Trip itinerary - 10 days in Croatia

Hi all, I'm planning a trip to Croatia in September with 3 friends. We were originally planning to spend most of our time around Split but have had to amend our plans due to flights costs and schedules. We now fly to Split and back from Ljubljana. How does this sound?

Day 1 - Arrive in Split in morning and spend day sightseeing
Day 2 - ferry to Hvar, stay overnight
Day 3 - ferry back to Split and bus to dubrovnik
Day 4 - spend day in Dubrovnik
Day 5 - still in Dubrovnik, take a trip to nearby islands
Day 6 - hire car and drive to Trogir via Mostar. Spend a few hours in Mostar but spend night in Trogir (or Split)
Day 7 - Drive to Plitvice and spend day here then onwards to Zagreb to spend night, leave car here
Day 8 - spend day in Zagreb
Day 9 - spend morning in Zagreb then catch train to Ljubljana
Day 10 - spend some time in Ljubljana and visit Lake Bled
Day 11 - Spend day in Ljubljana, fly home 5pm

I know this is a packed itinerary but we couldn't decide what places to miss out, if any! Is this do-able or should we drop a couple of places? Also do we need to hire a car or could we do this by bus? If we did it by bus are there places to store bags for the day in Mostar and Plitvice as we won't be spending the night here?

Many thanks

If it were me, I'd try to fly into Dubrovnik, start there, and then head north to Hvar, Split, Zagreb and beyond.
Dave

Would have ideally done that but there weren't any cheap enough flights. We have toyed with missing Dubrovnik out and heading north from Split but from reading some of the posts on this branch Dubrovnik seems like a must see.

Do you envision getting back sometime? If so, it's not such a travesty to skip Dubrovnik (in fact, I'd trade Dubrovnik for a few nights in one place instead). You'll see what I mean when you get to Hvar, start relaxing, and then have to take off the next day (2 hours ferry and 4.5 hours bus).
However, this seems to work with your other plans (Mostar), and if you are the type to move around a lot there's nothing wrong with that. But with 4 people having to find rooms when you get to town, think hard about staying longer in one place.

I think you could do days 6-7 with bus, but a car might be a lot more convenient--allowing you to stop, etc. (I rarely recommend car rental, but with this itinerary you'll spend too much time changing buses. etc.)

There is def. luggage storage at Plitvice. I don't know about Mostar but there's generally someplace to leave a bag.

Yeah, I wouldn't miss Dubrovnik. It's just that you have a jam-packed itinerary (probably too jam packed to do Croatia justice), and you're going to waste a half-day of that itineary backtracking from Dubrovnik. I'd probably reduce my time in Zagreb, which will give you an extra day somewhere on the coast.

The problem with this type of itinerary is that you're really not even going to have a chance to experience some of these cities. You'll end up with little more than a half-day in some of them. For example, you'll ferry to Hvar from Split. I don't know the exact schedules, but it takes a couple of hours. Then you've got to find your hotel, check in, get your gear unpacked. It's probably after lunch until you can really start exploring around the town, and you'll probably have to leave first thing in the morning to get transport to Split/Dubrovnik. The question becomes, is it really worth spending four hours on a ferry to spend a half day in Hvar?

Your side trip to Mostar is even more crowded, with a 4 hour journey on each leg -- you'll spend eight hours of your day in the car to see Mostar for a few hours.

Dave

Its certainly possible if you have the energy - i did a similar-ish route in about the same time-frame.

The problem with that sort of plan as has been said is that you may not get to experience the places. If i were you i'd cut Zagreb to the bare minimum - there is nothing there you cant find in other cities.

Do you think you'll be coming back to the area at some point? if so you could always cut out a few places - either Dubrovnik as its out of the way or Mostar, as I cant imagine Mostar losing any of its character in the next few years! If you did either of those you could then have more time in Hvar and Split, which are lovely

I agree with the others, it's possible if you don't mind a fairly packed itinerary. Although it's true that you can have a look round Mostar in a couple of hours, personally I find it more atmospheric at night. I'd probably also spend less time in Zagreb to have a bit longer in Slovenia, maybe visit Bohinj as well as Bled, or one of the caves.

As for Dubrovnik being a must-see, I would tend to agree that it is a highlight of Croatia, but you should be aware that it gets mixed reviews on this forum - I think perhaps it's because some people have inflated expectations, and also some people don't seem to realise how many tourists go there. I just mention it so you will be realistic about what to expect. As others have said, if you think you will have a chance to come back maybe you could leave it out, given that it's not a neat fit due to flying into Split.

you need take katamaran at 6.00 from hvar to Split, and buses at 8.00 dubrovnik ..

Greetings,

Another agreement here -- you are trying to cram a lot in -- also, the place I would be most likely to shortchange is Zagreb.

Definitely stay in Trogir. Split is another city with some neat things, but, Trogir beats it as a place to stay. We found very nice private accomodations there with just a short walk across the bridge to the old city.

Your schedule does look awkward with Split-Hvar-Split-Dubrovnik. You could take the bus from Split the first day and work your way back to Split by ferry, renting your car in Split.

Plitvice is definitely cool. Lots of very nice private accomodation in the immediate area.

My daughter was in Croatia in 2003 and we followed some of her recommendations when we went last month. Her three don't-miss places are: Dubrovnik (especially the walls with the audiotour), Plitvice NP and Komiza on the island of Vis. She didn't steer us wrong.

Have fun. Stay flexible.

Thanks everyone. I think we've decided to give Dubrovnik a miss, it sounds great so we will perhaps return to see it another time. I think we'll use the extra time that we'll now have to maybe spend the night in Mostar and generally be a little less rushed through the other places.