I have 21 days outside of my 90 day visit to Europe and therefore need to visit some of the non-schengen countries nearby. Hence Croatia.
My visit will be around 23 March -26 April. We will be driving from France and staying in Venice for a number of days.
What are the must do places to visit around this area given the time and relatively open period we have carwise and timewise as we can extend if it is worth it.
I have been reading all the forum comments on Croatia. We are on a budget because of the time we are over there so any great bargains re accomm will be appreciated.
We are both 60, very active travellers, but we aren't into backpacking dorms.

Split and the Roman palace there are a must see and since you have a car I'd suggest you drive the coast road. It really is a truly beautiful drive. I'd also say you should visit Dubrovnik but because of Bosnia's small coast you may not be able to get there in a car unless you take a ferry. Some insurance companies wont let you drive through Bosnia even though it's only a few miles.

We found both Zagreb and Rijeka nice but not really worth more than a day or so. (Although some people in the forums apparently vehemently disagree.)

As much as I love Fodors I'd suggest that you take a look at Rick Steves' books in this situation. He really does the country justice where Fodors doesn't. I hope they have a dedicated Croatia book soon.

Since you are driving from Venice, have you looked at maybe going to Ljubljana, Slovenia on the way? It's an elegant little city that has a really strong Eastern European feel compared to the Venetian Adriatic. Slovenia is so picturesque it's amazing. The whole country seems to be framed by alps and forests.

Even though you're not looking for a hostel I'd suggest looking at hostelbookers.com or hostelworld.com for bargain accommodation. A lot of smaller b&b's, hotels with discounts, and rental apartments put listings up and even if you don't find anything it gives you an idea of an area's price range.

Not sure my first reply went to you.
Thank you for all the good tips. I am now concerned about the car. We have the car registered in France with AXA insurance. We thought it would be cheaper to drive from the Tours area across than hire a car. We budgeted for about $1000 costs tolls, petrol. As opposed to Easyjet Paris to Venice and hirecar for about 2500. Is it better to have a car that has everything covered in the country of touring?
Also do you know anything about sobas -private homes accommodation. Not sure on safety.

As far as sobe go, I only have anecdotal information, but in a month of traveling Croatia I never felt the least bit worried for my safety. Common sense rules apply everywhere, of course.

Do not miss Split or Dubrovnik. Pula was great - you'll be close on the drive from Vienna. We missed Plitvice due to illness, but is supposed to be amazing. Day trips Dubrovnik to Mostar and Albania (a new tourist destination)are doable. I have not heard anything negative about sobes - could be a great option. We drove all over Croatia and to Lipica, Slovenia for the Lipizzaners and found it easy to drive. We had no trouble driving the coast road through Bosnia to Croatia. I would check if you can take your French car to Croatia and look into flights. Agree about Rick Steves' book. Was invaluable to us. We loved the country and were surprised how many people back home thought it was still a war-ravaged nation. It is stunning and safe. One weird thing is the hotels hold your passport during your stay (in 2008 at least). We didn't think about it much at the time but looking back, it was odd.

Thanks chrisabir. Did you hire a car that you could take through Bosnia? Not sure what is required if we drive through with our own car. Too complicated. Would it be better for us to leave our car in Split and use public transport to go to Dubrovnik?

We had no trouble.