Croatia

Marilyn: Trogir is a wonderful place to stay, much nicer than Split which is a major port city, too big for my taste. Visnje works at the Hotel Trogir, a wonderful clean small family run place. They can pick you up from the airport. There is not a ferry from Trogir to Split, but the ferry goes from Split to Hvar, Korcula & Dubrovnik. You must only carry one bag each, there is NO help on the ferry system, you are on your own with bags. Call Auto Europe for a car rental in Split, drive to Plitvice and return again, but it makes no sense to back track on the smae road. You could fly into Zagreb, drive to Plitvice and then to Split. However renting a car in Croatia is EXPENSIVE. If you would like more info just email me. I depart the United States on 15 January 08 and will be living in Dubrovnik and I will be doing very creative excursions, not the usual 4 churchs, museum, pharmacy, etc....Hvala (thank you) Carol Cameron Park, CA USA

Trogir is about a 10 minute taxi ride to the airport. There is a bus that goes from Trogir to Split--Split's bus terminal is right at the port--easy walking distance to ferries and the Old Town. We stayed in Trogir and Split and both are quite different. Because we stayed in smaller towns on the islands, I thought Split was a welcome change to that and enjoyed walking the Riva eating gelato!

I think that it's a great idea to stay in Trojir for your first night--we stayed there our last night in Croatia because it's very near the airport. We loved our hotel the Hotel Villa Sikka (http://www.vila-sikaa-r.com/)--the manager drove us to the airport for an early morning flight. If you decide to stay there you could ask the hotel about transportation from the airport. We took a bus from Split to Trogir--it may have been a 45 minute ride or so. The Trogir bus station is an easy walk from the hotel. The local bus station in Split was a little difficult to find but not a long walk from the main part of town. The ferry line that goes to the islands and on to Dubrovnik is called Jadrolinija--carefully check the schedule as you're planning our itinerary because the ferry doesn't leave from each destination every day. The schedule is at www.croatiatraveller.com/ferries/coastal_ferries.htm It's not a problem to manage luggage as long as you pack light.

I spent 9 nights in Croatia in Sept. I loved it. I found the best way to figure out the changing ferry schedule was to go to the Travel Info office when I arrived. They seem to have the best ideas of how to move around on the days you need. I changed my trip based on the ferry schedule info. I visited Hvar, Korcula, and Dubrovnik. I would highly recommend the room I rented in Korcula. Nikola cell: 00385 (0)91 505 4784 (20260 Korcula). Nikola is a great person and his apartments are spotless. The apartments are located right across from the ferry terminal / in the city walls. Super location. I rented a bike to explore the island. Dubrovnik is crowded but a must see. Try to stay close to the walled city. I kayaked while there. Hvar is a great place to take a boat tour to another island or rent bikes. Let me know if you want more info.

Thanks to all of you who have answered me about the trip to Croatia. Your comments have helped us decide that we can do this trip on our own. We are wondering if you think that a week in Dubrovnik is too long. We planned to do some day trips from there. Any thoughts on that?

Marilyn

Dubrovnik is a small city so I think that a week might be too long--4-5 days would be great though.

I agree 4 days are plenty. I had a some friends that rented a car to go to Montenegro (only a few hours from Dubrovnik). They raved about it. Could be a day trip but overnight would be best. Have fun.

Can anyone tell me the current bus schedule from Trogir to Split. We arrive in Split on cruise and want to see Trogir also on the cheap..

Marilyn - We just got back from Croatia a week ago and loved it all. In my opinion, unless you have a lot of day trips planned, a week is way too a long time to stay in Dubrovnik. The town itself is beautiful, but it gets hit most every day with people from all the cruise ships. Two days in town is sufficient and add extra days for day trips.

Plitvice National Park is a do not miss site in my opinion. Stay in the park if you can - we stayed at Hotel Plitvice and it was very convenient. Two things we would have added to our itinerary (but we didn't have time) was to go to Mostar (overnight stop) and a day trip to Montenegro from Dubrovnik. Also, the drive down the Dalmatian coast was beautiful and an easy drive.

It's easy to rent a car and not too expensive as long as you rent and return in Croatia. I've had really good luck with SIXT in several countries including Croatia for one and two day rentals. The cars have always been in excellent condition and they have always charged exactly as quoted - can't say that about other companies. I've also used Kemwel (usually minimum 3 day rental) and Carjet with no issues, but not in Croatia.

I agree with the other posts, you can skip staying in Split. If you really want to see the palace, just head over there for a morning.

I agree with most who note that Dubrovnik is at most two night, however as was alluded to, it is a great hub for day trips, including Montenegro, and Mostar, (both either by car or excursion company) Mlijet Island/Park by ferry, Eliphant Islands by Ferry, and one I missed but want to do sometime, Ston and the Peninsula. Given all that, you could burn up more than 5 days.