Croatia is a beautiful country in the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, it’s Dalmatian Coast boasts rugged cliff faces and turquoise seas, as well as over 1200 islands. Croatia offers so much including unspoiled islands, stunning national parks, beach parties and of course all the culture. If you’re a fan of Game of Thrones then you have to visit Croatia! There are many locations within the country that were used for filming. The most well-known being Dubrovnik which you would recognise as King’s Landing. I visited Croatia in June 2018 and it was amazing. We managed to pack in a lot for one week but this did mean that we started early some days. I would recommend slightly longer if you were to visit the same places I did. In my itinerary below I have highlighted where I would add an extra day if it’s possible!
How to spend one week in Croatia?
Days 1-2 Dubrovnik
On your first day you should explore the old town and walk round the old city walls. This is so much fun and you get a great view of the old town and the iconic bright orange roofs. Unfortunately for us the heavens decided to open! We had to buy ourselves some stylish ponchos from a shop in the old town, as we were not expecting rain so didn’t pack any raincoats/umbrellas. Even on a gloomy day the orange roofs are striking! We probably spent about 1.5 – 2 hours walking round the walls at a leisurely place.
After some lunch, take the cable car up to the top of the Srd Hill. From the top you get amazing views of Dubrovnik and the Adriatic coast. When buying tickets for the cable car you can either buy a return journey or a one way journey. I would 100% recommend buying a one way ticket if you’re able to walk down. This was by far the best bit for us! We spent so long taking photos walking all the way down. What was even better was that we had the path pretty much to ourselves the whole time!
On the next day take the ferry over to Lokrum Island, there are so many different things to see here and there are signs which you can follow depending on what you want to see. I especially loved seeing all the rabbits & peacocks just roaming around, we even got to see a tortoise! We only had a couple of hours on the island as we went late in the afternoon because it was raining all morning. If you want to spend longer, make sure you get an earlier boat across.
Pick up your rental car in the evening so that you’re ready to drive to Kotor in Montenegro early in the morning. One thing we didn’t count for was how difficult it would be to find parking in Dubrovnik! Even though our hotel said it came with parking, it was just road parking which pretty much always taken, so we had to drive around for a bit to find a spot (bear this in mind if you are planning on renting a car). You should definitely book your rental car in advance of when you arrive and also ensure that they allow you to drive into another country when you’re booking it.
Day 3 Day trip to Kotor, Montenegro
Start your drive to Kotor early around 6:45am, so that you minimise your time spent at the border waiting in traffic (I’d definitely recommend this as we actually didn’t have to wait at all). If you are renting a car, ensure that when you book/pick up your car you have all the documents you need for the border crossing. We just had our passports checked but had all the car documents to hand if they were required.
Driving from Dubrovnik is super easy. Download maps.me for navigation, as for us Montenegro isn’t included as a roam free destination with our phone plans. One thing to note is that locals drive very fast. Especially given that you’re typically driving on a winding single carriageway. They’ll just overtake you so don’t feel pressured to drive faster.
On the way to Kotor, you can stop in Perast and take a boat ride to Our Lady of the Rocks if you want, we didn’t stop for this as just wanted to go straight to Kotor. Once in Kotor, park the car by following signs for car parks, again we had to drive around several car parks until we found a spot. The car park closest to the San Giovanni Fortress was the busiest so it’s best to park in one a short walk away, we parked in a shopping centre car park.
Then start to walk up to the San Giovanni Fortress. You’ll soon be climbing up steps along a series of switchbacks, don’t underestimate how steep this is, we took several breaks along the way. You should definitely walk all the way up to the castle! We actually found that there was an area just slightly below the castle where there was an edge that you could sit on and take some pretty cool pictures. This was one of my favourite parts of the holiday as the view is just unbelievable. Even the large cruise ships in the bay were dwarfed by the huge mountains that line the bay!
After eating some lunch back down in the old town, you can either choose to head back to Dubrovnik or visit more of Montengero. We decided to visit more of Montenegro since we still had the whole afternoon left. We drove to Tivat and Budva since we had time and the flexibility using our car.
Tivat is a port town, we walked around and had coffee along the port. The area was really quiet and there weren’t many people around. Then we made our way to Budva. Here we watched the football as an England World Cup match was on! Budva has such a fun, lively atmosphere and sits on the coast. There are so many shops along the beach and so many snack places. When you’re ready make your way back to Dubrovnik.
If you don’t want to rent a car you can take a tour to Kotor which you can book from Dubrovnik.Alternatively you could take a day trip (with your rental car or on a tour) to Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina. If we had more time I would’ve loved to do this.
Day 4 Travel to Split
The next day is a travel day to Split. I’d recommend booking a bus rather than driving yourself because after your day trip to Montenegro you’ll be quite tired. It’s also more expensive to use your rental car, as you’ll then be dropping it off in a different location. The bus is so great, as you can just sit there and admire the beautiful Adriatic coast.
If you are planning to take a bus I’d recommend booking in advance to ensure you get a seat at the time you want. There is an information centre in Dubrovnik by pile gate where they can help you. The bus was such a good choice as we could just sit there and admire the beautiful Adriatic coast, remember to sit on the left hand side! At one part you cross into Bosnia so be sure to have your travel documents (passport etc) handy. Our bus dropped us off at Split Bus Station which is also next to the ferry terminal.
Once you arrive, spend the rest of the day wandering round Split. Split has a buzzing nightlife and has lots of different restaurants & bars to choose from. In the evening pick up your next rental car ready for your trip to Plitvice & Krka National Parks. Again ensure you book this in advance of arriving to guarantee car availability!
Day 5 Plitvice / Krka National Parks
Start early and drive to Plitvice Lakes, we left at around 7am from Split. It takes around 2.5 hours to drive to Split, make sure you bring some breakfast with you. Plitvice has two entrances each with their own car park. I would recommend parking at Entrance 1, this is slightly busier. However you start with the most beautiful view of Veliki Slap.
After buying our tickets (if you’re a student make sure you take your student card) we walked along several different trails and took a boat across one of the lakes to more lakes and waterfalls. We did have to queue for about an hour for the boat. So I would get there as early as possible to minimise your time waiting in a queue. The whole park is just amazing and there are so many different trails you can walk along! The water is so blue and when the sun shines it glistens even more! Pictures don’t do the place justice, if you’re going to Croatia this is a must do!
Since we got to Plitvice quite early, we managed to squeeze Krka National Park on the same day. We were short on time so we ensured we left Plitvice at 2pm. It took around 2.5 hous to drive to Skradin, one of the entrance to Krka National Park. After we’d parked & arrived at Skradin, we found the ticket office. Here we realised we had to take a ferry to Skradinski Buk (the waterfall that Krka is most well known for) We discovered that we were taking the last ferry across at 6pm. We had no idea that a ferry was involved, so it was quite lucky as 20 minutes later and we would’ve missed it! Since we were taking the last ferry we were able to get cheaper tickets. Although we did only have about 45 minutes in the park before the last ferry back.
If you are planning on doing Plitvice & Krka on the same day, ensure you check the ferry times to get to Krka. Ensure you leave plenty of time to drive there from Plitvice. We had 45 minutes in the park and this was just enough time in Krka National Park to walk to Skradinski Buk. To get to Skradinski Buk you have to walk along a short path from where the boat drops you off. We even managed to get into the water and take the classic picture in front of the waterfall. Unfortunately though, you can’t actually get that close, it’s still beautiful none the less. The rocks are also quite slippery so take care when crawling over them.
I would recommend visiting Krka National Park on a different day to maximise your time there. You’d be able to explore more of the national parks many hiking trail. I definitely want to go back to Krka to explore more!
Day 6-7 Hvar
Your final destination in this one week in Croatia Itinerary, is Hvar. Catch a morning ferry to Hvar, the party island. Or of course another island of your choice. I’d recommend booking your ferry tickets online with Jadrolinija Ferries, it’s really easy. It takes just over an hour to reach Hvar by ferry. Once you’ve arrived, walk around or relax on the beach. In the evening you can watch Hvar come to life, with its strip of clubs & beach parties. There are so many bars to choose from so there’s something for everyone. The next day, was a beach day for us. If you’re feeling up to it you can walk up to the castle, this looks really cool. Take the ferry back to Split leaving enough time to get to the airport for you flight back home.
With more time…
- Add one or two extra days in Dubrovnik to take a day trip to Mostar
- Add another day in Split so that you can visit Krka at a more leisurely pace and explore more
- If you want more time to relax, I’d also add another in Hvar. Or one of the other islands if Hvar isn’t your vibe pick one of the other many islands to visit
