Hello everyone,

My wife and I are both double vaccinated and hoping to visit Croatia in September from the 7th-21st. We will have 13 full days in country. We are 35 and 32 and both love the beach, to hike, exploring cities and learning history and love to eat local foods. We also love photography. We usually travel at a pretty decent pace, so we are used to packed schedules. We enjoy our down time at the beach but don't need more than a few hours to do that on any given day.

Was hoping for some feedback on our proposed itinerary. We are planning on renting a car at a couple of different points.

Tuesday, September 7th

• Arrive in Zagreb in evening
• Overnight in Zagreb

Wednesday, September 8th

• Day in Zagreb
• Overnight in Zagreb

Thursday, September 9th

• Rent car, Drive to Plitvice Lakes National Park
• Day in National Park
• Overnight near National Park

Friday, September 10th

• Morning at Plitvice Lakes National Park
• Drive to Zadar
• Afternoon in Zadar (try to be here by 12pm)
• Overnight in Zadar

Saturday, September 11th

• Day trip from Zadar
• Kornati National Park (rent private boat/driver for day)

OR

• Hiking in Paklenica National Park

• Overnight in Zadar

Sunday, September 12th

• Drive to Krka National Park
• Afternoon on Sibenik
• Drive to Split
  • Return car
• Evening in Split
• Overnight in Split

Monday, September 13th

• Day in Split
• Overnight in Split

Tuesday, September 14th

• Passenger ferry to Hvar
• Day in Hvar
• Overnight in Hvar

Wednesday, September 15th

• Day in Hvar
• Overnight in Hvar

Thursday, September 16th

• Ferry Hvar to Korcula
• Rent car in Korcula, Day in Korcula
• Overnight in Korcula

Friday, September 17th

• Day in Korcula
• Overnight in Korcula

Saturday, September 18th

• Drive Pelješac Peninsula
• Visit Ston on way to Dubrovnik
• Overnight in Dubrovnik

Sunday, September 19th

• Day in Dubrovnik
• Overnight in Dubrovnik

Monday, September 20th

• Day in Dubrovnik
• Day trip to nearby island(s)?
  - which one?
• Overnight in Dubrovnik

Tuesday, September 21st

• Fly home
  

The one thing I can't decide on is do I want the last day in Dubrovnik to go to an island(s) near by, or should I take that out and add it to Split and do a full day trip to Brac instead?

Any recommendations and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Tanya and Warren

The one potentially sticky point I see is it may be difficult to find a rental agency that lets you do a one-way rental Korcula to Dbv. Just something to double check.
I would add a day to Hvar or Korcula before doing a day trip out of Dubrovnik. But, Dubrovnik is tiny, so you do have the option of a day trip to the Elafiti islands (not sure if Mljet works as a day trip), or just hop over the Lokrum to swim. There are kayak tours also.
I get you like a fast pace, and I agree with the allotment of days you have given Zagreb, Plitvice, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik, but you gotta take a breather at some point, if only to do laundry, and the place I'd most want to stop and smell the roses is on an island. You could also choose one or the other of the two islands--both are great.
I would not choose Brac over Hvar or Korcula, but it does have some pretty towns and an interesting monastery. Zlatni rat is better in photos I think--it is pretty crowded.
I rushed through Croatia on my first trip and had to go back three times--it might very well be my first trip once I am ready to travel again, so thanks for this stroll down memory lane!

Krka and Šibenik in one day is a bit ambitious. You already have other national parks in the itinerary, maybe skip Krka? Also make sure where you want to drop your car is open Sunday, and what hours.

If you find a car agency that will allow you to take a car from Korčula to Dubrovnik, definitely post the info! Others have asked about it..

I personally feel there is enough to do in Dubrovnik to keep you occupied for two days. If you find you are running out if things to do, hop on the boat to Lokrum. Also I think you have enough island time without throwing Brač into the mix. Trogir could be a nice stop en route from Šibenik to Split.

Trogir or Brac would be better

Thank you all for your feedback.

We have narrowed it down to adding that extra day at:

1) Add it to Hvar so we would have 3 days/3 nights there
or
2) Add it to Dubrovnik and do a half day in Lokrum and half day at beach in Dubrovnik.

We thought if we added the day to Hvar we could rent a boat and do a day trip to the Pakleni Islands for that day.

Question....how different are the Pakleni islands and the Kornati islands? Our plan was to rent a boat and go to the Kornati from Zadar. If we rented a boat and spent a day exploring both of these spots a few days apart would that be too redundant?

Also, the one way car rental in Korcula is definitely posing a problem. I did find one company that will do it but it is a $140 euro fee to do so on top of the rental (which is already expensive). Not keen on paying that kind of money, however I don't see another way to get from Hvar over to Korcula and down to Dubrovnik via the peninsula. We would have to keep our car rental and take it to Hvar, then retrun to Split and take the car ferry from Split to Korcula (1030am-2pm). If we did this we wouldn't be in Korcula Town until close to 3pm so we will have lost a good majority of one of our two days on that island (where the passenger ferry from Hvar arrives right in town at 10am),

1) I really can't get enough of the islands myself. With Pakleni, you can just hop on a day boat and walk around as much or as little as you want. Kornati are supposed to be unique, so I would not find it redundant to do both (but you also have the Paklenica option for something different. There is also Telascica near Zadar, but not sure how feasible it is as a day trip.

2) If it is just 140, I'd go for it. Otherwise you could rework things entirely -- travel on the car ferry route via Lastovo perhaps?

You might be able to pick up a car in Orebić on the mainland. It is easy to get over there from Korčula. Getting a private transfer to do that one day jaunt is also an option.

Get a car for a day in Hvar, too, especially if you have three days there.

If the two island chains provide different experiences then I think we will go that route. Can't have too many days on that water island hopping, right?!

We are definitely going to rent some mode of transport for a day in Hvar. I was reading about the ATV and scooter options. Any thoughts on this vs a car?

I looked a little bit into renting a car in Orebic too but didn't see anything stick out. Im sure if I look harder I might find something, however I wonder if renting a car for 2 days in Korcula, returning it, boarding a ferry, and renting a new car on the other side just to drive it down the peninsula is a bit more of an inconvenience than anything. I might have to just eat the 140 euros for time and convenience sake. The private transfer is an appealing option, although 1) would that be cheaper than the $140 euros, and 2) we were hoping to hit some wineries and beaches and maybe visit Ston on the way to Dubrovnik. Would the private transfer allow this or would it be simply a one way straight ride?

Depends on the distance. If you are experienced with boating, I'd do that first. A bus to Stari Grad is easy, and you can ride along the coast on a bike rental from there--something I'd like to get back and do.
I've done the scooter thing, luckily lived to tell the tale, but if you are looking to traverse the entire island, I'd get a car (maybe a jeep) for those distances--a scooter on a highway is not pleasant, and it's a pretty big road to get from Hvar to . Coincidentally I was just at physical therapy and a person I chatted with had hurt her back falling off one in Mexico. They are loud and not worth the danger, just my 2c.

A private transfer might be cheaper than140 euros plus whatever they are charging per day. For sure you can find a driver who can make stops. In fact, could be nice if you want to drink wine.

Lots of people take scooters in Hvar, but if you want to go around a lot of the island, a car is for sure better.

Wow warrnen I am traveling around same dates and have almost the identical trip. Did you find a place in Zadar? Was it near old town?

I think your plan sounds great - very envious! I once did a very similar route but using local transport only and we had three weeks.

You could take an organised day tour to Peljesac Peninsula from Korcula by boat, including visits to vineyards (check out Korcula Explorer as one example). And then take the bus from Korcula to Dubrovnik - it's a pretty scenic ride and very relaxing.

We explored Hvar using the local bus and it was fine (also did a short hike). After a scooter accident in Greece a million years ago, I'm wary of them (I was not an experienced rider). Perhaps just decide when you get there.