Buying tickets for buses online or in person?

Yeah, five tickets remaining, five months out--I was doubtful, too. However, a look at the calendar and some Googling have revealed that the entire country may be on the move that day:

• June 20 is Corpus Christi, a national holiday in Croatia.
• June 21, your travel day, is a Friday.
• June 22 is Anti-Fascist Resistance Day, a national holiday in Croatia.
• June 25 is Statehood Day, a national holiday in Croatia.

Whew. I think you're lucky you thought about buses so early, else you might have been really stuck. If you're reasonably certain of that travel date, I think I'd buy the ticket now if I were in your shoes. If it's a cheap ticket, I might even buy it if I wasn't certain of the timing.

I am typically a wing-it sort of traveler and have probably never bought a bus ticket more than 24-36 hours in advance. However, I have occasionally seen buses listed as sold out, so I know it can happen. If does seem to be primarily an issue around weekends and holidays. Most of the travelers on buses are not foreign tourists (for whom weekends/holidays scarcely register), but locals.

Be especially careful about cross-border buses, because I don't think I've ever been on one with more than a very few vacant seats. Those tickets I try to buy at least a day in advance, and I often end up with something like Seat 38 or Seat 43. I think that paints a pretty clear picture.

Wow. I guess it might be a very busy time. We are pretty firm on our itinerary. I'll buy them now. Can you suggest your favorite place to buy these bus tickets online?

Sorry, I've never bought an online bus ticket in my life! I guess I'd prefer to buy from the website of the company operating the bus if it has an understandable website. You might find that the company website is only in Croatian/Bosnian, and that would be a bit of a challenge. I've often used BusCroatia to research schedules.

I would warn you, though, that my philosophy has always been that the only bus schedule that matters is the one posted on the wall of the bus station at the departure point. It can be difficult, especially in the Balkans, to get reliable information before you arrive in the city from which your bus departs. I inquired a couple of times at tourist offices in different cities (same country), and the staffers picked up the phone and called the departure bus station rather than looking for schedule information on line. I figure they had good reason to do that.

I hope your plans for Plitvice include spending the night there and seeing the park when it opens the next morning. It is a very, very disappointing experience if you're traipsing along the walkways with 10,000 other people during day-tripping hours. The crowds are nearly unbelievable The park is one of Europe's great sights; you need to spend one night in the area to appreciate it. Some people have said they arrived mid- to late afternoon as some of the day-trippers were departing and were able to see some of the park then and the rest the following morning. As I understand it, that requires a 2-day park ticket unless you're staying in one of the (rather expensive) park hotels; it has been reported that they can extend your one-day ticket at no cost, but I have not confirmed that.

I went ahead and bought that particular ticket online but there was a booking fee. I'm hoping in actuality there will be an earlier bus that will get us to Dubrovnik sooner. We will see when we get to Mostar, I guess.
We are staying overnight in Plitvice at one of their hotels. We had heard that it will be best to hit the trails first thing in the morning and then we will head to split in the afternoon. Thank you for your tips!

It looks like there won't be much to pick from for buses from Split to Mostar on June 20 (I hope I'm wrong). Has anyone hired a private car for the one way journey? Reputable companies? From what I've researched so far it looks like it will be cheaper to do that than rent a car for 2 days.

Even though costs in Croatia are lower than in western Europe, I think a 210-mile round-trip via private transportation (because you'll have to pay the driver all the way home) is going to be very costly.

There's a ride-sharing service called BlaBlaCar. I've never used it and obviously can't speak to its safety. It's a bit like organized hitchhiking, or inter-city Uber, I suppose. I don't know how many options you'd find for Split-to-Mostar, but if something is suitable it will certainly be affordable. I also don't know how much of a challenge the language issue might be. A lot of young people in Croatia speak good English. Are they offering rides via BlaBlaCar? That I do not know.