Glad we did. Didn't need more than about 24 hours.

We then went to Sibinek for one night. Also glad we did it and also didnt' need more than 24 hours. If you end up with an extra day consider that.

We went to Trogir on a previous trip, as a day trip from Split. It is small and doesn't really take that long to see. What are your plans for 3 nights there. Also note you do not include Split at all. Were you planning on doing it as a day trip (or two) from Trogir. I guess that would work.

I've been to both Korcula (previous trip) and Hvar (most recent trip). In Korcula we stayed in Korcula town (2 nights) and loved it. In Hvar we stayed in Stari Grad (2 nights) and visited Hvar town as a day trip. That also worked for us. If I had to choose between the two islands it would be a toss up.

On our previous trip we had 4 nights in Dubrovnik but did day trips on two days - one to Mostar and one to Montenegro. If you don't plan on any day trips I think 4 nights might be too much. What time of year is your trip. Dubrovnik for us was 10 years ago and even then it was incredibly crowded in July. Imagine it's worse now. So you do want to be there evenings and early mornings when the cruise shippers are gone, but might want to get out of time mid day. It was a zoo.

Here's my trip report from this recent trip - Trip report: 5 weeks in Italy, Croatia, France - Summer 2019

kja

Isabel's post provides a great example of how much the amount of time one "needs" depends on one's interests.

• I wish I'd given Zagreb more than 3 full days.
• I could have used more than the 1.5 days I had in Zadar.
• Likewise, I could have used more than the 1.5 days I had in Sibenik -- and that does not count a day trip to the Krka National Park.
• I'm glad I had a day in Trogir; I adored Split and could easily spend days there.
• I found 1.5 days enough for Korcula Town, but would have wanted more if traveling at a relaxed pace or if I wanted to see other parts of the island.
• I had 2 full days in Stari Grad, which included a half-day in Hvar Town; I wish I'd had more time.
• Mostar is best as an overnight.

Please think through YOUR priorities and decide on how much time to spend based on how long it will take to see / do what YOU want to do.

isabel

kja - basically I totally agree with you - on one level - that level being if time (or money) is not a constraint. I was happy with the amount of time I spent in all those places in that I didn't leave feeling frustrated cause I had felt I needed to rush through or skip things. I felt I had a satisfied visit. I am glad I spent one day in each of Zadar and Sibinek rather than two days in one of them. Could I have spent more time, as you suggest. Yes I could have, in all those places. On rare occasions I have I had too much time somewhere, got bored before I left. But that's rare. But the problem is time (and money). With five week vacations I have way more time than the average traveler and financially I manage to get the time by being frugal (I used to say cheap). It drives me crazy when I hear people say they think they need to spend $200-300 a night for a comfortable accommodation. All I can think of is how many more days I could get if I were willing to spend that much. But bottom line is most people have some constraint on their vacation whether it's time, money or a combination. In those cases I try to let people know how much time can be reasonable in a location. For example my suggestion (and I did do it) of one night each in Zadar and Sibenik I think is reasonable. When someone says they want to visit London, Paris and Rome in one week I tell them that is not reasonable.

kja

@ isabel: With even more limited time for travel than you (I'm not complaining -- I'm very fortunate to be able to travel as much as I do!), I choose to skip some places (cities, towns) entirely rather than see only some of the things that make me want to visit any particular city or town. No right or wrong answer, just personal preference. That you are satisfied with shorter visits does not mean that everyone would be, and certainly, it does not mean that I would have been. As I said, it depends on one's interests.