Dubrovnik to Bari Italy

I have not taken that ferry route, but my general experience on overnight ferries is that I don't want to take them without a reserved berth in a cabin. Trying to find a free place to sleep in seating areas is no fun. Jadrolinija's 2017 schedule is here (4x/week in high season) but next year's may not be published for a couple of months.

See www.skyscanner.com to compare flights from Dubrovnik to Rome, which usually are cheap.

I took the night ferry a couple of years ago. Not too bad, but it doesn't run every night, so plan accordingly.

I would prefer to fly.

We used to take the over night ferry from Rijeka to Dubrovnik (23 hours). when we were young and broke, we would reserve a seat, but as we got older and were dragging kids around, we opted for a cabin. People write about splurging, that was a splurge we never regretted. Besides having your cabin with a place to sleep and leave your luggage, you have a private bathroom.

I took the Jadrolinija ferry in the opposite direction a few years ago, Bari to Dubrovnik. Mine was an overnight ferry, so the trip passed quickly even though the total travel time was about 8 hours. I opted for a cabin with shower. My recollection is that the cabin with shower was only slightly more than the one without, and it was nice to get a fresh start to the day since I couldn't check into my Dubrovnik lodgings until early afternoon. I think the cost of the cabin was around $150, but I reminded myself it included transportation, overnight accommodation and breakfast. I don't believe breakfast is included if you only buy a seat. I traveled in mid-September and the ferry was busy but not crowded.

EDIT: Here's the link to 2017 prices, http://www.jadrolinija.hr/docs/default-source/cjenici/dužobalne-i-međunarodne-linije/medjunarodne-maj-gb-putnici-vozila.pdf?sfvrsn=2. They're quoted in euro, and are a little lower than I remembered.

I took the Dubrovnik to Bari overnight ferry in May, 2014. I booked the “luxury” cabin, with shower and bathroom. It was surprisingly comfortable, and both my wife and I slept very well through the night. (Of course, the bottle of wine we enjoyed on deck as we sailed out of scenic Dubrovnik harbour may have helped.) Like Frank says, the cost of the cabin was no more than a night’s stay in a hotel, plus the cost of a couple of airline tickets to Rome. From the dock in Bari it is a lengthy walk to the city centre and the train station (30-40 minutes as I recall), but we had lots of time. Otherwise, taxis are alway available.

I took the overnight ferry on a Monday night in mid-May to Bari from Dubrovnik because I wanted to spend time in Matera before going to Rome. I opted for an open seat rather than a cabin since it was only one night of a 7 week total trip and I was on a budget.
At that time of year there was plenty of room and a few people actually slept on the floor ... Not me! Breakfast was not included in my ticket but the steward let me have a free cup of tea before we docked in Bari.
I think the ticket cost around $70.
Your trip sounds great -- have fun!

We went from Dubrovnik to Bari in October. We had a cabin. Ferry left Dubrovnik at 10 pm and arrived in Bari at 8 am. First we went between islands around Dubrovnik and sailing was smooth. Once we got on open sea the waves were big and ferry was rocking more than expected on relatively small Adriatic Sea. I don't remember the cost but nothing significant.