Please Help With choosing Destination

Hello,

My OH and I are suddenly going to be free in two weeks time and have decided to go on holiday for ten days. We have both wanted to go to Croatia for some time. We are both in our late 20's and are keen on sights and exploring the area. That said as this will be our only holiday this summer we do not want to spent huge amounts of time travelling. Given the short notice on flights we are left with a cheap flight to Zadar or a slightly pricey flight to Dubrovnik. I had looked at Cavtat and Split but everywhere seems so beautiful, it's proving difficult researching. Ideally we would like to at most have two bases, we will be relying on public transport also, as this will be our first visit we are keen to explore but want to relax too. We already know we will return again when we have greater time and can rent a car.

All information and help will be appreciated.

Thanks x

Sorry I should have mentioned that flying into one airport and out of the second is not possible as one flight to or from Dubrovnik is the same price as return to Dubrovnik. I also forgot to mention that we will be looking for reasonable accommodation but definitely hotels rather than hostels.

Thanks again.

Here I have explained to another couple how to spend their 12 overnights in the area that gravitates to Dubrovnik. I have understand that you have to arrive and depart from Dubrovnik, so it would be ideal for your stay in this part of the world too. The only exception would be that you can plan your sojourn like this (within the time frame of 10 nights):

3 nights - Dubrovnik
4 nights - Kotor
3 nights - Mljet national park

The destinations between them do not exceed 2 or 2 1/2 hours, so there is no waste of time or tiring travel.

Please read this itinerary, maybe it would be of your interest:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2322798&messageID=20865236#20865236

Thanks Flumy! Would it be hard to arrange transfer from Mljet back to the airport?

Also really not keen on staying in Montenegro this trip. Would it be possible to travel to split for first half of our trip and then return to Dubrovnik?

Ok, understood.

Of course it would be possible to spend several days in Split, but as one of the posters said on the thread that I gave you a link for, it would be very wise to spend the last night in Dubrovnik because of the flight. It would not be wise to arrange the transfer from Mljet to Dubrovnik airport especially knowing the fact that the catamaran arrives in Dubrovnik at 18:35. Here is the catamaran timetable for June: http://www.gv-line.hr/raspprint.php?linija=3&red=62 .

So, my new suggestion for your itinerary would be:

3 nights - Split
3 nights - Dubrovnik
3 nights - Mljet
1 night - Dubrovnik

I don't know when does your plane lands in Dubrovnik, but if it is not in some late hour, you can take a public bus to Dubrovnik bus station and from there just proceed to Split. The buses depart from Dubrovnik to Split at 11:00, 12:45, 13:00, 14:15, 15:00, 17:00 18:00, 21:00..., and the duration of the voyage is about 4 1/2 hours.

When in Split, you can explore the town with its Diocletian's Palace, but also visit ancient Salona archeological site (located in Solin, 5 km away from Split), then visit Trogir, in my opinion the highlight of all the Dalmatian small towns, also very close, reachable by local bus or by local boat.

In fact, there are so many things and so many other content that will make your trip really enjoyable.

Thanks so much for your help.

Sorry I thought I posted times. We arrive at 11.55 am on the 12th and depart at 12.40 on the 23.

We are thinking of just two bases. Maybe split from 12 to 17 and maybe Cavtat or Dubrovnik
from 17 to 23. We would like to go on a day trip to Montenegro and a trip to Mljet though near the end of our trip if possible.

Is there much to do in Cavtat or would it be best base ourselves in Dubrovnik for choice of places to eat and have a few glasses of local alcohol?

Also would you reccomend staying in split itself or brac?

I stayed in Split. It is a great city for walking around and is a good base for Trogir and Salona (not sure of the spelling, it is the old Roman base).
By the way if you stay 3 nights in Split, you qualify for a free Split card.
Remember a small part of the ride between Split and Dubrovnik is through Bosnia and H, so have your passport at hand. Nothing more embarrassing than rifling through luggage...

Thanks Bassalegboy

hi i would advice you to fly into dubrovnik, stay in cavtat for a night, lovely place. Dubrovnik is only a bus or boat ride away. From Dubrovnik you can take the bus all the way up the coast past ploce are some lovely resort and then on to split. You could also get the ferry to trpanj from ploce and get the local bus to orebic then a boat to korcula, worth a visit. check the web sites for accomadation you can get a room in june for around 40 or 50 euros and in my experience they are excellent. if you dont wont to book in advance this should not be a problem in june,many owners meet the buses advertising rooms.