We have 8 days in Croatia - the first four in Dubrovnik (with one or two day trips), then ferry to Korcula for 2 nights, then to Split for 2 nights. I was thinking of possibly stopping in Hvar on the way from Korcula to Split. There appears to be an early ferry (leaves Korcula at 6am, stops in Hvar at 7:40 and gets to Split at 8:30). I believe there is an approximately 1 pm ferry from Hvar to Split so we could theoretically stop in Hvar for about 5 hours just to see it. But then we'd get to Split around 2:30 and only have that afternoon and the following full day to see Split and Trogir.

So my question is - is that enough time to see all three towns or should we just forget Hvar? I don't really want to do museums or anything - just see (and photograph) the highlights. The first six days of the Croatian part of our trip (which has Italy at both the beginning and end) should be somewhat laid back but I don't want to really shortchange Split and Trogir.

Split is really only Diocletian's Palace and sitting on the Riva. You can easily do it in half a day if you put your mind to it.

Trogir can also be seen in a fairly short time, like half a day or an evening and morning if you stay there overnight.

Of course you can spend longer in both these places if you don't want to rush, but it is possible to do both.

I can't advise you about the Hvar part as I've not been there - yet!

Thanks julia. That's kind of what I was thinking but wanted to be sure. You read so many posts here about people who want to do places in one day that I spent three in that I don't want to get there and realize I only have time for a fraction of what there is.

I think it depends on where the ferry stops and if you have a car. If you have a car, it is a short drive from Stari Grad to Hvar Town and worth stopping.

If you don't have a car and the ferry stop is Stari Grad, I'd skip it as you'd need to get transportation to Hvar Town and back to the ferry port which could eat up a lot of your short time there. We did not find Stari Grad as appealing as Hvar Town.

If the ferry stops in Hvar Town, definitely go for it.

The early morning catamaran from Korcula to Split stops in Hvar Town.

Thanks, I realize Stari Grad is where a lot of the ferries stop and that wouldn't work for us. I find the Croatian ferry sites pretty confusing. It looks like there is one from Hvar (not Stari Grad) to Split at 13:00, and so if the early morning one from Korcula also stops in Hvar Town then my plan might work. I am hoping once we get to Dubrovnik, or at least to Korcula that I can confirm these. But it would definitely not be good to end up stuck for the night on Hvar with no hotel, and a hotel booked in Split. People have referred to "6 or 7" ferries a day in July but I'm not seeing them, and I've checked several sites.

The ferry stuff is very confusing, you're right. Even when I was in Korcula I found it confusing - as I said in my trip report, I managed to find the ticket booth on a Sunday to buy my catamaran ticket to Split but I think I got that tidbit from Rick Steves's book - and that ticket booth didn't have a huge sign or anything, I sort of just had to find it. Of course, on Sunday there wasn't much open to ask anyone, and I was staying at an apartment (and my landlords knew nothing about it). I suppose you could ask over at the Hotel Korcula or find a travel agency that's open if you aren't there on Sunday.

I just did a quick google...where did you see a schedule of a catamaran from Hvar Town to Split leaving in the afternoon? I didn't see anything listed on Find-Croatia.com - just morning catamarans (operated by Jadrolinija) from Hvar Town and car ferries from Stari Grad.

As for Split: one day and one night would have been plenty for me if I was arriving by early morning catamaran but maybe a second day if you want to see Trogir (I didn't). You could probably rush and see both in a single day. My first day in October was lousy weather so I was glad I had a second day of much nicer weather to take pictures in Split. My main interests were pretty much what Julia said: see the palace and enjoy the Riva. Some people might wish to see museums and such so that might require more time.

Andrew - At this site - www.jadrolinija.hr/default.aspx?dpid=1304 I put in Hvar to Split on my date (Tuesday July 20) and got the schedule that included the 13:00 ferry. I am assuming just plain "Hvar" means Hvar Town because there is another option "Stari Gard (Hvar)".

If it works my plan would be to stop in Hvar Town from 7am till 13:00, then arrive in Split at 15:15 and have that afternoon and evening. The next full day we'd go to Trogir for about half the day and have the rest of the time in Split - so basically two "quarter days" in Split and several hours in Trogir. From your trip report it looks like we have similar travel styles - mostly wander around and photograph places, some people watching, enjoying good, but not long meals. I often "park" my husband at a cafe or such while I go off to take pictures for a couple of hours. Neither of us is much into museums or tours. I do a lot of research ahead of time so kind of do my own tour.