The bus ride from Dubrovnik to Split was quite spectacular. I had originally thought the ferry would be the way to go but after some research decided the bus would be best. The service is more reliable and hauling suitcases from one ferry to the other would not be fun. The coastline of Southern Croatia is spectacular with tall rocky hills jutting up immediately from the sea. The bus winds up the hill behind Split and within minutes our ears were popping. The height of the hills would be similar to Charlevoix but craggy, rocky terrain with small shrubs and trees. It is so rocky you would be hard pressed to walk 20 feet in most areas. There are many low rocky walls, remainders of previous agriculture.
I was happy to find that drivers in Croatia are mostly very reasonable, for much of the drive we had guardrails with huge drops into the valley below but the driver was careful so it was not scary. We passed through Bosnia (passport control) where we stopped for a break. Bosnia has a small strip of waterfront on the Adriatic literally dividing Croatia’s southern tip from the rest of the country. Our arrival in Dubrovnik was excellent. Miroslav our host met us at the bus station and drove us up to the apartment, he then pulled out a map and explained all we needed to know to get around. We had a spectacular view which unfortunately meant lots of steep hills and stairs but everything was spotless and well furnished. We were a bit spoiled by the huge apartment we had come from and this new apartment would fit quite easily into just the kitchen in Split It was beautifully quiet though with a huge patio overlooking grape vines, pomegranates, oranges and plums in the garden below and the larger view over the city and the sea.