My husband and I along with another couple (both in our late 60's and 70's) are interested in an itinerary for visiting Dubrovnik, Hvar , Korcula and Split. Our trip will start October 16th which is late in the season and why we thought we should stay in the south of Croatia. We are all active and open to adventure. Thank you

I'd say October 16th is about the END of the season. The weather will start to turn colder and rainier at some point in October- could be earlier, could be later. But the islands will probably seem pretty empty and dead by then - at least, Korcula did while I was there in mid-October a few years ago; the restaurants actually were open at night, but there were so few people out you couldn't always tell a restaurant was open until you walked right up to it. Dubrovnik will be busier because cruise ship tourists will still be coming, and Split is more of a real city less of a tourist trap than the other places.

There should still be daily catamaran service between Korcula, Hvar, and Split, though in stormy weather the catamarans may not run, so be prepared for that.

On the upside, you won't have to deal with so many big crowds at that time of year.

Andrew had given you some great information.

I'll add that you might want to consider including a night in the Plitvice Lakes National Park, which you can reach from Split by car or bus. The Plitvice Lakes National Park is, IMO, the single most un-missable of Croatia's many splendors. Not only are the lakes connected by travertine waterfall formations, each lake has unique microbiota, and as a result, the lakes are different colors. The best way to see that is to make a single, long loop through the park -- something on the order of 6 hours or more (including time for the boat that connects the lower and upper lakes), and by all means, start at the lowest part of the park so you are facing the falls as you proceed.

Do you have a guidebook yet? I strongly recommend the Rough Guide for Croatia.

Thank you for your responses. I've talked with my friends and we're still game to go at that time. So now I'm looking into accommodations in the areas I've mentioned. I know there are lots of sites with recommendations but in general is it better to stay in the old city or further out? Thank you. We are interested in Plitvice Lakes National Park. I will pick up a guide book in the meantime. Cheers

Yes, I would stay in the old town of Dubrovnik or very close, especially if you don't have a car, especially in October (in busy season or if you have a car, you might want to stay further outside of the town). On my first trip, I stayed right outside the Pile Gate. Make sure anyplace you stay doesn't have a thousand steps to climb to get to the front door! Dubrovnik is built on a hill; some of the "streets" are staircases going up! It is possible to stay in the flat areas. There are few proper hotels right in the old town, but there are lots of apartments and "sobe" (private rooms, often with private bathrooms).

I would look at Booking.com . Use the map feature. Read the reviews - also on Trip Advisor. I can't really recommend the place I stayed in 2009, it was OK but not great.

In Korcula Town, I stayed at a place called Apartments Lenni, just a couple who rent out rooms and apartments. The place I got was in a central location, and I'd stay with them again, if they are still around.

I like the Rick Steves Croatia/Slovenia guidebook. I found his book indispensable especially for my first trips to Croatia and Slovenia.

Thank you Andrew. I'll check out Rick Steves book.

I completely agree with Andrew that you would do well to consider using booking.com to search for your accomodations, with a measured look at tripadvisor.com for additional review information.

For Dubrovnik, staying in the Old Town or just outside it – but not uphill in the Old Town – would be worth considering. I was very pleased with the quircky Villa Adriatica, just outside the Ploce Gate, and with a view of the Old Town from its terrace that would be difficult to beat;
http://www.villa-adriatica.net

Staying in the Old Towns of Hvar and Split (either in or just outside of Diocletian’s Palace) would be a good idea.

In Korcula, I stayed at the Roayl Apartments, just outside the Old Town – it still gets great reviews.

Will you have a car for the Plitvice Lakes National Park? If so, you might consider a recommendation from fellow Fodorit, rialtogrl – the Villa Miric. I stayed at the Villa Mukinja – awesomely delicious dinner (included), but the accomodations were on the basic side. I’m not sure if either would be an option if you don’t have a car – you would have to do some investigating.

BTW, you don’t need a car for anything else you are seeing, and a car could actually be an impediment for Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar Town, and Split. You might consider renting just for a day or two to visit the Plitvice Lakes.

I’m a guidebook junkie – I almost always use at least 6 to plan a trip, and used at least that many when planning my time in Croatia. Across my trips, I’ve used well over a hundred different guidebooks, and the ONLY one that I thought not worth the cost was the Rick Steves book on Croatia. It skipped SOOOooooo much that I found it quite useless!

Hope that helps!

I swear by the Rick Steves books and have used them for every country I've visited that he's had a book for. Not everyone likes his style - it's a personal preference. He is opinionated and will say "Don't waste your time here - go there instead" and that puts some people off - whereas other guidebooks make everything sound appealing, so it's hard figure out sometimes where you should spend your time.

He does cover mostly the highlights of a country instead of every possible place you could visit. Certainly Dubrovnik, Hvar, Korcula, and Split are well covered. But, I encourage you to browse various guidebooks and see which one(s) fit your personal style.

Good advice to browse several guidebooks!

Hi kja, would you mind giving an indication of the room rates for Villa Adriatica? What sort of price bracket are they in? Can't see anything online. Thank you!

@ dreamon: So sorry, but it's been way too long since I was there to provide a price bracket with any confidence. I can assure you that it was at a very reasonably low-end range when I was there, and I checked to make sure it still gets good reviews before recommended it. Beyond that, sorry. I think another Fodorite, rialtogrl, knows the Villa Adriatica; if she sees this post, maybe she has recent information?

The price for Villa Adriatica at that time of year, should be around 90 euros but the best thing is to write them and ask. Alternatively you can check Airbnb as they are now listed there. But I think to book direct would get you the best price.
Get a terrace room if you can. They are very popular with Korean tourists as there was some Korean tv show filmed there. So they may be booked already, don't delay in writing them if you want to stay there.

There is catamaran service from Dubrovnik to Korcula in mid October, but not every day, on Krilo Jet. You might have a look at the schedule if you want to utilize a catamaran for that route. I'm not gonna look up the website because I don't want to lose what I have written here so far but I think it's Krilo.hr.

Plitvice Miric inn, that kja mentions above will be closed for the season by then. Yiu can check, but I am pretty sure they are closing early October.
In Hvar, things will be quieting down but I think most places will be open until mid November. I'm going to be there soon, I'll ask around.

Ok I just checked, Krilo.hr will take you to the webpage but you then gotta mess around to get to the English part. It appears the Dubrovnik to Korcula catamaran runs Saturday and Wednesday.

Thank you for the feedback. The ferry information is very useful since it is our intention to go to Korcula after spending 3 days in Dubrovnik. I borrowed three books from the library, Fodor's, Rough Guide and Rick Steves. The Lonely Planet, Croatia is on it's way from Amazon. We'd love to make it to the Plitvice National Park but it looks like it's an overnight trip from Split and maybe a bit much with only 10 days in Croatia. Any other parks to suggest as an alternative but within our route?

Good choice on Lonely Planet – it’s the guidebook I found 2nd best for my time in the area. ☺

IMO, the Plitvice Lakes National Park is the single most un-missable of Croatia's many splendors. Not only are the lakes connected by travertine waterfall formations, each lake has unique microbiota, and as a result, the lakes are different colors. The best way to see that is to make a single, long loop through the park -- something on the order of 6 hours or more (including time for the boat that connects the lower and upper lakes), and by all means, start at the lowest part of the park so you are facing the falls as you proceed.

If getting to/from the Plitvice Lakes NP doesn't work for you, you might consider a visit to the Krka NP, a bit north of Split. Despite the similarities, I was surprised by the differences between these two parks: As already noted, the Plitvice Lakes are, indeed, differently colored lakes, connected by gorgeous waterfalls, and part of the beauty of the park are the many, many waterfalls. In contrast, Krka's most famous falls are along a river and the main set of falls are broader and contain more cascades (of varying heights and widths) than those of the Plitvice Lakes. But both are travertine formations, and they are both gorgeous. You might do a google image search to see the differing images. To get from Split to the Krka National Park by public transportation, I believe you would take a bus to Sibenik (worthy of a visit on its own, IMO) and then a different bus to Skradin, from which you can walk or take a boat to the park. Check the times carefully, though, as the buses from Sibenik to Skradin are infrequent even in high season.

Frankly, I think you might want to make time for the Plitvice Lakes, preferably with an overnight, even though you have little time in the area – JMO.

Isn’t there a bus from Dubrovnik to Korcula every day? I had thought so, but could easily be wrong….

Thanks for the info, kja and rialtogrl, about Dubrovnik hotel. We're not going until next year but it sounds good - will follow up then.

I asked around in Korcula and Hvar about when things are closing these days.

In Korcula, one guy said end of September, another guy said mid October, and the third said NY eve.

In Hvar where I have more contacts, it seems many places are staying open until NY when they close for a couple of months. One of my fave restaurants, Dalmatino is talking about staying open all year. Where I stay, they only close in January and February.

So I think Korcula will be pretty quiet, but you won't starve anywhere.

There was a big storm yesterday, catamarans were not running in the morning.end your trip with a couple of days in Split or Dubrovnik so you aren't scrambling if weather is bad and some boats don't run.

Thank you rialtogrl, Meeting with our friends tonight to look at our itinerary. We may end up deciding to just wing it once we get to Croatia (except first night) and let the weather decide where we're going and when. We're all seasoned travellers and used to booking accommodations at the last minute. Thank you for all the information. I've written down all the hotels and restaurant recommendations.

After reading all the responses and considering the time of year we are considering changing course and staying on the mainland. We've decided to rent a car for the whole 10 days and have these destinations in mind. Dubrovnik, Mostar, Sarajevo, Plitvice Lake National Park and leave from Split. Is it completely insane to consider all these destinations or could you make suggestions about how to fine tune it. Thank you

Ten days means nine nights?

Then what would your itinerary be - something like:

Dubrovnik (2 nights)
rent a car, drove to Mostar
Mostar (1 night)
Sarajevo (3 nights)
Plitvice (1 night)
Split (2 nights)

It's doable if a bit rushed. I would wonder how early they might get snow in Bosnia; otherwise, driving there is pretty easy, the roads aren't as good as Croatia's but are now pretty good. You can look at my 2015 trip report (click on my name above to get to my profile and trip reports) to read about my driving trip through Bosnia.

The main reason for three nights in Sarajevo on this quick itinerary is that you'd have a long day of driving to Plitvice and you might make some stops (see below). You could definitely stop on the way from Dubrovnik in Mostar for a few hours instead of spending a night there, but the town is small and touristy and gets a lot of day trippers; it's more pleasant at night. But with your limited time, maybe the night is better spent elsewhere. (The drive between Mostar and Sarajevo is very beautiful, and the town of Konjic on the way might be worth a quick stop. (The stone bridge is nice but not as old as it looks.)

Between Sarajevo and Plitvice, I stopped for a night in the town of Jajce, which has a lovely waterfall right below it; you might detour through the town to stop and have a look - not much to the town, but there is a ruined castle above it that you can explore. The town of Travnik is also basically on the way - same thing, there's a ruined castle above town, but this was the old Turkish capital. Jajce has more significance to Bosnia's early history.