Croatia
New Member
Posted on: Mon, 16/01/2006 - 10:36
Hi, my husband and I are trying to plan a 2-week itinerary to Croatia and Italy. We are relatively inexperienced European travelers, but would like to incorporate some rail travel and some water travel into our visit. We would like to hop some of the islands on the Dalmatian coastline, but are not sure where to concentrate our focus. We would also possibly be willing to swap out the week in Italy for a week in Prague. We would also love to incorporate some hiking and lots of walking. Any suggestions?
Thanks so much!
IMHO I would only concentrate on Croatia itself, there is plenty to do in 2 weeks alone in Croatia. The local ferry travels up the coast, not too sure if it stops at the smaller islands that you want to hop off. There is no train service to Dubrovnik, so the ferry is a good option, otherwise the bus.
Yeah, I agree, you could easily spend the time all in Croatia, and in my opinion at least, you’d absolutely love it more than if you spent the time with Italy.
In the north, visiting Istria (Rovinj, Pula, Porec) is pretty easy if coming from Venice. You can reach them all by bus from Venice and you won’t spend too much time travelling. Rovinj is a lovely little town, the quintessential Croatian seaside town while Pula has a colleseum that rivals the one in Rome (honest)!!
Dubrovnik of course is amazing, but if you go at the height of summer, you might find that it’s too damn crowded when all the cruise ships are in port. But it’s still worth a visit, as it’s one of the more amazing seaside towns.
Brela is one of my favorite towns, located near Makarska and an easy trip from there.
It depends what you want. If you want beaches, there are places for that, or if you like nightlife, there are places for that
Post a bit more and I’ll try to recommend cities to fit your tastes.
-A
Thanks, we’ll start doing some research on the towns you recommend. We’re not much into the nightlife, but we’re very active and love to hike and be outside. We LOVE all kinds of good food, and that would be an important part of our experience. We live in NYC and get lots of good food, so we prefer really good food over a tourist experience. We have a moderate budget, and would like to stay comfortably, but wouldn’t rule out a little "roughing it" for a great experience. Overall, we just want to experience something new and beautiful, and learn along the way.
Given what you said about food and it’s importance on your trip
I’d suggest Brela. It’s a layed back town with a lot of beachside restaurants. Dubrovnik is amazing, and a must see for sure, but the food there is decidadly more catered to the tourist.
You’ll have an amazing time. Be sure to post more about your trip as you get it planned – as myself and others are passionate about the region and would love to be of assistance!
-A
It sounds as though we’re having a similar travel experience this summer. my brother and I are going to southern italy and croatia for 2 weeks. we’re going in June, crowded I know, but we’d really like to get into some water adventure, and in the water will be warm then. we’re flying into rome and were going to split the time, 1 week in each country, taking the ferry from bari to croatia, but it seems croatia is the best, so maybe we’ll spends 4-5 days in italy? i also live in nyc and really would love to experience the countries and their amazing food. i haven’t done much planning yet, so if there’s anything you find interesting, please share and i’ll do the same!
We spent 2 weeks in Slovenia, Croatia and "just Rome" in Italy. It was pretty rushed, but we had an absolutely wonderful time. We flew into Ljubljana and took train, bus and rental car around Slovenia — absolutely loved the Bled area. We took the train from Ljubljana to Zagreb as it was way too expensive to take rental car from Slovenia to Croatia and drop it off and spent a couple of days there. We flew to Split on Air Croatia. I think Dubrovnik would have been a better choice but we could not work it out as it was mid-September and they switched to "winter schedule" for most ferries, etc. Took the ferry from Split to Ancona and caught EurostarItalia to Rome. Spent 4 nights in Rome and flew home from there.
My proposed itenary for 6 to 21 of August. Would of preferred to travel at a different time but its the only chance ill have this year.
Arrive Dubrovnik stay for 3 nights, if i can stand the crowds!
Onto Split and the Islands. Not sure how long to stay in either but it will total 5 nights
Next to Zagreb for 2 nights.
Ljubjana for 3 nights.
Pula for 2 nights, fly home.
Any advice on travel or suggestions would be most welcome. Ive read the posts above and am really excited about the trip I want to really get the most out of it. I would love to go to Montenegro also as it sounds awesome but dont know how to fit it in. Also Sarajevo sounds good. Even Venice isnt far!!!
Arrive Dubrovnik stay for 3 nights, if i can stand the crowds!
Onto Split and the Islands. Not sure how long to stay in either but it will total 5 nights
Next to Zagreb for 2 nights.
Ljubjana for 3 nights.
Pula for 2 nights, fly home.
I’m not sure who is who on this post. I’ll start with you. Add more days in the south. Spend at least two full days in Zagreb. Bag Pula. Istria is boring. Spend a day in Ljubjana, spend the days left over in the Slovenian mountains or country-side, relaxing. Croatia and esp. Slovenia are expensive, by the way.
To the original poster: Go to Zagreb. Go to the mountains in Slovenia if you can.
Arrive Dubrovnik stay for 3 nights, if i can stand the crowds!
Onto Split and the Islands. Not sure how long to stay in either but it will total 5 nights
Next to Zagreb for 2 nights.
Ljubjana for 3 nights.
Pula for 2 nights, fly home.
Any advice on travel or suggestions would be most welcome. Ive read the posts above and am really excited about the trip I want to really get the most out of it. I would love to go to Montenegro also as it sounds awesome but dont know how to fit it in. Also Sarajevo sounds good. Even Venice isnt far!!!
Oh, if I went there, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to visit Sarajevo and Mostar. These cities have wonderful aura. And they are accessible from Dubrovnik. Either there is a direct bus, or you can take a bus to Ploce (Croatian coastal town) and then a train to Sarajevo via Mostar. This train later continues to Zagreb.
If you have any questions about Prague or Czech and Slovak republics, ask me.