Sorry, no train goes to Dubrovnik. Split is as far as the rail system extends in Croatia. It is about a four hour bus trip from Split to Dubrovnik along one of the most scenic coastlines in the world.

I also travel solo most times, but I have never been to Dubrovnik alone. It is perfectly safe. I have stayed in Dubrovnik once, and last September I was there on a cruise. It is a beautiful place. I want to go back! We stayed in an apartment right down in old town. We walked out the door and we were right in a square. I don't remember the name, but there are lots of inexpensive apartments. If you decide to fly into Dubrovnik, the owner of the apartment will probably pick you up at the airport.

You may want to choose more than one base for this trip. In 6-8 weeks in Dubrovnik, you might have a lovely time but you would exhaust the day trips rather quickly.
I would feel perfectly safe traveling solo.
There are countless apartment rental companies as well as private owners. Just choose based on the apt you like.

Forget the train, you'll need buses for that part of the world. Nor do you want to spend that much time in Dubrovnik, which is usually over-run by cruise ship passengers during the day. A couple of nights should do it. You might do better basing in split, but you should take a look at Montenegro as well.

I am a solo woman traveler, and I recently spent several weeks in the Balkans, including Albania, with no worries whatsoever.

Thank you Nuke Safe, Scat cat, Yorkshire and Thursdaysd for your kind responses.
Perhaps I need to rethink the trip a little more.

I don't mind taking buses for day trips, but I don't want to have to carry my
luggage on an off a bus.

What city would you recommend on the Italian side where I could take a ferry over
to Dubrovnik and perhaps stay for a few days.

Does anyone have the name of an apt owner or company name, whom I could contact
from the States?

Thank you all for your help. Johanna

Croatia is all about their beautiful islands. You might consider taking a tour boat that goes to several of their islands.

I'll agree that Dubrovnik hasn't that much to offer to spend all your time there.

If you arrive in Split and take the bus to Dubrovnik, that bus stops outside of the center of the city. Then you have to switch to a local bus to get to "downtown", i.e., the old part, of Dubrovnik. Just thought you'd like to know, since you don't want to be carrying your luggage on and off a bus.

Well, she probably doesn't want to stay in the old town if she doesn't want to carry luggage. My old town apartment on my last visit was up 68 steps. She'd be better off staying on the Larad peninsula and taking a taxi from the bus station.

I think the most beautiful sight in Croatia is Plitvice National Park, but again, it's not a place to use as a base.

I stayed in Dubrovnik just outside the Pile Gate, which makes walking into the old town super quick, about five minutes, almost no steps. The (expensive) Hilton Imperial Hotel is also outside the gate, but across the street from it are a number of Sobe (rooms) and apartments you can rent. I stayed at Edi's Seaview Rooms, which was OK but a bit overpriced. (View OK, but not worth it.)

Some local buses from the main bus station turn around near the Pile gate, so it's also very easy to catch a bus from Pile out to the main Dubrovnik bus station.

I don't know if it is still that way, Johanna, but when we took the bus from Split to Dubrovnik the driver loaded everyone's luggage in the compartment below the bus. They charged a few Kuna per bag, and unloaded your bags for you at the destination. The only things we carried aboard were my wife's handbag and my little courier pouch in which I carry my camera and other stuff.

The intercity buses were modern, clean, air conditioned, and seemed perfectly safe.

You might be able to get a ferry from Venice. We stayed in Rovinj (in the Istrian region of Croatia) and saw the ferry from Venice coming in so it may also go to Dubrovnik. Rovinj is a lovely place.

After having two visits to Croatia and reading a bit as well, I'd say it's a country for either a car or buses. The train is fairly limited. From Rovinj you may be able to get by bus to Piran in Slovenia for a day trip. Piran is small but quite attractive. We also visited Porec which was a bit more modern and not as interesting. We had a car for that trip.

Here are some places we stayed and would recommend:

http://www.portaantica.com/

http://www.dubrovnik-amoret.com/dubrovnik_apartments.html

http://www.maxpiran.com/

Trieste is also not far from Piran or Rovinj but I don't think there is a train, possibly a bus.

Kay

The nearest railway station to Dubrovnik is actually in Ploce, an industrial city on the coast. There are two trains a day from Sarajevo and one a day from Zagreb, but the service will be of little use to tourists.

Ferries from Dubrovnik go to Bari (and no other Italian city):
www.jadrolinija.hr

Long-distance bus services in Croatia are very good. Luggage goes in a separate compartment and there is a small extra charge. This is a list of departures from Dubrovnik bus station:
http://www.libertasdubrovnik.com/voznired.pdf

In any case, I can't see that carrying your luggage on and off a bus is any worse than carrying it on and off a train, and you often have to cope with stairs as well in train stations. In the Balkans you may also find yourself boarding from the tracks, not a platform.

Thank you, KayF for the apt information. They look very good, especially the ones
with only a few steps. GeoffHamer, thank you for the ferry information, I had been
researching the information. Andrew, I had seen that the Hilton is in a great spot, and
am looking into using my points for a few of the days. Nukesafe, thanks for the bus
information. My main concern with the bus vs the train is not being able to get up
and walk, rather than having to sit for so many hours. Thanks for all of the very
good information. Johanna

How long are you planning on for this trip? If you have a few weeks I suggest the following:

Fly to London (lots of non stops and about as cheap from the US as it gets). Since you know London you shouldn't have a problem with staying one or two nights to make the timing work for flights. Then get an EasyJet flight to Dubrovnik.

Spend a week or so with that as a base doing day trips (Mostar, Montenegro, etc.)

Then take a ferry to one of the islands - Hvar or Korcula for a few days. Haven't been to Hvar but Korcula is tiny and you can walk everywhere and there are lots of sobes to stay in.

Then take the ferry up to Split. You could do a day trip to Trogir.

We did pretty much that itinerary in 8 days, two weeks would be better and if you really want to take it slow three weeks. I do think most people who are traveling in order to see places might get bored after that. But from Split there are more ferry options to Italy. Or you could continue up the coast to Rovinj where you can ferry over to Venice.

Here's my trip report (it's after the Amalfi Coast Part) http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/amalfi-coast-rome-and-croatia-images-of-three-hot-but-wonderful-weeks.cfm

johanna, the long distance buses I've been on in Croatia and Slovenia tend to stop every few hours for a break where you can get out, stretch your legs, and even get a coffee or a snack. I think the buses I've been on have been only 3.5 hours max each way but each one had at least one stop in the middle, for 10 minutes or more.

I definitely prefer trains myself as well, given the choice. I can't read on a bus - I get motion sickness - but mostly I'm fine on trains.

I took a bus from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo and it stopped for about 20 minutes for bathroom and snacks. It was quite comfortable actually. And the driver loaded my luggage into the compartment.

Thanks, everyone for your kind help. Isabel, I read your great report which brought
back fond memories. Thank you, Andrew for your information on the buses. I know that I would prefer the train to the bus, because I have a bad knee (ok right now) & if I can't get up and move around, I will be in pain. Thank you, KayF and scatcat,nukesafe, Andrew, thursdayed,yorkshire,Geoffhamer & easytraveler.

All of your informative ideas have helped me in reorganizing my itinerary.


I am now, flying NS in and out of Milan (as I got great deal for Business Class with FF miles). I am planning to fly to Dubrovnik for the week and stay at the Hilton (using points). I will take day trips and go to the islands and at times just relax. Don't know if I will go to the beach as I live in S FL.
I will then fly back to Milan and do day trips from there. Is it
safe staying around the central RR station in Milan for a woman traveling alone? I have
thought about staying in the town of Como, but I would still have to go back to Milan
to go to Verona, Bologna and the surrounding areas. It has been suggested to me by
Byron at BETS, that I stay near the train station in Florence as it is more centrally
located to take day trips to any area. I would prefer to be in a smaller city than Milan
once I have seen the Last Supper and some of the main sites in Milan.
Has anyone stayed in hotels (elevators & a/c) in Milan & Florence near the train station. the Hilton in Milan was booked so I am assuming there is a convention or high tourist season beginning. Thanks for all of the information and help. Johanna

Yes, I stayed very close to the train station in Milan. It was only for one night, but I didn't feel that the area was unsafe.

Thursdayed: Do you remember the name of the hotel you stayed in near the
Milan main train station? Did you stay anywhere near the Como area? Thanks, Johanna