DH and I are in the midst of planning for our November trip to Croatia. Unfortunately due to work logistics this is the only time we are able to go. The airfare is already booked; we are flying roundtrip Chicago to Dubrovnik. We arrive in Dubrovnik on November 5th and depart on November 12th. Our plan is to split our time between Dubrovnik (4 nights) and Trogir (3 nights). I have a few questions:

I noticed in a recent post that someone said that a car is not needed in southern Dalmatia. We plan on renting a car because I'm assuming that the ferries will not be running as frequently as in the summer months. The ferry schedule for this fall is not up yet. Is this a fair assumption? Also, we planned on staying in an apartment about 10-15 minutes from Dubrovnik and either driving into town. Is it hard to find a place to park? Would busses be a better option?

We actually prefer to stay in Hvar for a few nights, but after tons of searching I cannot find any accommodations (hotels or apartments) that are open during November, so we will probably take a daytrip, again if we can get a ferry over there. However, I'm still holding out hope. Anybody know of a hotel/apartment in/near Hvar that is open year round?

Lastly, we are planning on taking an Atlas tour to Montenegro and then drive to Mostar ourselves. I have posted here awhile back about driving to Mostar and got some great responses, so I think we will be fine on that end. My only concern is the Atlas tour. Again, I am having trouble finding out if tours run in November. So far it doesn't seem like it. Should I wait a few months or should I assume that a tour in November would be unlikely?

Thanks so much for any/all information! I love vacation planning, but planning this trip to Croatia has stumped me numerous times. I know the weather won't be fantastic in November, but we actually prefer to travel during off-peak times. Still, I certainly didn't realize the extent of how it could affect our trip.

Tracy

Hi Tracie
Yes, November is not the best time weatherwise indeed, but it should be ok, as long as you were not planning on lounging on the beaches. (It can get very windy sometimes during the winter months, which is pretty unpleasant).
Can't advise you on Hvar, but i imagine, if you just turn up there, you'll see "Sobe,Rooms,Zimmer" signs anyway, even at that time of year...
Regarding renting a car: just i would do it, because it gives you so much more freedom and flexibility, so as long as it's within your budget, i'd say it's a good idea!
Parking: You can park INSIDE any of the old towns of Dubrovnik, Split or Trogir as they are pedestrian. So you'll have to park just "outside" which is definetly a toatl nightmare in the summer months, but i would take my chances in November; it could still be tricky, but absolutly possible nevertheless.
ferry timetables: check the Jadrolinija site at http://www.jadrolinija.hr/default.aspx?lang=2
and do a search with your dates, but it might be too early indeed to check for november.
Have you found your accommodation in Trogir? If you want to stay in Trogit itself, i can recommande IVICA:
http://www.adria-island.org/en/apart...ROG#photoalbum
The people who run it are lovely, and the location is great.

Can't help you with tours, sorry...

Have a lovely trip!

Kastelsegnic
http://www.kastelsegnic.info

Sorry, i made a mistake, should have re-read my post before sending it: i meant YOU CAN'T park inside the old towns as they are pedestrians! Apologies for the confusion!
Kastelsegnic
www.kastelsegnic.info

I went to Hvar once in December and nearly everywhere was closed, apart from a bar and one restaurant. It was easy to do as a day trip from Split, using the ferry to Stari Grad then a connecting bus.
Jadrolinija's summer schedules run from June to September, so November ferry schedules will be very similar to April's which you can see on www.jadrolinija.hr. Bus services on the mainland, and on the islands, don't vary much between summer and winter, and are fairly frequent with services every hour or so between Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar.

Thank you both so much for your replies.

I think we will just plan on staying in Trogir and taking a ferry to Hvar as a daytrip. We would like to see it, even if nothing is open, to wander around and take pictures. But I definitely don't want to stay for a few nights if nothing will be open.

Geoff, thank you for the tip on checking out April's time schedule on the ferry website. I will do just that.

Kastelsegnic, thank you for your thoughts! Luckily DH and I aren't really "sit on the beach" people, so apart from taking in wonderful vistas, we wouldn't really plan to spend much time at the beach anyways. Thanks for advising me on the windy weather! And thanks so much for the link to the Trogir apartment! It looks lovely and just want we are looking for. I'm going to send the link to my husband so he can check it out as well.

Thanks again for replying!
Tracy

Selfishly topping in the hopes that someone has more to add!

Tracy

You're welcome!
Have a lovely trip,
Kastelsegnic

I would strongly recommend against a car in southern Croatia. The busses are clean and easy to use. And you'll be so busy looking at the scenery that you won't want to be driving.

I was in Hvar in March and it was dead. Finding a room was no problem as there are many people who will rent you one. This works out well as it is pretty cheap (and clean).

That being said, we ended up going to a rock concert being held in Hvar, so even though everything was closed, the place was still lively

I would also recommend staying in Dubrovnik. Again, you can rent a room there very cheaply. Simply get off the bus or ferry and you'll be approached by a bunch of people offering you rooms. Most have pictures so you know what you'll get.

I don't think Atlas will be able to give you a tour in Nov...they couldn't in March. However, I would recommend getting a private guide.

If you click on my name, you'll find a trip report I wrote on Croatia. It will give you more info on the things I said above.

Or, feel free to email me at [email protected]

Kevin