This summer and fall, I'm venturing out on an extensive European trip (using Eurail and CouchSurfing), and I want to cover as many places as I can! However, I have a few dilemmas with Italy and the Balkans, mostly because travel between the two is restricted to ferry, plane or traveling allllll the way up and around by land either way. I'll be arriving in Venice, having seen Zagreb already. I'm sure whether to hop back and forth between Italy and Croatia, seeing both coastlines, or just see Italy and then head straight to Dubrovnik from Bari and call that good. Should I:
A: Focus on the Croatian coast, but take several $$ ferries
Take a ferry from Venice to Pula
Continue down the coast to Zadar
Take a ferry to Ancona, Italy
Visit Naples, Sicily and Malta
Come back and take a ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik, continuing from there to Albania
B: Stick mostly to my rail pass, but miss the islands of Croatia
Travel by train from Venice to Rome
Visit Naples, Sicily and Malta
Come back and take a ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik, continuing from there to Albania