Lmd99

I am spinning my wheels a bit here.Flights are now handled..NY to Split via London 6/19-7/05.We are renting a car.
Rough itinerary is for bases are:
Trogir 3 nights?
Hvar (via car ferry) 3 nights
Mostar (Bosnia) 2 nights
Dubrovnik 4 nights?

We wanted to head to Montenegro but our rental contract only allows Bosnia. I cant figure where I should add 3 nights.
We dont want to be consumed constantly moving as we've found travel days tend to be somewhat lost days. The final night needs to be near Split airport for early am flight.
We are a couple in our 40's and travel alot independently.Dubrovnik, is a cruise ship port town...We have found that the hords of tourists affect most fabulous cities and degrade the foods and appeal...so we are reluctant to add on there..
We like to mingle w/ locals and don't need to see all the sites..It's the culture, people ,food,etc that seems to have lasting impressions.
This is where I am stuck.. Any ideas from the veterans here? Loretta

nukesafe

My only comment would be that you might find three nights in Trogir a bit much, even including a tour of Split. You might consider taking the catamaran fast ferry (passenger only)to Hvar town, rather than the car ferry to Stari Grad. That way you won't have to drive to Hvar town. I, personally, wouldn't want to be tied to a car in either Trogir, Split, or Hvar -- but that's just my preference.

You also might consider adding Korcula to your list, as it is well worth a visit. A day bus tour to Montenegro from Dubrovnik would also be worthwhile IMO.

You will love Croatia!

nbujic

I would not spend more than one night in Trogir or Mostar.

travel2live

We spent three nights in Trogir but two would have been perfect in my opinion. I personally would only spend two nights in Hvar but that is just me.

Four nights in Dubrovnik seems just right.

yorkshire

From Trogir you can also visit Sibenik, Primosten, Solin. (ferry to Drevnik Veli I highly recommend if you like outdoors/hiking)
Hvar is a large island--I would have loved to have had a car to explore it in its entirety. Day trip to Pakleni islands is wonderful.
Korcula would be a great place to add, but for something really different there are many interesting places near Split--such as Omis and Imotski.
Also, check out the B-H tourism page, there are many places near Mostar that having a car would enable you to explore.
Keep it slow--Croatia is relaxed!
Good luck!

Lmd99

Thanks for the responses. Yorkshire , I am researching your suggestions as sidetrips.
My BF has my head spinning as he saw a film on Plitvice NP and really wants to go. I think the trip is 4 hrs from Trogir?

We would need to stay at least 1 night near there, possibly 2, but then we must reverse back south.Maybe save Mostar for the leg back up and travel to the islands 1st?

He is also attached to the car and would like to keep it (on ferries) and even in Dubrovnik...

I am trying to cut down on the driving as it gets brutal sitting in a car.
Also considering an island hop (if possible) w/out the car to Hvar and Korcula then Dubrovnik..

We could pick up a 2nd car in Dubrovnik and rent scooters or a car on Hvar?

I cant get a smooth flowing itinerary going here..w/out picking up and moving almost every 2 days

yorkshire

I know how you feel--I get in a flush with all the possibilities, but I always eventually edit it down--and I've never regretted it.
I think your itinerary sounds perfect, with lots of potential for amazing daytrips with the car--but I have to agree that Plitvice is amazing!
You will want to keep the car--it's probably cheaper in the end and gives you freedom for those daytrips. As far as order, take the car ferry from Hvar (Stari Grad) to Dbv., then drive north to Split, stopping in Mostar.
good luck!

Lmd99

Itinerary finally edited down..Phew!
We are passing on Plitvice NP as we thought it was too much traveling in an opposite direction...so its

Trogir (3 nights) Late arrival 1st nt
Hvar (3 nights)
Korcula (2)
Dubrovnik (4-5)?
Mostar (1-2)hard to decide how long we want to stay
Trogir (1 ) departure to NY

May switch the car rental to allow for B/H and Montenegro which Budget doesnt allow..My BF wants the car for the whole trip, so I finally figured out the car ferry schedule. He has bus phobia.
Actually I think the island hoping drive down south seems exciting. The car will allow more adventure options on the small islands as we get bored on a beach.

It will most likely sit in a lot in Dubrovnik,unless we do a trip to Montenegro . Not worth turning it in and re-renting it.

So it's moving along a bit...
thanks all..Loretta

cavergirl

We spent 3 weeks last fall in Slovenia and Croatia. We had a rental car the whole time. We had 4 nights in Dubrovnik and enjoyed it thoroughly. The tour buses from the cruise ships leave around 4:30 so once they have left, the place is very civilized. We encountered the same thing you did re the rental car into Montenegro. We turned out car in when we arrived in Dub (you won't need one there) and hired a driver for the day to take us to Montenegro so you might want to consider that. We were on Hvar for 3 nights and stayed at the Podstine outside of Hvar town. It is a long drive to the ferry terminal which is clear at the other end of the island. It doesn't look very far on the map but is windy and a bit scary because the Croatians cut the curves (and we are hearty drivers). We wanted to do a day trip to Korcula from Hvar but that is not possible because the only ferry to Korcula from Hvar is in the afternoon so you would have to spend the night there. Good luck. You will enjoy your trip.

Lmd99

Cavergirl, we are staying at the Podstine too in Hvar.
We were going to route to Korcula from there (w/car). The ferry terminal is not on the same side that that you enter from Split? Is that the road w/cliffs on both sides that I keep reading about? I'd hate to have a hair rising drive to grab a ferry.Any other suggestions for an island stop after Hvar? We are heading over to Mostar afterwards so we'd like to move in that general direction.

I was going to drop the car off when in Dubrovnik..but I need it for traveling on. Returning the car and picking it up later actually cost more, so we are keeping it.

Thanks for all your help..Loretta

cavergirl

Loretta,

There really weren't steep cliffs on either side but it is barely a 2 lane road - very narrow and windy. We are not nervous drivers having driven in most European countries but this was hairy. The worry wasn't falling off a cliff but having an oncoming driver cut a blind corner short and hitting you. My husband is pretty gutsy but even he was nervous on this drive. From Hvar town I recall it taking over 1 1/2 hours to drive to the pick up point for the ferry to the mainland. It was hard to imagine it taking that long just looking at the map but it definitely did and we weren't driving slowly. There really weren't any other island connections that I can remember straight from Hvar. Everything goes back to Split (not a good choice if you are heading to Dub). You can get to Korcula if you want to overnight there but it just wasn't logistically a good connection. Wish I had better news but maybe another poster will have some better news.
Beverly

yorkshire

Hvar harbor is not large enough for car ferries, so that is why you arrive and depart from Stari Grad (or Sucuraj, but Sucuraj is way across the island, connecting with Drevnik on the mainland).
I've never heard anything about that 20km drive being hairy, one website says it takes 10 minutes. I think I figured out the discrepancy: The author of LP says there is a "scenic" route (probably the one people posting here took) and a modern road which is much quicker.

Gina2003

Lmd99,

I too am traveling to Croatia 6/20-7/7 and just rented my car from SIXT (www.sixtusa.com) which does allow you to take it into Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro. Hope this helps.

Gina

Lmd99

When I ran a search on the ferry site for 6/23 from Split to Hvar, it states Split to Stari Grad (Hvar). There appear to be multiple car ferries.

However when I ran a search for Stari Grad (Hvar) to Korkula on 6/26, there seems to be ONLY 1 at 9:00Am. That is the one I cant miss. I hope I am reading the schedule correct as I thought I was only viewing CAR ferries, not just passenger only..Now I am confused about where the car ferry actually is.

Thanks Gina ..I'll check the rates at SIXT.

Images2

Brac is a nice island if you're looking for another. I think missing Plitvice Lakes is a very, very big mistake. It's one of the most wonderful places in Croatia. 3 days in Trogir is 2 to many. Use the time to make the trip to Plitvice instead. You won't regret it. Krka Park is very nice also.

I have a long report on Croatia, from our trip last year on this site if you haven't seen it yet.

xyz99

We went to Croatia last year and had a car for the entire trip, except for the last days in Dubrovnik. We took the car on the ferry to Hvar, and we were glad to have it there. It gave us mobility to explore around on our own schedule. We did not find the ferry to be a problem at all. And did not find the drive from Hvar to Stari Grad scary or dangerous. That is not the scary drive you read about (the scary one is the drive to Sucuraj).

We spent 2 nights, 1 full day in Plitvice, and I highly recommend it. Maybe you decide to back-track to Plitvice instead of Mostar. Or cut a day from Trogir, you will not regret it.

We took the 9:00 am ferry from Stari Grad which stopped in Korkula. We then took a 2nd ferry from Orebic to the mainland then drove down to Dubrovnik. Great drive and scenery. Throughout the Peljesac peninsula, we were alone on the road. BTW, we also rented from SIXT (through Kemwell) and had no problems at all.

Happy planning, you will love Croatia.

yorkshire

As I tried to explain but apparently didn't do well enough, car ferry is Stari Grad only (we'll just leave Sucuraj out of it).
You are correct, there are multiple car ferries between Split and Stari Grad.
You are also correct the ferry between SG and Korcula is less frequent.

When looking at the schedule on jadrolinija's website, it will clearly state if you are looking at a passenger ferry line in no uncertain terms. If it just says "ferry," it is talking about a car ferry. Hope that helps!

julia_t

Re Bosnia and Hercergovina... I'm doing a similar trip to you in October and am planning one night in Mostar followed by a night in Sarajevo, then back down to Dubrovnik/Montenegro, maybe via Trebinje. It was this newspaper article that prompted me to extend the BiH part of my journey...

http://tinyurl.com/2g7dcz

http://tinyurl.com/32In9a


You could watch the film Shot through the Heart. This is about 2 members of the Yugoslav Olympic shooting team, one Moslem, one Serb, who were forced by circumstances into becoming enemies during the siege of Sarajevo. It is available in the US from Amazon. I've not seen it yet but have heard it is well worth watching.

Also, tripadvisor have a Bosnia forum which is worth checking out.

And I rented my car through www.economycarrentals.com where they give you the option of the Cross Border Card for around 50 euros.