Croatia advice

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Thinking of Croatia for summer 2019.
Was looking at Dubrovnik but seems as though it might be v busy in august though ?
Also looking at ischia any one have a view on what would be best?
We are a couple of families who holiday together every year we like food wine table tennis going out to explore some culture.
Would be really grateful for any advice

Split might be less heaving & it's a beautiful city & has got an airport. There are lots of decent restaurant s that don't cost an arm and a leg - no idea where you'd find a table tennis table though! It's got a lot of history, boat trips & some nice beaches & is pretty easy to get around - it's not huge! There are ferries out to the islands & most people go to Hvar (pretty town, lots of yatchs) or Brac (pretty unspoilt).Accommodation wasn't expensive either - we had an apartment & there's a lot to those to choose from - no idea about hotels though! We didn't have a pool & just swam in the sea

We had a fabulous time in Rovinj and Opatija a couple of years ago. I preferred Rovinj of the two, but both lovely. We actually got married in Dubrovnik, so obviously it is special to us. But it's packed, Istria was so much calmer.

We went to Istria for 2 weeks last month. Flew to Pula and stayed just inland from Novigrad and Porec, both lovely towns. Lots to do, we visited the amphitheatre and aquarium in Pula, went to Rovinj, did a boat trip, visited the water park near Novigrad (really good), you can even pop over to Venice if you want to (although we didn’t). There weren’t very many British tourists in northern Istria, lots of Germans and Italians. Not a problem for us though. Food is very Italian influenced, pizza and pasta on offer everywhere, and truffles are a feature in the local cuisine. We had a lovely time

How lovely really thinking Istria is for us seems to tick all the boxes and I've seen some really nice villas.
Out of interest I'd like to know was it v expensive to eat out?
We went to Provence this year which was wonderful but very expensive

Cavtat is a lovely seaside village close to Dubrovnik. It's a great place for a chilled out holiday and you can easily head into Dubrovnik when you feel like it - the best way is by boat as the views are incredible.

We found Istria very cheap for eating out.

Istria definitely cheaper than other parts of Europe and much cheaper than Dubrovnik. Villas are reasonably priced. Note no real sandy beaches but they often have inflateable water parks in the sea that occupied the kids for at least a couple of hours.

Just back from Split/Hvar and while incredibly beautiful both were so so expensive and just jammed packed with tourists. There was an hour long traffic jam at 9.30 at night on the way to the airport. Food is ok but we were burning through 300 a day and that was not eating in expensive places. They all seem to have the same menu anyway. Was there the year before but didn't seem to notice it as much
Ischia have been there too. If going to Croatia I would go to Hvar (an Island off Split) but you need serious money to enjoy it as everything costs a fortune

That’s really good information, I’ve seen a lovely villa in Medulin near Pula that I think I will rent if everyone’s in agreement ( 2 families traveling together)
But this year the daily spending money was huge for not very much really so as the youths are mainly students was hoping to rein it in a bit

We spent two weeks in a villa in Istria this July and we really enjoyed it. I'd second much of what has been said above and we also liked Rovinj.
We used myistria.com to book a really nice villa with a pool- they were great and great service, very smooth.
The best beaches are on Kamenjak which is actually a nature reserve south of Pula which you pay to go on. The water is warm and clear- take your snorkel! I'd also recommend taking the ferry across to Cres Island amazing views across the rest of the islands- lunch/dinner in Cres town harbour also a must.