please advise on our September trip to Croatia

Posted by bartonskis on 02/08/17 01:26 AM

We will be flying into Zadar Sept 9 at 8:20 after short flight from Vienna. Plan is to pick up car and drive to Krik after maybe checking out Zadar for a few hours (is airport close to city center?). Then either directly drive to Spit or reroute to Sibenick first then on to Split. Stay in Split for the evening.
Day 2-check out Split in the AM and drive to Dubrovnik via whatever is the scenic route so we get there after ships have left. Leave car when we get there and stay in Dubrovnik overnight
Day 3- check out Dubrovnik and take 16:00 ferry to Korcula
Day 4-5 stay in Korcula, day trip to Mljet one of the days then take 17:50 ferry to Brac
Day6-7 stay in Brac
Day 8 take morning ferry back to Split for 15:40 flight to Rome

Does it matter where you stay on the Islands?? is there transportation to get around the island or can you bike it?? We are fairly good cyclists but we are on vacation so don't want to kill ourselves if terrain is very hilly but 20-30 miles is an easy ride for us if terrain not too steep. In Brac want to be sure to get to Pucisca, Supestar beach, etc. Don't really care about nightlife but want good beaches, scenery, a few drinks in cool places, etc.

Any advice would be welcome!!

Posted by Jennifer

Tunbridge Wells

02/08/17 07:25 PM

6113 posts

Day 1 - what you have planned will fill two days! Your choice what to drop or add another day here.

It would make more sense if you ended up in Dubrovnik, not Split, otherwise you are wasting time in transit back tracking. You would need to ensure that the car is insured to drive through Bosnia, which isn't in the EU.

Split deserves a minimum of a full day there and Trogir should be included in your itinerary - half a day minimum. Dubrovnik also deserves a full day.

The minimum booking for most places in the islands is 3/4 nights, so just pick one island. The islands have a limited bus service. The coastal road is relatively flat, but there are very large hills in the middle of the islands.

Posted by bartonskis OP

02/22/17 01:41 PM

19 posts

We will be in Split for the evening and next morning, leaving by noon to drive down to Dobrovnik. Will check out as much as we can of the Old town in Dub on Sunday since the cruise schedule shows lots of people there Monday, 11.09. We will probably kayak around and stay away from the Old Town until ferry leaves for Korcula later that afternoon.

QUestion- is it easier just to pay the money to keep the car on the islands and pay for the car ferry to get it there or get rid oF it in DUB and maybe just rent scooters to explore the islands one of the days we are there? WE want to stay in Korcula town when we are there but will want to explore other areas and the bus schedule looks erratic at best.

QUestion- when we are on Brac, should we stay near Supetar or around that part of the island and day trip to Bol one day to go to the beautiful beach there or just stay down there the entire time and explore the Supetar area one day?? It seems like there is more to explore near all the towns near Supetar than there are near Bol??

Thanks so much in advance for your assistance.

Posted by Jennifer

Tunbridge Wells

02/22/17 02:38 PM

6113 posts

You are going to feel as though you are spending the whole of your time in transit! What you are planning is a 14 night trip in 7 nights.

IMO, it's not worth travelling all the way to Dubrovnik for less than a day there. You aren't going to arrive much before 6pm, if not later, if you stop en route. You also haven't allowed enough time for Split and Trogir.

There aren't any car ferries from Dubrovnik to Korcula - you have to drive a couple of hours up the coast to Orebic then take the ferry. There is a catamaran that leaves Dubrovnik early afternoon, but this doesn't take cars. (This is why people need more than 7 nights to get around!).

Bus services on the island are very erratic. Car hire is more prevalent than scooter hire and you may struggle to hire for just 1-2 days, as supply is limited and they would prefer to hire for the full week that many will be seeking.

There are no car ferries from Korcula to Brac - it's back to the mainland (via 2 ferries), then drive up to Makarska to then take a third ferry to Sumartin, which is likely to be 7-10+ hours door to door depending on how the ferry timetables work.

Brac to Split has several car ferry options.

You can see why in your timescale, I originally recommended one island? Korcula has more to offer IMO than Brac.

If you drop the car in Dubrovnik. there is only one passenger catamaran a day to Korcula and Brac, departing in the afternoon.