Croatia Honeymoon
 

I have settled on Croatia as my honeymoon destination. The trip will be late May, begining of June. Our plan is to fly from the states to Paris and spend 3 nights there, then fly on to Croatia. In Croatia we would like to spend 4 nights in dubrovnik (one day spent on a tour of Montenegro), 3 or 4 nights on an island at the beach, and if time and planning provides; 1 night at Plitvice Lake national park.

I guess most my questions are about my itinerary. Do I need more or less time in Dubrovnik? Which of the islands is the nicest for beaches and relaxation? Do any of the airlines fly direct from paris to Dubrovnik. Is there anything that I shouldn't miss in Croatia? I am not sure how the flow would work - maybe paris to Dubrovnik to Korcula to Plitvice Lake and then back to dubrovnik to fly out. Or should I fly into Zagreb spend a night, then head to Plitvice Lake, and then on to Dubrovnik. I would say I have about 9 nights in Croatia to play with.

Accomodations: I would like to have sobes booked before I go, does anyone have any suggestions for Dubrovnik - preferably the old town. Or for Korcula or any other islands if there is a nicer one. For the island time I think we are looking more for the villa with water views style.

Any suggestions or help would be great.

Hi.. I think Croatia is a great place to honeymoon.. it is really so peaceful and absolutely beautiful. I haven't been to too many places there, but Dubrovnik, Trogir and the island of Mljet. I can recommend all three. There is a ferry that takes you to Mljet from Dubrovnik at 10am and returns at 4pm. Once we were there, we thought how great it would have been to spend the night there. Sorry i dont have any information --but its worth checking out, i think. Very secluded. Maybe cut one night off Dubrovnik to stay there. We were in Croatia the last week of May this year.. the weather was PERFECT and it was just before high season so not so many crowds. I dont have a lot of practical information for you (tho maybe my trip report could give you some).. but wanted to say that it really is a magical place. Enjoy!

Thanks for your response, I will definitly check out your trip report. I really trying to figure out the logistics of traveling in Croatia and how to get the most vactioning while losing the least amount of days to travel.

alaspina,
It sounds as if you're looking at 9 nights altogether in Croatia.I would recommend:
Fly Paris to Zagreb.Drive immediately to not-to-be-missed Plitvice- 2 nights(need a full day to do the "H" walk which is the most comprehensive.)
Drive the new highway to Trogir- 1 night's stay.
Ferry or catamaran from Split(return car there) to HvarTown- 3 nights (including a day to Bol's Zlatni Rat Beach).
Ferry or catamaran back to Split to take bus to Dubrovnik- 3 nights including a day on sandy beached Lopud,a day to Montenegro (check which day your desired tour goes because there are 2 different tours), & last day in Dubrovnik. Fabulous country for a honeymoon.Congrats!

Hi there. I agree with Syl's itinerary except for the two nights in Plitvice. You could definitely occupy yourself there for a couple days but you can see a good amount in five hours. Aside from the park itself there isn't too much else that is of interest around that area. I'd recommend another day at Hvar Town where you could easily go hiking around a nearby island.

I agree with 1 night rather than 2 in Plitvice, however, from the plane arrival in Zagreb (at what time??) to pickup of car rental to drive directly to Plitvice has to be taken into account.All depends if plane arrives early in morning.As I suggested, the "H" walk took us 6 hrs due to stop for lunch & so many photo opportunities.After the walk, I wouldn't suggest driving to Trogir but rather resting the night before moving on.

Great, this is exactly the information I was looking for. I think I like this itin - paris to zagreb, immediatly leave zagreb and drive to plitvice, not planning on seeing the park that day though, as i dont know what time the plan arrives and luggage and what not. Spend the night (1) at plitvice then do the park that morning. That afternoon drive to split and catch a ferry to Hvar town or Korcula (Q on this below). Drop off car in Split. Depending on the ferry schedule we may need to spend a night in Trogir or Split before hoping the ferry to the island. Then spend 3 nights on the island. Then take another ferry to Dubrovnik for 3 nights. fly back from Dubrovnik.

Questions:
Are there direct flights from Dubrovnik to Paris? How is car rental in Croatia? Pricewise? Do they rent automatics? Is Hvar recommended over Korcula? How far (driving time) is Zagreb to Plitvice (looks like 2 hours on the map). And how about driving time from Plitvice to Split?

Thanks for all your help.

Car rental in Croatia can be a bit pricey if you are picking up/dropping off in different locations. Try www.economycarrentals.com. I just went to Hvar so I can't do a completely fair comparison but Hvar is gorgeous and I would highly recommend going there.

Driving Time: Zagreb to Plitvice is about 2 1/2 hours. Plitvice to Split is about 3 hours. Half the time you are on the very nice and new autoroute and the rest of the time you'll be on a small two lane road.

1) Try Croatia Airlines & Sky Europe for direct flights to Paris( check if they land at CdeG or Orly)
2)We rented automatic car through TravelTimeNY who are based in NYC & are Croatia specialists.They charge a commission of approx $50 but, for peace of mind, it was worth it should something have gone wrong.The car rental agency they deal with is based in Split & TravelTime will arrange for the car to be there for you upon your Zagreb arrival.
3) Absolutely, Hvar vs Korcula.The island is ideal for honeymooners.It's so gorgeous. HvarTown is booming now with the advent of 9 newly reconstructed hotels(The first,The Riva, recently opened this summer).
4)Zagreb to Plitvice on the new highway shouldn't take more than 1 1/2 hrs.Plitvice to Split is about 2 1/2 hrs.
5) Note that I recommend dropping off the car in Split because, with a car,you're limited to the Jadrolinja car ferry schedule that may not sail on your scheduled days.We took it last month when we were limited to Saturday or Tuesday.Without a car, catamarans leave daily & at multiple times.