I went to Croatia last month and did 16 days. I stayed in Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik with a few day trips to Plitvice National Park, Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and then Kotor, Montenegro.
A few thoughts -
- I found it to be pretty damn expensive. I don't travel on a budget and I wasn't expecting extremely cheap stuff but I was a bit surprised that even with it being a *very* touristy destination, it was pricey. I spoke to an Uber driver who was intrigued but not surprised at my comment about things being more than I expected. And he was like, "Imagine us making about 15,000€ a year!" Food was roughly the same prices as youd find in the US, beers were 7-10€ and lodging wasn't much different than what I'd be paying if I traveled domestically.
- obviously extremely safe and easy to get around, but I underestimated travel time a bit. No real train transport to get around, so rely on busses or ferries (or rent a car if you want) which may be a bit slower if you're used to quicker train travel to get around. Driving times were also a little slow just because of the topography. It was more mountainous than I expected which was a pleasant surprise as obviously it was just a beautiful coast.
- Plitvice was beautiful and totally worth going if you are able to. I saw a lot of discussion of like Krka vs Plitvice and to me there wasn't much of a comparison. Besides the sheer beauty it is just a special place from a purely scientific standpoint.
- I saw a lot of trip reports and itineraries that were implying that you could do a short trip here and I suppose that's true but I am really glad I spent what I'd consider ample time in Hvar and Dubrovnik respectively. I really took time to relax and spend time just walking around and soaking things in. I'm glad I didn't stay in the Dubrovnik old town for several reasons but Lapad area was perfect. In Hvar and Split I'm glad I stayed in the city centers on the other hand as it was very convenient.