Has anyone used any good day tours in Croatia? I will not be driving. I plan to do some day trips and get from place to place with public transportation. I would like to do a boat trip in Dubrovnik and maybe one to Mostar. From Split, I will go to Trogir (love history) by bus. I believe Sibenik can be reached by bus too.

Right now I have:

3 night Dubrovnik
2 nights Korcula
4 nights Split
2 night Zadar
4 nights Pula/or Rovinj

any suggestions for this music-loving, history, bookworm traveller would be highly appreciated.

Can't help you with day tours and can't help with public transportation. We spent 8 days in Croatia in 2017, traveling by car. Makes you wonder why I'm posting a reply at all.

We thought that Rovinj was a disappointment. Didn't get to Pula. I would recommend reducing your time there, or even cutting it out altogether. Instead go to Plitvicka Park after Zadar. It will take you a full day because the logistics are difficult but it's an astonishing place. After that go to Istria if you want or to Zagreb (my recommendation) for a day.

A day tour from Dubrovnik to Kotor (in Montenegro) would be a great side trip if you have the time.

@Michguy - Thanks for your reply. I will be flying out of Pula so I have to be there anyhow. II would love to go to Plitvice lakes but I won't have a car. I looked into the logistics of staying overnight but with ferry schedules and my flight out, I am afraid it is a no- go this time around.

And we fell in love with Rovinj! So we all respond differently. It was one of our favorite places! Though we also had a car and took 2 wonderful day trips, we loved the feeling of the town itself.

I visited Croatia in mid April this year, travelled all by public transportation from Zagreb. Following was my itineraries:

1. Zagreb

2. Bus from Zagreb to Rovinj- 3 and a half hours
Rovinj is small but beautiful, (second Progol’s review, she has an excellent Croatia traveling report)

3. Bus to Pula from Rovinj (1 hour)

4. My ferry from Pula to Zadar (4 hours) was cancelled the last minute, and we took the bus instead from Pula(6 and a half hours). The bus journey was very nice, travelled along the coast and the scenery was pleasant and comfortable.

5. Zadar to Trogir(2 and a half hours) you can stop at Sibenik en route to Trogir.

6. Trogir to Split (1and a half hour)

7. Split to Hvar by ferry

8. Hvar to Korcular by ferry

9. Korcular to Dubrovnik by ferry

There are plenty of buses travel between Split and Dubrovnik if you choose that route.

From Dubrovnik, we joined a day trip bus tour (get your guide) to visit Montenegro, but would advise to join a small group tour by van instead. The boarder crossing by tour buses are very long. We had a 2 and a half hour wait on the boarder on the return to Dubrovnik as all the day tour buses leaving almost on the same time on the way back. We did enjoy Montenegro though.

We also went to Mostar on our own without the joining tour from Dubrovnik but advise to join a small group tour as well. It was a long time going through the boarders as we had to cross the boarders four times each way. We enjoyed the visit to Mostar despite the tedious boarder crossing by public buses. The private van tours will by pass the extra boarder crossing route.
We stayed a night in Mostar.

Is Montenegro worth a visit, or a stay?

We visited Montenegro as a day trip from Dubrovnik. We hired a private driver and we designed our itinerary: Budva, Kotor, and Perast. We thoroughly enjoyed this day driving around the Bay of Kotor and the places we visited.

There is a trip report by Whitehall about his/her stay in Montenegro for 4 days. That sounded wonderful, too. I think it really depends on how many nights you have. Staying overnight I am sure is very worthwhile but if you don’t have the time, I think a day trip is better than not seeing Montenegro at all.

Thank you, KarenWoo.

HI Kelsey, Perla Adriatica is a great company for day trips from Dubrovnik. They are just outside the gate to the old town. They use vans that carry about 8 passengers comfortably, which I much prefer to larger buses. I used them last year for day trips to Montenegro and Mostar and both were very enjoyable. In Dubrovnik, right near the old wall, there are numerous boat tours available and you can find them online as well.

You will be fine getting around by public transportation. I did it for a month last year all around Croatia and a week in Slovenia. The local bus is very easy from Split to Trogir and I think you are right about Sibenik.

JMO, but I would spend 4 nights in Dubrovnik and 3 in Split. I spent 3 in Split and enjoyed it but I thought 2 nights would have been sufficient. You can also find many boat rides along the waterfront in Split. Since you like music, maybe you will be fortunate enough to catch a performance at the National Theater. I saw "Un Ballo in Maschera" last year - it was a beautiful performance and the tickets were ridiculously inexpensive. I was in the center orchestra towards the front and my ticket cost about $12. Also from Split you can take a day trip to a park which is a smaller version of Plitivice, with lakes and waterfalls. Very beautiful and well worth it if you can't get to Plitivice. Sorry the name escapes me at the moment but it should be easy enough to find.
LMK if you have any other questions. Hope this helps.