Help with Itinerary-Dubrovnik & islands
 

My husband and I are planning a vacation to Croatia in late September. I have a couple of questions regarding how many days to stay in certain places. First, let me say that we're not people who like to see as many places as possible. We like to stay in one place long enough to feel like we've experienced what it would be like to live there. Here's what I have.

Fly into Dubrovnik...
Dubrovnik for 5 nights
Korcula for 3 nights
Mljet for 3 nights
Cavtat for 1 night (last night in Croatia, since it's closer to the airport)

Do you think it would be a shame to miss Hvar? Everyone keeps talking about how much they love it. What about adding Hvar and skipping Mljet or taking one night from Mljet and Dubrovnik? We also don't want to feel like we're island hopping either. The reason why we picked the islands that we did is because they are a short ferry ride from Dubrovnik.

Thank you!

P.S. I think all of us who are planning on visiting Croatia in late September should find a way to meet up!

Another Ps.... This may be a stupid question, but I've never been on a ferry before. Besides the obvious, what is the difference between the inside and outside cabin? By outside, do they mean a deck?

Great idea to meet up.We're starting out in Slovenia on Sept.12th & ending up in Dub. from the 26th leaving on the 30th. Let me know if you're on Skype so we could talk via our internet speakers at no charge.

I'm not on Skype, but feel free to email me privately at [email protected]

I can comment on Dubrovnik. We stayed 4 nights and felt we could have stayed only 3. We loved the town but saw it easily in 2 days. We took a day to Montenegro that was nice. We also stayed 3 nights on Hvar and would have liked 4. The country is beautiful and we really loved our trip.

Check the ferry schedules carefully. There are fewer ferries in September and hopping islands become more problematic, although that is not always obvious from the schedules. Cavtat was our favorite. We stayed three nightsa and took a 45 minute boat trip (small open boats) into Durbrovnik. Loved it. The bus ride from Dubrovnik to Cavtat is a white-knuckle ride, howerver. Korcula is also absolutely gorgeous. We liked Hvar, but like Korcula and Cavtat better. Hard to go wrong with any of these options. Enjoy!

Can I leap onto this topic too, as I'm also planning a trip to Slovenia and Croatia (next year)? We figured on 3 nights in Dubrovnik as suggested by tuni01, but are wondering about Split, Zadar and Mostar as well. Do any of these warrant additional nights of their own, and how many nights?

Cabins described as "inside" or "outside" are sleeping accommodation which doesn't seem relevant to Dixieland's itinerary. An outside cabin has a window or a porthole, whereas an inside cabin has no natural light. The terms have been used on liners, cruise ships and ferries for generations. Outside cabins are normally more expensive than inside ones.
For daytime ferry journeys, you just pay the "deck" fare which gives access to saloons as well as open decks. Jadrolinija's ferries nearly all have a bar with an espresso machine. Ships on the Rijeka-Dubrovnik coastal service and the international routes also have restaurants.

twoflower-
I really liked Zadar - a small walled town with a mix of Croatian, Italianate, Hapsburg and modern architecture. The monastery at Svete Marija contains incredbly beautiful relgious art work (relequeries I think is the right word) - astounding. St Donat is a a pre-Romanesque, Byzantine influence church. The Riva is great to walk along at sunset. And there the Kornati and Zadar archipeligo just a stone's throw away.

I haven't Mostar yet - want to go to see the rebuilt bridge that was destroyed during the war.

I'm not crazy about Split - too much grafitti, lots of traffic. It's a major transportation hub. Diocletian's Palace is interesting for half a day.

Seeing Split depends on your interests. We stayed 2 nights and loved it but many posters do not. We like Roman history and found the walled city very interesting. we stayed inside the Palace at Base Rooms and it was great. the town at night is quiet and very pleasant strolling the small windy cobblestone streets. Zadar was a 1 night stop for us. not much to see but pleasant if you need to stop to break up the driving south. Otherwise, I'd stay in either Trogir or Split.

Last year, I went on a trip around the islands. It was one of my best holidays. It was an group trip and I went on my own. I'm not suggesting you go with this company, but if you take a look at their itinerary, you will pick up some great ideas of places to visit.

http://www.explore.co.uk/docsXL/2006Dossiers/DCXL.pdf

The only place I didn't enjoy was Split. It was too busy and built up in comparison to the beautiful areas we had visited on the trip.

Wherever you choose to visit, you will fall in love with the place.

Enjoy!

Dixieland and Syl...

I will also be in Dubrovnik late Sept. Arrive Sept. 23 departing 28 and like the idea of meeting up with fellow fodorites.

I'm not on skype but can be reached via email at [email protected]

dixieland,
I will be in Hvar 4 nights before Dubrovnik, so if you don't make it to Hvar, I will be happy to share my experience there with you if we connect in Dubrovnik.

Dixieland,
My email to you couldn't get through. Please correct if you posted the wrong address.
Thanks

Dixieland,
Try emailing me at [email protected]

I'm not sure why my email address didn't go thru. Here it is again.

[email protected] (it's an underscore not hyphen)