Planning a trip to Croatia and not sure where to start? This post summarizes top destinations, number of days I spent on each, and suggested routes to help you decide.
We started on the northern coast and drove down to Split. Best way to move from the northern part of Croatia (Rovinj, Pula) to southern cities (Split, Hvar, Dubrovnik) is either by driving down or taking a quick flight. We didn’t plan on visiting Zagreb, which is the largest transportation hub in the north and wasn’t able to find many options in terms of train or bus that provided reasonable traveling time.
Rovinj + Pula: 3 nights
Rovinj was actually my favorite town. Main old town is small but has all the varieties of food, drinks, and so many adorable streets. If you are interested in just seeing the town vs. you can technically see everything in a day.
Bar hop: this might sound weird but Rovinj is filled with the cutest bars on small streets! You can spend an entire day visiting all the cute spots to grab a drink!
Beach day
Visit Pula
Drive down to split or fly from Pula to Split. If you drive down, you can stop by Krka or Plitvice National Park. Toll road between Rovinj and Split was really easy to drive on.
Split: 2 nights
Split was mainly a stop to access various islands along the coast via ferry but we were glad we spent at least a full day to explore.
Tour the main old town city
Beach day or visit near by cities (Sibenik, Trogir)
Hvar: 3 nights
There are many small islands nearby but with limited time, it’s hard to visit all of them. Hvar is a good base for island hopping or visiting swimming spots via boat so recommend spending a few more days here!
Boat tour
Beach + city tour
Stari grad/winery tour
Korcula: 3 nights
This is another small adorable old main town. Island itself is actually pretty big so you can explore other parts of the island with more time.
Explore old town
Beach day or drive out to western part of the island
Winery tour
Dubrovnik: 1 night
We flew out of Dubrovnik and felt like a 1.5 or 2 days would be enough to see everything. You can definitely see everything in the old town and go up to the panoramic view point to enjoy what the city has to offer.
Old city tour
View/panorama
Note that this itinerary prioritizes coastal cities and islands vs. big cities (we skipped Zagreb and didn’t spend too much time in Split and Dubrovnik). If you prefer more historical sites and residential cities, definitely spend more time in Dubrovnik, other cities near Split, and Zagreb.
See more clips and photos from Croatia @fine.vining
