Ploce

Further south on the coastal Magistrala, passing by the Bacinska Lakes in their solitary setting, is the city of Ploce; one of the largest harbors on the Dalmatian coast. Ploce was constructed after World War II on the northern edge of the Neretva Delta, and was intended to provide access to the sea for the thensocialist republic of Bosnia-Herzigovina. The name of the town was later changed to Kardeljevo; today, however, it is again called Ploce and is Croatian. From here the ferries start out for Trpanj and the Peljesac Peninsula, and there is a railroad that runs to Mostar and Sarajevo.

Beyond Ploce stretches the Neretva Delta, formed by the confluence of its twelve tributaries. The Neretva originates in the Bosnian mountains and at 218 kilometers is the longest river to empty into the Croatian Adriatic. It is navigable by ships with a limited draft (2.2 meters) as far as the town of Metkovic in Bosnia, after which a marshland begins. This is where the center of the Narentans was located, a people who controlled the borderlands between the Cetina and Neretva rivers, and who made a name for themselves mainly from piracy.

To the south of the delta is the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has a six-kilometer-wide access to the Adriatic. The main town in this narrow section of Bosnia-Herzegovina is Neum, a modern seaside resort. The transfer of goods, however, takes place in Ploce, as this is the only port in the area with suitable capacity. Only four kilometers beyond Neum you are back in Croatia again, in the region of Dubrovnik.