My family of 5 (myself, husband and three teenage daughters) will be heading to Croatia at the end of June into July. We are going to be in town for a total of 12 nights and 12 days (this is including the day we arrive but not the day we depart, arriving into Zagreb and out of Dubrovnik).

This is what we have so far and need some help:

So 2 night in Zagreb > stop off in Rastoke to eat look around and eat > evening arrival Plitvice Lake > wake early to avoid crowds tour all day > head toward Split by way of Skradin or Sibenik (do we spend two nights in Plitvice area to sleep in the next day and take our time heading to one or both of these small towns and fit Zadar in there somewhere too? arriving late evening in Split? > Day 1 in Slit we tour the Palace, Riva and Marjan Hill > Day 2 boat to Trogir and explore > Day 3 Makaraska or just head to our next destination of an island and which island is best for a family of 5 to have some beach time and charm. Maybe two nights on an island (Hvar or Korcula?) > final destination Cavtat or Dubrovnik? Between the iland and Dubrovnik, we would have about 5 nights to divided between the locations, we fly out of Dubrovnik 12:30 PM on our final day.

We spent 3 weeks in Croatia in May 2017 and had a fantastic time.

I highly recommend Jen of Truly Croatia who will help you plan your entire trip.

https://trulycroatia.com/

Rich

For the Plitvice Lakes National Park, you might want to consider arriving in time to walk either the upper or lower lakes (assume about 3 hours for either) before the part closes and then walk the other part the next morning. Planning it that way gives you a back up if the weather is not conducive on the day of your arrival, and would also let you avoid the worst of the crowds. You only "need" one night in the Plitvice Lakes area if you plan it that way; of course, if you want to spend two nights there, that's your call.

Whether you would have time to visit either Sibenik or Skradin on your way from the Plitvice Lakes to Split depends on how early you left the park. If your goal is to find time for the Krka National Park en route, I think you are being overly ambitious. if your goal is to fit Zadar in there, too, then I think you might want to rethink.

5 nights is a LOT for Cavtat and Dubrovnik -- or do you mean 5 days for either Cavtat or Dubrovnik PLUS either Hvar or Korcula? Most people find about 1.5 days in Dubrovnik sufficient.

If you don't already have it, I would strongly urge you to get a copy of the Rough Guide to Croatia.

Good luck!

The "technique" we used to visit the Plitvice Lakes last summer (which lots of people on this forum have done and advise) is to arrive by about 4 pm and go into the park then for a few hours (after the worse of the crowds), then spend the night in a park Hotel (we stayed at Hotel Bellevue), and then back in first thing in the morning. This is economical because you buy a reduced price - after 4 pm entry ticket, then get the ticket stamped by the hotel and this allows free entry the second day. With five people you will save a bit. We spent about 3 hours the 2nd day and left as the crowds were getting heavy. We went to Zadar for one night and then Sibenik for the following night before heading to Split and enjoyed both.

Here's my trip report with photos- https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/blog/2019/10/croatia

These are the # of nights we spent at each location on our Croatian Trip.

3 Zagreb
2 Ljubljana, Slovenia
2 Rovinj
1 Plitvice Lakes
2 Split
7 Cruise - Split-Dubrovnik
1 Montenegro
3 Dubrovnik

Good Luck !

Rich

I would rather skip Zadar (partly rebuilt after the heavy allied bombardments in WW2) than he Krka Falls Park.
I would rather sleep at Trogir than at Split. Trogir is a gem, full of day trippers during the day, but calm in the night.
Islands: all Islands can be visited by car, thanks to local car and passenger feries.
You can either go
by ferry from Split to Starigrad, stay on Hvar Island ,then go on by ferry from Sucuraj to Drvenik and along the coastal road to Dubrovnik
or
by ferry from Split to Supetar, stay on Brac Island ,then go on by ferry from Sumartin to Makarska and along the coastal road to Dubrovnik
or
by ferry from Split to Vela Luka, stay on Korcula Island ,then go on by ferry from Domince to Orebic and along Peljesac Peninsula to Dubrovnik
My choice would be Korcula.

What area of Trogir would you recommend staying? With 5 of us we tend to rent apartments to save money.

Trogir is tiny -- "area" really isn't an issue. And while Trogir is lovely, and nicely quiet after day trippers leave, Split is vibrant -- make sure you know which experience you want before you decide! If you do opt for Trogir, you might look at the Stafileo Palace.