Following our destination wedding in Iceland in August of 2017, my husband and I flew to Croatia for a 10-day trip around the country, including stops in Dubrovnik, Plitvice Lakes National Park, and three of the Dalmatian Islands.
Several years earlier while on a trip in Peru, we met a very well-traveled couple who said that Croatia was their favorite place they had ever visited. When picking a destination for our honeymoon we wanted some place warm with great food and Croatia popped into mind.
I hadn’t heard much about the country and haven’t known anyone that had visited before (aside from that couple in Peru). Admittedly, my expectations were somewhat low, but I bought a travel guide and before long I was ready to book our flights from Reykjavik to Dubrovnik.
The trip ended up being one of our all-time favorites.
Croatia has the rustic charm of Italy combined with landscapes and seascapes on par with Greece. It also has some unbelievably tasty food. In fact, I had several of the best meals of my life on this trip. The country produces many great wines and olive oils and are known for their truffles, which they cook into everything. And if you’re not a fish person, get ready because Croatia will change you.
To top it all off, Croatia is also home to Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with other-wordly electric blue and green lakes and countless cascading waterfalls.
What’s not to love?
Itinerary Overview
Our trip began in Dubrovnik and ended in Spilt — both cities have international airports and we used a combination of rental cars and ferries to get around (more on that later). Here’s an overview of our 10 day itinerary with the major points-of-interest:
Day 1 – Dubrovnik & Lokrum Island
Day 2 – Walking Dubrovnik’s Walls & Roadtrip to Zadar
Day 3 – Zadar’s Sea Organ & Plitvice Lakes National Park
Day 4 – Ferry to Hvar
Day 5 – Hvar: Milna Island & Spanjola Fortress
Day 6 – Ferry to Korcula & Lumbarda Beach
Day 7 – Korcula: Buggy Safari Tour & Cathedral of Saint Mark
Day 8 – Ferry to Vis
Day 9 – Vis: Three Caves Tour & Stiniva Beach
Day 10 – Ferry to Split & Diocletian’s Palace
Recommended Reading
If you’re looking for a good travel guide, I would suggest DK Eye Witness Guide Croatia.
I usually opt for Rick Steves’ guides for European destinations, but in this case DK Eye Witness makes the better, more comprehensive guide. They cover every region of the country, including the Dalmatian Islands. They also have a fantastic section with suggested itineraries, which I find to be a great place to start when planning any multi-city trip.
I also really love their illustrations for historic buildings and other points of interest. The section on Diocletian’s Palace is especially interesting and informative. It’s also complete with all the necessary practical information like addresses and opening hours.
Click here to buy DK Eye Witness Guide Croatia on Amazon.
Day 1
Dubrovnik & Lokrum Island
Two days after our wedding, we caught an early morning flight from Reykjavik to Dubrovnik. The flight got in really early, so we had a full day of sightseeing ahead of us. We made our way from the airport to the city center and checked into our Airbnb near Gundulićev Spomenik square in the old city.
Where we stayed: Fresh Sheets Cathedral
During the day, Dubrovnik is overrun with tourists that enter the city by cruise ships, so for those staying in the city, it’s best to get out of town during peak hours. So after dropping off our bags, we headed to Porporela (Dubrovnik’s old port) to catch the quick 15-minute ferry over to Lokrum Island.
Traveler Tip: Cruise ship season in Croatia is May to October and peaks during July and August with as many as 8,000 tourists flooding the city on a single day. The city is overrun with cruise ship passengers from about 10:00am to 4:00pm, so plan accordingly and visit the most popular attractions either in the early morning or late afternoon.
Lokrum Island has lots to keep you busy for the better part of a day, including restaurants, beaches, botanical gardens, a dead sea, and ruins of an 11th-century monastery. The island has an interesting history, but these days it’s most well-known for its connections to the TV show Game of Thrones and the many peacocks and bunnies that call the island home.
After a few hours exploring the island, we headed back to Dubrovnik to get ready for dinner. We decided to celebrate the end to the first full day of our honeymoon with a fancy dinner at Restaurant 360, where we dined atop the medieval walls surrounding the town and enjoyed a sunset sea view over the harbor.
Day 2
Walking Dubrovnik’s Walls & Roadtrip to Zadar
For the morning of Day 2, we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast at the popular restaurant Gradska kavana Arsenal. This is where we first discovered Croatian bacon, which is quite literally the most delicious bacon in the world!
It was still quite early, so the city felt like a ghost town in comparison to the crowded and chaotic version we experienced the day before. After breakfast, we went for a stroll down the limestone-paved main street Placa, watching the shop owners preparing for the busy day ahead and enjoying every moment of the “calm before the storm.”
The most popular thing to do in Dubrovnik is to walk the city walls, so by 10:00am the walls are absolutely packed. We were determined to beat the crowds, so we quickly made our way to the nearest entry point to begin the 2-hour walk. There is little to no shade when standing on top of the walls, so waking up early had the added benefit of slightly cooler temperatures, relatively speaking of course.
Traveler Tip: It takes around two hours to complete a leisurely walk around the walls, so be sure to bring plenty of water! There may be a few overpriced vendors stationed along the walls, but you’re better off bringing your own.
Around 11:00am, we headed to Hertz to pick up our rental car and hit the road. The route from Dubrovnik to Zadar, our destination for the evening, takes about 4 hours and is a very easy drive. Some people consider this drive to be one of the most beautiful in the world, but I have to say it probably wouldn’t make my top 10. Nevertheless, I always love a good road trip and the adventure that comes along with it!
Traveler Tip: The road that connects Dubrovnik to the rest of Croatia crosses over into Bosnia and Herzegovina for a very short stretch (only about 12 miles). This means you’ll have to go through border patrol twice, once when entering Bosnia and Herzegovina and again when reentering Croatia. On our trip, the border patrol agents simply waved us through the checkpoints, but it’s a good idea to have your passport handy in case you’re stopped.
We stopped at a small seaside town along the main road for lunch and then continued on to Zadar. After parking the car and checking into our Airbnb, we did a little sightseeing in Zadar’s old town before heading to dinner at a restaurant recommended by our host.
Where we stayed: Captain of Zadar Airbnb
Day 3
Zadar’s Sea Organ & Plitvice Lakes National Park
We started our third day of the trip with a morning dip in the Adriatic at Zadar’s famous Sea Organ.
The Sea Organ is described as an “architectural sound art object” or “experimental musical instrument,” and it’s something you need to experience to really understand. The Sea Organ’s wide stone stairs descend into the ocean — built beneath the stairs is a system of tubes that create sound from the waves that lap against the steps. The resulting sounds and harmonies are similar to a harmonica.
It’s a really special place and the primary reason we chose Zadar as our stopover between Dubrovnik and Plitvice Lakes National Park.
After our morning swim, we hopped back in the car and made our way toward Plitvice Lakes National Park, which is about 1.5 hours away from Zadar. We headed straight to our hotel for the night, a lovely family-run B&B that’s just a short drive from the entrance to the park.
Where we stayed: Pansion Mrzlin Grad
Just as with Dubrovnik, hyper-tourism and overcrowding are becoming a huge issue for Plitvice Lakes National Park. So much so that UNESCO is considering withdrawing its status as a World Heritage Site.
To avoid the bulk of the crowds, we decided to go toward the end of the day. The park has many different loops that you can do, and knowing which route to take is difficult. Luckily, the owner of the B&B gave us some advice on which would be best given the time of day and suggested we do it backward as another way to avoid congestion.
Her advice ended up being dead-on and made what could have been a very miserable experience into a fairly pleasant one.
After a long day, we were really looking forward to a home-cooked dinner at the hotel, and it did not disappoint! We had a feast of local smoked trout, mashed potatoes, and homemade tartar sauce. The B&B’s husband and wife owners were incredibly welcoming and really made us feel like family — we even shared a shot of rakija at the end of the night!
Day 4
Ferry from Split to Hvar
Day 4 started with a very hearty breakfast at our B&B, and by midmorning we were on the road headed to Split to catch the 3:00pm Jadrolinija ferry to Hvar Town. We dropped off the rental car near the ferry terminal and after some time finally located the correct ferry (not an easy task!).
Tip: Split has the largest passenger port in all of Croatia. We were very surprised at just how massive and chaotic the port was. Locating the correct ferry was confusing and stressful given our time restraint. My suggestion is to plan to arrive earlier than you think — at least 45 minutes before your ferry’s departure.
About one hour later, we arrived to our first Dalmatian island of the trip: the glamorous island of Hvar! We walked toward the center of town, past a dozen or so super yachts docked in the harbor and found our Airbnb just a stone’s throw from the main square in Hvar Town.
Where we stayed: Apartment on the Main Square Airbnb
After getting settled in, we went for a walk westward along the coast. We joined some late evening sunbathers at a small rocky beach along the way and went for a sunset swim in the ocean.
After our swim, we headed back toward town and had a fantastic dinner at restaurant Konoba Menego. There was a long wait for a table, so we ordered a glass of wine and sat along the cobblestone stairs outside the restaurant to enjoy the ambiance.
Traveler Tip: Bring water shoes! Sure, they’re not the most stylish footwear, but they’re a requirement for anyone wanting to swim in the ocean since sandy beaches are not the norm in Croatia.
Day 5
Hvar: Milna Island & Spanjola Fortress
We were originally supposed to do a cave tour to the famous Blue Cave on Day 5, but high winds and choppy waves made it impossible to enter the cave, causing all of the tours to be canceled for two days. With the better part of the day suddenly free, we decided to take a day trip to the nearby island of Milna.
Traveler Tip: A very popular activity in Croatia is the Three Caves Tour, which is a boat tour to Monk Seal Cave, Green Cave, and Blue Cave, sometimes with an additional stop at Stiniva Beach. The tours leave from many places (Vis, Hvar, and even Split), but the caves are closest to the small island of Vis, so essentially the further away you are from Vis, the longer (and more uncomfortable) the boat ride will be. It’s not uncommon for unfavorable weather to cause cancellations, so it’s worth having a backup plan or alternate date in mind for the tour just in case.
To work up our appetite before dinner, we made the long trek uphill to Spanjola Fortress. The sprawling fortress is perched high above Hvar Town and is a fantastic place to watch the sun set over the Adriatic.
Day 6
Ferry to Korcula & Lumbarda Beach
After two days on Hvar, we headed on to our next Dalmatian island of the trip: Korcula. We boarded the 11:00am Jadrolinija ferry and arrived to Korcula just 1.5 hours later, where we checked into our Airbnb just outside the old city walls.
Where we stayed: Apartment Dea Airbnb
For our afternoon activity, we rented bikes and headed to the uniquely-sandy Lumbarda Beach. The bike ride was about 3.5 miles (6 km) each way and wove through several picturesque vineyards and olive groves along the way. The beach itself was somewhat underwhelming, but for Croats it’s exceptional as it’s one of the few non-rocky beaches. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the break and chance to slow down after almost a week of nonstop travel.
That evening we did some exploring of Korcula Town before heading back to our Airbnb to cook ourselves dinner and enjoy our small private terrace out front.
Day 7
Korcula: Buggy Safari Tour & Cathedral of Saint Mark
We started off our one full day in Korcula with a Buggy Safari Tour with Korcula Buggy!
Our two-seater dune buggy took us through some beautiful countryside with several stops at scenic overlooks along the way. We also stopped by Bire Winery for a wine tasting and were able to taste Grk, a wine made from a white grape that can only be grown on Korcula. Grk wasn’t for me, but we did sample some Maraschino liqueur made from locally-grown cherries, which was divine (and very potent!).
Afterward, we spent some time at Lumbarda beach, the same beach we visited the day before, but this time we had snorkeling equipment!
After arriving back to Korcula Town, we went for lunch at one of the many restaurants lining the edge of the old town. We took some time to cool off and reenergize ourselves for more exploring in the afternoon.
The walled old town of Korcula is compact but still very fun to explore. The city plan resembles a fish bone — the central road is flanked on either side by smaller alleys that are mirrored about its “spine.”
The entrance to the old town is marked by a grand staircase and gate and at the very center of town is the Cathedral of Saint Mark. We paid the small fee to climb the cathedral’s tower for a nice 360-degree view of the town. The same high winds that canceled our Three Cave Tour in Hvar a few days before were still in effect, and we felt them more than ever at the top of the tower!
Before heading back to our Airbnb, we stopped for dinner at Silk Street Food. Up until this point in the trip, we had only eaten at Croatian restaurants, so we were excited to find a restaurant serving up some delicious Asian food. We liked it so much, we went back a second time the next day!
Day 8
Ferry to Vis
For our last island of the trip, we chose the small and more remote island of Vis.
Vis is definitely more off the beaten path than most of Croatia’s islands. It’s also pretty difficult to reach with only one ferry a week connecting it to Hvar (and no ferries connecting it to Korcula). Luckily that one ferry was scheduled for the 8th day of our trip.
After lunch, we caught the 1:00pm Jadrolinija ferry from Korcula back to Hvar, which arrived around 2:30pm. We had a little bit of time to kill before the 5:15pm Kapetan Luka ferry to Vis, but before long we were on our way and by 6:00pm we had arrived!
Vis can be difficult to navigate without a car since its hotels and restaurants are somewhat spread apart, but luckily there were several taxis waiting for passengers at the ferry dock. We headed to our hotel to check in and were delighted to find a bottle of champagne waiting for us in our room!
Where we stayed: Hotel San Giorgio
We took a sunset stroll down the coastline and were lucky to get a table at Restoran Pojoda, where we had one of the best meals of our entire trip. The restaurant was bustling, but the waitstaff were really friendly and gave us some advice on what to order. They even brought out a plate with the fish of the day so you can pick which one you’d like them to prepare.
Traveler Tip: Try to make your dinner reservations well in advance, since many of the best restaurants will be fully booked every night of the week during the high season. For those that don’t take reservations, stop by the restaurant earlier in the day to ask for advice on arrival times to avoid a long wait.
Day 9
Vis: Three Caves Tour & Stiniva Beach
Following a fantastic buffet breakfast at our hotel, we prepared to (finally!) go on our Three Caves Tour with company AlterNatura. After our last tour was canceled, we were lucky to find another operator that does the same tour from Vis. Luckily the high winds had finally subsided and the blue cave was again open for business.
The tour took us to the Blue Cave, Monk Seal Cave, Stiniva Beach, and the Green Cave.
The first stop of the tour was at the famous Blue Cave, and once we arrived it was very apparent why the high winds prohibited entry into the cave. The opening to the cave is so small, passengers have to get on the floor of the boat in order to squeeze inside! Once inside, our tour guide cut the engine and pushed our boat further inside the cave, which was only big enough to accommodate three small boats at a time. The inside of the cave was lit with an electric blue hue — pretty spectacular!
The second stop was Monk Seal Cave, a long cave with a small sandy beach at the far end that was once home to a community of monk seals. Unfortunately our guide’s flash light wasn’t working, so we weren’t able to swim to the beach inside the pitch-black cave.
We swam around at the mouth of the cave for a bit before heading on to stop number 3: Stiniva Beach. The beach is technically accessible by land, but the easier route is by boat. Our boat dropped its anchor near the opening and we swam from there to the beach. The beach was packed with tourists, which made it a bit of a letdown. We weren’t staying long, so after half an hour of sunbathing we made our way back to the boat.
The final stop of the tour was at the Green Cave, which is essentially the Blue Cave’s less popular sidekick. No boats are allowed inside, so we all jumped overboard and doggy-paddled our way from one side to the other.
After the tour and before dinner, we had another lovely walk along the coast toward the ferry port. After working up an appetite, we celebrated our last night in Vis with yet another fantastic meal, this time at restaurant Stara Teza.
Day 10
Ferry to Split & Diocletian’s Palace
After breakfast we departed for the port, this time opting to walk instead of taking a taxi. We caught the ferry from Vis to Split, where we would be catching our flight back home the following morning. After checking into our hotel, we spent the afternoon wandering around Split and Diocletian’s Palace.
Where we stayed: Hotel Slavija
Diocletian’s Palace is massive and actually forms about half of the old town of Split. It was built in the fourth century for the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Unbelievably, the palace was intended to be used as a retirement home for the Emperor, but it also acted as a military fortress and was once home to over 9,000 people.
Split was originally a footnote in our itinerary, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a town with so much to offer — fascinating history, beautiful architecture and ancient ruins. Walking around the Palace felt like exploring an archaeological site straight from Indiana Jones.
For our last meal of the trip, we followed the recommendation of some fellow travelers we met earlier on the trip and went to restaurant Villa Spiza. It’s a popular restaurant, so we arrived early and snagged a table for two outside in the narrow alleyway. I had some of the best pasta of my life there — I still daydream about the creamy truffle sauce!
