Ploce is a small Dalmatian port town of about 4,700 people (2021 census), halfway between Split and Dubrovnik at the mouth of the Neretva River. It grew up around a port built from 1939 as the sea outlet for Bosnia and Herzegovina and is still Croatia's second-largest cargo port, linked to Mostar and Sarajevo by rail.
Its appeal for visitors lies in the surroundings. The Neretva Delta, Croatia's largest delta, is a protected wetland of reed-lined channels, bird reserves and mandarin orchards known as 'Croatian California', explored in traditional flat-bottomed lada boats. Just north of town are the seven Bacina Lakes.
For cruise passengers, Ploce is mainly a gateway: UNESCO-listed Mostar and the pilgrimage town of Medugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina are each about an hour or less away by road.