10 days · Car
Zagreb to Dubrovnik
The north-to-south classic: Plitvice, Zadar, Krka, Split, Hvar, Korčula, Pelješac and the walls.
- 1,050 km
- 2 ferries
- Open-jaw
Difficulty: easy
Day by day
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Self-guided journeysCroatia itineraries
Four routes we have actually driven and sailed, with honest travel times, ferry connections that match the published timetables, and a deliberate amount of nothing scheduled in the middle of each afternoon.
4Complete routes
7–14Days per itinerary
€95–160Typical daily budget
May–JuneBest window
Before you book flights
Three decisions that shape everything else
The first is whether you want a car. Croatia is long and thin, and the A1 motorway makes the mainland easy, but a car on the islands in August is a liability: queues for the Split–Supetar ferry routinely run to two sailings. The honest test is whether your route includes Plitvice, Pelješac or the Istrian hill towns. If it does, hire a car. If it is purely coastal cities and islands, do not.
The second is open-jaw flights. Flying into Zagreb or Zadar and out of Dubrovnik removes an entire day of backtracking and usually costs less than you fear. Every route below assumes you will not be returning to your arrival airport.
The third is pace. Two nights is the minimum that makes a place worth unpacking for; one-night stops are almost entirely consumed by transfers, check-ins and finding somewhere to eat. Our routes deliberately move less often than most published plans.
The routes
Four journeys, four different holidays
Pick by transport preference first and by scenery second — the scenery is extraordinary on all of them.
7 days · Ferry
Dalmatian island loop
Split, Brač, Hvar, Vis and Korčula using public catamarans and one car ferry. No hire car at all.
- 5 islands
- No car
- €110/day
June or September
Day by day
7 days · Car
Istria & Kvarner
Rovinj, Motovun, Grožnjan, Pula’s amphitheatre, the Učka pass and Opatija’s Habsburg promenade.
- Truffles
- Hill towns
- Cooler
Best in October
Driving notes
14 days · Mixed
The grand tour
Istria, Plitvice, the Dalmatian coast and three islands, ending on the walls at Dubrovnik.
- 1,500 km
- 3 ferries
- Two weeks
Most complete
Outline
Itinerary one · 10 days · car
Zagreb to Dubrovnik, day by day
Zagreb
Dolac market at eight, the Upper Town and the noon cannon, an afternoon museum and a long dinner in the Lower Town. Collect the hire car on the morning of day 3.
Zagreb → Plitvice (2 hrs)
Drive down, sleep in Mukinje or Rastovača so that you are at the gate for opening the next morning.
Plitvice → Zadar (1 hr 30)
Route H from Entrance 2 at first light, then on to the coast in time for the Sea Organ at sunset.
Zadar
Roman forum, St Donatus, the campanile, a swim at Kolovare and either Kornati by boat or Paklenica by car.
Zadar → Krka → Split (2 hrs 30 total)
Park at Skradin, take the national-park boat to Skradinski Buk, lunch in Skradin, then carry on to Split via Trogir.
Split
The palace cellars and peristyle before ten, the bell tower, Varoš for lunch, Marjan for the evening light.
Split → Hvar (car ferry to Stari Grad, 2 hrs)
Cross in the morning, drive over the ridge, climb the Fortica for sunset above the Pakleni islands.
Hvar → Korčula
Catamaran or the Drvenik–Sućuraj crossing and the Pelješac road. Evening walk on the Korčula sea promenade.
Korčula → Dubrovnik (2 hrs 30)
Ferry to Orebić, the Dingač wine road, oysters at Mali Ston, then the Pelješac Bridge south. Walls at 08:00 the following morning.
10Days
0Cars needed
Itinerary two · 7 days · no car
The Dalmatian island loop
Arrive Split
Sleep within ten minutes of the ferry terminal. Buy every onward catamaran ticket online tonight.
Split → Brač (50 min)
Ferry to Supetar, bus over the island to Bol, an afternoon on Zlatni Rat when the wind drops.
Brač → Hvar (catamaran)
Bol to Jelsa or back via Split depending on the season. Fortica at sunset, dinner on the main square.
Hvar
Taxi boat to Palmižana for the morning, the Stari Grad Plain by bicycle in the cooler late afternoon.
Hvar → Vis (via Split if needed)
The quietest island in Dalmatia. Komiža for dinner, Stiniva by boat rather than on foot.
Vis → Korčula
Check the seasonal direct sailing; otherwise route through Split. Moreška performance in the evening.
Korčula → Dubrovnik (2 hrs)
Morning catamaran to Gruž, bus into town, last swim at Banje before the flight home.
Always leave one sailing of slack before a flight. A strong bura can suspend catamaran services for a day or more.
Itinerary four · 14 days
The grand tour, in outline
| Days 1–2 | Zagreb. Upper Town, Dolac, one museum, one long lunch. Collect the car on day 3. |
|---|---|
| Days 3–5 | Istria. Rovinj as a base, with Motovun, Grožnjan and Pula’s amphitheatre as day trips. |
| Day 6 | Opatija and the Velebit coast road south. A long but spectacular driving day. |
| Day 7 | Plitvice Lakes, entering at opening time. Overnight nearby. |
| Days 8–9 | Zadar, with Kornati or Paklenica on the second day. |
| Day 10 | Krka via Skradin, then Trogir and on to Split. |
| Day 11 | Split. Palace, Marjan, Bačvice at dusk. |
| Days 12–13 | Hvar or Korčula — choose one and stay two nights rather than splitting them. |
| Day 14 | Pelješac, Ston oysters and Dubrovnik. Fly home from DBV. |
Rough costings for two people sharing, shoulder season: accommodation €110–160 a night, car hire €45–70 a day plus fuel and tolls, ferries €60–140 in total, park entries €70–110 each.
Hard-won advice
Six things we would tell a friend
- Book the first and last night only if you are travelling in May, June or October. In July and August, book everything.
- Drop a destination rather than a rest day. Nobody has ever returned from Croatia wishing they had seen one more walled town in a hurry.
- National parks come first in the day. Plitvice and Krka are transformed by arriving at opening and leaving by early afternoon.
- Motorway tolls are payable by card in euro. Zagreb to Split is roughly €25 for a car.
- One-way car hire between Zagreb and Dubrovnik carries a drop-off fee — usually far less than the day you would waste returning.
- Leave the afternoon empty. Between 13:00 and 17:00 in summer the country stops, and the sensible response is to stop with it.