Croatia Road Trip: 9-Day Itinerary from Zagreb to Split

And that’s it… Our wonderful Croatia road trip is over… Fresh off the plane, we’d love to tell you it was magnificent, that we’re shattered from all the walking and driving (around 1,000 km by car and 150 km on foot!), but also that we didn’t want to come home at all and already want to go back! We simply loved it, and we can’t wait to tell you all about it!

In this recap article, we share our 9-day itinerary, done in a hire car, and we’ve also written detailed articles on the towns and sights we visited, as well as on Croatian food, of course! We never felt rushed and really made the most of each place. Our days did start fairly early, though, usually around 7.30–8am.

Croatia road trip at a glance

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Croatia road trip itinerary

We landed in Zagreb, made a detour via the Plitvice Lakes, then headed to Senj and followed the coast down to Split, by way of the island of Pag, Zadar, Šibenik, Krka, Trogir and the island of Brač. You’ll find our route below, followed by a day-by-day account. We did quite a bit of driving, but we never rushed and really took our time.

Day 1 – Zagreb
Day 2 – Zagreb – Slunj – Korenica
Day 3 – Plitvice Lakes – Senj – Island of Pag
Day 4 – Island of Pag – Zadar – Šibenik
Day 5 – Šibenik – Krka – Split
Day 6 – Trogir – Klis – Makarska Riviera & Brela
Day 7 – Island of Brač
Day 8 – Split
Day 9 – Split

Day 1: Zagreb

We land in Zagreb at around 2pm and quickly pick up the car. We spend the afternoon and the following morning in the capital, which turned out to be a lovely surprise! Our account of the city is here: things to do in Zagreb in 2 days. It felt like enough for us, but there’s plenty to see, so if you’re planning 2 nights there, it won’t be too many.

➺ Night in Zagreb at the Casablanca Boutique Bed&Breakfast.

Day 2: Zagreb – Slunj – Korenica

We leave Zagreb around 2pm and drive towards Plitvice, about 2 hours away. I’d read that Slunj, a pretty little village, was on our way, so we stopped there. It is indeed a magnificent spot, but sadly a victim of its own success. Parking was a nightmare, coaches kept arriving one after another, and most of the place is made up of private houses… We don’t stay long in the crowds and head to our accommodation for the night…

➺ Night at the Pension Mrzlin Grad, to be close to the Plitvice Lakes the next morning.

Day 3: Plitvice – Senj – Island of Pag

We’d been looking forward to this day! On the programme: the famous Plitvice National Park. An early start to be there as it opened at 8am and hopefully dodge the hordes of tourists. Our account of Plitvice National Park is here! We share our tips and favourite places to sleep and eat nearby.

We wolf down a sandwich on the road and reach Senj, planning to drive down the coast to the island of Pag while enjoying the scenery.

In Prizna, we take the ferry to the island of Pag. On the road, for a long while we only come across stones and sheep… The landscapes are wild, desert-like, lunar… We spend the night in Metajna. Our article on this leg: from Senj to the island of Pag and its stunning scenery.

➺ Night on the island of Pag, in Metajna: Jela apartment.

Day 4: Pag Town – Zadar – Šibenik

We set off for Pag Town and look around fairly quickly… The centre is cute, but there isn’t much to see…

We decide not to linger and head on to our next stop to visit Zadar for the day.

Around 6pm, we reach Šibenik, where we’ll spend the night. What’s nice is that it gets dark quite late, so we could really explore the town in the evening too. We fell in love with this little town and its stone houses… Our article on things to do in Šibenik is right this way! This is also where we had a wonderful, typically Croatian place to stay, and where we had a great chat with our host in a kitchen that was just as typical!

➺ Night in Šibenik at Apartments and Rooms Ill.

Day 5: Šibenik – Krka – Split

We spend the morning in Šibenik and, having made the most of it the evening before, leave around midday. We drive to Krka National Park, where we spend the whole afternoon, before reaching Split in the evening, our home for the rest of the trip.

➺ Night in Split at the B&B Be Happy.

Day 6: Trogir – Klis – Makarska Riviera & Brela

We spend the morning on a visit to Trogir, about thirty minutes from Split. The town is really lovely!

We grab a sandwich and head to Klis Fortress, where scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed, but which above all offers an incredible view! We stay a good hour on site.

Around 2pm, we head towards Brela to see its famous rock and relax on the beach for a while. The road there, along the Makarska Riviera, is magnificent: huge mountains, sheer cliffs, water in a thousand shades… Sadly you can’t stop as often as you’d like, but the view is sublime… It’s probably one of the things we enjoyed most on this Croatia road trip… Our article on these sights around Split is right here!

Day 7: Island of Brač (Bol)

We spend the day on the island of Brač, more precisely in Bol, to discover one of Croatia’s most beautiful beaches: Zlatni Rat.

Days 8 & 9: Split

We devote the whole of Sunday and Monday morning to properly exploring Split until our departure. Our full article on the city: things to do in Split.

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Croatia road trip: tips & practical information

This was our first road trip, so we may come back with more detailed tips for novice road trippers, but here are a few tips and remarks specific to our stay in Croatia. Trip taken from 30 April to 8 May 2017.

How to choose your Croatia itinerary

Personally, we had a few very specific wishes: to see the capital Zagreb, Plitvice National Park, an island or two, the Dalmatian coast… That naturally shaped the route of our Croatia road trip, so we chose to fly into Zagreb and out of Split. Then we did a bit of homework on the ‘little towns’ to discover along the way… We’d have loved to go as far as Pula and Istria, the region known for its food, Dubrovnik, or even make a detour to Montenegro and the famous Bay of Kotor, but in 9 days we had to make choices…

For the islands, we recommend factoring in not only the price but also the crossing times. We wanted to visit the island of Hvar, but for a single day we didn’t think it was worth it: 4 hours of travel and around €100 for 2 people and a car in 2017… We think it’s better to stay at least 1 night (or more)… Note that once you’ve bought your ticket, your departure time isn’t guaranteed: it’s first come, first served onto the ferry (that was the case during our trip, so check the line’s conditions before you go).

Money: how to pay in Croatia

Croatia adopted the euro on 1 January 2023: goodbye kuna! During our road trip in 2017, we had changed money before leaving, but the rate applied locally (7.40 kuna to €1, compared with 6.80 in France) meant we paid more than expected for our accommodation. Today there’s no need to keep an eye on exchange rates: cards are accepted almost everywhere, although we’d recommend keeping a little cash for small shops, markets and some car parks.

What budget for a Croatia road trip?

You’ve often asked us this in the comments! To give you an idea, here’s what the two of us spent in early May 2017: around €50 a night for a double room or a small apartment booked on Booking, €159 for the hire car (€79 for the rental plus an €80 one-way fee between Zagreb and Split) and about €100 in fuel for our 1,000 km. On top of that, add entry to the Plitvice and Krka national parks, ferries, parking (charged everywhere) and, of course, food.

Bear in mind that prices have risen sharply since then, especially in July and August: accommodation and national park tickets cost much more in high season than in spring or autumn. Check the latest prices on the parks’ official websites before you go, and book your Plitvice ticket online if you’re visiting in summer.

How to get around Croatia

By public transport: coaches run regular services between the main cities. You’ll also easily find day trips to the Plitvice Lakes, for example.

By car: this is what we went for, as it gives you the most freedom. We booked our car on Rentalcars, which charged us the lowest one-way fee (€80); the hire itself cost €79, so €159 in total. We drove around 1,000 km, for about €100 in fuel.

As for the deposit, several of you have asked us about it: most rental companies block a large sum (often over €1,000) on a credit card in the main driver’s name, and many refuse debit cards. Check this carefully in the rental company’s terms before booking, or use a comparison site to filter the offers that accept your card.

We took a toll motorway twice. As in France, you take a ticket at a booth and pay a few kilometres further on. We preferred the main roads along the coast, which offer far more interesting scenery… Be careful: we found Croatian driving a bit aggressive, sometimes borderline dangerous… We passed more than twenty drivers on their phones…

When to go to Croatia

The weather in Croatia is much the same as ours in Paris. So if you want long sunny days, aim for the period from May to September. Winter isn’t really recommended: many shops and some tourist sites are closed, and the natural sites can’t be much fun to visit in the rain… We were there in early May and had some beautiful sunny days. I even went for a swim once or twice! Admittedly the water was chilly, but still! For us, May–June and September are the best compromise: in Split, we were told that in July and August you could barely move through the narrow streets…

How long to spend in Croatia

We only had about a week for this trip, which inevitably limited our itinerary: we couldn’t make it to Dubrovnik or Montenegro, for example. But 8 to 9 days in Croatia already give you a great overview of the country. It has a huge number of islands, and if you’d like to visit a few, you’ll need to factor in crossing times. For a more complete trip than ours, from north to south, I think 2 weeks isn’t too much.

Adapting our itinerary: 7 days, 10 days or 2 weeks

Our Zagreb to Split route is easy to adapt to the time you have, and here’s how we’d tweak it:

• In 7 days: keep Zagreb, Plitvice, Zadar, Šibenik and Krka, then Split, skipping the island of Pag and Brač.
• In 10 days: follow our itinerary and add Dubrovnik at the end (about 230 km from Split), even if it means dropping a stop along the way.
• In 2 weeks: start with Istria (Pula, Rovinj), the foodie region we’d have loved to see, and finish with Dubrovnik and the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro.

Accommodation

We’d only booked our first two nights from Paris. It was very easy to book places to stay from one day to the next; we used booking.com throughout the trip. The further south you go along the coast, the more ‘apartman’ signs you see. In high season, however, it’s best to book ahead.

Car parks are paid everywhere in Croatia and really aren’t cheap, so we always tried to stay somewhere with parking. Be careful, though: some places advertise ‘private’ parking, but it’s actually just a space on the street…

Croatia road trip: good to know from our experience

➺ The variety of landscapes is incredible: beaches with crystal-clear water against a backdrop of towering mountains, sheer cliffs, miles of white stone and sheep, waterfalls… A real surprise!

➺ Croatian food is truly delicious! It’s partly inspired by Italian cuisine, with risottos, truffle pasta, cheese, charcuterie platters and ice cream! What a treat! Our article on Croatian food is right here!

➺ Croatian driving is rather sporty… We found ourselves face to face with a coach practically on the wrong side of the road on a bend: the driver was calm, we weren’t…

➺ Since the switch to the euro in 2023, there are no more nasty exchange rate surprises like the ones we had in 2017… But prices have climbed, especially in summer, so book your accommodation and park tickets in advance.

➺ Even if you book your ferry ticket, it’s first come, first served… So allow a little extra time so you don’t have to wait for the next boat…

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We hope this article on our Croatia road trip has made you want to discover this beautiful country! To plan each stop, take a look at our detailed articles on Zagreb, Plitvice, Zadar, Šibenik, Krka, Trogir and Split by following the links throughout the itinerary. And above all, feel free to leave us a comment if you have a question or a suggestion!

Croatia road trip FAQ

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