Ferry from Italy to Croatia

[Li150]

Has anyone used the Ferry from Bari in Italy to Dubrovnik ?
Mrs.H is wanting to travel to Montenegro to meet up with family at the end of May/early June so the rough plan is to travel from Spain, across Southern France, down through Italy, across to Montenegro then back up through Croatia and Slovenia, across Italy and France again then back to Spain.
Any advice/suggestions appreciated, thanks.

 

[Jaws]

Has anyone used the Ferry from Bari in Italy to Dubrovnik ?
Mrs.H is wanting to travel to Montenegro to meet up with family at the end of May/early June so the rough plan is to travel from Spain, across Southern France, down through Italy, across to Montenegro then back up through Croatia and Slovenia, across Italy and France again then back to Spain.
Any advice/suggestions appreciated, thanks.

Only one thing springs to mind.
On your trip backup through Croatia you will have to pass through Bosnia.. No matter what happens with the B*****t cock up, you will require an insurance green card for that bit

Dubrovnik comes alive at night.. Fantastic place to walk around.. There is a camp site not too far out with a ( cheap ) bus in to the city right out side the site
North of Sibenik you will come across the lakes.. They are all different colours and are a wonder to see..
Worth

 

[sciac2001]

That is a trip that we would like to do soon too. Will keep tabs on responses.

 

[Puddleduck]

That is a trip that we would like to do soon too. Will keep tabs on responses.

Me too but Martin not so keen.

 

[Ianj55]

All ferries from Italy to Greece or Croatia are good. The ferry you want only goes in the summer so book. If going to Montenegro or Albania must get extra insurance as they are not in the EU and your present European cover does not cover countries outside the EU and a green card is only for EU countries so check. Great places though and well worth the visit. Cheap fuel in Croatia. Have a good trip.

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[Tykatem]

The Green Card System is primarily a European system. Both Montenegro & Albania are part of The Council of Bureaux (CoBx) and Green card cover can be purchased at each of those countries borders.

https://cobx.org/content/default.asp?PageID=12

The green card scheme originates from a UN recommendation not the EU.

Pete

 

[John.]

Also watching this thread with interest.

 

[sallylillian]

We did Ancona to Split last year. Interesting loading at Ancona we had to reverse up the ramp which was very steep our ZF box even threw a wobbly. Not what your asking about so I will shut up.

 

[Portland]

Why not do it the easiest way from Spain, Grimaldi ferry Barcelona to Civitavecchia across Italy then take whatever crossing you like. If you do your math's the costs are quite close but so much better in terms of time and stress

 

[sallylillian]

Why not do it the easiest way from Spain, Grimaldi ferry Barcelona to Civitavecchia across Italy then take whatever crossing you like. If you do your math's the costs are quite close but so much better in terms of time and stress

Thats what we did

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[Li150]

Thanks Portland and Sallylillian, did the reverse trip from Civitavechia to Barcelona last year after a visit to Mugello for the MotoGP. In our humble opinion it wasn't a journey we'd like to experience again.
Regarding Insurance for travel through Bosnia, we have a Green Card from our Spanish Insurance Company which provides cover although I will confirm before we set off, always better to check beforehand me thinks.
Thanks for all the replies.

 

[jongood]

Only one thing springs to mind.
On your trip backup through Croatia you will have to pass through Bosnia.. No matter what happens with the B*****t cock up, you will require an insurance green card for that bit

Dubrovnik comes alive at night.. Fantastic place to walk around.. There is a camp site not too far out with a ( cheap ) bus in to the city right out side the site
North of Sibenik you will come across the lakes.. They are all different colours and are a wonder to see..
Worth

You dont have to go through Bosnia you can take the ploce ferry which enables you to stay in Croatia the whole way. But its easy enough to zip through Bih if you re not bothered about the insurance issue.

 

[sallylillian]

Thanks Portland and Sallylillian, did the reverse trip from Civitavechia to Barcelona last year after a visit to Mugello for the MotoGP. In our humble opinion it wasn't a journey we'd like to experience again.
Regarding Insurance for travel through Bosnia, we have a Green Card from our Spanish Insurance Company which provides cover although I will confirm before we set off, always better to check beforehand me thinks.
Thanks for all the replies.

I agree the med ferries tend to be prison ships compared to Brittany Ferries but the time savings are worth the pain sometimes!

 

[Jaws]

You dont have to go through Bosnia you can take the ploce ferry which enables you to stay in Croatia the whole way. But its easy enough to zip through Bih if you re not bothered about the insurance issue.

Why on earth would you pay for a ferry instead of getting a free green card ?
And sorry, suggesting someone drives with no insurance is not, in my opinion a good idea.

 

[Beltie]

We did a virtually the same trip in 2013. It was a very pleasant experience. The Jadrolinja ferry on the route then, the Dubrovnik, was pretty old but comfortable enough and the cabins were ok. From memory it was a bit like the Cap Finisterre with a steepish ramp to access the vehicle deck, but no problem for our 7.40m 'van.

Arriving into Dubrovnik in the early morning light was magical. The whole drive all the way back up the coast from Dubrovnik to Rijeka is unbelevably scenic. Whilst you can drive through the short stretch of Bosnia, personally I wouldn't, because the Peljessac peninsula from where you catch the Ploce ferry is beautiful and well worth a visit in its own right.

In Dubrovnik we stayed at Camping Solitudo which was handy for the ferry and had a cheap bus service into town. Decent site with good facilities.

Hope this is helpful.

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[jongood]

Why on earth would you pay for a ferry instead of getting a free green card ?
And sorry, suggesting someone drives with no insurance is not, in my opinion a good idea.

You ve perhaps not grasped the issue here - Many insurers will not cover Bosnia so the alternatives are:

1, Legal option catch ferry-
This car ferry line connects port Ploče on the mainland and port Trpanj on Pelješac peninsula. If you are arriving to Dubrovnik from the north and want to avoid crossing the Bosnian border you might consider taking this ferry. The same applies if you are traveling to, or just want to make a short stop, on Korčula Island. The journey from Ploče to Trpanj is 1 hour long. The Ploče-Trpanj car ferry is run by Jadrolinija, the major Croatian ferry company. Tickets can not be bought online. We recommend that you arrive at the port at least 30 minutes (1 hour is even better) in advance, buy your ticket at a small Jadrolinija kiosk and put your car in the waiting line.

2, legal option but questionable value - buy 3rd party cover at the bosnian border.

3, illegal option is to drive through a short stretch of Bosnia carefully ( lots of people do this).

 

[Portland]

I agree the med ferries tend to be prison ships compared to Brittany Ferries but the time savings are worth the pain sometimes!

They don't call them GRIM-aldi for no reason

 

[Li150]

Well we decided to chance the Ferry from Barcelona to Civitivechia again, as suggested saves a lot of time and expense, will now spend time in Sorrento then on to Montenegro.
Have checked with my Insurance Company and the Green Card does provide cover through Bosnia Herzegovina, one advantage of having Insurance issued in Spain(EU).
Once again, any suggestions for somewhere to stop overnight after disembarking the Ferry at Civtivechia would be much appreciated.

 

[sallylillian]

Here,
Motorhome parking | Sitecode 11046
Parcheggio Castello

 

[Li150]

Well we made it there and back with no problems, yes the Grimaldi Ferry from Barcelona to Civitavechia is Grim, top tip is to take your own food and drinks on board as the restaurants(?)are expensive and the food looked awful.
Pleased we got in, through and out of Sorrento with the van intact, I quite like the Italian style of driving once you get accustomed to it, that is don't stop just keep moving or you annoy everyone.
Did the usual touristy stuff, visited Vesuvius, Herculaneum. Pompei, Capri and the Almalfi Coast, had to keep a sharp eye on the pickpockets on the train to Pompei but once they realised I was watching them they got off the train. We found Italy expensive and a bit tired/rough in places, I enjoy a decent Pizza but Pasta and Tomato Sauce is not my idea of a meal no matter what shape the Pasta is.
Next we drove to Bari for the Ferry to Dubrovnik, much better Ferry and drove to Montenegro, nice country if a little behind the times but think they have caught on to the tourist industry judging by the amount of building work going on along the coast.
After that drove back up via Dubrovnik-great place-through Croatia and into Slovenia, highlight of that part for me was that the Gumball 3000 rally was passing through at the same time, never seen so many Ferrari's, Porche's, Lamborghina's etc in one day being driven as intended although there seemed to be lot of speeding tickets being issued on the services. Expensive rich mans pastime, I googled it and found it costs over £50,000 for two people in a car just to enter !
Eventually made it to Slovenia and stayed at Lake Bled, lovely place and somewhere we'll be going back to again, much more of Slovenia to see.
From there we headed back to Spain via Italy and France, with hindsight think we should have get a Ferry back to Barcelona again, saves a lot of driving and not much in it price wise.
Now busy planning our next trip, promised the Grandkids a holiday in the van so back up through Spain and France, through the tunnel the up to the Lake District, should be fun in August.

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