Hello! I am a college student and a friend and I will be traveling around Europe for the month of May. One place we are very eager to visit is Croatia. We will also be hitting Venice and Rome and thought hitting Croatia between those two destinations may work out best? So, we are currently trying to decide where best to travel to in Croatia, factoring in reachability and cost. We plan to stay five nights at wherever we choose, knowing that it will probably be a trek to get there. We are most excited about Croatia's beautiful coast and its natural beauty. Any advice on choosing what Croatian city or tips on finding cheap means of travel? Thank you and bets wishes!!
Posted by
San Antonio, TX
334 posts
Regarding reachability, the easiest place to get to is the Istria part of northern Croatia as it is very close to Venice. You could also take a ferry from Italy across the Adriatic to either Dubrovnik or Split and then work your way north back to Venice. I can't speak for the international ferries as I have not taken them myself, but the Croatian ferries were cheap as were the Croatian busses. Dubrovnik is not connected by train, so if you wind up going there, you will need to take the ferry or bus up to Split. Split has a lonely little train station that's barely connected to anything -- your best bet for cheap travel will be to take the ferry or bus.
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1743 posts
Hi Melissa, and welcome to the forum!
For a small country, Croatia has many very beautiful places worth visiting, but it would help to know more about your trip in order to provide useful suggestions.
Where will you be traveling to and from before and after your time in Italy? I'm not sure it makes sense to break up your time in Italy with a visit to Croatia; you might be better off going to Croatia before or after your time in Italy.
Also, what mode of transportation are you planning on? It may not be easy to get to and from your destination in Croatia by public transportation.
And it sounds like you want to spend 5 nights in a single location. Or are you open to breaking that up between 2 destinations?
There is a ferry between Venice and Pula, so Istria might be a good place to spend your time. You can take a bus from Pula to Rovinj, which is a great place to stay in Istria (although 5 nights there would be a lot).
The other thing you might want to look into is flying to Dubrovnik (from Venice and to Rome) and spending your 5 nights there. It's still a long time to spend in one place, but from Dubrovnik you have a number of attractive day-trip options: Kotor, Mostar, and the islands along the Dalmatian coast. May is pre-season, though, so some of the ferry connections to the islands run on a limited schedule.
I'm sure you'll have a great trip, whatever you decide!
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
Istria without a car will be frustrating, so fly to Split. The cheapest flights will have sold out months ago, but there should still be availability. Day trips to Plitvice and another to Trogir plus time in Split. There are flights out to Rome.