I hope you guys don't mind advising me if my itinerary is doable. I'm trying to plan Croatia for 6 adults and it's been very stressful since a few of them don't want to go to only one country and want to add another place on. However, we are limited on time...max 12 days and flying from British Columbia, Canada a day is required just to get there and back leaving us with 10 days total to actually visit countries. No one is comfortable driving in Europe so we will be relying on Uber, taxi, private transfers, and ferries. This will basically be an introduction trip to the country and if we like it, we can always go back so that's not an issue.

I have come up with the following:

1 Land in Split in afternoon / explore
2 Half day tour of the lagoon/Trogir (I know the lakes are highly recommended, but majority are not interested in national parks etc.)
3 Ferry to Hvar / pub crawl
4 Explore Hvar
5 Ferry to Dubrovnik / old city
6 Explore Dubrovnik
7 Fly to Budapest
8 Budapest
9 Budapest
10 Fly home

Do you recommend increasing a day anywhere?

To me it seems incredibly rushed, having just got back from 2 weeks in Croatia and have previously been to Budapest - which I would recommend a minimum of 4 days in (without transit), but that does depend on your interests.

The time of year you are going will impact ferries in Croatia. When is your trip planned for?

You are underestimating the time it takes to get from locale to locale. Figure in your time to check in/out of lodging, as well as time in transit, plus to/from airport/ferry in your plan.

When are you going to travel?

I don't think there is any flight from Dubrovnik to Budapest. You may be better off picking another city with direct flights from Dubrovnik to end your trip.

Thank you for such a quick response, appreciate it.

We are looking at going the first week of May 2020. I'm not able to figure out the ferry schedule from Hvar to Dubrovnik. I basically can't seem to find this route available so that's another concern, maybe it's too early for the tourist season?

I agree with it being rushed feeling. I personally want to keep Budapest as a separate trip and spend more time in Croatia. Besides Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik I'm unsure of what other city in Croatia to attach on.

"I'm not able to figure out the ferry schedule from Hvar to Dubrovnik. I basically can't seem to find this route available so that's another concern, maybe it's too early for the tourist season?"

Yeah, it's way too early to check any schedules(other than international flights) for next year. I wouldn't bother checking before next March. Until than use the current schedule as a guideline(chances are it's not going to change much).

https://www.krilo.hr/en/sailing-sche...lit-dubrovnik/

By the way, I think that taking the ferry back to Split and taking a bus along the coastal highway is much more scenic than taking the high-speed ferry.

"Besides Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik I'm unsure of what other city in Croatia to attach on."

Given that you'll have only 3 extra days if skipping Budapest you could add only 1 city(or max 2 if one of them is a small one). Some options:

Zagreb - It is the capital after all, and it's very different from the coastal cities.

Sibenik - a small coastal town north of Split with its World Heritage listed cathedral, I found it more appealing than Trogir. It's larger than Trogir, not as crowded and it's hilly while Trogir is flat.

Korcula - a tiny walled town, I liked it better than Hvar

Your extra city doesn't have to be in Croatia since there are some great cities very close in neighbouring countries: Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kotor or HercegNovi in Montenegro.

There could be a couple of reasons for this: first, I do not believe the 2020 schedules are published quite yet. And second, yes, it may be a bit early in the "season" for a regular ferry schedule. For much of Croatia, full ferry schedules run June - Sept and from memory, may not be published until November of December - but I could be mistaken. Maybe use this year's as a "guide," but with an understanding that changes could be made for next year.

As far as what to "tack" on - what are your interests? You have not stated and it makes it difficult to suggest anything, so it would help to advise of your research sofar as well. You already mentioned that the "majority" is not interested in national parks, but there are some small islands off the coast of Dubrovnik that could have some interest but again, not sure what the 6 of you are wanting to see on your trip.

I see that you are new to Fodors (Welcome!) and have already hit your daily limit (this limit is until you hit about 5 or 6 posts). Please ponder the questions above and report back tomorrow.

You can easily add in two other countries essentially without leaving Croatia. You can do day trips (or an overnight) to Bosnia/Herzegovnia and Montenegro. There are 'tours' you can take by bus from Dubrovnik to both of those. I personally hate organized bus tours, but it does make it easier than renting a car (especially since you have 6 people) and dealing with crossing borders by yourself. I've done both of them and enjoyed them. So I did 4 nights in Dubrovnik with two days devoted to the day trips. Then we took a ferry (a slow one, not the hydrofoils) up to Korcula which was also very enjoyable. Spent two nights there. Then we took the fast ferry up to Split (no where near as nice but it got us there quickly). From Split we did a day trip to Trogir . On a separate trip we did spend two nights on Hvar, I think I prefer Korcula and it's certainly less expensive. You can do plenty of pub crawling in Split.

I agree that this trip is exceedingly rushed -- so much so that I would find it unpleasant; YMMV.
And if you don't know what else to tack on, I would suggest that you consult a good guide book or two, perhaps the Rough Guide.

But a few comments:

• I'm not sure why a few of your friends "don't want to go to only one country" -- Croatia is so diverse that it can feel like you are changing countries just by crossing a mountain ridge or going to a different island. In fact, Istria is more like Italy than anywhere else in Croatia, Montenegro bears marked similarities to (in addition to differences from) Dubronik and other parts of Dalmatia.
• If you MUST include two countries, others have already mentioned some obvious choices -- Montenegro, Serbia i Herzegovena (Mostar and Sarajevo are different and are each special), Slovenia....
• Croatia holds a treasure trove of towns and cities worth visiting, only a few of which have already been mentioned.
• Ferries run all year between Hvar and Split, but the schedules are markedly different during high season than during the rest of the year, and May is not part of high season for the ferries.

Good luck!

We wanted to do more than one country since we’re coming from Canada and it’s not often we’re able to plan or afford a European vacation and were looking to get in as much as we could. I think with everyone’s great advice, I will take out Budapest and add on more days to Croatia itself and add Korcula. The group I’m travelling with are not into long day tours, spending too much time on history lessons. They would rather mingle with the locals, spend time just relaxing, drinking. I prefer learning the history of the country I’m visiting so we are trying to accommodate everyone with a little bit of night life, history, and just relaxing into the trip. Thank you everyone for the honest opinions! I will re-think the itinerary and browse through all the Croatia threads for more ideas as well

Korčula is a delight! See if you can time it so that you're there when the moreška is performed.