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Split, Hvar, Korcula.... or not .... advice appreciated

The people on this forum have been magnificent in support while I fine tune a trip to Croatia in September. I am down to the nitty gritty now, which is fun!
At the moment, for Split, I have the following schedule:
Day 1 : Arrive in Split (from Dubrovnik) late afternoon or evening (ferry or bus - not sure which yet)
Day 2: Split all day / night
Day 3: Another day in Split or a day trip to Hvar
Day 4: Pick up rental car, leave Split early - visit Trojir and head to Plitvice to arrive there late afternoon (ready to explore early next day)

My question is... have I allowed enough time in Split? We will want to explore the old town, Diocletian’s Palace, have some time to just 'wander' and taken photographs and most likely take some kind of historical walking tour. My theory was if we had the 2 days, we could go to Hvar for a day if we felt we had time, and if not, save that for another trip. We really want to visit Trojir, so we will do that on route to Plitvice.

Does anyone have a guide they could recommend to give an interesting walking tour of Split?

Also, if you had to pick one island out of Hvar and Korcula to visit, hoping for charm, walking, photography and good food, which would you pick?
Thanks for any thoughts :-)

Cathy

Posted by
6732 posts

Korcula was one of my very favorite places - I loved it.

I did not care much for Hvar (although other than climbing up to the fortifications overlooking the town, I never got outside of Hvar town itself, and others have correctly pointed out that there's more to the island than the town).

That said, I was also pretty turned off by Split - it was way too crowded with cruise ship crowds for me. A half day there was enough for me. Tastes vary, though - I know some folks are wowed by it.

Trogir was great - I had some of the best meals I've ever eaten there!

If photography is one of your primary goals, you may need to work hard in Split to take any pictures without crowds of people waving selfie sticks in them...just be prepared for a place that is quite busy with visitors.

Posted by
5687 posts

Cathy, I wasn't crazy about Split, either, but many others seem to unlike David and me - so who knows? This is one of those "personal preference" questions. I think my expectations for Split were just way too high. I would probably not do two full days there though - one day to explore, one day for the day trip to Hvar (which I've not been to - only to Korcula which I too liked).

To get a good view down on Split, hike up to Marjan Hill, which is to the north of the center (easy to find - ask around).

You might also consider visiting Trogir as a day trip from Split - it's a small town, charming, doesn't take much time to see, almost takes as much time to get there and back as to see it. If you see it the first day of driving, I think it will suck up half of your day with getting there, parking, etc. Instead, I would consider taking a ferry there from Split during your day there - only a half hour it looks like (I didn't take it), probably as fast as driving there. And plan to stop elsewhere driving north from Split.

Some suggestions to stop: the lovely town of Sibenik. And, Krka National Park (which is not far from Sibenik). You could park your car at the town of Skradin and take a boat up the river to Skradinski Buk, a magnificent cascading waterfall (much bigger than anything you'll find at Plitvice) and walk up and around it. Some say it has a similar feel to Plitvice, but I really prefer Plitvice - except for this one great waterfall. You can limit your visit to Krka to just this one waterfall. I did. But there is more to see in the park - much more spread out than Plitvice so more time consuming.

If you are staying at one of the park hotels in Plitvice, you have the option to visit the park on subsequent days on the same entrance ticket. The park hotels are overpriced, but this is one benefit of staying there! Then, if you happen to arrive before dark the first day, you can head right into the park and start checking it out then go back in the next morning without paying again. There's not much to do in or around Plitvice at night, so if you won't be arriving early, I'd probably have an early dinner elsewhere, unless your B&B/Soba offers meals. There is one pizza place in the town at the place that rents ski equipment but not much else in the way of restaurants as I recall.

I'd keep an eye on the weather, too, and if rains are predicted for your planned full day at Plitvice, maybe plan on arriving early that first day and getting into the park on a sunny day if that's an option.

Posted by
111 posts

Thank you very much for these thoughts and ideas... I like the idea of seeinf Trojir via ferry and exploring Sibenik or Krka on the other day. Thank you!!!