Our Itinerary - Suggestions???
 

Hello everyone!

So we are heading to the old continent this Friday. Here is our itinerary and we welcome any suggestions that you might have:

FYI, the tickets were bought using our miles, so I didn't have much flexibility there

Saturday - Rome
Sunday - Rome
Monday - early departure to Split (connecting thru Milan). DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON LODGING, OR RENTING AN APARTMENT IN SPLIT AND BE OUR BASE FOR 3 DAYS, AND EXPLORE THE NEARBY ISLANDS ETC. OR POSSIBLY STAY IN ONE OF THE NEARBY ISLANDS ....NOT LOOKING FOR A PARTY ISLAND, BUT MOSTLY TO DISCOVER THE CULTURE.
Tuesday - Split area or islands
Wednesday - Split area or islands
Thursday - early departure to Dubrovnik via ferry
Friday - Dubrovnik and nearby islands
Saturday - Dubrovnik and nearby islands
Sunday - pick up rental car
Monday - drive up north and explore small villages along the way
Tuesday - drive up north and explore small villages along the way
Wednesday - Istria / Pula area
Thursday - Istria / Pula area
Friday - Istria / Pula area
Saturday - Leave early to Zagreb and return rental car
Sunday - Departure early from Zagreb (connecting thru Paris), spend half day in Paris, before flight back home

I stayed at the Peristil in Split 3 weeks ago. Charming little hotel, great service, very good food. It's in the old city and a great location. The music festival was about 100 yards from the outdoor restaurant, and even though we couldn't see the entertainment it made a great background for dinner. Good air conditioning, which was important with temps over 100. Only drawback is no elevator. Check reviews on Tripadvisor.
I took water taxis to nearby island for day trips.

In Dubrovnik, there are also water taxis and larger boats to nearby islands. The one hour trip to Lopud and the walk to Sunj Beach are well worth it. Lopud has the only sand beaches we found. There were 6 people on our trip, some of whom have been to many exotic places, and we all agreed that Croatia is the most beautiful place we have ever been. If you like food (and willing to pay a lot for it) try Guy's, right inside the old city wall in Dubrovnik. It just opened when we were there and was quite an experience. Absolutely magnificently furnished restaurant with fantastic view. If you don't want to have dinner, at least go for cocktails. Although fancy and expensive, you don't need to dress up.

great! Thanks for the information. Do you know the website companies for the ferries in Croatia?

jadrolinija.hr for the ferry and there is a great recent posting on here for Tips for Croatian restaurants.

great! Thanks! I think we are going to head to Vis as soon as we arrive.

Alright, here is my final (...well it's never final) itinerary:

Saturday - Rome
Sunday - Rome
Monday - early departure to Split (connecting thru Milan). Catch the ferry to HVAR
Tuesday - HVAR
Wednesday - HVAR
Thursday - early departure, take Ferry from HVAR to Split. Catch bus to Dubrovnik. Take Ferry to Lopud
Friday - Lopud
Saturday - Lopud
Sunday - Take ferry to Dubrovnik and pick up rental car
Monday - drive up to Trogir and spend the night
Tuesday - drive up north towards Istria and spend the night somewhere along the way
Wednesday - Drive towards Pula
Thursday - Pula
Friday - Drive toward Zagreb, and spend the night somehwere along the way
Saturday - Drive to Zagreb and return rental car and spend the night in Zagreb
Sunday - Departure early from Zagreb (connecting thru Paris), spend half day in Paris, before flight back home

Any comments?

Hi Carlos:

I thought Trogir and Split are fairly close to one another. If that is correct why not spend the first night in Trogir then catch the ferry to Hvar. After leaving Hvar then to Dubrovnik. I will be traveling to Croatia in September and plan on Dubrovnik first, and then head north.

Where are you staying in Pula?

Sounds like we'll both be having a great trip.

because I need to pick up the rental car on Sunday. So I'd like to spend 3 nights up front in HVAR and 3 nights in Lopud. I have to head up north anyway from Dubrobnik, so I figure Trogir is a central location to stay on my way up north...this is not set in stone, so while we are driving, we could very well stay in a small village that we like...

thanks again. I'm leaving today!