I am considering a 10-day trip from Split to Dubrovnik with visits at Hvar, Korcula in between. As suggested by a recent great post, I would then ferry from Korcula to Orebic and drive to Dubrovnik while enjoying the views at Ston. A few questions: are there car rental agencies at Orebic? Am I missing anything scenic if I don't go directly from Split to Dubrovnik on the inland coastal drive?

Lastly, how does early June measure up to July/August in terms of crowds and traffic if latter months are rated at level 10 madhouse?


Thanks!
Mike

Mike.. early June is WAY BETTER than July and August.. it will already be crowded in early June, especially Dubrovnik. July and August will be insane.

I thought there were car rental agencies is Orebić but a lot has changed in the past couple of years. I suggest you write to these folks and ask:

https://visitorebic-croatia.hr

I think visiting the islands is better than driving from Split, it is pretty but if you are driving it’s hard to check out the views

Thanks for the quick reply, rialtogrl! Your point about driving is well taken. Hence I am now contemplating my 10-day trip from Dubrovnik to Split as follows:

Day 1-3 Dubrovnik (afternoon arrival, so at least 2 full days in Old Town)
Day 4 Day trip from Dubrovnik to Kotor
Day 5-6 Korcula
Day 7-8 Hvar
Day 9-10 Split

Is this itinerary fairly well-balanced? Personally I tend to squeeze in a lot of sightseeing into my itin but w/ my 80+ parents coming along, I don't want to make them 'work' for their vacation I think this schedule looks generally relaxing, so my only concern is whether the day trip to Kotor would be taxing. I plan to do this drive myself since we often enjoy the freedom of stop and go whenever and whatever sights please us.

Thx for sharing your wisdom

It looks fine but get lodgings close to the catamaran stops to ease the burden on your parents and remember they have to carry their luggage up and down from those catamarans, it is not so easy. Pack LIGHT. You could drop one of the islands - and stay a bit longer in Dubrovnik and/or Split - to make it a bit easier for them.

Thank you for the tip! Very helpful.

When I tried to book online for Jadrolinija catamaran from Dubrovnik to Korcula, Korcula to Hvar and Hvar to Split, the only available dates for tickets start more than 2 weeks from today. Does that mean the catamaran are already fully booked or can I wait to purchase tickets the first thing I arrived at Dubrovnik? If former, I will try to book online with Krilo but the departure times are less convenient.


Many thanks!

It sounds fine but you haven't really allowed for travel time so don't think that you'll get two full days in places. For example, on day#5 you'll be travelling to Korcula and then have day#6 there before moving on to Hvar the next day. That's all fine as long as that's what's in your head. Apologies if that's saying the obvious.

We took the bus from Dubrovnik to Korcula and it was very scenic. If you would like to take an easy tour on/near Korcula, check those offered by Korcula Explorer. We did a walk/wine/dinner tour and enjoyed it very much. The wines of Croatia are great so make sure to taste some.

We've only visited Croatia in May and June and the 'busyness' was fine (pre-covid). We booked ferry (and most bus) tickets just before departure but the bus ticket from Dubrovnik to Korcula a little in advance (don't really know whether that was necessary or not).

It's a beautiful part of the world - enjoy!

Thanks for these pointers. I was initially counting on catching the Jadrolinija catamaran since it leaves early in the morning (7 am) and allows some sightseeing time for Korcula. But the website only has tickets from 6/17, so I don't know if it is fully booked or if there are still some seats available for purchasing upon arrival. There are two departures from Krilo but both leave at the late evening (4 pm, 5 pm), so this drives home your point about properly accounting for travel time.

About the bus from Dubrovik to Korcula, is it a group tour? I assume w/ a car ferry, that trip must take more than 2 hrs. Must be very scenic and relaxing, but potentially a long ride...

Again, thx!

The bus we took from Dubrovnik to Korcula was just a public (but very comfortable) bus (with a toilet/drink stop enroute). The whole bus gets on the ferry. getbybus website should have a list of buses on that route but they do not always have every bus company. Services when we travelled were not frequent.

I believe that ferries to/from Korcula town may arrive/depart from slightly different locations depending on the weather. The ferry the bus comes on comes in at a different point all together but it drove to Korcula town.

Ferries are seasonal and it's possible that the season for the ferry you want doesn't start until the 17th. You could always contact them and ask. We used https://www.croatiaferries.com/ for our planning but I was subsequently told by someone that they are not always 100% up to date. I still reckon it's a good starting point for figuring out what ferries go where and frequency.

I actually prefer to arrive at a new place a little later in the day. I don't especially like getting up very early; our hotel on arrival usually isn't ready for us; and the idea of arriving, unpacking and heading out for an aperitif and stroll before dinner is always appealing.

This is great. This is the first time I heard about a bus for a Dubrovnik-Korcula excursion, so it sure sounds like an interesting option. In hindsight, Jadrolinija's schedule is limited to a single departure @ 7 am, so waking up and arriving by the dock @ 6:30 am is indeed not very appealing!

Thanks for sharing the link! Just so many routes...

If by 'excursion' you mean there and back the same day, then I'm not sure that would be possible/practical nor desirable. It's more an alternative to driving that route yourselves.

You could check timetables to see whether a day trip from Hvar to Korcula by ferry is possible (or vice versa). Note that parts of Hvar town have lots of stairs, as does Dubrovnik. Wasn't an issue for us so didn't pay huge attention (except when carting our luggage!).

There are, of course, tour companies who will organise these sorts of things too, often with private coaches and boats but I've no personal experience of them.

I'm sure you'll have a great holiday. No matter how long you have, there are always choices to be made about where and for how long!

Oh I was using excursion loosely. I really meant one-way trip as I will be onroute to Split. There are really quite a few options to choose from, more than I can glean from the few guide books I have. Thx!!