Hello helpful travelers, my wife and I are planning a honeymoon to croatia (early september 2026) and have invited several people to join for a portion of the trip. My sister did a similar thing in barcelona a few years ago where everyone got themselves to the city within a few days of each other. (we had a loose/optional itinerary with one big dinner/party planned at a restaurant one of the nights. This was the only bit that was organized for everyone.) people had their own travel arrangements for before or after but the goal was to have everyone in town for the event. We are trying to recreate something like this in croatia but are looking for reccomendations:

We are torn between dubrovnik and split. We plan to visit both but want to know what people think is the better location for something like this..?

Does anyone have hotel recommendations or areas to look for nicer (but not too expensive) accomodations? (In either location)

Any restaurants that can be rented or can accomodate large groups? (In either location)

Any advice is greatly appreciated. We hope to lock in a city/location for everyone to meet by the end of the month.

Thx!!