Greece and Croatia in 9 Days With Kids: Our Spring Break Itinerary
Nine days, two countries plus a day trip into a third, five people, and a rental car for half of it. Santorini, Athens, Dubrovnik, Mostar, Split, Zadar, Plitvice Lakes, and Zagreb.
It was not a relaxing trip. It was one of the best ones we’ve taken.
We went over spring break in April 2025, which turned out to be the single best decision we made. Here’s the full route, how long we spent in each place, and what I’d change.
The route
| Days | Where | Nights |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travel day, Toronto to Athens via Paris | |
| 2-3 | Santorini | 2 |
| 4 | Athens | 1 |
| 5-6 | Dubrovnik | 2 |
| Day trip to Mostar, Bosnia | ||
| 7-8 | Split | 2 |
| Day trip to Zadar and Plitvice Lakes | ||
| 9 | Zagreb | 1 |
| 10 | Travel day home |
We flew into Athens, worked our way to Santorini and back, then flew Athens to Dubrovnik and drove north through Croatia to fly home out of Zagreb. No backtracking.
Want to know how much this trip cost? Find my full trip breakdown here.
Why April is the right month for this trip
Traveling in April means you’ll get the same places with a fraction of the people.
Santorini in April was quiet. Every day was 65 degrees and sunny. Our driver mentioned tourism was slower than usual that spring, partly from earlier earthquakes and partly because of when Orthodox Easter fell.
At the Acropolis, we showed up around 3:40pm without advance tickets and got 4:00pm entry. I would not try that in July.
The tradeoff is that it’s not beach weather. If your version of Greece involves swimming, April isn’t it. If your version involves walking through places without a crowd, April is close to perfect.
How long should you spend in Santorini?
Two nights was right for us, and I’d say two to three is the range.
We deliberately scheduled nothing. After 18 hours of travel, the plan was to wander narrow alleys, look at whitewashed walls, and follow the mules and stray cats around. That’s it.
Santorini is small and the appeal is the place itself rather than a list of things to do. Two days lets you see it without feeling like you’re filling time.
One logistical note: our Airbnb host arranged a driver and a porter to walk us to the house for €45. Worth it. The streets aren’t drivable in places and you’re not rolling luggage up them.
Is one day enough in Athens?
No, and this is my main regret from the trip.
We had one afternoon. We walked to the Acropolis, spent about 90 minutes there, then two hours in the Acropolis Museum. That was the whole visit.
I’d want a day and a half to two full days. The reason we only had one is that there’s exactly one direct flight per week from Athens to Dubrovnik, departing Mondays, and our whole route hinged on catching it.
If you’re building this itinerary, check that flight schedule first and work backward. It’s the constraint that shapes everything else.
One tip that would have saved us stress: take the metro from the airport into the city. We took a taxi on arrival, and most Athens taxis are sedans that seat four. Finding one for five people took a while. On the way back we took the metro, the train said “Airport” in English on the display, and it was simple.
How long do you need in Dubrovnik?
Two days covered the old town well.
We walked the medieval walls, wandered the alleys, saw the cathedral and the Franciscan Monastery with one of the world’s oldest working pharmacies, dating to 1317. The Game of Thrones sites are all here too, including the Jesuit Stairs and Fort Lovrijenac.
We used our second day for the [Mostar day trip], which is two and a half hours each way and worth every minute.
If you’d rather stay put, Lokrum Island is a short boat ride, and there’s swimming and kayaking in the Adriatic.
Split, Zadar, and Plitvice Lakes
Split got two nights and we kept it slow on purpose. Diocletian’s Palace, the historic center, and a lot of wandering stone alleyways with sea views. It’s not a city that needs an itinerary.
The drive north from Split is where we packed in the most.
Zadar has the only continuous sea organ in the world. There are two others, in San Francisco and the UK, but those only play at high tide. In Zadar, waves push air through pipes hidden under marble steps along the waterfront all day long. Simple idea, strange and great to hear in person.
Plitvice Lakes National Park is about 90 minutes from Zadar. Plan three to four hours minimum, especially with kids. We did Route F, which includes a five-minute boat ride, a fifteen-minute one, a few miles of boardwalk and trail, and an uphill climb to the shuttle back. We rushed it in two hours and I wish we hadn’t.
A real safety note on Plitvice: there are no railings along many of the boardwalk paths, and the water moves fast. If you have little ones, bring a carrier rather than trusting them to walk it.
We ate in the park cafeteria afterward. The food wasn’t good but the convenience was.
Is one night in Zagreb worth it?
For us it was a place to sleep before an early flight, not a destination.
We arrived around 7pm and left early the next morning without seeing anything. Zagreb is on the list for a future trip, and if I did this route again I’d either give it a real day or fly out of Split instead.
What we’d do differently
More time in Athens. A day and a half minimum.
More time at Plitvice. Two hours was a rush through a place that deserves half a day.
Either more Zagreb or no Zagreb. One night to sleep before a flight is the least satisfying way to visit a city.
Everything else stays. Santorini at two nights, Dubrovnik at two, Split at two, and the Mostar day trip were all right.
Is a Greece and Croatia trip doable with kids?
Yes, and I want to be clear about what “doable” means here.
This was a sprint. Eight locations in nine days with a lot of driving. It was not restful and it was not a beach vacation. Our girls were 8, 8, and 10 and had already done a lot of long travel days, which is the part that made it work.
If this is your family’s first big international trip, I’d cut it in half. Do Greece or Croatia, not both.
People ask how I pick kid-friendly destinations, and the honest answer is that I don’t. I plan trips around where Tim and I want to go and then layer in the kid parts where they fit. Greece was on my list since I saw The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants twenty years ago. Croatia is where my great-grandfather emigrated from, and it’s where I took my first international trip and my first flight at 18.
Going back with Tim and the girls was the whole point. The kid-friendly parts worked themselves out.
Want the Mostar day trip? Full write-up here.
Planning something like this? Multi-country trips with kids are what I do. Tell me about your trip.
