Help for Croatia Trip
 

Hello,

I'm visiting Croatia for the first time with my boyfriend this coming September (this will be our honeymoon). We're coming from Austria and will have 8 nights to spend in Croatia (moving southward), ending in Dubrovnik. Hoping to get some feedback on whether the itinerary for this leg of our journey seems okay. We'll have a rental car until we reach Split. Here's our rough itinerary:

Day 1:
Arrive in Plitvice Lakes area, stay one night.

Day 2:
Tour Plitvice Lakes.
Drive to Zadar in the afternoon.
Stay one night in Zadar.

Day 3:
From Zadar, drive to Krka National Park.
Drive to Trogir. Tour for a bit. Ultimately end at Split airport and return rental car.
Take bus/taxi/Uber to Split.
Spend one night in Split.

Day 4-Day 5:
Island hop. From Split, we'd like to see Vis, Bisevo (IF the Blue Cave is worth it), Hvar, Brac (Zlatni Rat), Korcula, and possibly Mljet. Not sure if having a private high-speed boat rental is the way to go for these couple days, or just ferry our way from island to island. We want to see some of the touristy spots (like Zlatni Rat), but we're fairly low-key beyond that. Looking to end at Korcula/Mljet.

Day 6:
Travel to Dubrovnik. We will have to reach Dubrovnik by ferry or public transportation.
Spend 3 nights in Dubrovnik.

After we drop off the car, we'll be at the mercy of the ferry boats/public transportation. Is it relatively easy to get around? Should we try to book transportation in advance? Our flight out is already planned from Dubrovnik.

Lastly, do most people speak English? I will try to speak the basics in Croatian, but I'm very limited.

Thank you for any feedback!

This is a fast-paced plan, but assuming you know that and are OK with it, you could see some nice things! Some thoughts:

Day 3: Why go to the Split airport to return the car? You should be able to find other, more convenient locations. I would think finding a more suitable location particularly important, as this day sounds very, very full to me.

Days 4-5. Have you checked ferry schedules? I think you are trying to fit WAY too much into this plan. Vis itself normally takes an overnight; to include it in a day trip would almost certainly mean paying a small fortune for a private boat – and then you would spend a huge chunk of your time on the water, rather than visiting any of these interesting islands. AND you would not be giving yourselves any time in Split, Hvar, etc. I’d strongly recommend a trip back to the drawing board, armed with ferry schedules and guidebooks.

You should have no difficulty reaching Dubrovnik by public transporation, whether you end up on an island or on the mainland. How, specifically, depends on what you do with days 4 to 5. Rome2rio.com will give you an idea of your transportation options – just be sure to click through to the links it provides, as the main site is not sensitive to seasonal variation in transportation schedules.

3 nights is a LOT for Dubrovnik.

English should not be a problem in any of these locations. And do, please, learn at least a few civilities in Croatian.

If you don’t already have it, I strongly recommend the Rough Guide to Croatia. Whether you get that one or any other decent guidebook, do get at least one – the cost will be nominal in comparison to the cost of your trip, you will have a wealth of information at your fingertips, and you will learn things you don’t even know to ask.

Good luck!