My vacation dates are 4/11/23 (flying into Dubrovnik) to 5/9/23 (flying out of Ljubljana). I am having trouble finding frequent and reliable bus travel from city to city in Croatia during this time. For instance, Dubrovnik to Ston and Ston to Split.
I can find sporadic schedules, sometimes skipping almost a whole week or month. I had read that that bus travel was easy, frequent and recommended in Croatia. Is it too early in the season? Or are the schedules released closer to the transportation dates? Any clues or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
It is easy to get from place to place by bus between popular destinations e.g. between Dubrovnik and Split, Split and Zagreb. Some towns might not have great regular bus service.
What is your itinerary?
Sometimes you have to try a few different sites to find buses between places. Start with these sites:
Posted by
OP
3 posts
We don't have a definite itinerary yet, but something along the lines of:
Dubrovnik to Ston,
Ston to Korcula,
Korcula to Split,
Split to Zadar,
Zadar to Plitvice Lakes,
Onward to Istrian peninsula where we might rent a car to get around for 5-6 days (return car),
Zagreb and then Ljubljana
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
Getting from Dubrovnik, Ston, and Korcula Town is easy by bus - looks like the bus from Dubrovnik to Korcula Town (I took it years ago) stops in Ston, so you'd get on the same bus a day or two later to go to Korcula Town.
Korcula Town to Split is easy by catamaran.
From Split to Istria with the stop in Plitvice, you may wish to rent a car instead of waiting to do that until Istria. The bus rides may be long and inconvenient. Check the schedules. Driving this route is very easy - mostly modern highways.
Going from Istria to Zagreb to Ljubljana is a bit of a detour (you could go from Istria directly to Ljubljana, or direct train from Rjeka to Ljubljana). But, you could rent the car in Split and drop it in in Rjeka and take the train (or bus) from there to Zagreb...or drive it all the way to Zagreb and drop there, then train or bus to Ljubljana. If you keep the car between Split and Zagreb, you'll pass (or get near) Plitvice twice. Given the possibly rainy weather in April-May, it might be prudent not to fix your dates in Plitvice ahead of time. If it's going to rain for sure on your first pass near Plitvice, maybe postpone until the second pass on the way to Zagreb, if weather might be nicer. While you can kind of enjoy some of the towns in the rain, it's much harder to enjoy hiking in the mud (or over flooded boardwalks) at Plitvice in the rain.
It should be possible to "wing it" in April and May in Croatia - I know I did on my second trip in May some years ago. Traveling with internet devices these days, it's pretty easy to find lodgings last-minute and there should be plenty of availability in most towns at that time of year.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks Andrew, we will keep all this mind as we work on our itinerary!