Dubrovnik vs Split

[loveourcottage]

Looking at two itineraries...on includes Dubrovnik and one include Split would love some input regarding these ports....I understand Dubrovnik is a great port but cannot find anything on Split..

 

Thanks

[Daniela32]

http://visitsplit.com/?show=15663

 

This is great source of information about Split (click on the menu left).

 

Both ports are great but very different. Split is 1700 years old, with Roman Empire remains and Dubrovnik is medieval walled city. In my opinion they are both beautiful but not comparable. Other than this basics, Dubrovnik is very touristic while Split has toursist during three summer months. Prices in the restaurants, bars and shops are more resonable in Split than Dubrovnik.

[eh2zed]

We enjoyed both last month. As Daniela says and obviously knows well, they are different. In Split you walk off the ship and into the old town. In Dubrovnik generally you need to take a shuttle bus into town. If I had to choose I would pick Dubrovnik but only by a bit.

[KCcruisin07]

It would be hard for me to choose between the two. Dubrovnik is more like a city, Split a small town.

In Dubrovnik we took a bus into town and walked the Stradun toward the main part of town and stopped in a beautiful cathedral, then walked the wall. We ate pizza outdoors at Mea Culpa and ran into a number of CCers there. Many of the people spoke English.

(Note: this is one port where you may need the original of your passport.)

In Split Diocletian's Palace (Roman Emperor) is the #1 attraction, and you can find guided tours that go there. Our friends downloaded a Rick Steves' guided tour. We also entered a chapel where they were saying Mass. From the palace we took a very long walk up a hill with beautiful views of the ocean to Marjan Park and ended up on the other side and walked down past a zoo (looked small from outside). It was a great day to unwind. We ate lunch in a small cafe where the manager spoke English. (Most of the other people spoke no English, but they seemed to understand it a little.) After our walk we returned to the Promenade overlooking the water. If you do a search you can learn more about the two. There are even comparisons of the two ports.

[Daniela32]

Dubrovnik is more like a city, Split a small town.

 

Oh no, dear Cathy, Split is the second largest city in Croatia after capital Zagreb, and is the industrial, university, and business centre of the region. Split is a city with a population of about 200,000 (peninsula only!) while Dubrovnik has about 44,000 inhabitants.

 

About English - most people who are between 30-45 years old should probably speek English (like I do). I may make some mistakes but I can certanly comunicate quite well in English. Older than 45-50 probably learned some other languages during their education (German, Italian and even Russian if older than 60).

 

About ZOO - it's a painful shame of our city. Thank God you didn't visited.

[KCcruisin07]

Hi, Daniela,

That is really interesting that Split is large. It seemed like a small town, though it is spread out. Is Dubrovnik actually smaller in population?

Also I think you do quite well in English. It was just that when we went into shops, for example looking for something for my camera, in Dubrovnik people spoke English readily, and in Split they seemed to understand, but to hold back on speaking English.

[TLCOhio]

http://visitsplit.com/?show=15663

This is great source of information about Split (click on the menu left).

Both ports are great but very different. Split is 1700 years old, with Roman Empire remains and Dubrovnik is medieval walled city. In my opinion they are both beautiful but not comparable. Other than this basics, Dubrovnik is very touristic while Split has toursist during three summer months. Prices in the restaurants, bars and shops are more resonable in Split than Dubrovnik.

 

THANKS, Daniela, for the great summary! We want to visit the Croatian Coast in the future and this helps us better understand the pluses to both of these cities. Terry in Ohio

[Keith1010]

I have to tell you that my wife and I enjoyed Dubrovnink much more than we did Split. We took the shuttle from the cruise ship terminal over to the Walled City where we spent a couple of hours walking around and then we walked around the area outside the walled city where there was lots of shops and cafes. Split was nice but if I had to choose between the two it would be a no brainer. I would pick Dubrovnik every time.

 

Keith

[engineer38]

It may be that the reason Dubrovnik seems busier than Split is that far more cruise ships call at Dubrovnik, and the old town is rather small. (Everybody needs to see Dubrovnik at least once, and some days it seems as if everybody is there today!) There are more real Croatians in Split and the Roman Palace and Cathedral, all mixed up with the modern town are fascinating. If you go to Croatia you will want to go back.

[iancal]

Dubrovnik. But, we spent one night in Split and four nights in Dubrovnik last fall so we may be biased. For me, Dubrovnik had more charm...especially at night when the many of the tourists (like us) had departed. I do not mean to imply we did not like Split...it is a beautiful city.

[Giskard]

I'm going to say Dubrovnik. On a land vacation in 2008, we spent one night in Split and 3 in Dubrovnik. We would like to go back to Split and explore it further but if I had to choose one over the other I would choose Dubrovnik. Especially if this is your first trip to Croatia. Dubrovnik was very charming. Actually all of Croatia was a very pleasant surprise, we fell in love with the country. We also spent 5 nights on the island of Vis after taking a ferry from Split. Both cities have lots to do for a day off the ship. I would weigh all the factors because you will be happy at either stop and maybe this shouldn't be the deciding factor between the two cruises.

Dac

[Eileen G]

We will be in Split in late Sept. We have been to Dubrovnik twice. walked the walls and went to Lokrum which we loved. We always do things ourselves. It looks like the old area of Split will take a few hours. Can anyone suggest a short trip out of the area to see some of the countryside?

[cruisemom42]

We will be in Split in late Sept. We have been to Dubrovnik twice. walked the walls and went to Lokrum which we loved. We always do things ourselves. It looks like the old area of Split will take a few hours. Can anyone suggest a short trip out of the area to see some of the countryside?

 

I am thinking about visiting ancient Solon (Salona) which is not far from Split. You can negotiate a taxi to take you there. Trogir is also supposed to be lovely and can be reached by local bus. Here are some specifics from an earlier thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1087051&highlight=trogir+bus

[California Native]

We spent 2 full days in Split as part of a land vacation

We also were in Dubrovnik for a week using it as a base for a Montenegro and Bosnia visit.

There is A LOT to do in both places, if you get out of just the highlights cruise ships tell you to do.

On our person travel website

I have Sights to See lists for both Split and Dubrovnik, and we have the Rick Steves video for you to watch that the 1st 2 videos on the page

On the photos page we have albums of both cities ..though I want to update them in the future ...each album is playing traditional klapa music

check out the bonus album for our daily life views in Croatia

Hope this helps and here are the links

http://ourpassportstamps.com/CroatiaBosniaMontenegro.html

http://ourpassportstamps.com/Croatia_Photos2.html