Croatia Itinerary Help wanted
 

We are arriving Zagreb from Budapest
Croatia has so much to offer I have added destinations then deleted and added again
Initially we wanted to visit Pula but if we could do a day trip from Zagreb that would fit in our itinerary better
We have 14 days
We arrive Zagreb 02/08/2014
Maybe 3 days in Zagreb ( one to Pula) day trip
Bus to Plitvice Lakes Quick visit park or stay onite
Bus to Trogir 2 nights or stay Split (easier)
Ferry to Vis stay 3/4 nights Ferry to Hvar visit Stari Grad and continue to either Korkula or back to Split to continue to Dubrovnik by bus
Day trip Mostar
Visit Dubrovnik and surrounds
Depart Dubrovnik 6am 17/08/2014
Thoughts anyone?

You may compare your plan with
Zagreb - bus - Pula - ferry/catamaran - Mali Losinj - Zadar - bus - Sibenik - Trogir - Split - ferry - Vis - ferry - Hvar (only Tuesday August 12th, otherwise travel via Split)- catamaran - Korcula - catamaran - Dubrovnik (the Starigrad - Korcula - Dubrovnik ferry (not catamaran) runs usually Tuesday and Saturday).
Plitvice can be visited either from Zagreb or from Zadar resp Sibenik.
http://www.buscroatia.com/
http://www.jadrolinija.hr/
I would never spend more than a full day for the visit of Zagreb.
You will have no time for a daytrip to Mostar, unless you go from Hvar back to Split and skip Korcula. You could then do Split - Mostar (overnight stay) - Dubrovnik by bus.

I agree that I wouldn't spend a lot of time in Zagreb. Your proposed day trips from Zagreb are not practical (except Plitvice). As I recall, even the train from Zagreb to Split is about 5 hours so a bus from Zagreb to Trogir would be even longer. I'd take the bus to Plitvice, then a bus to Split/Trogir. Then continue on by ferry or catamaran to the islands south. There's a daily bus from Korcula down to Dubrovnik if a ferry schedule doesn't work out.

Consider spending a night at Plitvice Lakes (an amazing park) - there are a few hotels right in the park (I stayed at one of them, I forget which one). Although the park can be seen in just a few hours, it will get very crowded by late morning with tour groups especially in August. It would be best to get an early start so arrive from Zagreb in the afternoon, maybe see a little of the park, then see the rest early the next morning before the mobs of tourists arrive. If you stay at a park hotel they can stamp your park ticket from the previous day so you don't have to buy another ticket for the next day. (At least this was true in 2009.) But I'll bet park hotels in August will not be cheap.

Have you calculated the drive time to Pula, or were you planning on doing an excursion through a tourist office? I'd save Pula for a future visit to Istria.

Consider this:
Zagreb 2
bus to Plitvice 1
Trogir or Split 2-3
Vis 3-4
I'd avoid Hvar in August at all costs!
return to Split, bus to Mostar 1 night
bus to Korcula (this line runs sometimes, so you'll have to verify) 2
bus to Dubrovnik 3

Thanks everyone
We do not want to be too rushed and my itinerary looks very rushed
Maybe Korcula will be deleted
Still researching
J

What are your interests?

I enjoyed about 2.5 days in Zagreb very much. I spent most of that time in its museums.

If you visit the magnificent Plitvice Lakes, I recommend staying overnight. Although you can choose to spent just an hour or two there, you will see very little if you do. A visit of 5 or 6 hours would let you see more of the park's diverse regions.

2 days for Split AND Trogir is not unreasonable IMO.

I'm not sure how your time on the islands works out given the ferry schedules. Stari Grad itself can be seen in just a few hours (don't miss Tvrdalj), but that isn't likely to work well with your transportation options.

Korcula is between Split and Dubrovnik and would make most sense seen that way.

I'm not sure how you are allocating your time with only 14 days, but I don't think any combination that includes all of these locations would work particularly well.

Good luck!

Thanks Kja
Still trying to work it all out
Jenni