anid2004

Hello All!

I'm planning on going to Croatia in mid-September. I'm in my late twenties and I'm travelling with someone in their late 30's. We both enjoy the sun/beaches, history, culture, good food and beautiful scenery. We're just starting to map out our trip and would appreciate any advice you could give us! We are not planning on renting a vehicle (so please let me know if any of this will be unduly complicated as well because we're not renting a vehicle!). Please let me know if we're doing too much, missing key things, anything!

I'm thinking of something like the following:

Split - 5 days (with day trips to Trogir and Brac and/or Brela). Then, take the ferry to Hvar.

Hvar - 2 days. Then, take ferry to Korcula.

Korcula - 2 days. Then, take ferry to Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik - 4 days (with day trip to Montenegro and Mljet).

Our last day will probably involve us heading back to Split from Dubrovnik.

Also, does anyone know where I could find reviews of private accomodation. There are a lot of apartments and villas that look nice but, of course, I'm finding it difficult to find reviews that would verify whether they are nice.

Thank you SO much

yorkshire

Sound like a fine itinerary, though you'll get more beaches and beautiful scenery with more time on the islands. Of course there is more to do in Split and Dbv. and the surrounding areas, so it makes sense to spend more time there.
I commend you for not trying to rush through every place--3 days is usually a minimum for me. You may need to check ferry schedules, as there may not be a ferry from Hvar to Korcula 2 days later.

In mid-September, prebooking rooms is not a necessity, so unless you just prefer having it all taken care of, you could wait until you get there (and use tourist offices if booking in person is intimidating).
I don't know of any sites where you get reviews of private rooms/apartments. If you book upon arrival, you can refuse the room is you don't like it. However, I have prebooked based only on website photographs quite often, and I've always found that if it looks good on the website it is good in person. I always book based on having a terrace with a view and I've never gone wrong.

cavergirl

We were in Croatia last September for 17 days. You asked if you were missing something and I think it would be a shame for you to go to Croatia and not see Plitvice National Park. It is truly spectacular. You might be able to find a day tour to Plitivice but it would be a REALLY long day. It would be better to have a car and stay in the park overnight. Also I would suggest you stay in Trogir and do a day trip to Split to see the Diocletian Palace rather than stay in Split. Trogir is right on the water and a charming town versus Split which is just a big city. I suggest you cut a day off Split/Trogir and skip Korcula. You could use the extra time for 2 days to go to Plitvice and spend the extra day in Hvar. I agree with the other poster re the ferry schedule. It can be tricky getting from Hvar to Korcula. We had planned on doing a day trip but that was not feasible because the ferry leaves in the afternoon so you could not return the same day. We did have a rental car which we drove right on the ferries. My personal opinion is that you will be challenged doing your itinerary with no vehicle. One last thing, we hired a car (you couldn't take a rental car into Montenegro last year - not sure if that has changed) for a day trip to Montenegro. It was interesting and worth seeing. If you want any specific hotel info, let me know. We stayed in some nice places and I would be happy to pass the names on to you.

anid2004

Thank you both for the information. It's greatly appreciated.

I think we're going to cut time off of Split - perhaps only 3 or 4 days. We're going to skip Korcula and go to Vis instead (Vis town and Komiza) and Dubrovnik.

anid2004

BTW, Cavegirl, I would greatly appreciate if you could pass the names onto me of teh places you stayed. We're turning our minds to accomodations and would appreciate your feedback. Thank you so much!

bobthenavigator

Sounds like a fun trip. You can get a sneak preview here:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3882

nukesafe

My suggestion would be to stay in Trogir, rather than Split, and cut some days from both. Trogir is a tiny and quaint town, while split is a quite large city for Croatia. It's only about a half hour away on public bus, and you can get into the big city for some action, if you wish, quite easily.

I'd shave days from that to spend in the islands. A word of caution, however. You are going late in the season, and many places start to shut down around then. For example, we pulled into Hvar in late September a couple of years ago. My plan was to go the the super trendy bar "Carpe Diem" where the elite party. I'm a bit long in the tooth for really hard partying, but I was certainly going to do my best.

After finding a Sobe to stay in, we walked down to the quai, sat at a cafe for a drink, and asked the waiter where Carpe Diem was. He motioned over his shoulder, and said, "It's right there. It's closed. Last night was it's last night. It was one hell of a party!"

Poop --- maybe another year ---

AndrewintheHK

Nukesafe,

If it makes you feel any better, we attempted to go to Carpe Diem on two consecutive nights a week ago and were unable to even gain admission on either attempt. Apparently, if you go after a certain hour (11:00?), you need to be on a list or "in the know". We were neither, and pleading with the door people got us no where.

I think I would have preferred that it had been closed, rather than suffer the indignity of rejection. Just goes to show, you don't need to be in Manhattan to encounter "Manhattitude" anymore! :^)