Croatia - Dubrovnik to Split via Korcula and / or Hvar

Delorian

Hi am planning to do the afore mentioned trip from the 11th to the 18th of this month and am finding it harder to plan than expected. Seems like a fairly straight forward route but from looking on the net, the only regular transport I can see is the car ferry, which travels once a day at most and takes 3 to 6 hours.

I'm a bit nervous about booking accom. as I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to make which island when. So if someone could let me know:

• can I just rock up and get a boat to Korcula or Hvar?
• would I be better trying to spend a night in each or two in one (if so, which one)?
• if I want to try getting to from Korcula to Hvar and then to Split, should that be easy?
• would I be better off booking accom. beforehand?

I'd be seriously very grateful. A few years ago I went to Exit in Serbia by way of Dubrovnik and Montenegro, so if anyone needs info on that, you can let me know.

Apologies if this is a bit of a re-post, searched but couldn't find anything too helpful too recently.

comad

www.croatiatraveller.com is a brilliant site

riff-raff

Korcula is a fab place to visit theres a ferry from Dubrovnik it takes about an hour or so and you can travel right in to korcula town ..the night life is also good..:).. theres ferry port on the other end of the island which links up to the other islands and they are fairly regular ...but the queue can be quit long with cars during summer times .. but not bad if your a walik on passager...:):)

DishonestPikey

Delorian wrote: »

• can I just rock up and get a boat to Korcula or Hvar?
• would I be better trying to spend a night in each or two in one (if so, which one)?
• if I want to try getting to from Korcula to Hvar and then to Split, should that be easy?
• would I be better off booking accom. beforehand?

I got the bus from Dubrovnik to Split and then the boat from Split to Hvar all on same day. Just turned up at the bus depot and at the ferry port and hopped on. There shouldn't be any problem booking the accomodation in advance.

Don't know about Korcula but from what I saw its easy to get around no matter where you're going.

Bon Voyage!

6ix

I did this last summer -- Dubrovnik, then Hvar, then Split.

a) There will be plenty of boats/ferries daily as it is the high season. Check the Jadrolinija (not sure of spelling) website -- it's the national ferry company -- for timetables from Dubrovnik to Korcula/Hvar.

b) I'd spend two nights in one place. IMO, one night somewhere is hardly worth it, you may as well spend two nights on one of the islands, and have a full day to relax, check out the scenery, nightlife and restaurants. I didnt go to Korcula. The ferry stops in Korcula and then onto Hvar.

Hvar was well worth it, and I'd certainly go back. Lovely island, good buzz both day and night..You can also rent a boat/get a boat taxi from Hvar and explore the small uninhabited islands nearby if you fancy sunbathing in peace!

c) There's a daily ferry up the coast from Dubrovnik, which serves both Korcula and Hvar. I'm sure there might be other companies operating a Dubrovnik-Korcula route. You'll need to check the web for Korcula to Hvar, but Hvar to Split is only a small journey and there are plenty of fast catamarans that do the journey in about 30 mins several times a day. Again, check the Jadrolinija website or other private companies.

Note: The main ferry from Dubrovnik to Hvar drops you off at Jelsa (small town) and you can get a bus then to Hvar town where all the action is. The good news is that a connection onwards to Split can be found in Hvar town which is handier than getting a bus back to Jelsa.

d) I had booked apartments in advance, but there were always plenty of old ladies at the ports/bus stops willing to give you a room. I went in mid August (peak season) so I'm sure it'll be similar now.

Enjoy the trip!

ionapaul

6ix, could you tell me where did you book the apartments in the different locations, and what did you think of them? I know we'd rather stay in an apartment than a hotel, much more fun and no getting turfed out of your bed at mid-day!

Zaph

Did exactly the same trip in September 2006. We got the bus from Dubrovnik to Korcula and picked up accommodation when we got there (a couple of rooms in a private house). The plan was to go back to Orebic (where the ferry goes from) the next day and hire a car to continue the trip, but we were misled about there being proper car hire places there. Our only option was to go back to Korcula where we stayed for an extra night and hired the car there (there was no point in having a car in Dubrovnik). Getting accommodation that night was a bit of a nightmare but we eventually got something. The ferry to Hvar was straightforward, just turn up and pay at the office there. Accommodation in Hvar was hard to come by as well, although we eventually found a place. It was very pricey, but was of a sufficiently high standard to be worth it. After a couple of days there we got the ferry to Split (again we just turned up - it's a bigger ship, like one of the old ships to Holyhead) and drove back down to Cavtat (about 20km south of Dubrovnik) where we rented an apartment for a few days.

I've no idea how much busier July would be compared to September, but I would advise you to either book ahead the day before you leave somewhere (if possible) or go to the local tourist office as soon as you arrive somewhere.

Delorian

Thanks for this everyone, you've all been a serious help. Right now I've booked apartments in Dubrovnik for Fri & Sat, in Split for Tues & Wed, and will book a hotel for the last night in Dubrovnik on the Thurs.

Thinking of winging the Sunday & Monday trips & accom but after what you said Zaph, I may at least line something up. Just not 100% sure if we'd be trying to see too much in two days by going to both islands, so may just take a chance on one as both sound stunning.

BTW, the reason I'm thinking so much about this is, my gf is an unbelievably anal organiser and I'm refusing to tell her where we're going or let her organise anything. So if I mess it up, I know I'm going to be in big trouble.

6ix

ionapaul wrote: »

6ix, could you tell me where did you book the apartments in the different locations, and what did you think of them? I know we'd rather stay in an apartment than a hotel, much more fun and no getting turfed out of your bed at mid-day!

Sorry, only coming back to this now. Unfortunately, I can't remember where we found them - there are several websites which deal with Croatian apartments. Most of these just list places, or link to a basic website. You will probably then have to email the owner directly to arrange a booking. Some will be reviewed - we chose some that were well recommended.

I enjoyed staying in the apartments. It gave us good freedom to do as we pleased and better than staying as a guest in some old lady's house I guess. The two we stayed in had usual mod cons, were clean and had air conditioning, which is important in August! The owners that we dealt with were extremely friendly and helpful, and picked up/dropped us off on arrival/departure.

I might have email addresses for the apartments I used if you want. I can remember at least one of the names anyway.

Delorian

I hate when threads I'm interested in never conclude and leave me with more answers than I started with, so here's the conclusion to this one.


Itinerary:

I went:

Dubrovnik (2nights) --> [3.5hr ferry] --> Korcula (2nights) --> [3hr ferry] --> Split (2nights) --> [4.5hr bus] --> Dubrovnik (only hotel, 1night)

Went for Korcula (pronounced Kor-chula) rather than Hvar cos Hvar is another hour or so by ferry (thought 3.5hrs was enough) and Hvar is meant to be very busy and full of English (as we were getting off the boat we asked a girl if this was Korcula and she replied with an English accent, “don’t know, I’m going to Hvar”). Was considering one night in Korcula and one in Hvar but thought it would be too much boating and not enough seeing, and it would add another element of risk to making accommodation reservations.

Here’s a forum with a good map:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054925393
And one with someone’s plans:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=51736494#post51736494


Accommodation:

Dubrovnik

Guesthouse Peter from http://www.hostelworld.com/ Basically got a rented out room in a 3-bed apt. Not the nicest or the most comfortable but location was class, right in the old town. Only disadvantage I guess is you never really leave the old town.

Korcula

I used the e-mail addresses for the closest apartments to where I was going here:
http://www.apartment-korcula.com/korcula/apartment/Apartment.htm
Ended up going with Mirko here:
http://www.apartment-korcula.com/korcula/ponuda/helena.htm
But I didn’t confirm my confirmation (has to be 100% confirmed apparently) so ended up getting another room off someone he knew. It was far better and had a jacuzzi we couldn’t get to work, two flat screen TV’s, two DVD players, satellite, a balcony, etc.

Split

http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/croatia/split/12092/

Very decent crowd although got a three-single-bed room when wanted a double. Clean with a flat-screen. Great location but a little difficult to find.

Dubrovnik (hotel)

Hotel Lero from http://ireland.hotels.com/ Very good 3 star with great breakfast and beaches near-by. Bit far from the old town but well serviced by buses and taxi’s.


Things To Do:

Dubrovnik

Beach 10mins from the back of Dubrovnik’s old town (harbour area), go under the clock and take a left. About 3 more up where Hotel Lero is if you can find that on a map on Hotels.com.

Best meal I’ve ever had (seriously) was in Proto to the right about 5 streets from Pile’s Gate. Was over €100 for two with wine and one starter.

The Buza bar is one of the coolest places in the world. Same side as Proto, got further towards the clock, turn off the main street and go up a million steps to the town wall. Walk along that wall until you see a sign “Cold Drinks” and go through the door to the outside. It easy enough to spot while walking the walls, so that’ll give you an idea. Still tough to find though.

The war photo gallery is class http://www.warphotoltd.com/ It about 5 streets from Pile’s Gate on the left-hand-side.

Didn’t do the walking tours but they looked good. Well advertised from any tourist info centre.

Korcula

There’s an Internet café near the bus station were you can get lots of info on donkey rides, quad biking, scuba and snorkeling.

There are beaches if you walk past the station and take a left.

Lumbard is 6km and has the best beach we found on the whole trip. Watch out for rocks (see below), and areas where ppl are not swimming. Get the bus to the last stop, there’s a church there and it’s about 2mins outside the town and take the right road down to the beach.

Cool little cocktail bar to the right before entering the main gate on the corner where cannon’s aim out towards the marina.

Split

The walking tours are very good.

There’s a café on the promenade called something Bobais or some such that’s very good.

There’s a changing of the guard at 3pm in the main square in the palace where the Emperor comes out and salutes his ppl.

There’s a nice foresty area from the 12 bus called Bene (pronounced Ben-ay). If you go all the way to the beach there, it’s more like a pier and isn’t very clean but we saw beautiful beaches on the way, we just weren’t sure where to get off.


Tips:

GET BOOTY THINGS – the vast majority of beaches are pebble or rock beaches and when we got to Korcula, there were lots of these stalls selling booty things for about €6/7. We didn’t get pairs until after my girlfriend sliced her foot badly on rocks.

The currency is Kuna and it’s about 7.2 to 7.4 Kuna to €1.