Croatia is a perfect country to road trip. I dare to say you could almost get around entirely without a map. We noticed every time we were riding from one place to the next that there were so many signs we almost couldn’t mess it up. We still used GPS, but it was great to not feel anxious about driving at all. Here is the route we took and a little bit about each place on our Croatian road trip.
We actually flew into Venice, Italy for this trip because it was a direct flight from the US, and made the flight easier and cheaper than flying into Croatia. We stayed a night in Venice and then hired a car to drive us to the first town in Croatia, which was Rovinj. [We didn’t rent a car in Italy and drive ourselves because it would have cost a great deal more to drive a rental into another country. We decided it made more sense financially to pick-up and drop-off the rental car within Croatia.]
Rovinj: 2-3 nights
Rovinj is a perfectly gorgeous little town in Croatia”s Istrian region. When we return to Croatia, we will definitely visit more towns in this region. Being so close to Italy, it has a very Italian vibe. The houses are beautifully colored and the town has amazing alleyways, great food, one of the cutest oceanside bars I’ve ever seen, and wonderful people. We spent our days jumping off the rocks into the water, snacking on great food, and sipping wine by the sea. One of my favorite things about Rovinj was the most delightful little spot called “Mediterraneo Cocktail Bar”. Do yourself a favor and go for happy hour or sunset and thank me later!
Plitvice Lakes: 2 nights
Next we headed away from the coast to the Plitvice Lakes. You technically only need one day here, but I recommend sleeping there the night before you enter the park so you can go first thing in the morning. I was actually the first person to enter on the day we went! It was great to be the first ones walking down all of the paths and having the views to ourselves. It is also nice to spend the night after visiting the park. By staying the night, you can go in after all of the day trippers have left. We spent the day in the park, left and went to another small town called “Rastoke” for lunch, and then returned later with some wine and cheese and had a snack while admiring the beautiful waterfalls. We had an excellent dinner in a local village right near our guesthouse. We loved this whole experience and I am glad we spent 2 nights in the area.
Trogir: 1-2 nights
We were surprised by how much we enjoyed Trogir. We hadn’t researched this town as much before visiting. The old town was awesome and full of squares, alleys, and tons of outdoor dining. You could also walk or drive to a huge strip of beaches to enjoy the day. The market had some amazing cheeses and we made a great picnic during our time here.
Split: 2 nights
Split was another place in Croatia that we enjoyed more than we thought we would. The old town was wonderful to walk around and admire. We also loved how the town had a number of nearby beaches. We also had one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten here in Split. We had our anniversary dinner here at a restaurant called “Dvor”. It was a beautiful place that overlooked the ocean and we sat on the terrace with an incredible view. I looked it up recently, and it has now been given Michelin recognition, which we definitely think it deserves. We also took a day trip on a catamaran to Brac, Croatia and it was a an excellent activity. If you have more time you could also spend a day or two on Brac.
We did a boat tour similar to this one, and really enjoyed it —-> Split Boat Cruise with Lunch & Drinks
Korcula: 2-3 nights
We took a car ferry from Split to Korcula and it was far easier than we expected. Korcula was an absolutely fantastic island. The water was glorious and there were so many secluded spots to hang out and jump in. We did a bicycle and wine tour here and had the greatest time. We also greatly enjoyed wine tasting in the alleyways of the old town. By complete chance, we happened to be in Korcula on the “Half New Year” celebration. On June 30th, they celebrate the half new year and it is a wild experience! If you’re visiting in the summer and can check this out its weird and enjoyable! The seafood on this island was incredible, the people were so kind and welcoming, and I would love to revisit some day.
I couldn’t find the bike tour we did anymore, but this buggy tour looks SO FUN! —> Korcula Buggy Safari with Wine Tasting
We loved Korcula so much I wrote a whole post about it, you can find it here —> Why You Should Visit Korcula Island
Orebic: 1 night
Orebic had a really cool feel compared to some of the other spots we stayed on this trip, it felt a bit more local and less touristy. It was also an extremely short ferry ride away from Korcula. Somewhere along the way, we were given a tip to go to restaurant “Panorama” and to get the famous “octopus under the bell”. We called to make our reservation, and the hike to get to this place was an experience in itself. It was well worth the trek and we loved everything about it. Orebic also had its own winery and we really enjoyed hanging out and tasting there.
Ston: a few hours
Ston (a few hours): We spent a few hours checking out Ston on our way to Dubrovnik. We hiked all over the amazing medieval stone walls, which were a defensive system long ago. The views were wonderful from up on the walls and it was a nice little morning workout exploring it all. We were very excited to get to Dubrovnik to meet friends, or we likely would have stayed for a meal in Ston, especially because we heard that the oysters are incredible in this part of Croatia. It could absolutely be worth spending a night as well if you have the time.
Dubrovnik: 3-4 nights
We spent a few extra nights here because we were spending time with friends. We also had one full day on a boat booked, so we knew that would be a day spent on the water and out of the town. The boat day was truly the best boating experience we’ve had on any of our boat day adventures around the world. Dubrovnik is a very fun, but very crowded, city. There are lots of great experiences to have, great beaches, and excellent food. It was worth visiting, but definitely to be noted that the crowds are far more extreme here than anywhere else we had visited in Croatia. We assume a lot of it is due to it’s popularity for being the filming site for Games of Thrones, and being a port for cruise ships. We actually stayed outside the city walls in a neighborhood on one of the surrounding hills, which made for a nice quiet experience where we could venture in to explore, but still have some space and quiet.
We ended our trip by flying from Dubrovnik back to Venice and spending another day there before flying home to the US. I would absolutely love to drive through Croatia again one day and check out more of the country, there is just so much to do & see! It is truly an incredible country with great food, great people, an interesting history, and so much to see and do.
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