Croatian Itinerary help
Jul 14th, 2012 | 08:57 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2006
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Croatian Itinerary help
so our Croatian itinerary is shaping up but i would like some feedback if possible.
8/28 - 8/31 - we fly into Venice and stay there for 3 nights
8/31 - 9/3 - we take the venizia ferry to rovinj where we will stay there for 3 nights at http://www.casa-garzotto.com/
9/3 - we decided to rent a car and then wake up early and drive to Plitvice and hike the park then spend the night in Plitvice
this is where i am unsure. we have 6 nights left after this and we are flying home from Dubrovnik. i am thinking we could drive to split and drop the car and do 3 nights in split and 3 nights in Dubrovnik and we could do day trips from each if we wanted. or would it be better to do 2 nights split, 2 nights hvar, 2 nights Dubrovnik.
thoughts?
how would we get from split/hvar to dubrovnik?
8/28 - 8/31 - we fly into Venice and stay there for 3 nights
8/31 - 9/3 - we take the venizia ferry to rovinj where we will stay there for 3 nights at http://www.casa-garzotto.com/
9/3 - we decided to rent a car and then wake up early and drive to Plitvice and hike the park then spend the night in Plitvice
this is where i am unsure. we have 6 nights left after this and we are flying home from Dubrovnik. i am thinking we could drive to split and drop the car and do 3 nights in split and 3 nights in Dubrovnik and we could do day trips from each if we wanted. or would it be better to do 2 nights split, 2 nights hvar, 2 nights Dubrovnik.
thoughts?
how would we get from split/hvar to dubrovnik?
Jul 14th, 2012 | 09:52 AM
#2
Joined: Jan 2003
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You can take a bus from Split to Dubrovnik. Buses in Croatia are very decent and reliable, and there are several direct buses a day between cities.
Three nights in Split is probably too much unless you have specific day trips or things you want to do there. A few people really love Split - it's more of a real working city than Dubrovnik - but most people would find one night enough, or they stay in nearby Trogir instead. Staying a few nights on one of the islands like Hvar or Korcula would be nice if you can. From there, you could continue on to Dubrovnik by ferry and/or bus (from Korcula). There is one big ferry that stops about once a week at Hvar and Korcula and goes on to Dubrovnik. During the summer months there may be daily service. Watch the cities they serve on the islands; sometimes the ferries don't stop in the same town you are staying in.
Consider a driving tour of the hill towns of Istria (I've not been but I hear it's really nice) before you drive on to Plitvice. Staying at the park is a good idea, but know the park gets very busy after the late morning with tour groups. If you are staying there, it's best to get up early the morning you are staying and see the park before the tour groups arrive rather than arrive mid-day and have to work around them then leave early the next morning. Or, see a little of the park both days. If you are staying at a park hotel, they can stamp your park ticket from the day before so you don't have to pay admission for a second day.
Three nights in Split is probably too much unless you have specific day trips or things you want to do there. A few people really love Split - it's more of a real working city than Dubrovnik - but most people would find one night enough, or they stay in nearby Trogir instead. Staying a few nights on one of the islands like Hvar or Korcula would be nice if you can. From there, you could continue on to Dubrovnik by ferry and/or bus (from Korcula). There is one big ferry that stops about once a week at Hvar and Korcula and goes on to Dubrovnik. During the summer months there may be daily service. Watch the cities they serve on the islands; sometimes the ferries don't stop in the same town you are staying in.
Consider a driving tour of the hill towns of Istria (I've not been but I hear it's really nice) before you drive on to Plitvice. Staying at the park is a good idea, but know the park gets very busy after the late morning with tour groups. If you are staying there, it's best to get up early the morning you are staying and see the park before the tour groups arrive rather than arrive mid-day and have to work around them then leave early the next morning. Or, see a little of the park both days. If you are staying at a park hotel, they can stamp your park ticket from the day before so you don't have to pay admission for a second day.
Jul 14th, 2012 | 02:41 PM
#3
Joined: Dec 2006
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This is a link to a tour from Odysseys Unlimited.
Use their itinerary to get some ideas.
http://www.odysseys-unlimited.com/to...earls-dalmatia
Use their itinerary to get some ideas.
http://www.odysseys-unlimited.com/to...earls-dalmatia
Jul 14th, 2012 | 06:42 PM
#4
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 125
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Andrew has given you excellent advice across the board.
Take advantage of having a car on the Istria Peninsula and spend a day visiting some of the hill towns. Make sure Motovun is one of them.
You will want to spend more than 1/2 day hiking Plitvice Jereza. So plan on staying two nights. The drive is not easy and not worth only 1/2 day of hiking. You may have trouble this late in the season getting a room at one of the on site hotels so you should begin looking for a soba.
After two nights in Plitvice leave early for Split and try to catch the hydrofoil to Hvar Town...I believe it leaves around 3:00pm. You should have enough time because the drive from Plitvice is about 3 1/2 hours but you must allow time to drop your car.
Spend two nights in Hvar Town then head to Dubrovnik for the remaining three nights. The ferry runs on Mondays and Fridays in season but it puts in at Stari Grad around 9:00am so you will have to take a bus to the other side of Hvar Island. A good alternative is to catch the 6:35am hydrofoil back to Split and take the bus from there. The bus station is across the street from the hydrofoil docks.
In all the ferry would take 9 hours with the hydrofoil and bus taking from 5 to 7 hours depending on the connections. I have done both but preferred the bus from Split.
If you have not already made reservations you had better hurry up!
Take advantage of having a car on the Istria Peninsula and spend a day visiting some of the hill towns. Make sure Motovun is one of them.
You will want to spend more than 1/2 day hiking Plitvice Jereza. So plan on staying two nights. The drive is not easy and not worth only 1/2 day of hiking. You may have trouble this late in the season getting a room at one of the on site hotels so you should begin looking for a soba.
After two nights in Plitvice leave early for Split and try to catch the hydrofoil to Hvar Town...I believe it leaves around 3:00pm. You should have enough time because the drive from Plitvice is about 3 1/2 hours but you must allow time to drop your car.
Spend two nights in Hvar Town then head to Dubrovnik for the remaining three nights. The ferry runs on Mondays and Fridays in season but it puts in at Stari Grad around 9:00am so you will have to take a bus to the other side of Hvar Island. A good alternative is to catch the 6:35am hydrofoil back to Split and take the bus from there. The bus station is across the street from the hydrofoil docks.
In all the ferry would take 9 hours with the hydrofoil and bus taking from 5 to 7 hours depending on the connections. I have done both but preferred the bus from Split.
If you have not already made reservations you had better hurry up!
Jul 14th, 2012 | 07:12 PM
#5
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 982
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Istria certainly has charm, but I'd like to throw in a plug for Zadar. It's between Plitvice & Split--probably close enough that you could spend a fairly full day at Plitvice without having to spend 2 nights in the rather limited accommodation there.
Zadar is popular with Croatian tourists--the pebble beaches were full when we visited last summer--but doesn't get much attention from international guides. It seemed more lively than Dubrovnik, but less gritty than Split. There are plenty of rentals along the beach, and the old city is a fascinating mix of very old (remains of Roman forum), old (don't miss the golden relic "hands" with real hands inside), and new (google the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun).
You can dig out my trip report for more detail.
Enjoy your trip--Croatia is gorgeous.
Zadar is popular with Croatian tourists--the pebble beaches were full when we visited last summer--but doesn't get much attention from international guides. It seemed more lively than Dubrovnik, but less gritty than Split. There are plenty of rentals along the beach, and the old city is a fascinating mix of very old (remains of Roman forum), old (don't miss the golden relic "hands" with real hands inside), and new (google the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun).
You can dig out my trip report for more detail.
Enjoy your trip--Croatia is gorgeous.
