We're driving from Zagreb to Dubrovnik the first week of June (spending the 2nd week on a chartered sail boat).

We haven't set an itinerary yet and would appreciate recommendations for your favorite sites and accommodations.

We enjoy hiking and like to meet the locals. We probably won't spend much time on the beach since we will have a full week on the water. Would love your recommendations!

Oh, my goodness. Where to begin? I love Croatia but my favourites would be:

Istria. My number one. All of it but especially the gorgeous ancient little hilltowns such as Hum, Bale, Groznjan, Roc, etc. Great place to meet locals. Rovinj on the sea is fabulous as well, especially in the early evening.

Plitvice Lakes. Absolutely stunning and breathtaking with turquoise lakes and falls. Great walking.

Zadar - an interesting town.

Trogir (near split). Lovely little ancient port town that is a pleasure to wander. Only drawback - lots of tourists.

Dubrovnik. You must get views from above looking down at Dubrovnik - goosebump moment. Walking the walls is also a must.

Islands - especially Mljet.

What types of accommodations are you seeking? We always stay in B&B's, pensions, etc. rather than hotels for many reasons but the main one is we love to get into rural and isolated areas with no other people around. We stayed at a fantastic spot on our last trip to Istria - very isolated and quiet.

Have fun planning! You have chosen a startingly beautiful country to visit.

I would love to stay in B&Bs or sobes (is that the word?). I like to meet local people and rarely find anything appealing about hotels.

Must be clean, well-organized and competent service. An outstanding accommodation would be historic, scenic, charming.

My only concern about isolated is that we don't have a lot of time to kick back and relax. We are going to have keep moving to see even a fraction of all the things we don't want to miss. So I don't want to be too far off the track.

Can you help?

With a week, I would either explore Istria (then maybe catch the overnight ferry down to Dubrovnik, or at least part of the way).
Or, I would explore a bit around Zagreb--definitely Plitvice--then drive down to Dubrovnik seeing some inland towns and into Bosnia.
Either way, you'd get a very different picture from what you will get along the coast on the sailboat.
I always recommend 3 nights per place--places that you can do great day trips from of course.

I agree with both posters on Istria! We did a 6 day walk from Motovun to Molinaseca Draga through all the little hill towns. It was magical and CHEAP. We booked a self guided walk that included accom in quaint little inns and sobes with most dinners, all packed lunches and all breakfasts. Istria is truffle country and we actually got tired of truffles at every meal! I know, cry me a river. The scenary is spectacular and the people are helpful and very friendly. The overnight ferry is quite nice if you get a stateroom and it takes a lot of the hassle out of travel on the coast. I liked Split better than Dubrovnik; it felt more authentic and seemed more cosmopolitan. I bought 2 interesting prints in a small gallery. We skipped the lakes because we live in British Columbia and boy do we have lakes.

We will rent a car in Zagreb and would then like to drive to Istria and Plitvice. If our final destination is Dubrovnik--is this the right order?

Any idea about driving times from Zagreb to Istria and Istria to Plitvice?

If we arrive on Sunday, can we do Istria and Plitvice and still arrive in Dubrovnik Saturday morning? Can we make one more stop?

Appreciate the help.

Check these out,

www.economycarrentals.com
www.auto-europe.com

we are regular visitors to Croatia and have not found a better deal for car rental.

Would suggest a base in one of the villiages near Opatija for a few days, from there you can easily explore all of Istria and do some hiking on Mount Ucka (the view is spectacular)Also eat at Le Mandrac in Volosko, a truly great dining experience.
Move on to Plitvice in the evening to get an early start the next morning, by doing this you will avoid the large tour groups which arrive late morning and you will be able to get to Zadar later in the day at your ease.

Hum is certainly one of a kind. I missed the main turnoff to Hum, and none of the other 3 women in the car said anything and I ended up going up the really, really, back way. Someone turned one of the back road signs and we ended up at a farm house at a dead end. They gave me directions in sign language, we then ended up at another farm, where one person spoke english and they said wait a miniute and their family member, who was going to the cemetary in Hum took us there. Wear great gripping shoes, as the stone, that you walk to the center, are as slippery as ice. We visited the Visitors Center, bought a card and walked around the very, very, small town. It was great.

You've got a lot of great advice so I have little to contribute based on my 3 visits there. However, I'm curious about your boat charter. Will you be sailing yourselves or did you hire a captain/crew? do you have a set itinerary or will you wing it? We're not sailors but I'd love to do a week long sail in Southern Dalmatia.

we flew into zagreb..need only a few hours to see the best
then plitvice lakes for a morning
then drove to zadar and then along coast to trogir...fabulous
along coast to dubrovnik
stopping at brela and makarska riviera and a little village called ston was super

dubrovnik is fantastic
didnt get to mostar ,,,it was a 6hr round trip from dubrovnik
go to montenegro and see kotor fjord
and places like budva and perast

as for the islands..we hired a yacht and sailed ( well motored ) to brac island ..saw zlatnyi rad and then hvar island ( a must) and then viz...this island has a blue grotto but we missed the tour cos we didnt get there by 9am

favourites...trogir
split is ok ...but trogir is nicer
ston
dubrovnik

For babsNYC:
We are chartering a boat from The Moorings. We will sail it ourselves. We've sailed with The Moorings several times (usually in the Caribbean) and have had wonderful experiences. For our 25th wedding anniversary the kids have convinced us to go farther afield!

The Moorings can provide Captains--I've never done it, but I wouldn't hesitate to try it.

To yorkshire:
I am very interested in Plitvice and you mention it in conjunction with Zagreb. On the map it looks like it could also be a stop after Istria, enroute to Dubrovnik.
Can you advise whether I want to do Zagreb--Plitvice--Istria-south or Zagreb-Istria--Plitvice-south?

Also, how long in Zagreb if I only have 5 full days total? We arrive Sunday night and must be in Dubrovnik early Saturday. I am thinking one full day and Monday night in Zagreb and then on to either Istri or Plitvice.

Advice?

To DansDelight:

Thanks, we are all set with economycar.

Can you give me some idea of driving times around Istria from Opatija? For example, how long to Pula?

Also any recommendation for lodging in/near Opatija? Using that as a base sounds like a great plan.

I will check out Mount Ucka.

To travel2live2 (and all others

Any advice for plan of "attack" on Istria to make the most of only 3 days? Any recommendation for accommodations. DansDelight suggested setting up base at Opatija.

Thanks to all for the helpful feedback.

Check out viamichelin for drive times and route planning. Someone who has driven to Istria can hopefully advise you if it is better to go to Plitvice or Istria first--it seems to matter little unless you are taking the ferry from Rijeka south from Istria to get to Dubrovnik, in which case it would make sense to hit Plitvice first so as to not backtrack too much.
I liked Zagreb, but since you are going to Istria, you should stay there as little as possible and maximize your time in Istria instead. I'd take an overnight in Plitvice instead if I had to choose between that and Zagreb to get more hiking time in evening or morning.
You are so lucky to be sailors! I hope you will be visiting Vis (restaurant Konoba Vatrica is excellent) and Lastovo (Zaklopatica Bay). Very nice coves for swimming surrounding both islands.

Of course the overnight ferry from Rijeka to Dubrovnik may not be running the day you need it, so go ahead and check that at jadrolinija's website. That could greatly affect your itinerary, because then you need to account for the drive times all the way south. Again, check viamichelin. I know it's only about 2 hours to Plitvice, I would then pick one base in Istria and use viamichelin and jadrolinija to figure out how to get to Dbv the quickest.
Good Luck!

Opatija to most towns in Istria takes not more one hour and as the season will not be in full swing, you will not have traffic problems.
Don't know your price range but these i am happy to reommend.
www.dinka.hr
www.pansion-stanger.hr
www.villa-palme.com

Wow, what a great tip to go to viamichellin! Plotting the driving route and estimating driving times had been a real challenge. Viamichellin nails it! Thanks, yorkshire.

We spent over 45 days in Croatia last summer, so you might want to look at our blog for our trip report (starts here):

http://www.soultravelers3.com/blog/D...FE318C598.html

Our favorite places were Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Plitsvice park, Korcula and Har. We also really loved the coast drive from Dubrovnik to Split.

You will have a wonderful time!

Is it feasible to see Istria (2-3 days) from one home base? Near Opatija? Or would you recommend moving night to night to reduce driving.

travel2live2 recommended a lovely place with a 3-night minimum--http://www.tzpazin.hr/index_eng.php?stranica=16&booking_id=75