Advice on travel logistics for Prague, Budapest, & Dubrovnik
 

My boyfriend and I are taking my 15-year old brother to Europe in June for three weeks and plan to spend a few days in Prague and Budapest before heading to Dubrovnik (and hopefully some of the Dalmatian coast).

We've got round trip FF tickets for the three of us to fly in/out of Prague June 5 & 23. Now the fun part of piecing together an itinerary for the three weeks we're there. We don't plan to rent a car, so would love to get advice, input, thoughts on the flight, train and/or ferry options.

Here's what I've been loosely planning:

4 days in Prague
3-4 days in Budapest
And then spend the rest of the time either 1) fly to Split, and take the ferry to Korchula and then Dubrovnik, or 2) fly to Dubrovnik directly and then take a couple of days to go up to one of the islands, and then back to Dubrovnik to fly back to Prague, etc.

Getting to each Destination:

Prague to Budapest: Is the best, affordable option to fly Smartwings? Since it's not peak season right now, I can't find any good information on flight schedules for June between cities.

Budapest to Croatia:

Option 1: Should we fly into Split and then take the ferry down the coast to Korchula for a few days, and the end with the trip in Dubrovnik?

Option 2: Should we fly directly to Dubrovnik and then take the ferry to Korchula for a couple of days? I've heard that Dubrovnik is a must, and since it's the last destination for the trip, I want to make sure we have enough time there.

Which Islands/Scuba Diving?
1) If we spend a couple of days going down the coast, which island would be best to stay? I'm scuba certified, so was hoping to spend a day diving (read that Korchula was good for that).

2) Anyone been diving in Croatia and have recommendations of location, dive operators, etc?

The return trip home: Dubrovnik to Prague
We will need to book airline tickets from Dubrovnik to get us back to Prague to make our return flight home. Will there be more discount airline options out of Dubrovnik in the coming months, or are we going to need to book a pricer ticket via Croatian Air, etc?

Since I'm covering the trip expenses for my brother, I'm trying to figure out the best options.

Any advice/insight would be most helpful and appreciated.

If you are travelling with a 15 year old PLEASE check into what he will need in order to leave the country.

Minors cannot readily travel without some proof of parental permission.

Thanks for the reminder about the proof of permission.

I can only comment on your Prague to Budapest leg. I have done quite a bit of research trying to get from Budapest to Prague and in my opinion Smartwings seems to be the best option especially on the price.

I have emailed them regarding their flight schedules and got a very prompt reply. Go into 'about us' on their website and you will see contact details and timetables etc.

Here is link for Dive Resort, Korcula:
http://www.croatiadivers.com

Hope it helps.

Thanks for the responses. Very helpful.

For the Budapest to Croatia part of the trip, I think I'm going to have us fly to Split in the morning, and then take an afternoon ferry to Korcula/Vela Luka and spend about 3 days there.

I would like to go diving one day, but want to make sure we stay in an interesting area of the island since we will want to see/do things not related to diving, since my brother and boyfriend are not dive certified.

Should we look for hotels/apts on Vela Luka side or Korcula? Any recommendations of places to stay there?