Croatia with Day Trips to Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina Itinerary May 2026
Croatia with Day Trips to Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina Itinerary May 2026
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| Hvar Island, Croatia |
✈️ Flights
Arrival:
We flew into Dubrovnik (DBV) airport via United Airlines.
- Customs process:
- Be prepared to show your Passport
- Officers will take your fingerprints and a photo
- Tips:
- 📍 Be sure to request special meals through airlines if needed!
- 📍 Through the airlines app, upload passport information beforehand
- 📍 Place an AirTag or tracker in your luggage especially on International trips!
- 📍 Poonam likes to use TIMESHIFTER App to help adjust for jet lag using Melatonin and caffeine
Departure:
We flew home from Split (SPU) Airport via United Airlines — a small but efficient airport. Get there 1.5-2 hours before flight.
- 📍There's no water stations at the airport. Will need to buy.
🚐 Getting Around
- Rental Car: We decided against this as we did not want to spend time driving ourselves on vacation; however, we read tourists do rent a car and enjoy it!
- Bus:
- Public Bus
- Private Bus: Flix Bus & Arriva
- We personally used FlixBus from Dubrovnik to Split
- 📍Don't pick an assigned seat. Everyone sits wherever they want
- No train system in Croatia
- Ferry:
- Several ferry companies to take you to the islands/other major cities
- Ride Sharing Taxis: Highly recommend calling cars from both Bolt and Uber at the same time to see who can find a car faster
- Bolt App- Bolt had cheaper fares, but less reliable
- Uber App - Uber had higher fares than Bolt, but very reliable. Most we ever waited was 10 minutes.
- 📍When calling Uber/Bolt, must request from bus station or parking lot. Since there are a lot of single lane each way roads - uber/Bolt will not stop in the middle of the road and block traffic
🚐 Border Crossings
- We did daytrips from Croatia to Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro that required border crossings. These can take 30 minutes to 3 hours each way
- 📍You must bring your passport
- You will be required to exit the vehicle. The EU border agents will take your passport, your photo and possibly fingerprints
🏨 Where We Stayed
DUBROVNIK: We stayed at the Sheraton Dubrovnik. This is located 15 minutes away from Old Town by car. Highly recommend staying outside of Old Town towards Lapad or Milni due to too many steps and people in Old Town.
- 💡Note: During rush hour (7-9am, 4-6pm) - plan for more time than you think to get into Old Town. We did not have trouble getting an uber from either Lapad or Milni area.
Sheraton Dubrovnik
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| Sheraton Dubrovnik |
SPLIT: We stayed at the AC Hotel Split. This was 20-25 minute walk to Old Town and 8 minute uber ride. The views and spa were incredible!
- 💡Fun Fact: The AC Hotel Split is the tallest building in Croatia!
View from AC Split Hotel Room
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| View from AC Split Hotel Room |
☀️ Weather in May
- May was hot but tolerable. We would go out in the AM, stay inside in the afternoon & go back out at night.
- Recommend to bring cotton and linen breathable clothing. Thin jacket for night.
- We did experience heavy rains and winds during a couple days. Highly recommend wind jacket & layers in April/May!
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| View from the Walls of Dubrovnik |
💰 Money & Payments
Cash:
- We exchanged USD to ~250€ Euros via Bank of America before departing.
- We used more cash than we thought we needed. Several of the add-ons in the tours we took was cash only
Credit Cards: At major restaurants and tours, we used credit cards
Use a card with 0% foreign transaction fees.
Always pay in local currency (Euros) for better rates
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| Old Town Dubrovnik |
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| Old Town Dubrovnik |
🧕 Safety
Felt very safe! Emergency number: 112
🎒 What to Pack
- Passport & have digital copy on your phone (just in case)
- Plug Converter needed if coming from the USA
- Medication: Motrin/Tylenol, anti-diarrhea pills, gas-x, tums etc.
- If get car/sea sick, bring Dramamine for the long, windy car/bus/boat rides
- Clothing: In mid-May, weather was 70+ degrees during day and 65 degrees at night.
- Highly recommend linen/cotton clothing - mix of shorts, pants, capris
- Bring insect repellent, sunscreen, hat
- Light jacket/shawl for cold nights
- Bring swimsuit! Bring swim shoes - rocky sanded beaches
- Bring rain/wind jacket - helped on those windy/rainy days tremendously!
- Bring a crossbody purse to protect your cell phone/valuables and prevent pickpocketing
📱 Communication & Internet
Mayur activated his international plan with AT&T and Poonam used phone for photos.
We did not have any issues with communication - most people spoke English or broken English and used WhatsApp to communicate
💡 Useful Tips
- 📍 Download Croatia google map offline to help with directions without using internet
- 📍Check google reviews for any place you visit for most up-to-date information
- 📍Avoid major tourist attractions on weekends/Holidays.
- 📍Several shops/restaurants/grocery stores are closed on Sundays
- 📍Water: Water is safe to drink throughout Croatia; however, if there has been recent rains - the locals recommend drinking bottled water instead.
- We did request tap water at several places. Some allowed and others recommended bottled only.
🥗 Vegetarian & Vegan Food
Croatia was not the most vegetarian/vegan friendly; however, there's plenty of places to eat!
Try Kras Branded Chocolates available in any grocery store! They make biscuits, chocolates, caramels etc.
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| Example of Kras Chocolates |
📍Food delivery App: Wolt or Glovo
DUBROVNIK:
- Panorama Restaurant - need reservations, get front row view. If too windy, will be moved indoors
- Sub Gourmet
- Yes Yes Foccacia Sandwich Bar
Panorama Restaurant
SPLIT:
- Up Cafe - via Wolt, we ordered their burritos for lunch on our day trips!
- Daddy Cow
- Veg
- Tradicija Bakery - get the rafioli dessert to pair with coffee
🌍 Our Top Highlights
DUBROVNIK
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| Old Town Dubrovnik |
- Walk Old Town Dubrovnik Walls - go first thing in AM or close to sunset. It's hot and there's no shade. Requires several steps and steep elevations
- Highly recommend starting at Ploce Gate (downhill) and exiting at Pile Gate. We did not feel you need to walk all the way around.
- Old Town Dubrovnik Walking Tour $$
- LOVRIJENAC FORTRESS $$ - the views are gorgeous from here!
- Red Museum $$ - Museum showing Yugoslavia times
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| LOVRIJENAC FORTRESS |
📍Dubrovnik Card ($40 euros): Includes walking the walls, Fortress and several museums!
📍Check when there is cruises coming using Cruisemapper.com - pick a day when there's the least number of cruise ships in port to have the best experience
✅ Mount Srd: Beautiful views of Old Town Dubrovnik. Can skip the Cable Cars. Uber to the top, uber to the bottom.
- Panorama Restaurant
- Homeland War Museum $$ - Old fortress converted into museum detailing Croatian War from Yugoslavia 1991-1995
Homeland War Fortress looking down at Old Town Dubrovnik
✅ Lokrum Island $$ - we did not get a chance to go, but came highly recommended. Get there via Ferry
✅ Day Trips
- Kravica Waterfalls - beautiful waterfalls. Try the fruit!
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| Kravica Waterfalls |
- 2. Mostar -
- Mostar Old Bridge - Stari Most Bridge - very difficult to walk across. Step on the steps!
- Mostar Old Town
- View from Koski Mosque Minaret $$ (very steep, very small, claustrophobic, but beautiful views!)
- Museum of War & Genocide $$ - we did not have time to go, but came recommended!
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| Mostar Old Bridge |
- 💡Fun Fact: Mostar is the hottest city in Europe which has the Neretva River running through it. The Neretva River is the coldest river in the world.
- 📍Note: Border Crossings can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Bring your passport, water & snacks to help with the bus ride
- 📍Money: Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark (BAM or KM); however, touristy areas will accept Euro. 2KM = 1 EURO
- Kotor -
- Explore Old Town
- Walk the Walls
- Hike to the Fortress - it was too difficult for us, so we did not go
- Try Krempita Cake!
- Lunch: Resto Bar Taraca
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| Vegan Version of Cevapi |
- Perast -
- Climb the top of the Bell Tower $$ to see the full view of Kotor Bay
- Lady of The Rocks Island $$- church on a man made island. Not a must see, but very nice boat ride through Kotor Bay to get here
- 📍Note: Border Crossings can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Bring your passport, water & snacks to help with the bus ride
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| Perast & Bay of Kotor |
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| Walls of Kotor |
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| Kotor |
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| Lady of the Rocks Island |
SPLIT
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| Diocletian's Palace: UNESCO |
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| View of Split from Marjan Hill |
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| Riva Promenade in Split |
SPLIT WALKING TOUR: $$
Hike up to MARJANS HILL VIEWPOINT
DIOCLETIAN’S PALACE
RIVA PROMENADE
✅ Day Trips
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| Blue Cave: UNESCO |
Video of entering the Blue Cave
1. Five Island Speed Boat Tour $$ - this was definitely a highlight of our trip! Very bumpy and adventurous
- BLUE CAVE $$
- ISLAND OF VIS
- Komiza Fishing Village - shot parts of Mamma Mia 2 here!
- By boat, we explored WW2 bunkers & caves - absolutely incredible!
- BLUE LAGOON
- PALENKI ISLANDS
- HVAR ISLAND:
- Hike to fortress
- Walk towards Bonj Beach
- Adriana Hotel Rooftop
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| Island of Hvar |
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| Hvar Fortress looking down at Palenki Islands |
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| Palenki Islands |
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| Limestone Caves on Vis Island |
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| Komiza Fishing Village on Island of Vis - Mamma Mia 2 was filmed here! |
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Komiza Fishing Village on Island of Vis
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