Hi--

My husband and I are in our late 20s. We are meeting some good friends in Croatia in early August.

We are looking for advice on our itinerary.

Dubrovnik Area - 3.5 days Dubrovnik, Mljet, Vineyards

Islands - 4 days Korcula, Hvar, Brac, Vis

Northern Dalmatia - 3 days Split, Trogir, Krka, Zadar

Also any advice on chartering a boat from Dubrovnik to Korcula, Vis, Hvar and Brac?

Thanks

3.5 days is a good amount of time for Dubrovnik, including a trip to Mljet (or one of the other nearby islands) and a visit to a vineyard.
3 days in Split + the places you mentioned would be possible.
4 days is not quite enough for 4 islands in my opinion, especially considering you must usually backtrack to Split to get to Vis.
You could stop in Korcula and Hvar on your way from Dbv. to Split, as they are on the ferry route (www.jadrolinija.hr).
OR, you could do some sort of combination of Vis with the other islands. Brac would be an easy day trip from Split.
Ferry travel is not always quick or daily, so you have to plan to maximize your time. Croatia definitely has a slow feel to it, so it's nice to spend more time in fewer places.
I would venture a guess that any type of boat charter is going to be very expensive.

The only road from Dubrovnik to Split is under construction. DON"T DRIVE!! It took us 9 hours. Unfortunately it was the off-season so no ferry. TAKE THE FERRY!! Don't mean to yell, but it was awful.

I loved the area from Spilt to Zadar, but not Zadar. It's charm is lost. But Split was better than expected. So was Krka NP.

Are you chartering a boat or do you need a ferry? In the summer the ferries are abundant. If a charter, I did see some websites. Do you have a cpatain's license?

I know this is going to get me trouble, but all of the small towns along the coast are the same. Red tile roofs, stucco buildings, and a church. Don't try to visit too many of them.

You'll LOVE Croatia. We also went to Istria and it, too was amazing.

How long does it take to take the car ferry from Split to Dubrovnik? How much does it cost?
Thanks! laurie

Split to Dubrovnik takes about 9 hours, as it stops to unload passengers in Korcula and Stari Grad (Hvar).
Note this is not a daily route.
You can find prices and schedules on the jadrolinija website.
Maybe you can find a driving detour at viamichelin. Or if the construction is not between Dubrovnik and Korcula, drive that portion and take the ferry there.

Sorry - no detour. Not sure about the Korcula option. But you are going in summer, so 9 hours will seem like a picnic. Really - find a ferry and work around it. Hopefull they will be resourceful and add more ferries. If we had been able to do it, we would have sat on a ferry for days and spent a lot of money instead of that construction. I don't think it will be completed by August so they better figure out something. If you do ferries, you don't need a car - ferries go to all of the places you want to go, and then can do buses to others. A car is a pain - there is no driving allowed in any of the cities, so parking is inconvenient and expensive.

Thank you for your replies. I went on the michelin website and they recommend a detour through Bosnia. They say it will take 6 hours for the drive.

We will plan on 8 hours with a stop for lunch.

I am disappointed that I will not be able to drive on the very scenic part of the drive from Split to Dubrovnik, though.

Thanks for the heads up!
Laurie

Hi Laurie,

That drive thru Baska, Makarska, all of that looked so appealing to me too! But, I had to choose because of time and the desire also to spend three nights in Hvar Town, and two near Korcula Town. Now with news about all the road construction, I am so relieved, and I can look forward to seeing Baska on another trip! I don't even have to worry about "missing it" this time. Yee hah!

Ferries are slow (car ferries) or faster (cats), but they'll be an experience.

Good luck with your planning.

Re the road closure: I wonder if it can be avoided by detouring to Mostar and driving down the inland road to Trebinje. I asked this question on another similar thread a few days ago and got the answer "No, because the roadworks are just out of Dubrovnik so I would strike them anyway". However my map indicates the road coming in to Dubrovnik from Trebinje is not the same road as the one from Split. Can anyone confirm this please?

Further to above, just checked viamichelin site. I want to go to Mostar anyway, and if I branch off on the way back to the coast road, at a place called Pociteli, that road takes me to Trebinje. From Trebinje the road approaches Dubrovnik from the south - which should definitely miss the roadworks.

I was concerned about the road closing between Split and Dubronik so I posted on LP where they have frequent responders who live in Croatia. The answer was that the work would stop June 15. I sure hope this is true since I would like to take the bus along that road in October!

Could you switch things around a little and go from Dubrovnik to Hvar? That way, you could take the ferry from Drevnik to Sucuraj Hvar and go that way. Or, for that matter, Ploce to Krocula. Just a thought!