Topping because I hope someone here can I help!

Tracy

march in croatia is not the warm spring March like in Italy, but Dubrovnik might be worth it anyway. It could happen that you will feel off-season, but it's worth a try. Though I would always rather stay these days in Florence. Public transportation- no, because especially in March it will not be adjusted to a tourists needs. Car- great idea.

Croatia has a very good public transport system, summer or winter. I was last there eleven months ago. On Christmas day, I went island hopping from Sibenik via Vodice, Biograd and Zadar, travelling on three boats and three buses in the course of the day. I had plenty of time for a big lunch as well. In March, there will be no problem getting around by bus and ferry.
One problem in winter is that the locals smoke a lot, so cafés and bars can be unpleasant. In March, it may be warm enough to sit of doors, and cafés will leave windows open.

Thank you both for your helpful replies. I was worried that I wouldn't get any!

We don't mind bundling up if the weather isn't the best. I just wanted to make sure that we would be able to get from Dubrovnik to Hvar to Split via public transportation, and it sounds like we will.

Will things be open in Hvar in March? It seems like more of a warm-weather island, but I've heard so many raves that I really want to go. Hubby is worried that we will not have enough to do and is proposing we spend the 3 nights in Trogir instead of Hvar. I have my heart set on Hvar but if things will be closed perhaps Trogir will be better?

Thank you again for all your help!
Tracy

A few years ago, I did a day trip from Split to Hvar on Christmas Day. The ferry to Stari Grad was running, there was a connecting minibus to Hvar town, and in town, at least one café/bar was open, and one restaurant was open. March should be better than December, and Croatia has become more popular since then, but Hvar will be quiet in March. There will be no problem finding hotels in March, so you don't need to decide a precise itinerary till you get there: you don't need to commit yourself to three nights in Hvar and may decide to split the time between Hvar and Trogir or Split.

Tracy: What flights did you finally decide on to get there and back? I'm still working on it. On another board it was suggested flying into Vienna then a 45 min. flight on SkyEurope shuttle to Bratislava and then SkyEurope direct to Dubrovnik for about $100. I haven't really researched this yet, but it sounds good.

Hi Barb! I'm still working on the logistics of the flights and the itinerary.

So far I found the best deal this morning. I used American Airlines website and clicked on the button to find all One World Alliance flights for an open-jaw St. Louis (my hometown) to Dubrovnik, Rome to St. Louis and found a fare of about $700 per person, flying out March 11. The flight was American from St. Louis to Newark, and British Airways from Newark to London and London to Dubrovnik. Coming home was similar.

So far our itinerary looks like this: Fly into Dubrovnik and stay 3 nights. Ferry or drive to Split/Trogir or Hvar and stay 3 nights. Fly from Split to Rome ($99 Europe by Air). And from there I will work out the Italy portion. Not sure if we want to spend the rest of the time in Rome (our favorite city!) or split the time between Rome and Umbria, but Italy planning seems like a piece of cake compared to Croatia planning!

Have you had any luck?

Still working on it and trying not to get too discouraged. I still have lots of time though as I'm not going until next fall. I know I can get there one way or another, it's just finding the most direct route and the most economical way there and back. If it gets to be too much, I might just opt for Rome and Sicily, but I will be very interested in hearing about your plans and how it all works out.

Barb, I have to admit that I've gotten discouraged more times than not while planning this trip. We have been contemplating a trip to Croatia for at least a year now, and I have yet to come up with an itinerary and flight that I am really happy with. I've been tempted to just call it all off and go to Italy or Ireland instead. I'm just hoping that Croatia will be worth it when it is all said and done and I'm back!

I'll keep you posted on my plans. Best wishes with your trip planning!

Tracy

tcreath,
Sorry, can’t help with any advice – I’m planning the trip myself, we’ll go in Sept next year. Same thing, logistics of getting there and back (fastest way with minimum cost) proves to be the biggest challenge. I will try to contact TravelTime agency, they seem to have a good reputation and are specialized in Croatia.
I will let you know how it goes, though that might not help you (you don’t have that much time left) but it might help Barb or others.

We will be in Croatia in June. We have flights from the U.S. to Budapest first, and will spend 4 or 5 days there. Then we have tickets on SkyEurope from Budapest to Dubrovnik. I bought those yesterday on line for $50 USD each. We will be in Dubrovnik for 5 nights, then take the bus to Split, hydrofoil to Hvar and spend 5 nights there, doing some day trip with Atlas. 1 night in Trogir, then up to Plitvice National Park for 1 night. Then to Rovinj for 3 nights. We will then take the ferry to Venice from Rovinj and fly back to the US from there.

Does this sound like a "sound" plan!

Images2,
Sounds like a great plan – that’s exactly my trip but in reverse Rovinj, Plitvice, Trogir, Hvar and Dubrovnik.
BTW, how do you get back to the States from Rovinj?

I suggest You check Lufthansa site as You can fly from US to Dubrovnik just changing to "Croatia Airlines" flight in Frankfurt. As LH and CA operated code share ("Star alliance"), fares could be affordable (i got some great fares on european flights from Dubrovnik via Frankfurt).You can even combine it with Rome too as CA flies from Split to Rome.
If you like more info or tips abt Croatia and Dubrovnik, feel free to contact me.Im right there.
my mail: ivodu@yahoo.com

We are going to take the ferry from Rovinj to Venice, then fly back to the states from Venice.

Any suggestions as to where to stay in Dubrovnik? I was hoping for Villa Adriatica but they just e-mailed me and said they are only taking reservations for 7 nights, for the price of 90Euros per night. We will be arriving at 8:30p.m. on a flight with SkyEurope from Budapest so I'd really like to have a reservation.

Check: www.adriatica.net for accomodation. i think its posiblle to find nice rooms in old town of Dubrovnik for apx 50 euros per night, even less. If you need help feel free to mail me (ivodu@yahoo.com)

Here's a place right in old town that I've read is very nice. We didn't stay here -- the apartment we wanted was already booked -- but you could give it a shot. They quoted me a price which I remember as being very reasonable but don't remember exactly what it was. Also, if I remember correctly, he said I could just mail a check (in US dollars) for the deposit so no hassle with money transfers. Here's the site.... http://www.karmendu.com/

You can rent a lighthouse in Croatia - quite cheaply - which seems like great fun - but March may be a little chilly

http://www.hrvaska.net/eng/svetilniki_eng.htm

Thanks so much for the help. I've e-mailed Apartments within MedievalWalls. It looks quite nice.

tcreath:

I think I may have finally figured out how to get to Dubrovnik - I can fly Seattle to Rome, spend 9/29 (day of arrival)and 9/30 and depart to Split 10/1, via Europebyair for $99. (need to figure out how to get from Split to Dubrovnik - bus??) Then returning from Dubrovnik on 10/8 to Rome for another $99, stay in Rome to 10/19, doing some day trips to Orvieto and maybe Assisi. This just might work!

Barb, sounds like a wonderful trip! Then again, any trip that includes Rome would be fantastic! The Europe by Air prices make getting to Croatia a lot easier, especially once I got used to the system.

I'm so jealous! Although I'm looking forward to Ireland, and I'm sure it will be great, I had my heart set on Croatia and am very dissapointed that we had to postpone it for a year due to time constraints. I will be looking forward to your trip report! If it was even half as entertaining as your Diva report (which, as funny as it was, you had my sympathies!) it will be wonderful.

Good luck!
Tracy

Oh no, I thought you were still going to Croatia. I'm sorry you won't be going, but hey, Ireland will be wonderful!

I'm totally bummed about it! My husband will be starting a new job which now limits the length of our vacation. We only have about 8 nights, and we both decided that, given the difficulties that it takes to get to Croatia, 8 nights simply isn't enough time to have a great vacation without feeling very rushed, especially when we want to include at least a few nights in Rome. So we decided to go to Ireland, which has been our "to do" list for a while now, and postpone Italy/Croatia to March or April 2007. I'll definitely be looking forward to your trip report..you'll be the expert giving out the pointers and advice!

Tracy

You can also get from Rovinj to Venice by bus to Trieste (several times a day -about 3 hours and a beautiful ride) and then train to Venice (2 hours and leaving hourly, I believe). This website will give you lots of details: www.visit-croatia.co.uk

Thank you so much for the transportaion tip about traveling from Rovinj to Venice. It's good to have a back up plan. Our first choice is by ferry!

Do you know of a good sobe in Rovinj?