Dalmatian Islands & Dubrovnik

Last year we did the northern Croatian coast holiday and this one continued it. As last year we loved the ferries - efficient and easy and with great views. The roads are good and mainly peaceful but looking for the little beaches south of Vela Luka led to some quite interesting driving.
We flew to Split and so had just a few miles to drive to Trogir, which gave us an easy start in a very beautiful town. We had 2 nights there and spent the time in the town, feeling the Park was too far for us in the time we had. From there the long ferry to Korcula was a relaxing pleasure. We were delighted to find that in all the places, except Dubrovnik, there was easy good sea swimming, and the island hotels provided towels. We had an extra night on both islands and were very pleased we had. They are both very rewarding and different from each other. Mljet was an absolute delight; the national park a few steps away a constant pleasure. Picnicking and swimming at St Mary's island was a highlight.
The food throughout was excellent and reasonably priced. If you book a day ahead it's worth looking at the specials on the menu. We twice did this and were able to have lamb under the bell at the Adriatica in Pomena, which was a welcome change from sea food by that stage. In Trogir we had good meals at Alka and Tre, and perfect light lunch at Pasiki. In Korcula we liked Bata best. In Pomena we ate well and cheaply at Ana, rather up-market but reasonably at Herc at the far end of the harbour, and twice at the Adriatica, which we particularly liked. We got the 11am ferry from Mljet and stopped in Ston for lunch at Baca under its mulberry tree, just across the road from the car park, and had delicious light lunch (and the more energetic walked on the walls) and arrived at the Hotel Lapad in good time.
In Dubrovnik we had two outstanding evening meals: Otto is justly a Rough Guide starred restaurant, and we found Orca a few yards from the hotel very special for our last night - eating on a flat roof well above the harbour. We had lunch at another Rough Guide star: Azur in a quiet street under the walls, which was peaceful and very different. The walls were less crowded than we had expected and there are several cafes on top of them where you can sit and enjoy a fresh orange juice and enjoy the view.
We were very glad we spread these holidays over 2 years rather than running them together, and that we added extra days both times. There was more than enough to keep us interested without any feeling of rushing on from place to place.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed our Istria, Kvarner & Zadar self-guided journey in 2018; in 2019 they started their Dalmatian Islands & Dubrovnik journey with a stay in Trogir at the Hotel Trogir Palace.

The highlight for us was swimming in the salt water lake in Mljet national park, we are keen wild swimmers and this has to be one of the best swimming experiences that we have had.

We loved Mjlet as an island and will return. Hotel More was a lovely treat and we were fascinated by Dubrovnik. We enjoyed the mix of islands and city. A beautiful country, good food and plenty of fabulous memories. We decided to take the boat from Split to Korcula Island rather than drive and we thought this was a great way to start the holiday - little driving and a slow way into the holiday.

Croatia is a very beautiful country and this holiday provides the visitor with a good introduction to its beauty and culture.

This is a brilliant tour.

Inntravel pack was more than excellent, we barely needed to look at the guide books. Car hire was painless. Roads are good.

We stayed in 3 hotels: Hotel Korkyra in Vela Luka excellent. Hotel in Mljet was pretty basic and the air con did not work in our room! They handled it efficiently: for the second night they gave us a very small room with no balcony HOWEVER they provided a free dinner with wine (the food was not great, we can recommend going to the restaurant Herc at the far end of Pomena where the small boats moor. Hotel Lapad in Dubrovnik was excellent. We had one meal there, again, not great. We can recommend restaurant Pantarul in Lapad (12 min walk).

Ston was extraordinary. Mljet park was amazing, we hired bikes at the lake. We highly recommend Trogir, Split was disappointing! Go into Dubrovnik at 4.30pm when the cruise ships (things shut at 6pm/7pm) or early in the morning, by 11am it's heaving. No 6 bus worked efficiently but stress that the bus stop does not have a stand, it's a yellow marking on the road. We loved the fact that the ferry experiences were slightly chaotic but it all works. Remind people that no-one announces you should return to your car in order to disembark or embark - keep your wits about you!

Highlights
Scenery of the islands was stunning and an excellent introduction to this part of Croatia.
Finding the user-friendly sandy beach at Saplunara at the eastern end of Mjlet.
Walking the walls and streets of Dubrovnik before the cruise ships arrived (Mon & Tues are cruise ship free; Wed appears to have fewer ships.
Arboretum at Trsteno (Page 50) is an easy visit on the route from Mljet to Dubrovnic and well worth a stop.

Recommendations
Konoba Bala in Vela Luka - in the square round the corner from the hotel. We visited this restaurant twice and had the best sea-food platter of the trip here. Advisable to book as terrace is quite small.
Konobe Ana in Pomena, the other side of the harbour from Hotel Odisej. Excellent food and quiet especially when the small cruise ships are in. (There were 9 mored side-to-side outside the hotel and others parked up as well one evening)
Taverna Otto close to Hotel Lapad in Dubrovnik (page 48). Excellent food. Need to book.

Tips
ATMs and Cards. We found that there was an abundance of ATMs throughout Korcula and Mjlet as well as Dubrovnic. All the restaurants we visited took cards as well as the ferries and places visited. Useful though to have a reasonable amount of cash handy for the smaller places that were cash only.
Mjlet island Ferry - Prapratno to Sobre. The ferry used is old and only has 'squat' toilets. Advise the facilities at the two ports are used.
Saplunara beach, Mjlet. This is a delightful sandy shelving beach with some umbrellas for shade and lounger chairs for hire. Worth the drive across the island. However the small cafes are on the road above the beach and we did not find any toilet facilities and called in at Sobre port on the return journey.

There were so many highlights on this trip. Walk the walls in Dubrovnik if you can and take the short boat trip Lokrum island for a few hours away from the crowds. The cable car offers fantastic views over the city, and the museum about the recent conflict is well worth visiting. The National Park on Mljet Island is tranquil and beautiful - a delightfully slow pace of life and some great fish restaurants can be found in Pomena. On Korcula island, we particularly enjoyed the walk starting at Prigradica, through the olive groves and vineyards, with fine views over the village and the north coast towards the end of the tail, and Korcula town must not be missed. Find the little museum which is crammed full of interesting artifacts dating back to the Neolithic. The ferry from Vela Luka to Split is another highlight. We were lucky enough to see dolphins from the back deck. Trogir is enchanting if not busy, but be warned about traffic jams and the numerous scooters along the short length of road to and from the hotel. The Krka National Park is fabulous - make a reasonably early start (to avoid the traffic jams) and allow a full day if you intend to take one of the boat trips, which take up to 4 hours.

A very enjoyable three centre holiday. Lovely islands with scenery to rival New Zealand. Hand picked hotels in great locations.

We enjoyed very much discovering this part of Croatia, this with a minimum of driving to do, mainland, a peninsula and islands..... First hotel location was not that good as it was off a mainroad and opposite a petrol station...not a pleasant view, but then the other two compensated for that...

This holiday was an excellent introduction to the southern part of Croatia and the islands. The holiday provided a good balance between the animation of towns like Dubrovnik, Split and Trogir and the tranquillity of unspoilt scenery on Mljet and Korcula. Our personal highlight was the ferry trip from Korcula to Split with the wonderful views of the Croatian coastline.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Islands with a stay at Hotel Trogir Palace for their journey through Croatia

We had a glorious holiday in Croatia and would return in a heartbeat - crystal clear warm seas, no pesky sand (!), wonderful fresh seafood and olives, and sunshine everywhere. Adventuring out to uninhabited islands, swimming alongside curious fishes and exploring the mediaeval warren of Dubrovnik, its paradise on Earth!

My personal highlight was snorkelling in the sea in the evening outside Hotel Odisej in Pomena. There weren't many fish to be seen, but suddenly I was surrounded by a silver river of hundreds of tiny fish, all heading in the same direction along the coastline. After a minute or two they vanished just as quickly as they appeared.

A snorkel is a must if you're planning to swim - the sea water is incredibly clear, but there are so many fish that are very well camouflaged unless you have a snorkel, they will be following you everywhere you go in the water, just waiting for your feet to stir up some sediment for them to nibble on, and it would be a shame not to see them! We purchased our snorkel from a lovely older couple at one of the sea-front stalls in Pomena; they were anxious to ensure that we didn't spend too much and that the mask was a good fit for both of us.

If you're interested in a proper homely dinner in Vela Luka then try Konoba Davorin - just follow the road around to the end of the bay and turn right up Obilazaka, it's about a 15-minute walk from Hotel Korkyra. Our waitress there was so friendly and their house wine (red, served chilled) is marvellous, as was the food - felt very authentic. We very much enjoyed our five hours exploring Ošjak island, settling in on some flat rocks with a picnic and a bottle of rakija. The ferry passed by a couple of times, kindly creating a shallow rock pool for us to wallow in.

We had a fabulous seafood platter at Restuaran Pizzeria Adriatic, just up the road from Hotel Odisej in Pomena. Swimming around in the big and small lakes with the snorkel was great fun, especially floating through the channel between them, which changes direction with the tide. 

Note that entry to the Dubrovnik walls closes at 7:30pm, so to avoid disappointment make sure that you arrive well before dusk for your sunset walk!

A beautiful location and amazing sites to visit. The hotels all very comfortable and good locations. Directions and information from Inntravel really clear.

We loved the combination of beautiful verdant scenery, interesting history and architecture, clear waters, great food, good wine, friendly people. By linking two trips together we travelled the length, if not the breadth, of Croatia. Any one destination merits a longer visit and we felt the three nights, two days at some destinations did not allow us enough time to do all that we might want to. However, we were suprised at how much we could fit in to a day!

Recommendations: take a good mask and snorkel; the restaurant at Hotel Televrin, Nezerine on Losinj; walking the less frequented coastal footpaths south of Mali Losinj ending with an evening drink at the bar at the view point overlooking Mali and Cres; Konoba Dalmacija in Zadar (about 3 minutes walk from Hotel Bastion) for lovely secret garden, the best fish and friendly service. For an alternative outing from Zadar, the small town of Nin is very attractive with interesting history and architecture and the island of Pag is suprisingly beautiful despite its barren apearance.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined Istria, Kvarner & Zadar with Dalmatian Islands & Dubrovnik

Highlights: the islands of Mljet and Korcula (Vela Luka area)- these locations were well chosen by Inntravel; national park area of Mljet with its wooded hills and lakes particularly beautiful.  Krka national park near Trogir also very good, and would also recommend 3 Islands Cruise from Trogir.  Beware very slow traffic getting out of Trogir from the Hotel (especially at 8.30 am with a ferry to catch!). Dubrovnik old town - best to go evening and/or early morning to avoid being swamped by tourists.  Car ferries easy to use, but allow plenty of time at Split to find the ticket office and then the ferry you need.   Good holiday overall, and would definitely recommend Croatia as a destination.      

We were concerned this might be a driving holiday, but this holiday can be as active as you'd like. We enjoyed the very scenic drive from the airport to Vela Luka, and onward from there and once settled in to your hotel, there's lots to do and see without needing to drive. Each drive was no more than 45 minutes at once. Driving in Croatia is a pleasure, with very light traffic for the most part, highways are in great condition and well signed. Of course, it's busier in Dubrovnik, and once at the hotel, the bus service or taxi will get you any distance you need to go. We walked, hiked, cycled, swam, and kayaked, so pick your pleasure or do nothing at all but watch the boats in the harbour or linger over a glass of wine or excellent Croatian beer - any pace is the right pace!

Your recommendation to try the Kapetanova Kuca restaurant in Mali Ston was excellent. We had a wonderful lunch there and as it was our first meal in Croatia, we thought it a fabulous introduction to the seafood and the ambience of being so close to the sea. Thank you - we wouldn't have tried it without the recommendation!

The Restaurant Marina in Vela Luka is not there - we looked everywhere according to directions in the notes and couldn't find it. Also in Vela Luka, we didn't have a good experience at Konoba Lucica and wouldn't recommend it at all. The service was abrupt, food overpriced, and generally not the standard of other dining we enjoyed.

Upon arrival at the Prapratno ferry to go to Mjlet, be prepared at that ferry terminal for poorly maintained or broken washrooms and no food service. This is a new ferry terminal and far from equipped with even basic amenities.

We loved Korkula Town and thought it a bit under represented in your notes. I think because we were staying in Vela Luka we didn't quite appreciate that we should go there, and we're really glad we didn't miss that visit! While the parking can be a bit scarce, if one is willing to pay to be in the center of town, there is parking available. We thought it a very beautiful and historic place and would be lovely for lunch. Perhaps a bit more on that in the notes?

Great holiday and a great cycling destination. We hired a bike for half a day and biked 12 km around the lakes at Mljet! Fab! Love Inntravel !! 

The highlight was definitely Mljet, so beautiful. Also the cable car trip from Dubrovnik and the museum about the 1990s war situated at the top was extremely interesting and sobering.

We found Croatia delightful. It was quiet in April/May which made for easy travelling. Inntravel's itinerary and arrangements were excellent.