Planning a trip for September. Ideally, I'll fly into Dubrovnik and stop at some islands by ferry (without a car) before Split. Then rent a car there for more touring.
I'm trying to figure out ferry options for early to mid September. Can anyone suggest good walk on ferry routes that would pick up two or three island stops and end in Split? Trogir would be fine too, but it looks like Split is more of a ferry hub.
Krilo operates catamarans (passenger only); Jadrolinija operates catamarans as well as car ferries. You can stop at various islands en route, but you will buy a new ticket for each leg.
Be aware that ferry schedules in Croatia are HIGHLY dependent on seasonality - that is, during "high season" you generally have lots of options. Outside "high season" some ferry lines go to infrequent service, and some stop running entirely (this is also true on bus lines, though to a lesser extent). You need to check any ferry schedule carefully for the specific date you plan to go. Complicating this is the fact that each ferry route seems to have their own definition of "high season" - generally that's all of July and August, maybe some parts of June and September. Miss their definition of "high season" by a day and it can completely upend your plans, so get out a calendar and plan carefully.
The ferry and catamaran schedules start reducing once you hit October. I was there a couple of years ago in September and the Krilo catamaran running between Dubrovnik and Split was cancelled on two consecutive days as it was too windy and the sea was rough. Most of the inter island boats are catamarans - this meant that some people couldn’t move on when they wanted to.
The boat routes mostly run once a day, which limits when you can move.
I found that many apartments had a 3 night minimum booking on the islands. I stayed in Stari Grad on Hvar, as Hvar town was still in full party mode and I value my sleep!
Trogir is worth a half day trip from Split.
When reviewing schedules be sure to note exactly where on each island the ferry or catamaran docks. For example, for Korcula some catamarans stop at Korcula town while others stop only at the other end of the island. This could work for you or against you depending on your specific plans.
