Has anyone taken the ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari?
 

Hi - I'm still in planning stages for a month long trip through central europe with the ending week on the amalfi coast. at this point, I'm looking at the ferry between dubrovnik to bari where we'd pick up a car and drive to Ravello. Has anyone taken the ferry, what are the cabins like (since its an overnight trip, we'd probably book a 2 person berth), is this like a small cruise ship or a cargo vessel? thanks!

There are three rather different ships on the route, Jadrolinija's LIBURNIJA and MARKO POLO (www.jadrolinija.hr) and the AZZURRA (www.azzurraline.com). They are typical of ferries of their size and age. The LIBURNIJA was built for Jadrolinija as a dual purpose ferry/cruise ship, and the MARKO POLO and AZZURRA were originally Scandinavian. All have lounges, bars and either self-service or waiter-service restaurants. Cabins vary a lot, depending on how much you pay; the cheaper cabins just have wash basins, the more expensive ones have a shower and toilet. With Jadrolinija, cabin passengers get breakfast included in the fare.

I have taken the Marco Polo from Jadrolinija. Once I took the the best cabin they have and once I booked a cheaper one. Both times they were decorated the same, but the more expensive one had a shower and was slightly larger. I have also taken other ferries in Europe (P&O, Irish Ferries, etc.) and they are much nicer. The decor of the Marco Polo is very 1970's and the beds are bunk-style. The ferry is fine to make the crossing, but don't expect more than minimal comfort.

Sounds good - thanks for the input. I'll do the math and see if the ferry plus car rental plus some value on our time is close to the same price as flying Dubrovnik to Naples.

Hi Cmeyer....I've taken J(y)adrolina from Ancona to Zadar, and had bookd a return from Dub to Bari...please be aware that there are occsional cancellation son the latter route due to weather (the Adriatic appears to be rougher on that more souhterly route)...happened to us on Easter weekend a few years ago....we had made the same plans, to pick up a car in Bari and take a few days to drive to the AC...after waiting at the ferry terminal in Dub until 10 pm when final word was announced...we crossed the street and checked into the same harborside hotel we had used 20 years before (during Tito days)...next morning I walked back to the car rntal where we had dropped our car that previous night and re-rented the same one! No flights available Dub to Rome, so we drove 4 hours to Split (took a young Canadian girl, who was also stranded, along with us), got tix for one-hour flight to Rome and had a tough time finding an availabe car (Easter weekend)...stayed overnight in Ostia and finally found a car..drove to the AC...just wanted you to be aware that cancellations do happen according to the J(y)adrolina rep at the ferry terminal. We still think the Captain decided he wanted to be home for Easter. Good luck and enjoy Croatia.

In answer to your question, we also sailed from Ancona on the Marko Polo...had deluxe cabin for just a few $'s more and it was spacious and clean...good included buffet breakfast on board.

I would recommend the Villa Dubrovnik, an outstandingly beautful establishment just up the road from The Argentina...but they are still remodeling, until 2010... views are superb.

stu t.

We traveled the opposite direction: Ravello to Bari. Bus/ferry to Naples, train to Bari, overnight on the Liburnija to Dubrovnik/Korcula. Bunk-style berths, we had a small shower too. OK for an overnighter -- better than some train sleeper cars. Passport control into Italy on the return was a little sluggish.

If you go that route, you might consider changing trains (Caserta?) to go through Salerno instead of Naples.