Dubrovnik in May

You could do it any of those ways and have a wonderful trip! That being said, for me, 2 1/2 days in Dubrovnik could suffice. Not that there isn’t more to see and do - but that would be enough time to give you a good feel.

I can’t speak to a day trip to Montenegro, as I plan to spend nearly 2 weeks there in the fall. But I love Korćula, so my choice would be to spend 2 nights there, stealing the night/day trip to Montenegro from Dubrovnik. Then come back and see more of Montenegro later.

Dubrovnik’s old city is very small. There are some interesting museums which always seem to be empty. Like TexasTravelmom said you can find things to do but 2 1/2 days is more than enough.
Spend two nights on korčula. Stay in Korčula town. Spend the Saturday the cruise ship is in by taking a bus to Cavtat or the local ferry to Lokrum island. There is a lovely cafe and it’s a nice park. If you watched Game of thrones you’ll see familiar places. The cruise people usually leave by early evening.
Montenegro is similar to Croatia in many ways.

I’d have to see the entire itinerary, as the way I usually decide is a by looking at the entirety and making sure there is a balance. If it’s late May, you could explore some gorgeous cove beaches on Korcula, might be well worth another day there.

Rather than the hassle of renting a car for a day, I would recommend taking a small group day tour from Dubrovnik to Montenegro.

We hired a private driver to drive us around the Bay of Kotor. We chose the places to stop along the way: Budva, Kotor, and Perast. Perast was our favorite. This day was one of the highlights of our trip. My husband usually does the driving but I wanted him to be able to relax, enjoy the scenery, and not hassle with parking in the villages/cities where we stopped. Our driver was awesome. Because he is Croatian, he isn't allowed to act as a guide in the places we visited. But he gave us the history of Montenegro and suggested where to go in all 3 cities while driving.

I think that anyone of your 3 choices will be fine. But if it were me, I would choose option C because this way you get to visit Korcula, and also visit another country (Montenegro) even though it's only for one day. Also, you should ask yourself if you will return to this part of Europe at a future date. If you don't think you will, then spend the one night in Korcula and visit Montenegro for a day.

Keep Korcula, suggest only two nights in Dubrovnik, add

Don't skip Korcula, it's delightful.

You only need one full day in Dubrovnik. If I had an extra day to spread around somewhere, I'd spend that extra day in Korcula rather than Dubrovnik.

I love Montenegro, but a day trip yo tgr town of Kotor is a bit of a disapointment after Dubrovnik. And more than 2 full days in Dubrovnik would be a but much for me.

Thank you to everyone for your advice!

You have affirmed my thoughts. We'll leave the original plan in place to do one night in Korcula. And, I'll use my RS guidebook to find a driver/guide to Montenegro instead of renting a car.

Thank you again and Keep on Travelin'!

JeniferB,
Regarding a private driver for the Bay of Kotor, first I contacted Julija Antunovic who receives all excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. She was not available the day we wanted to go, but she recommended her colleague, Stjepan. He was excellent. Very smart, knowledgeable, warm and friendly. I have lost my contact information but if you are interested, I am sure you can find Julija's contact information by doing a search on Trip Advisor.
Karen

Here is another source for a driver. I've used her and a few friends have, all pleased. And she is in Montenegro, so you have the input of a local and plan a good day.

Dijana Krkotic

Executive director

Doclea Travel

Address: Bulevar Sv. Petra

Cetinjskog br. 79

81 000 Podgorica

Phone: +382 20 675 197

Mob: +382 69 277 749

E-mail:[email protected]

www.docleatravel.com

Thank you both for the recommendations! I have also asked the owner of the apartment we are renting.

I will add that Dijana mentioned above has planned a hybrid “do my own thing/private driver/day trips” for 3 weeks for me in the fall. I obviously haven’t been yet, but absolutely love her plan. She is extremely reasonable, with industry connections.