RoamFree

I understand that there is a bus from Korcula to Dubrovnik. I am considering that rather than ferrying back to Split to get the bus after visiting Hvar and Korcula.

Has anyone taken this bus? One of my reasons to bus to Dubrovnik was for the view on this route. Will we miss a lot of the spectacular scenery by not starting further north in Split?

Any experience or advice would be welcome. Thanks.

yorkshire

No need to backtrack. Though I have not ridden all the way south from Split, the ride between Dubrovnik and Korcula is the most scenic ride I have ever taken. You go through the Peljesac peninsula and turn your head back and forth between vineyards, stone houses and walls, farms, mountains, the sea with islands in the distance, and the green shallow water shading to the bluest blue sea.

GeoffHamer

Korcula to Dubrovnik via Split is a long detour and seems unnecessary. All the transport options for Korcula are summarised on www.korculanet.net. The bus or Jadrolinija's coastal ship are the best ways to go from Korcula to Dubrovnik.

CarolA

The problem I am running into with this same route is there are days where there is no ferry so......It's bus or skip Korcula.....

yorkshire

CarolA: what's your initerary before and after Korcula (and what time of year)? Will you have a car? There are probably alternative ways for you to get there.

CarolA

The car situation is up in the air. We had considered turning it in at the Split airport and taking the ferry to Korcula and then on to Dubrovnik. That may not work and we may have to keep the car or go to Hvar which has more ferry options.

We are going to be there late September which makes it harder. We are working on the exact dates.

nukesafe

Would suggest you keep the car, drive down the magnificent coast to Dubrovnik, and drop off the car there. Then you can take toe bus from Dubrovnik to Korcula. The bus schedule I saw was:
# Dubrovnik. (Mon - Sun). Departure at 15:00, arrival Orebic 17:45, Korcula at 18:20. Stay overnight and take the same bus back. This is the route folks who live on Korcula take to go to Dubrovnik for the day. Short, easy and cheap.

You will LOVE Croatia!

yorkshire

Yes late September makes it harder. I doubt the high season catamarans will be running, but some catamarans do run in low season. Keep checking http://www.korculainfo.com.
If you have a car, you can drive to Korcula (there is a yearround ferry making the short hop from Orebic to Korcula).
Hvar and Korcula are both really nice, you'll love either one.

GeoffHamer

In late September, Jadrolinija runs a car ferry from Split to Vela Luka on Korcula island twice daily, and a fast catamaran from Split via Hvar to Vela Luka once daily (www.jadrolinija.hr). There are buses between Vela Luka and Korcula town.
Jadrolinija also runs the coastal voyage from Split to Dubrovnik via Stari Grad and Korcula twice weekly.
The fast catamaran KRILO runs from Split to Korcula via Hvar on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (www.krilo.hr).

CarolA

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to pass them on to my mother. The ONLY decision she is being required to make is which island. I did the rest of the schedule!

jeff001

I liked Korcula better than Hvar and would choose it if it was one or the other. I drove from Korcula to Dubrovnik and the trip is very scenic. You won't miss any scenery by taking the ferry from Split to Korcula.

mjs

I spent a few days in Orebic last summer and would say that the drive to Dubrovnik is pleasant but not in my opinion spectacular. Lots of better drives all around the world.

4everywhere

Hi Jeff,

Where did you stay in Korcula? What do you recommend for siteseeing for 1 1/2 days, 2 nites? We'll be coming from 3 nites in Hvar and on way to 4 nites in Dubrovnik. We plan to drive the peninsula to Dub, and looking forward to the beauty of it.

RoamFree -
I hate missing that beauty of the Makarska, baska Voda route -- but I can't seem to work it in. I guess we'll save it for another trip?

Good luck.

RoamFree

Thanks to all for your replies and the subsequent discussion.

Yorkshire, I appreciate your experience with the beauty of the bus route from Korcula to Dubrovnik. I guess I wasn't sure of the relative merits of the northern part of the drive and the part we would get from the southern part, if we came from Korcula.

4everywhere, we also are traveling in September so I guess you are correct. We will have to miss the full coast drive or miss Korcula.

Thanks again to everyone for all the info.

venturesome4

Yorkshire. How winding is the road from Korcula to Dubrovnik? We will be in that area end of June and are still deciding whether it is beneficial to have a car for our family of four or not. We will have a car from Zagreb to Split ,side trip to Plitvice Lakes ,for sure. It is unclear if we should keep the car while on Korcula,so that we have it when we are in Dubrovnik for the side trips to Mostar and kotor that we would like to take. I would appreciate any advice on this topic.
Evelyn

yorkshire

I took that bus drive in 2003, so I don't remember the road conditions too clearly--just that I thought it was beautiful. I'm not much for driving period, but fodorites talk about driving in this region all the time, so it must not be too intimidating. I do remember it being through mountains and my husband saying "look at all the crashed yugos at the bottom of the mountain" haha (I didn't look down). The drive between Split and Plitvice was much more mountainous.
I do know that you must make sure your rental contract allows for you to take the car to Mostar and Kotor, otherwise it will be pointless to have the car at that point.
Depending on how long you will be on Korcula, it could be beneficial to have a car there (it is a large island and you may want to explore beyond where bus travel can get you).
I return to Korcula and Dbv. at the end of the month, so I will post again about that bus route. I will be taking a bus to Kotor as well, so I'll report on that too.

venturesome4

Thanks for the advice, Yorkshire. I will eagerly await your further postings. I don't know how much we will be driving around Korcula during our 3 full days . I tend to be quite hard driving in terms of sightseeing and packing things in,as is my daughter; the guys of our clan however, would prefer a more leisurely pace, so I had built a little beach and relaxation time.
You seem to travel to Croatia quite a bit so perhaps you could give me some advice on what to do in Zagreb at 4:30 in the am. We booked an overnight train from Venice to Zagreb that gets in quite early. Initially we thought this would be so cool because none of us had ever been on a sleeper train but 4:30 am is awfully early. Our next stop with Plitvice but I don't know how early we can pick up our car. By the way, I had read about the fact that many of the rental companies don't let you take the cars out of country but thanks to other Fodorites got some rental agenices that allow this ( by report any way) I have been trying to nail down the last of our overnights, which was surprisingly difficult in Split, but am now done so can do the next layer of planning.
Evelyn

4everywhere

Re: Sleeper Train from Venice.

Take provisions! I took the overnite sleeper from Venice to Prague last summer, and did not bring water. There wasn't a diner car, and by 1 a.m. I was horribly parched! by 7 am, it was painful, so I drank the only thing I had -- red wine.

The sleeper was comfortable, and I had it all to myself. But it will be tight for more than two, once you lower the beds.

Again, take bottled water!, and your breakfast picnic! Have a great time.

yorkshire

hmmm, that's a tough one. Are you planning on staying in Zagreb or leaving as soon as you get the car? I'm not a morning person, in fact I'm more likely to be still up at 4:30 than wake up at 4:30, so I would go straight to a hotel and sleep!
I sleep really well on trains--I think that will be lots of fun. However, you might not get a full night's sleep. The drive between Zagreb and Plitvice is not difficult.
Korcula has nice beaches--one of my favorite islands! After you see the small town there is little else to do but hike, swim, and drive through vineyards.

venturesome4

Thanks Yorkshire and 4everywhere. I will definitely take water , and with a 15 yr old boy along, there had better be food. Yorkshire, we were planning to get our car right away and start our trip down to Plitvice. It would be great if we could get out of the city before the morning traffic starts but that is probably too optimistic. Do you know if there are any car rental places close by the train station or when they might be available?
Evelyn