Sights in Split - Croatia and Slovenia - page 352

the Old Town, with the ferry terminal, the bus and train stations, and the Lu č ac neighbor-
hood. You'll pop out right at the southeast corner of Diocletian's Palace (by the Green Mar-
ket). For handy (but expensive) parking, when the road swings left to the ferry terminal,
continue straight, and then turn right into a parking lot just outside the palace walls (10 kn/
hour).
Connecting Split with Destinations to the North: Thanks to Croatia's A-1 super-ex-
pressway,theroadtripfromZagrebtoSplittakeslessthanfivehours.YoucanleaveZagreb
after an early dinner and arrive in Split before bedtime. If you're heading north from Split,
simply drive up out of the city's bowl-like setting and follow signs to the A-1 expressway
north (toward Zagreb; if you're going to Plitvice, turn off at Oto č ac and drive east from
there).
Connecting Split with Destinations to the South: Ifyou'reheading toDubrovnik,oth-
er Dalmatian Coast destinations, or Mostar—it's a bit more complicated, as the express-
way southbound from Split is only partially completed (to check the latest progress, see
www.hac.hr or www.hak.hr ) . You have two options. The main coastal road twists slowly
but scenically along some fantastic scenery, in an area dubbed the “Makarska Riviera.”
(Along this road is the town of Drvenik, where you can take a ferry to Su ć uraj on Hvar Is-
land; from Su ć uraj, a surprisingly long and twisty road traverses the length of the island to
Hvartown.Ifyou'regoingtoHvarIsland,takingacarferrydirectlyfromSplittoStariGrad
ismuchfasterandlessstressful.)Continuingsouth,you'llwindupinthetownofPlo č e(de-
scribed later).
To save some time, most travelers prefer to take the expressway part of the way. To do
this, as youleave Split, follow blue expressway signs to Dubrovnik. Youcan take A-1south
as far as it goes; it cuts inland from the sea, running behind the tall coastal mountain range,
near the Bosnian border. Construction on the A-1 expressway is ongoing, but you'll likely
bedivertedtosurfaceroadsatleastpartofthewaybetweenVrgoracandPlo č e.(Notethatif
you're headed to Mostar, the fastest way from here is to pass into Bosnia-Herzegovina just
south of Vrgorac, at Veliki Prolog, then follow signs to Mostar from there.)
Plo č e has a ferry that runs to the town of Trpanj, on the landward side of the Pelješac
Peninsula—not farfromOrebi ć ,whereanotherboatplodsacrosstoKor č ulatown.Ifyou're
headed to Kor č ula and plan your timing to catch this ferry, it could save you some driving.
Just south of Plo č e is the dramatic Neretva River Delta, a scenic and lush zone of
farmland (described on here ) . This also marks the end of the A-1 expressway. Here you'll
hop on the main Dalmatian coastal road. Halfway along the delta, you'll see the turnoff
to Metkovi ć , the gateway town on the main, heavily touristed road between Croatia and
Mostar.
South of the Neretva River Delta—after twisting up to a high perch overlooking the
delta—is a border crossing. Here begins an odd little stretch of coastline that's technically