Few road trips pay off as quickly as the Dalmatian coast. In a single week you can wander Roman cellars, swim off a pebbled cove, taste wines grown on cliffs and stand on city walls that have faced down centuries. The route between Split and Dubrovnik is one of Europe's great drives, and it works in either direction — fly into one city and out of the other to avoid backtracking.
The Route in Eight Days
- Day 1: Arrive in Split. Explore Diocletian's Palace in the evening, when the marble streets empty out.
- Day 2: Morning ferry to Hvar town; afternoon in the Pakleni Islands.
- Day 3: Hvar's lavender hills and the quiet northern villages.
- Day 4: Ferry to Korčula; evening wine bar in the old town.
- Day 5: Drive the Pelješac Peninsula wineries, lunch on oysters in Ston, then cross to Dubrovnik.
- Day 6: Dubrovnik at dawn — walk the walls before the crowds.
- Day 7: Day trip to Mljet National Park or Cavtat.
- Day 8: Drive north with a stop at Krka National Park, then fly out of Split.
Driving vs Ferries
The D8 coastal road is slow, winding and wonderful, but it is also stop-and-go in July. If you are in a hurry, the A1 motorway cuts inland through the mountains — faster, and about €15–20 in tolls for the Split–Dubrovnik stretch. Our advice: take the coast on the way out and the motorway on the way back.
Cars love this coast almost as much as people do, but they need planning. Book car space on ferries a few days ahead in summer, and park outside the old-town walls rather than inside them.
Bringing a car costs extra on every island ferry, so weigh it up: if you only want Hvar and Korčula, you can reach both by foot-passenger catamaran and rent a scooter or small car on arrival. The islands are compact; a car is a luxury, not a necessity.
Hvar: Sunshine and Lavender
Hvar town is the coast's social hub — marble squares, a fortress above, and yachts bobbing in the harbour. The nightlife is famous, but the island's real charm is the lavender fields of the interior and the unglamorous northern coast around Starigrad. A water taxi to the Pakleni Islands, a chain of pine-covered islets across the bay, costs about €10–15 and buys you the best swimming of the trip. Walk past the first three beaches; everyone else stops there, and they are the busiest.
Korčula and the Pelješac Peninsula
Korčula's old town is a miniature Dubrovnik — the birthplace, locals will tell you, of Marco Polo — with narrow streets laid out in a herringbone that deflects the wind. The evening sword dance, the Moreška, is a summer performance that survives as a genuine local tradition; tickets are cheap and oddly moving.
Across the water, the Pelješac Peninsula is where Croatian red wine gets serious. The slopes above the village of Dingač produce some of the country's best wines, and family cellars offer tastings for €10–15. End the day at Ston, where oyster farmers work the bay that medieval walls once protected for salt. A dozen oysters and a glass of local white at one of the waterside taverns runs about €20–25.
Mljet and Krka: Two Parks, Two Moods
Mljet National Park covers the western third of its island, a dense green forest wrapped around two saltwater lakes. Bikes, a tiny ferry to a 12th-century monastery, and swimming in water that feels like a lagoon — allow a full day, reached by the afternoon ferry from Dubrovnik, about an hour and a half across.
Krka, on the mainland near Šibenik, is the waterfall park where you can actually swim, at Skradinski buk. Entry is around €20–30 and the crowds arrive after 10am, so go early. It is not Plitvice — but you can jump in the water here, and that wins the argument for most people.
Dubrovnik: Managing the Crowds
Dubrovnik's old town is a UNESCO wonder that has become a theme park of itself, and the Game of Thrones tours have made it famous enough that cruise ships unload thousands of visitors between mid-morning and late afternoon. The fix is timing: walk the city walls (around €30–35, worth every cent) at 8am, save the side streets for evening, and take the cable car up Mount Srđ when the heat peaks. Lokrum island, ten minutes by boat from the old harbour, is a leafy escape with its own abandoned fort. And do not skip Cavtat, twenty minutes down the coast — the town Dubrovnik would be if it were still quiet.
Ferry Facts and Fares
| Route | Operator | Time | Approx fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Split–Hvar | Jadrolinija catamaran | 1 hour | €8–12 |
| Split–Stari Grad (Hvar) | Jadrolinija | 2 hours | €8–12 |
| Split–Korčula | Jadrolinija | 3 hours | €15–20 |
| Korčula–Dubrovnik | Jadrolinija | 2 hours | €15–20 |
| Dubrovnik–Mljet | TP Line / Krilo catamaran | 1.5 hours | €10–25 |
What It Costs
Rooms run €60–150 a night in summer and half that in May or September. Meals are €15–25 in tourist centres, less if you step off the squares. Budget around €80–120 a day per person mid-season, excluding car costs, and you will live well.
When to Go
May, June and September are the sweet spot: swimming is fine, the ferries run, and you share the old towns with humans rather than tour groups. July and August bring 35-degree afternoons, full ferries and wall-to-wall Dubrovnik. Outside June–September, some island ferries run reduced schedules — check Jadrolinija's seasonal timetable before locking your plans.
