Hi

Planning two-week trip to Croatia for summer with two kids, 4 and 6..

WE'd like to do two places, one week each as we can't be doing too much driving with the kids. Will also rent private apartments with pool..

Whittled it down to TWO of these:

Hvar (can't find a place with pool), Trogir, or Dubrovnik.. Opinions please???

We'd like a beach and an interesting area to walk around in and sit in cafes...
Also, if I select Dubrovnik should I stay in the center or are Mlini or Cavtat good??

Thanks so much

If you are looking for a place for kids, you'll find Hvar beautiful, though Brac has better beaches. The islands are very popular but don't always give you the best ferry options to do day-trips. But Hvar is pretty well connected, with a daily ferry to Split. (Be aware that there is more than one ferry terminal in Hvar.)

I'll warn you in advance that Cavtat is a separate city from Dubrovnik (perhaps 11 miles away), though transportation isn't bad; I'd actually recommend finding an apartment in the center of Dubrovnik, but you're very unlikely to find a pool there, and there are certainly no beaches. The Lapad district, a few km from the center, is near the beaches, but I'm not sure of the apartment or villa situation out there.

Some of the best villas are in Istria, but the best beaches are all on the islands. Pula might be a good place to base yourself if you go to Istria since it's within easy reach of Brijuni National Park and has a lot of history. But Rovinj is more beautiful (and will allow you to do an easy day-trip to Pula). I'm just not sure from your post that this is the kind of experience you are looking for.

I hope this helps. I edited our guide, but I'm not really an expert on Croatia, though I do think you'll have a wonderful time. I think the biggest challenge may be in finding good apartments with pools. Many British travelers do Croatia in the summer, and there are a lot of good articles on the subject in the Times of London travel database.

you may wish to take a look at Sveti Stefan in Montenegro

Consider also Brac instead of Hvar. Mlini and Cavtat are too far away from Dubrovnik; you need Dubrovnik accomodation for staying in Dubrovnik.

Another vote for Bol on Brac. I didn't think Hvar was very child friendly. Bol had lots of activities, restaurants, cafes and 3 playgrounds within walking distance (with ocean views!) It had sandy beaches, as well as private coves backed with pine trees.

We stayed in Cavtat and liked it. Lots of (pebble) beach options, and we did as much sitting in cafes as our daughter would allow. The ferries to Dubrovnik run at least every hour but it takes almost an hour to get there. Driving is an option but parking is a problem.

there are a variety of apartment rentals to choose from. We went with our children (older) last year and got two rooms in a B &B they were connected outside by a stone patio overlooking the adriatic and the old walled city. No pool. THERE ARE BEACHES but most are somewhat stoney so bring water shoes. Many one day boat trips to islands and other spots from dubrovnik. Beach: http://www.ew-dubrovnik.com/ Apartments/B and B:

www.dubrovnikconcierge.com
http://www.dubrovnik-online.com

I spent a week in Croatia last summer and it was amazing! We spent 2 days in Zagreb which is a really nice small city - be warned though that on Sundays it completely closes down.

I also spent 4 days in Split which has some historical stuff, a lot of restaurants and a beach. From there we went to Bol for a day trip and spent some time at Zlatni rat - a really beautiful beach that juts out across the water. We also checked out Supetar and Hvar, but i found Bol to be the best.

We also spent a day at Krka National Park which was great - there are various tours you can do and there is a beautiful naturally formed spring water waterfall that you can hike around and then go swimming to cool off. It was definitely worth it IMO.

Didn't make it all the way to Dubrovnik, but I have heard it's amazing.

Croatia is beautiful and the people are very friendly to tourists.

One word of caution - if you are travelling within Croatia make sure that you are getting on a direct bus. It took us about 8 hours overnight to get to Split from Zagreb, and after learning the hard way, we took a direct bus back and it only took a little over 4 hours.

Have a great trip!