Hi all, I need help planning the Croatia stage of our Europe trip. We will visit Prague, Slovakia, Vienna, then fly to the next stage, either Venice or Dubrovnik. I want to do that stretch but don't know if I should start in Dubrovnik and work our way to Venice or start in Venice then down to Dubrovnik. Seems more expensive to fly out of Dubrovnik, we must leave for home out of Prague, so we will have to fly back there from either Venice or Dubrovik or ? So, I was initially thinking fly from Vienna to Venice, train to Trieste bus to Rijeka, rent a car and drive to Dubrovnik ... or the reverse starting in Dubrovnik. Please give me some ideas, does this sound like a ok plan? We are travelling June 2009. Thanks for your help.
Nilda, do you definitely have to fly out of Prague? Is that because of ff miles or something?
I am wondering if maybe renting a car might be better in this case - rent in Prague, take a leisurely drive to Dubrovnik with a couple of stops, then drop the car when you get there. And take the ferry on to Venice.
Here are some excellent notes on slowtrav about Croatia.
We must return to Prague for our trip home. Because we have such little time what are the highlights that we must see during our trip from Rijeka to Dubrovnik?
Shannon - you mention a ferry from Dubrovnik to Venice. I've been trying to find this but with no luck. Can you be more specific? - name of the ferry line, web-site, etc. The best I could do was a ferry to Bari and then a long train trip to Venice. I think a better solution would be to bus to Split and ferry to Ancona then train to Venice. Any comments? Gerry
Posts: 62 | Location: West Coast of Canada | Registered: 28 August 2006
The Croatia web site you referred me to has a lot of useful information but there are some problems with the links listed and none of the ferry lines go from Venice to Split. Here's whjat I found :
So that still leaves me with my original question: What's the best way to get from Venice to either Split or Dubrovnik? Thanks for all the other useful information and maybe you can help with this too. Gerry
Posts: 62 | Location: West Coast of Canada | Registered: 28 August 2006
That's because Adriatica has been part of Tirrenia for a few years.
Also, unless things have changed since last year, there are no ferries from Venice to Dalmatia. If you want to go by surface routes you have to include some southward land travel or else multiple ferries. There are a number of land alternatives to connect with a ferry, including from Venice to Ancona or Bari by train; from Istria by bus down through along the coast and into Dalmatia (which I was already criticized for having done on your other thread, so I hesitate to mention it again); or a ridiculously roundabout route by train from Italy or Istria to Zagreb and then Zagreb to Split. No matter how you slice it, it's a bit of a journey. What's best depends on you and where else you're willing to or want to go en route. I didn't look into flying because I prefer to avoid shorthaul flights, but maybe that would work for you--I don't know if there are direct flights.
Posts: 821 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
Gerry & Joy - thanks for pointing out those bad links. We will get those fixed.
It looks like Venezia Lines has the most ferry routes, though none out of Dubrovnik or Split. Still, you might find one that works for you in combination with a bus or train.
The train and bus way, as KT describes, would certainly be an adventure. I think with all this flying from point a to point b, we miss a lot. It looks like there is a night train from Venice to Zagreb - I can't comment on this train but I did take an overnight train from Venice to Budapest and it was a lot of fun. But to do this and then to take a bus to Split would be a very long journey indeed.
So, I guess it is up to you - long but adventurous journey, or fly and let the adventure start when you get there.
I hope that when you decide what to do you will let us know how it went.
I've been waiting to see what the other answers were before I chimed in.
We were in Croatia this past May. We absolutely loved the country and visited Dubrovnik, Hvar, Korcula, Split and Zagreb.
Transportation wise the trip proved to be the most tricky.
A train between Zagreb and Split is 5 hours, the bus is about 8 hours. There is no train to DBV.
While I agree with Shannon about flying for small hops that in MANY countries you miss out on the scenery
To do so in Croatia, is adding many days onto your trip
We flew into Dubrovnik, used it as a base for Montenegro and Mostar, then we took the ferry up Korcula, from Korcula to Hvar to Split we then took the Krilo Express, the Express does not run in and out of Dubrovnik.
FROM Split we took a flight to Zagreb, we took the 730 pm flight, so we still had a full day in Split. The next morning we were refreshed for Zagreb all day touring.
If you check Croatia Airlines direct the fares were quite cheap, in fact we upgraded to 1st class just to have a larger baggage allowance.
While we spent 4 days in Zagreb, and it is nice..if you have extra time on this trip I would suggest Mostar, Bosnia or Montenegro or Hvar.
We looked at the transportation from every angle possible and this worked out perfectly.
If you would like to view my pictures go HERE, pictures of hotels are in each album check out the bonus albums for cheap eats, crafts, etc.
If you would like to read our Trip journal, view Rick Steves video, videos on Mostar and Montenegro go HEREwho we used as a private driver is also in that section.
For trip planning
I would recommend
croatiatraveller.com inyourpocket.com
Rick Steves book is EXCELLENT DK top 10 Dubrovnik.
Hello, I am also going to Venice and Croatia in June 2009. We are taking the train from Venice to Trieste then we will board a bus to Rijeka then we are renting a car and going down the coast of Croatia. I found this to be the most convenient way of doing it because then we can stop anywhere we want down the coast. You can take that same bus all the way to Dubrovnik. You can check the bus schedule, google bus travel in Croatia and it will get you to the right place. Hope this helps, have a great trip.
Thanks to KT, Shannon, where2next and Nilda for all the advice and suggestions. I'm going to do more research on the various alternatives and I'll let you know what I find out. We only have about 3 weeks in total and has to include a few days in London on the way over. So I'll opt for the most time efficient travel although we'll probably avoid short haul flights as I prefer to see the countryside.
A train/ferry combination from Venice to Dubrovnik seems the least troublesome followed by a bus (or ferry) to Hvar/Split and fly home from there. An alternative to that would be train to Zagreb and fly home from there (after a day in the city).
where2next - I'm confused by your comment about the Krilo Express. Is this a high speed ferry?
Posts: 62 | Location: West Coast of Canada | Registered: 28 August 2006
I can't help with your ferry questions ... I just popped in to say that it looks as though there will be a few of us in Dubrovnik next June - if our dates coincide perhaps we could meet for a glass of wine.
We have just confirmed our reservation and will be there from June 13 - 19th. We fly in to Dubrovnik from London, and on the 19th fly Dubrovnik to Rome. Gerry, I think you and my husband would have much in common, he is also a retired computer/telecommunications engineer - with a bit of an interest in wine! Must be a West Coast thing.
I am not quite sure what you mean about the connection between Dubrovnik and wine (other than the port)... unless you are talking about the Peljesac peninsular - which I have been researching trying to find reviews of a good tour from Dubrovnik.
Having reserched the above I know that Miljenko Grgich, a Croatian, is a great winemaker owning both Grgic'Vina in Croatia and Grigich Hills in California (actually he opened the winery in Croatia but I don't know whether he still has an interest there)
Courtesy of Wikipedea .... Cravats are a modern adaptation of the scarves worn by Croatian mercenaries. "The sartorial word "cravat" derives from the French "cravate," a corrupt French pronunciation of "Croat" — in Croatian, "Hrvat"."
Since we will be in Dubrovnik in June (hopefully warm) I am sure my husband will enjoy more than one Ozusjko - probably at Buza.
With apologies to Nilda for hijacking her thread - I hope this has been of some interest to you Nilda!
Shenna - a question for you from Victoria: What airline are you using to fly from London to Dubrovnik? I'm taking my 3 sons to Venice and Croatia (Hvar and Dubrovnik for sure) and we will stop over in London on the way (one son lives there). 3 of us will be flying on points and I'm trying to decide which airline to use as I'd like to get as far as possible on points and also which routing to use: Venice then Split then Dubrovnik or the other way around. I'll certainly be looking forward to your comments in June and tell your husband to enjoy the local wine as I hear it is very good.
Posts: 62 | Location: West Coast of Canada | Registered: 28 August 2006
Hi Gerry, We are flying British Airways for all flghts except Dubrovnik to Rome, which has to be Croatian Airlines as BA doesn't fly that sector. All of our flights are already booked on points. Ba also flies into Venice from London.
Travel within Croatia does seem to be the most difficult part of planning a vacation there, lots of options but none of them very clear!
Have you read this thread? It has quite a lot of information about travel up and down the coast.
Gerry, I visited Croatia this past June, and flew into Zagreb from London Gatwick on WizzAir. It was quite cheap - less than $75 RT. My trip started in Zagreb and ended in Dubrovnik. Then I took a one-way flight on Croatian Air from DBV to Zagreb for ~$45. I think you do have to get "creative" with your transportation options in Croatia, but it can be done.
For Sheena There are few good local wine tours of Peljesac peninsula but don't expect much out of a group coach tour. There are private tours from Dubrovnik both to Konavle and to Peljesac. The one on Peljesac is led by Mario Bartulovic - a local wine maker and he gets fantastic reviews for his passion and knowledge. His family has been growing wine in the same place for 500 years! Other than that, there is a wine tour of Konavle where people get a chance to taste local Malvasia wine that used to be the wine of Dubrovnik's nobility. Still lot of work on it but it was almost lost!
Hi Alan, Our tour is with Mario Bartulovic. It was after reading great reviews of his tours that I contacted him. It is a private tour, just my husband and me (a gift to him as the tour is on his birthday) although we could fit in another couple if we wanted.
Mario has been great in setting this up. We'll visit three wineries and have lunch at the Bartulovic winery.
Thanks for the endorsement.
Now I need to research Konavle/Malvasia - it sounds interesting.
The first arrangements for "The Guy's European Vacation" has been made. I've booked the flights for me and 2 sons from the West Coast to Europe on points - fly to London and return from Dubrovnik all on British Airways. I have a 3rd son in London so we'll pick up cheap London to Venice flights later.
For the 4 of us, I am still researching the Venice to Split leg of our vacation (London, Venice, Hvar, Dubrovnik). The train from Venice to Ancona followed by Blueline overnight ferry to Split is my current choice - it's not too expensive (325 euros) but will take a day and night. There is a ferry from Rijeka to Split but getting to Rijeka from Venice involves a train and bus; plus most of the trip is at night. Flights from Venice to Split are expensive (610 euros) and route through other cities, although I am tempted by one via Rome with a 6 hour stop-over which should be enough time to see the Coliseum!
So if anyone has a another suggestion for this Venice to Split leg, I'd like to hear it. I had to book my flights by points before Dec 1st to avoid a excessive fuel surcharge but now that that's done I can relax and plan the arrangements in between, which is half the fun of being there; well maybe 10%.
Posts: 62 | Location: West Coast of Canada | Registered: 28 August 2006
Teaberry mentioned Wizzair above, and somebody advised me to check flight prices on Orbitz/Expedia. There I found that I can purchase a ticket from Split to Rome through Air One - flying on the Croatian Airlines flight that I wanted (it is a code share) for VERY much less than the Croatian Airlines rate.
WizzAir does not fly from Venice to Split. I too found the AirOne/Croatia Air flight but it was almost twice the train/ferry alternative plus I'd need to get accommodation for the extra night. I will be gone for just over 3 weeks so price probably does trump time as this trip is going to be expensive enough what with the poor exchange rate. Hopefully things will be better next fall. I think I'll hold off on more research and planning until the new year and start checking prices again then. Thanks to all on this thread for your advice. Ciao! Gerry
Posts: 62 | Location: West Coast of Canada | Registered: 28 August 2006
We flew from Paris to Zagreb and then on to Dubrovnik. Then we took a bus up the coast to Split, the other city where we spent time, and flew to Rome for the end of our trip. Without flying, we would have spent more time traveling from place to place than we had. It might be that the best way to see Croatia is not to combine it with another country. It takes a lot longer to get from city to city by land in Croatia than in other European countries. And we missed being able to use the trains like we do in Italy. But we would love to go back...we loved Croatia.
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