Hello everyone. My fiance and I decided to spend our honeymoon in Croatia! We just booked tickets for a trip from September 2 - September 15. Arrive to Zagreb and depart from Dubrovnik.
We want this trip to combine sightseeing (both historic and nature) and great beaches (we like secluded beautiful spots/spots that are not very touristy or ones where you have to drive to away from the city. We also want to appreciate the countryside. Anyway, here is how we thought of spending our trip.

Sep 2 - Zagreb
Sep 3 - Plitvice Lakes
Sep 4 - Drive to Rovinj
Sep 4-7 - Spend in Rovinj and take day trips around Istria.
Sep 8 - Take a ferry to Hvar
Sep 8-11 - Spend in Hvar and take day trips around the area
Sep 12 - Take a ferry to Dubrovnik
Sep 12-14 Spend in Dubrovnik and take day trips to islands.
Sep 15 - Return flight.

I would really appreciate any suggestions and advice from anyone regarding this plan, places to visit, accommodation (hotels/apartments?) or anything else worthwhile! We are really excited to go and since it is our honeymoon want to make this trip perfect. If it helps, I'm 30 years old and she is 26.

Thanks a lot in advance to everyone for all your help!

Paul

Congratulations, Paul!

What a fabulous place to spend your honeymoon. It is truly a remarkable country in so many ways.

I really like your itinerary. A very nice variety. Very similar to our last trip there.

My husband and I prefer to stay in apartments or sobes rather than hotels in Croatia but that is just our thing. You can get fabulous private apartments for cheap all over the place. One of our favourites is located several miles from Hum in Istria - in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills, grapes, lovely scenery and tranquility. That place is only 50 euros per night but I have a list of lots of others as well if you are interested. We often try to stay in rural locations that are off the beaten path (sometimes we even have a hard time finding them again!). You mention staying in Rovinj while there - I'll do some searching for my favourite spots.

Istria is my favourite part of the country. I highly recommend the tiny ancient hilltowns of Hum (pop 17 I believe), Bale (very quiet and lovely), Groznjan and Grascice. Draguc is pretty, too.

You will fall in love with Rovinj. Adjectives cannot describe it adequately. The tiny streets are pure joy to wander and get lost in.

Plitvice - what can I say? Gobsmackingly and shockingly gorgeous. Even better than books. Hopefully when you are there it isn't raining but it is still lovely even if it is (as we experienced last trip).

In September you will be able to sample yummy foods from prsut (akin to prosciutto only better in my opinion), various homemade cheeses, wines, olive oils, etc. There are roadside stands in many places throughout Istria. You can also try the roadside spit roasts for delicious lamb and pork. Peka (cooking under a lid) is fabulous. And of course the seafood can be very good (but can be expensive in cities).

Hvar is also very beautiful - you are sure to enjoy it. A great place to wander and relax.

Dubrovnik is amazing. I would definitely lose your rental car as soon as you get to Dubrovnik as it certainly is not made for driving. You can either take a taxi to the airport or the shuttle which is really cheap. Be sure to walk the walls for great vantage points and orientation to the city. There are tons of great islands to visit from there. Absolutely no shortage of things to do, that is for sure. Just keep in mind that it will be extremely crowded. Still well worth it - a must see.

Driving in Croatia is very simple as is navigating. I personally would not do it any other way.

I already look forward to your trip report!

Travel2live2, thanks a lot for your post. We were also thinking of staying in apartments during our trip but not sure which ones are good. We want them to be nice and close to the sea so we can get great views. Please send whatever recommendations you have to my personal email: paul.tomashevsky @gmail.com Once again thanks for your reply.

Regards,

Paul

You don't need help--you've done an excellent job, with the rare task of not trying to cram too much and move on every day--Congrats!
I have not yet been to Istria, but every one of t2l2's posts makes me want to go more, so you're covered there.
You can keep the car the whole time, or rent one only while in Istria (for those hill towns) and parts of your time in Hvar (for covering the island or for mainland explorations) and Dubrovnik (for day trips to Montenegro or Bosnia).
The place I stayed in Hvar was not "honeymoon special" but apartments are the way to go, just look online till you find one with a great balcony/view. I believe I found mine through the tourist site below (all have accomoodation links). The beaches on the Pakleni islands (there are daily boat excursions) were just what you seek--but with a car you'll be able to find great ones on Hvar island itself as well.
The views while on the ferry are amazing, but I get really antsy on long ferry rides. Especially if you are also doing the long haul from Rijeka (I believe that one is overnight though). You might want to look into driving from Hvar to Dubrovnik--it would quite likely be faster than the ferry.
Here are a couple of good sources:
http://www.croatia-beaches.com/
http://www.hvar.hr/Default.aspx?tabid=320

Nice trip--you will have fun. Here are some images that you may enjoy:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3882

While in Dubrovnik, you might want to check out the little Island of Lokrum, which is a short boat ride away. It's beautiful, quiet and has a nice swimming area. Also, Lopud has a great beach. You catch the boat in the new harbor at Gruz. Croatia is an amazing country. I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon.

thanks everyone for your input and recommendations! Ok, I'm glad that at least the places we picked are the right ones! Now we have to figure out accommodations. If anyone has more suggestions Zagreb, Rovinj and Hvar that would be awesome! Also, what are the distances between these places? How long is the drive from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes? also how long should we give ourselves at the lakes? How long is the drive from Zagreb to Rovinj? Does anyone know for sure if it is faster to drive from Hvar to Dubrovnik? or is the ferry faster and what is recommended? Is the drive beutifull or exhausting? Once again thanks in advance for all your responses! We can't wait to go, the pictures are amazing!

The viamichelin website is good for mapping out drives and times.

The jadrolinija website http://www.jadrolinija.hr
will allow you to check those ferry times--and dates (I assume you'll need to check Rijeka-Stari Grad (Hvar) as well as Stari Grad-Dubrovnik). They aren't daily, so that could affect your plans.
The ferry between Hvar and Dubrovnik will take at least 8 hours. I haven't done the drive, but you'll need info on what the drive across Hvar is like. The mainland drive is gorgeous and curvy mts in parts but not too bad.

I could spend a week in Plitvice, but it is perfectly reasonable to see the main part of the park (with boardwalks over the lakes) in less than a day. It is really nice to be there in the evening and morning!

Good luck with the accommodation searches--just pick what looks good to.

We stayed at the Park Hotel in Hvar and loved it. We had 2 balconies overlooking the harbor in our apartment. The views were awesome.

Congrats on the upcoming wedding! You've picked an amazing place for your honeymoon. You'll find there are distinct differences between southern and northern Croatia. If you have a chance, try to visit Opatija and or Pula, at least for a day-both are steeped in history! (Istria region). Of course there are many other options for day trips (or longer), but quite honestly, your plans look great and not overly ambitious so that you can enjoy rather than just 'see' things in passing.

In Zagreb, we stayed at Hotel Palace, which is centrally located, and next to the beautiful Strassmeyer Square.

Definitely do the wall walk in Dubrovnik (we found it worth purchasing the audio tour for that). Lokrum Island is a fantastic place to escape the crowds in Dubrovnik-especially when ships are in port, and another nice alternative to Dubrovnik is Cavtat, just a few miles south.

You will definitely have memories to last a life time on this trip! ENJOY!

Once again thanks for the replies. Yourshire, the websites for car directions and ferries schedule are awesome! It looks like we are going to be driving a lot to avoid long ferry rides and limitations on dates. Just need to figure out the best way to get to Dubrovnik from Hvar on September 12. Looks like need to go back to Split first and then drive but if can avoid doing that it would be great.

Debs, I looked at Hotel Palace in Zagreb and thinking of booking it.

After looking at some pictures and driving directions/distances we are altering our trip a bit.
We will drive to Rovinj on morning of Sept 3 and will hit Plitvice Lakes on Sept 7 on the way to Hvar. This way we can stay 4 full days in Rovinj and 4 full days in Hvar and 2.5 days in Dubrovnik. Based on ferry schedule from Split to Hvar and driving distance from Plitvice and Split, we are allowing ourselves 5 hours at the Lakes. Is this enough to spend at the lakes? Sept 7th will be hectic for us but we are getting an extra day in Hvar. Is it worth it?

The driving alternative I was referring to is to drive all the way across Hvar, take the ferry to the mainland (Sucuraj-Drevnik), then continue south to Dubrovnik. I've heard some say this drive is hairy, but others scoff at that and say no biggie. I therefore don't know how much time that would save you, but it might be nice to drive across Hvar--depends also on where you want to stop along the way.
The extra day in Hvar might be devoted to transit, but it could be a very good trip with stops. ALso many options for touring mainland and adjacent islands from Hvar. And it's a pretty nice place to be in itself of course.
I don't know how the drive specifics work out Zagreb-Rovinj-Plitvice-Hvar. You could see the park in 5 hours for sure, but you may want more. Depends on how much hiking you want to do, etc.