Northern Croatia in 11 Days with 3 Year Old

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jjjoejr
jjjoejr

Hi there my wife and I will be taking our 3 year old son to visit the beautiful Croatia next May. While we're extremely excited, I would like to ask for some feedback and advice. As we'll be flying into Zagreb, I am planning on spending all our time in the northern part of the country only which means no Dubrovnik.

We like doing cultural things and also the nature, and we are content with just strolling around towns and cities and experience how locals live. I hope to get to: Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Zadar, Rijeka, Pula, Rovinj, and Porec. Is it too ambitious to hit all those in 11 days?

We'll be traveling with a toddler so we'll definitely need to take our time. And is the best way to travel around renting a car?

Thanks very much in advance!

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meckerdv
meckerdv

Do you really mean the northern part of the country or do you plan to go to the coast nevertheless?

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jjjoejr
jjjoejr

What I mean by northern is basically anything north of Zadar, so yes we hope to see the coast as well. Thanks!

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meckerdv
meckerdv

Zagreb - Plitvice, Plitvice - Zadar, Zadar - Rijeka, Rijeka - Pula, Pula Rovinj, Rovinj - Zagreb:
all these legs can easily be done by bus.
But I think with a toddler, everything would be a bit easier by car. A car may definitely be the better choice if you plan to visit places between the mentioned towns, as Pag Island or Rab Island which can easily be included into the Zadar - Rijeka/Opatija leg. There are also car ferries from Rab Island to Krk Island, from Krk Island to Cres Island and from there to Istria (check with the car rental company if they allow to use ferries)
http://www.jadrolinija.hr/en/sailing-schedule/local-lines-01-01---02-06-2016-03-10---31-12-2016 http://www.rapska-plovidba.hr/plovni_en.html Antiques (roman) place: Pula (amphitheatre) and - outside your itinerary - Split (palace of Diocletian).
Scenic medieval towns: Rab, Krk, Cres, Rovinj, Porec, Novigrad, Umag, Piran (Slovenia).
May be you are aso interested in the Krka Falls Park, close to Sibenik.

I don't think that you can visit all these places within 11 days, but I wouldn't plan too much in advance. Don't forget that there may also be rainy days which wouldn't allow to do outdoor thins. May is low season, there will be almost no tourists in beach towns and to find accommodation wouldn't be a problem.

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