Hi all
I've been travelling through Europe for the past month and am heading to Croatia for 5 nights from 23 October by rental car. I have booked one night already in Plitvice on the 23rd and would love some help with where my partner and I should stay (we are in our late 20's) for the remaining 4 nights. At present we are considering driving to Krk (Baska) and staying 1 night then Rovinj for the remaining 3 nights.
We love beautiful scenery but also a little bit of nightlife and I'm concerned that as it will be late October, many shops/bars will be closed and it will be rather cold.
Any suggestions would be a great help!
Sharla

I haven't been to Istria, but in mid-October 2009 I visited Dubrovnik, Korcula, and Split. Dubrovnik was warm when I was there but the weather turned cold the day I left. Korcula was clearly at the end of its season and was practically dead. Split is a different kind of city but was not very exciting either in cooler weather. I'd expect the other towns on the coast not to be exciting at the end of October, either, unless the weather is unseasonably warm.

Have you considered a detour over to Ljubljana, Slovenia? It's a beautiful city and a very social place (big college town), with a thriving cafe scene - probably not ruined by cooler weather as it's not a "sun and fun" type of town. Even Zagreb might have some good night life though I personally didn't care for the town - but I wasn't looking for night life, either. At least Zagreb is close to Plitvice.

Plitvice is great - may still be tourists there even in late October. Try to see the park first thing in the morning if you are staying there - may be busy with tour groups after 11:00.

I also think that you would be well advised to aim for a city at that time of year, or at least a town with a university to ensure that there will be things open and people around. I enjoyed Zagreb, although it can be surprisingly quiet on weekends. I also enjoyed Split. Andrew's suggestion of Ljubljana is a good one, or you might consider Zadar or Varazdin. Do make sure there will be things open on Krk before heading there. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the suggestions. I will check where the university towns are in Croatia and will consider staying in Zadar instead of Krk. I'll be in Ljubljana for 2 nights prior to Croatia so I'm glad to hear that it is a lovely place to stay.

Late Oct can be rainy..I would stay away from the islands, and as suggested,
Concentrate on cities. I also like Split.

You can't beat the natural beauty of the islands, but if you are looking for fun, I had a blast in Zagreb. Since you'll have a car, you can explore the region around the city during the day.