Driving Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes to Makarska then to Mostar?

My plan is to pick up a rental car in Zagreb on a Sunday early in October, drive to Plitvice Lakes, spend the night there, see the park early the next morning, then drive on to Makarska, spend a night there, then on to Mostar, one night there, before finally driving to Dubrovnik.

I%26#39;m estimating driving times with Google Maps (not the most accurate, I know, but the easiest to use). Looks like about 2 hours from Zagreb to Plitvice, about 3.5 hours from Plitvice to Makarska, and maybe 2.5 hours from Makarska to Mostar. Sound about right?

Does that make sense? Any pitfalls to watch out for? I will be driving alone and this will be my first time in Croatia or BiH...

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Driving times from one place to another look correct; Makarska to Mostar takes about 2 hrs.

No worries, roads are good and easy to navigate. You will combine regular roads (free) and motorways (toll) to get to places.

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I drove alone from Split to Mostar, stayed overnight and then drove down to Dubrovnik the following day. this was 2 years ago.

Makarska to Mostar will be about 2 hours or so. Mostar to Dubrovnik was around 3 hours as I recall.

Pitfalls - watch out for the speed limit which is given in KM per hour, and at times seems painfully slow. But keep to it as you can be pulled over at any time and given an on-the-spot fine. I found that I was constantly overtaken by local cars, lorries and even a bus, but I didn%26#39;t get a ticket - and I did see quite a few police cars along the way too. Also, have your headlights on at all times when on the road, remember it is zero tolerance so no wine at lunchtime! Also you are advised to have a yellow flourescent jacket in case of a breakdown - your hire company should provide you with this.

Good luck, driving is not difficult on the main roads.

PS. I wrote a review of my time in Mostar - if you click on my name you should find it.

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Hey Andrew...

I think you%26#39;ve also been posting on fodors. I replied to a post of yours about Independence Day.

I%26#39;m in Dubrovnik the same sort of time as you, (5th-9th October)along with my friend from near Seattle (she%26#39;s mentioned in my Mostar review).

We will be at the Buza Bar early most evenings to watch the sun roll down into the sea, so if you would like a mini GTG. send me an email message from this site and we can maybe fix something up.

Have a great trip.

Julia

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Julia, a few updates:

Headlights do not have to be on all the time any more in the period of summer daylight saving time (which is by the end of October)

Zero tolerance no more – 0.5 is legal now (but if you cause any driving accident under alcohol influence, you are fined for both being intoxicated and the accident)