Patrick

I guess one of the problems of getting a trip all organized so far ahead is that it gives you too much time to think. After reading a couple of posts on Dubrovnik and Croatia I'm determined to try to make it a part of this summer's trip. We will be in southern Italy and could easily take a ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik. However, schedules on the web only go until May -- we will be there mid August.Does anybody know what days or nights we can take our car from Bari to Dubrovnik in August?<BR>Also, how difficult is the drive from Dubrovnik up the coast to Triest? I assume we'd spend one night somewhere along the way -- Split? I have already checked with Auto France and there is no problem taking the car to Croatia.<BR>This four to six days would replace stops between Bari and Triest in Pescara, Ravenna, Padua, and Asolo -- places we could easily go another trip.

Ken

Hey Patrick. I would definitely discourage driving the coast from Dubrovnik to Triest. We did it going the other way, and, although somewhat scenic, it was frankly something of a nightmare. White knuckle driving much of the way (and I drive the Pacific Coast Highway regularly), absolutely insane drivers passing on the curves, not many good stops along the way, and spooky remnants of the war still quite visible (i.e., blown out buildings, some uncleared minefields, etc.). We also encountered a lot of resistance by the rental companies to letting us cross the borders, despite their original assurances it would be fine. This was summer 2000, so maybe things have changed a bit. But I wouldn't do it, period. Take the ferry (which I'm sure would be beautiful, since the coastal islands are amazing), or fly through Zagreb (which is a cool little city in its own right). Definitely go to Dubrovnik - it ultimately was worth the enormous hassle of driving - but avoid that hassle by flying or boating in.

Kris

Patrick, don't know if this helps you but we flew into Rome and then used Europe by air to fly from Rome to Split (could also fly into Dubrovnik) and then took the bus from Split down to Dubrovnik. I waited too long to book with Europe by air so I missed out on the $99 flight passes but it wasn't too much more than $198 RT and I could fly in and out of different cities.<BR><BR>The bus ride from Split to Dubrovnik was about 4 hours and the scenery along the coast line was spectacular. I believe you have to pass through Bosnia on the way from Split to Dubrovnik, not sure if this is a hassle if you are driving a car.<BR><BR>We didn't need a car in either Split or Dubrovnik, most places are reachable by boat from Dubrovnik-Cavtat, Lokrum, etc.<BR><BR>If you have a chance to go into Montenegro from Dubrovnik, the scenery there was also spectacular. We took a taxi to the border and had people meet us on the Montenegro side but I also saw bus trips advertised which might be a better way to go. The bus trips take you to Kotor (UNESCO site), Budva, St. Stephan and Cetinje. We heard conflicting info on whether we needed visas or not and ultimately we didn't but had a few tense moments on the border as they scrutinized us.<BR><BR>I couldn't find a way to book a hotel in Split before we left but I was able to go to the tourist office and get a room at the Hotel Bellevue, apparently not named because of the "Belle view" but more likely because we had a view of the bell on the church next door. It was an adequate hotel but I'm glad we didn't spend more than a night there.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Patrick, We are thinking about doing Venice, Slovenia and Croatia this coming Oct. and are also not sure how to best access Dubrovnik. I would rather not drive all the way. In doing your homework please let me know if you discover good alternatives--perhaps a boat from Venice or a flight from Treviso. I will do the same and let you know if I get smarter.

Patrick

This is sad news. We are trying to insert this trip to Dubrovnik in the middle of a two month driving trip, coming from Sardinia, Lipari, Sicily, and points in the "heel and toe". We would then cut out our leisure drive up the east coast of Italy stopping at the places mentioned above on our way to Trieste. If instead it means doing a fast drive up to Venice, parking the car for a few days and flying to Dubrovnik and back, then we'd probably just save this for another trip. I have found out that we can get a Saturday night (midnight) ferry from Bari arriving in Dubrovnik at 7 Sunday morning. This is perfect for our plans, as we would not have to be in Trieste until Friday. We thought we'd take two full days for the drive from Dubrovnik to Trieste, maybe spending a night at Zadar -- about the half way point.<BR><BR>Guess I'm still trying to make this work. Ken, your post sounds like many I've read about avoiding the Amalfi coast. We did that and found it a "piece of cake". Is it really that much worse? We also would not be rushed, and we'd be on the "land" side, not the "sea" side, if that would make a difference. But since we have the car, we couldn't take the ferry without the car and we'd need to drive up the Croatian coast. Sorry if I sound like one of these people who asks for advice and then doesn't take it. I'm just hoping to see if anyone else did the drive and found it "doable"?<BR><BR>My map shows a road along the coast that stays in Croatia all the way to Dubrovnik, without going into Bosnia. Has the border changed??

Ken

Hey Patrick. Yeah, I really don't want to rain on your parade, and different people have different thresholds of tolerance. That said, I think we're pretty adventurous travelers - we did the Slovenia-Croatia coast in the midst of four months of often wacky travel - but that was probably the worst two days of the trip. And Dubrovnik was among the best four days. Gotta run now, but feel free to email if you want more specific info. And yes, when we went, the road did go through Bosnia briefly, although that was not at all a problem. Ciao, K

Ken

Following up on the thread, Patrick... You've got me rethinking my position. If driving is really the best way for your schedule and you'll miss Dubrovnik otherwise, I might do it. My only suggestions would be 1) recognize that it is a very long drive - it looks much shorter on paper, but those coast roads really slow you down - it basically took us two full days from Piran, Slovenia to Dubrovnik, and 2) make sure you've got someplace booked along the way - we hit Zadar in the early evening and really struggled to find a place (and, contrary to some other postings, the parts of Zadar we saw were very underwhelming). If you like to drive, it might be worth it, because Dubrovnik itself is such a great place. Hope that helps.

susan

What is the big thing about driving? We drove that route down and back from Dubrovnik and thought the road was fine and the views spectacular. We took two days down from Piran, staying overnight in Split and then overnight in Zadar on the way back, then went to Zagreb.<BR>That was five years ago. Has the road deteriorated or been damaged by "war" since then?<BR>Patrick, I suggest you go for it.

susan

I just noticed that Ken says they arrived from Piran in Zadar late in the evening. Did you do a lot of stopping on the way? We left Piran in the morning and had lunch in Zadar going to Split. We found a hotel while there and booked to stay the following week one night on the way back. I think it was called Villa Nico -- but I can't find my notes from that trip.

Ken

We left Piran in the morning (although not real early), stopped in some little town for lunch, and reached Zadar in the early evening. We actually encountered a lot of tour bus traffic on the coast road which slowed things down quite a bit, although the road itself was not in bad shape. (Real tough to pass, however). But if you really made it from Piran to Split in one day, Susan, you should be driving the Indy. Even the locals said it was a two-day drive. Patrick, I would still recommend flying or ferrying over driving, but if the choice is drive it or miss Dubrovnik ... well, drive carefully.

Patrick

Well, for better or for worse, I've just scheduled the ferry with a cabin from Bari to Dubrovnik, and already booked a room for three nights at the Excelsior, which appears to be one of the closest to the old town.<BR>Planning to stop for the night driving up to Trieste, probably at Zadar. Susan, I did find a Villo Nico on the interenet. Was it nice? Was it near to town? A website shows several nice looking hotels in Zadar, but I can't tell if they are in the town, near the harbor, or way out some where? Would love to be near the harbor and walking to the "quaint cafes and restaurants" I read about.<BR>Ken, we may regret this, but we're always up for an adventure. The idea of passing through a few miles of Bosnia, sort of sends out scary signals, but I guess that is not really a problem.<BR>Thanks for the help everyone.

margo

Thanks for your help Patrick. Have a great trip....Margo

ttt

Looking for something else and found this post buried. I know someone was asking about the ferry from italy to croatia.

Deb

Patrick, You may want to do a search on this site for Croatia and see what other drivers have said about that trip. I went to Croatia last year but took ferries or the bus to get around. I remember reading other posts that said the drive was very nice and they didn't have any problems. By the way, I would not stay at Hotel Bellevue in Split. I loved Split but checked out of that hotel after one night because it was so hot and the rooms were "icky". The Park or Marjan are much nicer but not as close to the palace as Bellevue. Have fun.

Deb2

Patrick<BR>Now that you've decided to go to Dubrovnik, be sure to take a guided tour of the old town (reading a book is just not the same), skip the Aquarium (not very expensive anyways). Don't worry about going thru Bosnia, we weren't stopped at the border (possibly because we had a vehicle with Croatian plates - but then I didn't see anyone else being stopped either). We drove the coast from Dubrovnik to Venice - yes the locals drive very fast and pass on blind corners - but they do that in Italy too. But the scenery is breathtaking along the way. The place I found that had the most damage was around the Zadar area (sorry didn't stay in that town so cannot comment on the hotels).

Janet

Patrick:<BR><BR>The road between Dobrovnik and Rijeka (and from there to Triest) is very twisty and follows the coastline down to each rock. I believe that in all of Croatia, the longest straightaway is about 50 meters. If you sneeze, you will be swimming with the fishes below. That said, my brother piloted my cousin's tiny Fiat (something smaller than a 500) the entire way, passing trucks and Mercedes. The worse thing that happened was a flat tire. We broke up our trip in Split which is an interesting town. We drove from Trieste to Dobrovnik and took the ferry (Jadrolineas) back to Rijeka which was much more enjoyable. This trip was made in 1988, so I am sure much has changed. I do know from experience in visiting my cousins near Rijeka, you CANNOT take rental cars into Croatia w/o a green insurance card. It must be produced at the border. The best luck I have had has been renting in Germany, but they gave me lousy cars. Instead of an Opal Astra, I got a Fiat 600. TRY driving that for 8 hours! To illustrate how important that green card is, my parents had to leave a car on the frontier, cross, and rent another car on the other side as recently as last year. (It has actually gotten worse every year.) Make sure Auto France puts it in writing!

Janet

I'm sorry, but I spelled the name of th e ferry company incorrectly. It is Jadrolinija and they have a website:www.jadrolinija.hr.

Paige

Hey Patrick, we're just back from 3 days in Dubrovnik where we stayed at the Excelsior. Our flight to DBV was diverted to Split so we had to take a bus from there to Dubrovnik. The road didn't seem horrible to me. It took over 4 hours by bus, but we went pretty slowly. Dubrovnik is a great place to spend a few days!

Patrick

Thanks for the additional information everyone. <BR>How was the Excelsior, Paige? Do you really leave your car there and walk into the old town. We have booked there for three days.<BR>And I will reconfirm with Auto France about the registration for going through Croatia, as they said it was no problem. I agree, better to have it in writing.<BR>We've also booked a single night at Zadar between Dubrovnik and Trieste. And we booked our ferry crossing with an agency in London -- did it by email and they are sending us the tickets. The US agency on the Jadrolinija site told me they no longer book that line.

Paige

The Excelsior is only 5-10 minutes on foot from the nearest city gate (Ploce Gate, I think), along a well lit road with a sidewalk. You can't drive inside the walls so you'll have to leave your car somewhere. The area inside the city is small enough to easily walk everywhere. In case you're interested, the only public toilets we saw are just outside the Pile Gate and Ploce gate (the latter is towards the hotel). The coolest thing we did there was walk around the top of the city walls. <BR> <BR>The Excelsior is nice, but I didn't really think it was 5 star nice or quite worth the price (we paid $140 per night for a double with sea view balcony). They have a big indoor pool (you have to wear a swimming cap!),2 jacuzzis and a long concrete waterfront promenade. We didn't try the restaurant there, the Taverna Antica, but heard it was good. It was so nice sitting on our balcony listening to the sound of the sea!! The water there is gorgeous and clear and I bet it's a great place to snorkel or dive when it's warmer. Have fun!!