Help filling in the itinerary

Korcula? An historic island, wineries. Marco Polo’s birthplace.

Are you picking up the car when you leave Dubrovnik or when you get to Split?

Getting to and from Korcula or any of the islands with a car takes time. You have to be at the ferry port an hour before sailing with a car. It’s quite expensive to take the car on a ferry plus some car hire companies don’t permit their vehicles to be taken onto ferries. If you are car hiring when you leave Dubrovnik, you could stay in Omis and go kayaking up in the hills and paddle down to the sea and another day explore the gorges inland and visit Makarska.

Trogir is a must from Split and with a car, you could have an early start and visit Plitvice or Krka National Park.

Hi. Thank you Suki and Jennifer for your expedient replies!

Suki: We are from New York as well. I had an "oh wow" moment when I read your response because Korcula was the island that I would have chosen based upon my research (along with Mljet). We contacted the concierge at the first hotel and she suggested Brac and Hvar (in part because those were more doable day trips with our car and the ferry).

Jennifer: I do have Trojir and Krka national park on my wish list. Unfortunately, Plitvice Lakes NP is not doable for me. I have MS and not able to complete very long walks. I have a wheel chair for that but was told Plivitce is not accessible. We have the rental car from the moment we arrive at Dubrovnik airport. We have allocated a sufficient budget for this trip and thus cost, within limit, is not a major factor. So we would be willing to take the car with us to explore the island -- or if better leave it on the mainland and seek out transportation options on the island. Would you happen to know if it is possible to use Uber or to rent a car on the island? Our concierge told us that the bus system is very unreliable (if that is true?) and the taxi system is not trustworthy -- so we would prefer to hire a private driver, rent a car, or use Uber if available.

If we decide to do Trojir, Krka NP, and Korcula how would you suggest allocating time to each location (total = 3 days/night)?

I would so appreciate hearing about your own experiences in Croatia. Would you be willing to pass on some information either through the forum or to my email ([email protected]).

Again I thank you both for your time in helping plan our trip.

I always hire a car for the duration of my stay, so I can't comment on other transport, but to my knowledge, there is no Uber on the islands - the last I heard, it was illegal in Croatia, but this may have changed. Taxis on the islands are relatively rare. There are buses which seem to be reliable, but very infrequent (1 or 2 services a day to many places, hence I hire a car).

From Dubrovnik, you can drive a couple of hours to Orebic and take the ferry over to Korcula for your 3 nights. There are direct ferries from Vela Luka on Korcula to Split, but it's a longer crossing than I care to do, as I tend to get sea sick.

Alternatively, you could drive from Dubrovnik to Drvenik and take short car ferry crossing to Sucuraj on Hvar, then drive to Start Grad or Jelsa and stay 3 nights, then take the 2 hour ferry from Start Grad to Split. Hvar town is too noisy for my tastes if you are travelling between June and September.

Trogir can be seen in half a day and can be reached from Split by road or boat. Krka is just over an hours drive from Split, so could be combined with Trogir in one longer day.

We plan on visiting Hvar for a day from Split in September. I keep reading that it is expensive to take a car on the ferry, which is what I am considering doing. Does anyone know approximately what the cost is to bring the car?
Thank you.

Thank you Jennifer for your reply.
We are still throwing ideas around and around. As with all of our vacations I get excited but worried that I'll do a pour job of planning, I don't want any disappointments. Honestly we're just very grateful we're get to go to such a wonderful destination.

So still trying to decide if Korcula is the island to be on, how many nights and if there is any left over time would it be well spent in Trogir/Krka NP or elsewhere.

Is there a thread that takes a poll on the best all-around Croatian island?
I know those of you who are taking the time to respond are giving generously of your time so again, thank you.

It's simple, either Korcula or the mainland between Dubrovnik and Split. There is the Peljesac peninsula, Korcula, Mostar and parts of Hercegovina, hiking, plus you can do your rafting in Omis en route instead of backtracking from Split. That frees you time in Split to do other day trips.

If you are looking for a place between Dubrovnik and Split I suggest going to one of the islands. My choice would be Korčula. There are plenty of things to see & do and the most important - not too many people. On this island you have the best chances to experience local life and engage in outdoor activities. You can visit beautiful old town of Korčula with magnificent medieval city walls, rent a bike or scooter to explore the island, go on wine tasting (some of the best croatian wines), enjoy on beautiful beaches.. You can reach Korcula directly by a ferry from Dubrovnik or you can drive to Orebić on Pelješac peninsula (beautiful ride through vineyards and small villages) and take a short boat ride to Korcula.
Even though I would spend all three days on one island rather than moving every day, other options on your route could be island of Mljet and island of Hvar (both have boat connections with Dubrovnik/Split).

Thank you for responding Kristina. We have decided to go Mljet, just not sure if we're taking a day away from Dubrovnik or using 1 of the 3 undecided days. We have also chosen to go to Korcula ( # of nights still undecided either 2 or 3.) We are driving up the Peninsula to take the short car ferry as you mentioned. I think I'd be disappointed to miss Trogir and Krka NP. We would need a day for that so that will be the deciding factor on the amount of time spent on Korcula.
Just curious, does anyone think Brac or Hvar is a better choice than Mljet and Korcula. The concierge suggested Brac and Hvar to us but I think out of convenience from Split.
Thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to respond.

All of the islands are nice--it is really hard to go wrong. Since Korcula is in between, I don't see it as any less convenient than Brac or Hvar, and an overnight is always better than a day trip.