Hi everyone, I have 8 nights to spend in Croatia this July and am trying to finalize my itinerary. I will be with my husband, and my 3 daughters (ages 20, 18, 15). We love seeing new places, history, some active things (nothing too crazy), and GOT. But I am trying really hard not to over-schedule us (and probably failing because I wont give anything up!). My initial plan (inspired by my daughter who is graduating from high school...this is her gift) was 2 weeks in Croatia and Northern Italy. I have booked my flights into Dubrovnik and out of Milan. We are taking the ferry from Rovinj to Venice. I realize now that this is a little bit ambitious. My goal is to fit all of the GOT sites in plus Plitvice Lakes without making everyone miserable and cranky.
This is what I have so far:
Sun = arrive Dubrovnik (late afternoon), overnight Dubrovnik
Mon = see Dubrovnik, overnight Dubrovnik
Tue = see a little more Dubrovnik and then take private car transfer to Split, overnight Split
Wed = see Split, overnight Split
Thu = island boat tour, overnight Split
Fri = pick up rental car, drive to Plitvice Lakes, tour lakes late afternoon, overnight Plitvice Lakes
Sat = see Plitvice Lakes in early morning, leave late morning and drive to Rovinj, overnight Rovinj
Sun = see Rovinj, overnight Rovinj
Mon = morning ferry to Venice (trip continues in Northern Italy)

What do you all think? Anything I should shift? Are we going to be miserable with all of the moving around?
Thanks very much in advance for any advice!
--Lisa

It's a lot.. but it is doable.

Are you taking a car transfer from Dubrovnik because you want to see some GOT places on the way, like Trsteno? If that is not your purpose of going that route, you could take the early catamaran from Dubrovnik and stop at an island en route (like Korčula) then continuing on to Split a day later rather than an "island boat tour."

Plitvice is the outlier here in such a short period, maybe you could go to Krka instead, it is not as mind blowing as Plitvice but it is still very beautiful.

Thanks for your reply!
We are taking the car transfer from Dubrovnik because my husband gets seasick easily and will spend much of the trip worried about the catamaran (it is bad enough that he is stuck on the one from Rovinj to Venice but that was somewhat unavoidable as we couldn't find a rental car to rent in Croatia and drop in Italy). We are also considering renting a car from Dubrovnik, but were worried that the car might be a hassle in Split. I was under the impression that the "island boat tour" was more like boat a little bit and then get out and walk around or swim, and then repeat, etc. That he could handle more easily. But maybe I am mistaken about the nature of both boat rides...

I do take your point about Plitvice lakes. I will have to discuss with my family and see if they would prefer skipping that in exchange for a more relaxed pace.

Aha.. yeah, the catamaran might not work then. The sea can get pretty intense heading north from Dubrovnik.

on the way up to Split, definitely visit Trsteno if you want to see Game of Thrones sites.

A car is not that much of a hassle in Split as long as you do not stay in the historic center. But if it’s just sitting there it would be just as cost effective to have a driver take you.

You can also get a private transfer to Venice the border will be busy but your husband won’t get sick and you won’t have to get up so early.. and with five people, should be way cheaper.

if you were to take the catamaran to Hvar from Split, it’s usually pretty calm in summer and only takes an hour each way. The smaller boats will move around a bit more than the catamaran..

While you are packing in a lot, I would still go to Plitvice Lakes!! It is spectacular and very unique, and I can't imagine visiting Croatia and not including Plitvice. Unless you seriously think you will return to Croatia. But sometimes people think they will return to a country, but don't because of unforeseen circumstances.

Check ferry schedule for that Monday, see if you like how long it takes and consider if the day is windy or yikes, rainy. Fares are on sale now till March 31.

What you propose is very doable. You will miss lots of places but I think still see the highlights. We have done two trips to Croatia, one Dubrovnik to Split, the other Split to Rovinj and had about twice as long (total) as you. But you have what you have and you also have your tickets into Dubrovnik and out of Milan so you can't really change the overall itinerary. I really enjoyed the Plitvice Lakes but didn't think it was all that much more wonderful than some other places. If you decide to skip that, you could use the time to visit some of the Istrian hilltowns (we did a couple days doing that from our base in Rovinj) as you will have a car. Or, from Split you could visit Trojir and Sibenik and Zadar (or en-route north from Spit) There are some GoT sites there. Photos - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p743183663

We took the boat from Venice to Rovinj but on a previous trip I wanted to get from Piran (just over the border in Slovenia from Rovinj) to Venice and found I could get a taxi from Piran to Trieste. If you really don't want to take the boat you could look into that.

I think your trip is doable. We often travel at about that speed and it can work. Will you be able to slow down a bit when you arrive in Italy?

I also think your trip is doable and not quite as fast-paced as many I’ve seen! And I agree that you do have the time to see the Plitvice Lakes. Seeing them in the afternoon and the next morning was what we did and I was so glad we did visit twice.

With the # of people in your group, I would imagine the private driver from,Dubrovnik to Split would be advantageous. In the short time that you will be there, I’d encourage you to stay within town rather than outside, and you don’t want a car in the historic area. We took a ferry to Hvar and enjoyed that as a day trip, but didn’t do the small tourist boat ride that visits several islands. We followed KarenWoo’s trip report for our day trip to Hvar and it was a fabulous day. If interested, my trip report has a lot of photos of most of the places you are planning to visit, and that might be fun to look at.

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...oatia-1703021/

We loved Croatia and, even in that short visit, you’ll be visiting some wonderful places.

Thank you everyone for your advice! I talked to the family and everyone really wants to go to Plitvice Lakes, so that settles that. I am relieved to see some reassuring posts that I am not crazy and this will still be a lovely trip (and that we can fit in plitvice!). Will definitely try to fit in Trsteno...it looks wonderful!

Thanks for the suggestion to take a private car transfer from Rovinj to Venice...we will have to consider that. Although I think we can probably manage one water crossing (and we booked the VIP lounge, so that should help), we will look at it as a possible alternative.

Now it is time to book some lodging!

We used a car service, Go Opti, that picked us up in Venice and dropped us off in Croatia at a place where we had arranged to rent a car. Our driver spoke no English but, since we knew where we were going, it was fine. I just wanted to mention this as it worked well for us in case you needed another option.

Now that you need lodging, don't know I can recommend booking.com but always book with them, and found property owners and managers for the apts that I always stay in extraordinary and extremely accommodating.

Please don't forget travel insurance. I had a situation in November in Paris and had to return home early, which just means I will have to go back and finish the trip, but insruance really helped out.

Since that catamaran to Venice is so early, I would stay somewhere close to the Valdibora parking lot where you check in. I often stay in an apartment just up the street, it is like a two minute walk. Do not stay where you have to wheel your stuff over cobblestone streets at zero dark thirty. July is crazy busy, do not delay in looking at places to stay.

Out of curiosity, I compared rates for private drivers going from Rovinj to Venice and the ferry and found the driver to be only a little more expensive. For the convenience, I would do a private car service. I just did a general search and found a private driver through Viator; perhaps rialtogirl would be able to recommend one. She is very knowledgeable about Croatia and her point about rolling luggage over cobblestones is worth noting!

The lowest rate for the ferries for 5 passengers for a random date in July was €275 (@$300).
https://ssl.directferries.com/ferry/...dium=affiliate

On Viator, I found a service for $394 for 5.
https://www.viator.com/tours/Rovinj/...2799-197025P17

Hvala progol that viator quote is too high. On goopti a private transfer for five is 265 euros (I used a random date in July.) My guy in Rovinj charges around 215 euros but I never asked him in middle of July before, probably it is more in July and August. But I think the catamaran tickets are already booked..
I love goopti, I wish they would expand all over Europe.
https://www.goopti.com/en/

rialrogirl, Ahh, you�re right. It does appear that they�ve already booked the tickets. Maybe they have more energy than me, but I would�ve slept in a little longer and gone for a private driver!😉 I figured that the Viator quote would be on the high side, but used it as a good place to start for comparison.

rialtogrl, your contact person is worth knowing about!

Oh my, I didn't get a notification that you guys were chiming in with more helpful info! I think I have decided to cancel my ferry tickets (I booked VIP which gives me that option) and change to a private transfer! I had already been thinking of this and you all just sold me on it! The prices were about the same when I looked and then my husband doesn't have to stress about the water either.

You are right about the lodging in Rovinj...it is slim pickings. We need 4 beds minimum (my teens are very grumpy if they have to share a bed and it's just not worth it). And we prefer to all stay in one place if possible. I finally found a place but it's not super special. The places I have in Dubrovnik and Split are much more charming!

As for the transfer from Rovinj to Venice, do you guys think it is worth making a stop on the way somewhere? Or should we just drive straight through?

And rialtogrl, I would love the contact information of your wonderful driver, if you are so inclined!

Thanks again!

Inkelly, write to Sa�a about your transfer, you will find the email in this website: https://travelnautilus.com/en
He also has apartments. Like I said, I do not know the price for summer.. or how much he would add to make a stop. Also for five people it would be a bit more. Goopti is 265 so that�s a good comparison.

another place to look for apartments is here: Agency services fro rental properties - Elim, Rovinj
You can write to Sanja there, tell her what you need, she knows what she has available. Both Sanja and Sa�a have kids and this is slow season/down time with family so if you write and they don�t respond within a day or two let me know, I�ll send them a message.

Depending on your dates, in July in Venice there is a fantastic festival, Redentore.

You are smart to get your lodging now, last summer was crazy and at one point there were only three places available in Split (albeit, it was August.) Three. And they were charging 900 euros a night. I am not joking.

I also know a fantastic driver/guide in Split, he knows about the GOT places, but he does not have a website. If you want his info send me a private message. He can pick you up in Dubrovnik, take you to Trsteno and Klis on the way to Split..he also showed me some GOT place close to Trogir once.