banshee

My husband and I would like to take a trip to Croatia this summer from Chicago. I am thinking of flying to London, spending a couple of days, then connecting on Easy Jet as it is much cheaper than any major airline from Chicago. Does anyone have an opinion on Easy Jet, good or bad? I would probably fly from London to Dubrovnik as the price and the schedule seem better in that direction than flying to Split. I'm thinking of spending about 9 nights in Croatia total. I also want to do Korcula, Hvar and Plitvice Lakes. I have been trying to figure out the ferry schedule. I think we would be doing this as a foot passenger, so we would take a catamaran. Unless I'm missing something, it appears the ferry leaves from Korcula at 6 AM and it appears to be the only one of the day. Does anyone know any different? (That is kind of early.) It also appears that it is the only ferry from Hvar, leaving at 6:30 and going to Split. If this is the case, I'm thinking of doing a day trip from Dubrovnik to Korcula and on another day traveling to Split from Dubrovnik either by bus or by plane. I'm a little nervous about driving it. Then I could catch a catamaran/ferry from Split to Hvar. Again, it appears that there is only one cat from Split to Hvar at 17:00? I would spend 2 nights in Hvar, then return to Split. I'm also tossing around how to do Plitvice; by day tour from Split or renting a car. Does anyone know what the roads are like between Split and Plitvice? I know the day tours are a long day (seems like 12 hours) but most reviews don't seem too positive about hotels around Plitvice, and I like nice hotels. Ultimately, we would fly back to London from Split.
Thanks in advance to anyone with information on these subjects.
Banshee

lanejohann

we drove
it was easy
we got the car from zagreb airport ( we were coming from vienna)
well signposted easy driving good roads

there are tolls but you pay them at the end - just have kunas ready
honestly it is the way to go
the freedom is wonderful
there are parking areas just outside of the bigger towns with meters - make sure you ask a local if you cant find a meter because they will clamp your tires and you have to ring em to come rescue you while you cough up a fine ( cheapest fines ever so dont worry lol)
you cant park inside the walled towns of course but id still go for the car even if you decide to find lodgings inside the walled area
the road from plitvice to split is good
we went to zadar before we headed to split and then followed the beautiful coastal road
easy easy easy

as for the ferries do be careful and again double check everything
you can get stuck
so dont have an important departure scheduled right after a ferry trip just in case - i saw a girl get stuck on hvar because the mainland timetable for the returning ferries to split didnt add up to what was happening on the island and she had a flight to catch that evening
yikes

Dubrovniktravelady

Banshee:
Please realize you can't see it all in one trip, Croatia is a country you need to explore in more than just 9 days. The ferry service here is called Jadrolinija, their website is correct. There is not daily service between many destinations, so you need to plan your trip accordingly.
The hotels in Plitvice are nice, they are not 5 star resorts. Anyone who has been to Plitvice can tell you spending the night is a must, to view and walk the falls. This is not a day trip, by any means.

Dobrodosli u Dubrovnik

lanejohann

there are three hotels in plitvice lakes
originally we booked the hotel bellevue - the least 'comfortable' supposedly but upon arrival we were upgraded to the hotel jezero - the posher of the three-- apparently a busload of japanese arrived and filled up the bellevue - hooray for the japanese!

the jezero s 3 star but just fine ( jezero means lake by the way )
the dining room was like something out of the loveboat
and the maitre d'looked like a benevolent bill murray
the food was good and the breakfast bountiful
the hotel usually charges 110 euros ( thats 2006 prices of course) but we got it for the 66 euros that bellevue charges---whoo hooo!

another option would have been just to get a room with one of the places along the road to the lakes - plenty of those about but then youd have to get a bus to the park for the day
id definitely stay in the park
go for jezero
it is not luxury but it is a good standard hotel - a bit tired looking but honestly worth the stay because you get up and just walk to the lakes

we didnt have a bath in the bathroom but i loved the square-shaped toilet - real hip!the room was a bit small and had twin beds rather than a double but it all worked out

GeoffHamer

Jadrolinija's full schedules are on www.jadrolinija.hr.
Their twice-weekly coastal ship links Dubrovnik, Korcula, Stari Grad (Hvar island) and Split. Local ferries run three of four times a day between Stari Grad and Split. Buses and taxis link the port of Stari Grad with Hvar town.
All transport links to Korcula are on www.korcula.net.

LittleVicky

As you are looking into low cost carrier's, there is also Ryanair from London Stanstead to Trieste - Pula - Zadar

julia_t

I've flown Easyjet several times of different routes and they are fine as long as you remember you are on a low-cost carrier and don't have high expectations.

British Airways also fly London Gatwick to Dubrovnik and Split.

Don't be nervous about driving from Dubrovnik to Split, it is not difficult and the road is good and very scenic. I drove from Dubrovnik to Korcula. Well, I parked in Orebic and took the foot ferry across to Korcula town for several hours. It was enough time to see the town. When I got back to my car I drove across the Peljesac Peninsula to Trpanj where I got a car ferry to Ploce on the mainland. From there I drove up towards Split, stopped overnight in Brela, and on to Split early the next morning.