I decided to use a tour operator. I will be staying in 4* hotels in the off season from April 14-28. The cost is about $500 a day and only includes breakfast. It includes transfers by car to each destination and in the destination, short tours of two-three hours. I don't get a driver for a full day or anything. Any side trip costs more. Does this seem expensive? I know you pay a premium for a good travel co. but this seems a lot for Croatia. I'd appreciate some opinions.

It seems expensive to me!

Very expensive.

"I have a bridge I would like to sell you". "Someone saw you coming". "There is one born every minute". Other maxims could apply, but this is a family Forum.

Post the link to the tour. People would be able to tell you if there are better options for the hotels used by the tour.

The internet is your friend. Do a little research. Then decide. Do you like the tours you will be given? Are the hotels what you would choose on your own? Have you already booked? What is the distance the car service or driver will be taking you?

>>Does this seem expensive? <<

We are working in a vacuum here. How on EARTH can anyone answer that since we have no idea re the company, or the tour, or the hotels. Post a link. 2* hotels and 5* are apples an oranges. As are the sorts of excursions included.

Well, we can answer based on our experiences of costs in Croatia -- which is, I think, what some of us have done.

Absolutely -- And I would never (nor need to) pay $500 / day there. But Abercrombie & Kent or even some Tauck will cost that much. 90% of tours would cost a fraction of that. We don't know who the OP is talking about.

I believe the tour is by "My Croatia"-- at least, that's my understanding. But yes, the specifics would be helpful.

Is it a tour on a bus with other people or did you hire someone to plan your trip and book cars, etc just for you? If we are talking about private transfers, this is not expensive. For a tour, it depends on the tour, as everyone says it would help to know the tour. Maybe they gIve you a bath with white truffles or something.

Does this include flights?

US dollars?

Yep

>>I believe the tour is by "My Croatia"-<<

OH I read "My Croatia seems expensive" as sort of "My goodness(!) Croatia seems expensive".

There are two websites with that name, neither of which are particularly impressive. The "canned" tour I looked at on the second is nowhere near $500/day, which suggests this is a custom tour. In which case another question is "why not DIY"? Very easy in Croatia.

It seems a little expensive to me, yes, of course you are paying for a handler and the tours, that is worth something. But unless this includes airfare, I would still expect a lot less than that.

But I can't even find a tour operator by that name. The mycroatia.com website is just a tourism website, looks like to me, it isn't a tour operator. If you look at hotels on there, it just routes you to booking.com, for example.

If it's mycroatiatours.com, they are billed as a luxury tour operator, yachts, etc., but the tour descriptions are not in English and I can't read them anyway.

Try this one: https://www.mycroatiatrip.com/

Sorry for the lack of detail. The company is Zicasso. They had high ratings on Trip Advisor. They are as expensive as Kensington. I have my own tour but no airfare. They pick me up from the airport and take me to my accommodations. I do like the hotels they picked. These hotels must reserve rooms for tour operators because when I go online they say they are not available for my dates. But there are plenty of hotels....I have 14 days. The hotels include breakfast but not any other meals. Of my 14 days the only things that are included are this: 1.5 hr tour of Dubrovnik, transport to the ferry to take me to Hvar. Transfer to accommodation. Hvar port transfer, ferry ride to Split. a 1.5 hour private walking tour of Split. Driver from Split to Plitvice.(tour of park not included.) I'm under the impression that the driver won't even stop if I ask. Car to Rovinj to accommodation. A two hour walking tour of Ronvinj. Car to Ljubljana with a few stops on the way. A two hour Ljub walking tour. Then to Zagreb with a two hour walking tour.
I can see that everyone thinks this is really expensive. I agree which is why I posted this. SO, my question is, what else can I do? I don't mind planning the trip myself. But I have ever traveled by myself as I am newly divorced. I am adventurous but I am 61 so sometimes I run out of energy. IS THERE A WAY IN BETWEEN ALL DOING MYSELF AND THIS EXPENSIVE TOUR. WILL I SAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE UP FOR THE LACK OF AGGRAVATION? I did go and research things and hotels aren't that expensive in Croatia. Can I hire a car in each town cheaper than the tour. I don't want to drive myself. This group has done a lot for me in answering questions but do I owe them anything? Sorry for this long post. When I posted for Africa everyone said use a tour company but of course Africa is not Europe. I have my flights so I need to make decisions soon. Thanks folks but more solutions please.

Thank you. I'll look into this.

So it looks like I was on the right track "My goodness(!) Croatia seems expensive".

Heck -- 61 is young. Do you have any mobility issues? I don't have time to post much right now. But there are several Croatia experts posting on here who can help you (I've only been to Split for a long weekend so can't help that much)

Tell us where your flights are booked to and from and what places you wanted to include. A tour can provide comforts, but it really is an easy area to travel around.