The best 10 day Croatia itinerary

A few days ago I arrived from an amazing trip to Croatia. I am right now in a position at work when I cannot take many days off and so I prepared a short 10 day itinerary through the country. With this itinerary I visited most of the coastal cities as well as some interesting less touristy spots. For most people it may be a bit too ambitious, but that’s the way I love to travel the most. Here you have my 10 day Croatia itinerary !

Day 1 of my 10 day Croatia itinerary: Arriving to Dubrovnik

Our 10 day Croatia itinerary started and finished in Dubrovnik mostly because of the flights. The cheapest flight was to this small beautiful town, so that was where we went. In case you don’t know about it, Dubrovnik is kind of isolated from the rest of the country by land. Traveling anywhere else from there is a bit complicated. But it is definitely well worth it. So we opted for leaving the city by ferry.

The town of Dubrovnik was one of my favorites in Croatia. It is pretty small, but so cute! Like everywhere in the country, the old town is surrounded by ancient walls of white and shiny stone. There are more restaurants and souvenir shops you can count but it is still possible to find some cute and quiet streets.

Day 2: Dubrovnik to Hvar

The next stop of our 10 day Croatia itinerary was Hvar. The Trip to Hvar started by taking a ferry to the island a bit before 7am. Considering that the flight the day before departed at 7 in the morning too… Well let’s just say that it was a demanding beginning of the trip! I remember that the trip in the ferry was extremely cold. I was wearing two jackets and even like that I was frozen.

When we finally arrived to that amazing port I almost wanted to cry of happiness. Just imagine a set of beautiful streets made of white stone, plenty of small restaurants to the right, dozens of tiny boats to the left. Straight out of a dream. Our amazing host was waiting for us nearby and she drove us to the apartment.

The town of Hvar has a beautiful center, but the fortress is one of the cutest in the country. We spent our day walking through the city and soaking in the rocky beaches a corner away from the old town. One of the best things of this country is that you can just jump out of a rock to the sea everywhere. And the water is so clean and greenishy blue… Beautiful. Without a doubt, one of the best stops of this 10 day Croatia itinerary.

Anyway, when you are in the city you can walk to the right, where some of the noisiest hotels and pubs are. With all that babies drinking (read here late teens) and partying, it can seem horrendous, but if you continue you will reach a very quiet and relaxed zone to have a drink or simply jump off to the sea while seeing the most amazing sunset. To the left, in the other hand, you have a bit more city, another church and dozens of tiny boats.

If you want to read more about this amazing island make sure to check out this other post dedicated to the time I spent there: Hvar the clearest water ever

Day 3: Hvar and Lemini islands

On our third day of this 10 day Croatia itinerary, we finally got to sleep a bit longer. Meaning, we woke up at 9, not much later. After that, we went and picked a taxi boat to the Lemini islands. This National Park is formed by a a set of several islands that are not inhabited. There are only some small bars here and there made out of old wood… And that is all. The islands are barely 5 minutes away from the old town.

There, you can decide if you go to the nudist beach or if you want to keep your clothes on. In any case, the beaches are beautiful and even though the water is kind of cold, it is amazing to soak there, clothes on or off. Although there we visited many interesting places during this 10 day Croatia itinerary, the Lemini Islands were one of the most rustic places we saw in the whole trip.

After a whole day in the beach, it is a nice idea to just go back to Hvar and head up the fortress. Specially nice if you go there around sunset. the views are simply breathtaking. I could try and describe them in any way, but really, the picture says it all. It was one of my favorite stops of this 10 day Croatia itinerary.

Day 4 and 5: Hvar to Split

Moving to our next destination, we arrived by Ferry to Split. I will be honest and admit that I really did not like this city. It may be nice and cute, but I felt like I was much more in any town in Europe than in Croatia. The walkway by the sea stunk and the town was crowded. That is the only way to describe it, completely crowded. Also, not many beaches around. During the first day, we walked around the old town, visited the Palace and wandered through the streets.

The following day was pouring water like crazy. We attempted to visit some parts of the city but the weather was extremely annoying, so we gave up and had a rest day. Some wine by the sea, and watching the storm through the windows, a relaxing day in this crazy 10 day itinerary through Croatia. When the day improved we hit small park in the city. There are a couple of tiny beaches around there that are quite secluded. Also, an interesting alternative for days like these are museums, the city is crowded with amazing centres and if you like cultural tourism there you have your alternative.

Day 6: Split to Zadar through Krka

At this point, and to continue with our 10 day Croatia itinerary, we rented a car. On the sixth day of our trip we left Split with Zadar as destination… but with a stopover in the amazing Krka National Park. This park is the little brother of the famous Plitvice Lakes. Located between Split and Zadar, in this park you can find several sets of small waterfalls, and, what’s best, a place to swim.

You will not be able to swim to the waterfalls, it is not allowed. And trust me, even if it were you would not make it there with such strong current against you. But just laying there and watching the landscape around you is amazing enough. I will talk about this in more detail in another post, it is worth much more than a few sentences!

As the afternoon was halfway in, we headed to Zadar. The coolest thing in town is the sea organ. It may have been the thing I loved the most in our whole trip. It is an organ operated by the sea. The sea sings! and plays music! This day the sea was quite calm and even like that I liked it.

Day 7: Zadar to Plitvice…. or not

In our seven day of this 10 day Croatia Itinerary we had planned to visit the famous Plitvice lakes. But you can’t have it all. You cannot travel in September and expect permanent good weather. During the 7th day of our 10 day Croatia Itinerary we had terrible weather. The guy I was traveling with, talked to some of the locals and they told us that the real beauty of the lakes is the color of the water when the sun shines. Because we did not want to throw away 50€, we decided to skip it. Instead, I did some research in my beloved Lonely Planet, and we found a very nice cave on the way to our hotel: Pećinski Park Grabovača.

These caves were quite beautiful and only a very short trip from Zadar. You can only visit them with a guide and there are 4 groups a day, starting at 10am and then every hour and a half. The whole visit is about an hour and the tour costs less than 5 euros per person. Just one little tip, if you decide to add this stop to your Croatia itinerary, make sure you wear plenty of layers. The whole cave system is at around 10ºC all year long.

Because we planned on visiting the Plitvice lakes that day, I had booked a hotel near the park. The town where we were staying was named Slunj, and it is quite original. The whole town was build on a set of waterfalls! It was VERY cold, but very cute!

Day 8: Slunj back to Zadar

When I was organizing this trip, I decided to leave this day unplanned. We could have gone deeper into the countryside but we loved Zadar so much, that we decided to go back. It was raining, so when we visited the organ, we were mostly alone. Also, something that I did not mentioned before is a beautiful circular light display that is right by the organ. Also known as the salute to the Sun. The first time we were there, there was so many people that we could barely see anything. It was this second time that we really appreciated it.

Day 9: Zadar to Split

On day nine of our Croatia itinerary, we started to head south. We just spent most of the day stopping in little towns between Zadar and Split. We took the long road and found some amazing landscapes. Later on the day we had the famous Cevapcici (sorry for the spelling) in Trogir (a beautiful little town north Split).

And, we finished this amazing road trip by visiting the beautiful Kliss Fortress (a setting for Game of Thrones). Although this was not originally planned on my 10 day Croatia itinerary, I found it online and was happy to visit it. This fortress is tiny (and I did not know about it), but it was lovely to spend half an hour walking around it.

To finish the day, we arrived to Split and left the car behind. Bought a bottle of wine and just enjoyed walking through the cobblestone streets another day.

Day 10 and 11: Back to Dubrovnik

On the last couple of days of our Croatia itinerary we stayed in Dubrovnik. We arrived by ferry to the city a bit passed noon. After we did the check-in we headed to one of the few “beaches” of the city. Hidden behind a cliff and surrounded by hotels is Bellevue Beach. With clear blue waters and a small cave to discover while swimming, it is a nice retreat in the city.

On our last day we decided to leave the luggage in storage and head to the harbor. Right there, passed it, and near the wall, there is a little spot where you can swim, jump to the water or simply sunbath. We spent there the whole day because a huge cruise ship had arrived the night before and the city was beyond crowded with tourists. Even though our experience in Dubrovnik the second time was very different from the first day, it was still one of the cities I like the most during our trip.

I hope you enjoyed this itinerary! If you have any doubt about it let me know! And if you want to save it for later, here you have a pin! Thank you for passing by!