Croatia advice?

[Scuba]

We will be in Croatia for about 3 weeks in July/August. The plan is:
- 5 nights in Rovinj
- 2 nights in Plitvice Lakes
- 2 nights TBD - Zadar or Split or Primosten or …?
- 7 night cruise from Split to Dubrovnik. This includes a tour of the palace in Split and Old Town Trogir. Also includes a tour of Old Town Dubrovnik and stops on Hvar, Brac, Vis, Korcula, Mljet, and Ston.
- 3 nights TBD - somewhere around Dubrovnik but not Old Town.

Advice I’m looking for is where to spend the “TBD” parts. We are thinking about touring the countryside and doing some wine tasting. Does anyone know the best base for this in the region between Zadar and Split? Same question for the area around Dubrovnik. Korcula and the Peljesak Peninsula seem to be good options but I don’t think we have time to do both. Also the Elefiti Islands look like a good day tour from Dubrovnik, albeit not wine focused.

We have limited interest in touring churches and museums in the area. Main focus is local culture, food, wine, and nature. After Croatia, we will be spending several weeks in Greece where the beaches will be better, so beaches are not an huge priority for the 5 “TBD” nights even though we love the ocean.

Any thoughts?

 

[PaunchyPirate]

No added thoughts, but what a wonderful trip. I stopped in Split and Dubrovnik on a mainstream cruise and loved what I saw. I hope to get back some day to do a trip similar to yours.

 

[Scuba]

Update - I posted similar questions on some travel forums and based on learnings from that, we have decided that after Plitvice Lakes, we will drive through Zadar and see the Old Town and hear the sea organ, but then continue on to Sibenik. Most of the wineries in this part of Croatia aren’t too far, so we will have time for a day of wine tasting and touring the countryside. The following day, if we can leave early enough, we can see Primosten on our way to Split to board our cruise. That takes care of the open 2 nights before the cruise.

Afterwards, we decided to stay in an AirBnb between the port and Old Town in Dubrovnik. The last day of the cruise already includes a tour of Old Town and free time to explore it, and we think one day will be enough for us. For the two full days we will have, our plan is to tour wineries on the Peljesec Peninsula one day, and do a private boat tour of the Elafiti Islands the other day. We will have almost another full day the day we disembark from the ship, but we will leave that open. We may take a ferry to one of the nearby areas along the coast.

Just thought I’d share in case this plans are helpful for anyone else.

 

[itsme2]

A caution to you: Dubrovnik is a hilly city. There are 200-300 steps going toward the old town even if you just stay outside the wall. Wherever you find your Airbnb, make sure you are aware of the number of steps towards that unit. Because you will need to drag your luggage to it. It is very easy to walk another 100 steps (up or down) with your luggage.

 

[big-papa]

Split is great as are some of the other nearby coastal towns.
Consider Krka National Park on your list - the waterfalls are phenomenal...

Cheers.

 

[Scuba]

A caution to you: Dubrovnik is a hilly city. There are 200-300 steps going toward the old town even if you just stay outside the wall. Wherever you find your Airbnb, make sure you are aware of the number of steps towards that unit. Because you will need to drag your luggage to it. It is very easy to walk another 100 steps (up or down) with your luggage.

Thank you for that tip.

 

[Scuba]

Split is great as are some of the other nearby coastal towns.
Consider Krka National Park on your list - the waterfalls are phenomenal...

Cheers.

Do you think Krka is worth a day trip when we will have just visited Plitvice? I’m not sure it is from what I’ve read. Some people say it is but I’m not really hearing why. It seems that Plitvice offers everything Krka offers and more?

 

[fosterscik]

Krka is interesting, but doesn't compare to Plitvice. We enjoyed Krka, it was made very special because we stayed at a fabulous agritourismo just outside the park.