We are renting a car in Venice and then driving to Slovenia and then down the coast thru Croatia and down as far as Kotor, Montenegro
really don't want to backtrack to split to take the ferry if other options are available. can you help me .
the ferry trip would be around may 11 or may 12
Our other options:
1. Is there any way other than bus that would get us from Venice to just over the border in Croatia to rent the car in Croatia
You can take a ferry from Venice to Rovinj or Pula.
There are ferries from Dubrovnik, more South than that would be Bar in Montenegro, heading to Bari in Italy, then probably Vlore in Albania to Brindisi, Italy. Not sure if all are car ferries. Beyond that, you do not mention your transportation situation. If you own or have a long term lease on a car, then probably not an issue, If you are renting a car, you better talk to the rental agency about taking a car into those countries and about taking the car on a ferry. Both have been problems for many.
Most of these ferries don't run every day. The most selection is in the summer, of course. www.aferry.com is a good aggregator or www.rome2rio.com can also help identify the applicable ferry companies.
Flying from Dubrovnik to Rome is often a good value; see www.skyscanner.com.
If you're thinking of picking up a car in Venice, then I expect it's not a long-term lease/ownership and that you're trying to circle back by ferry in order to drop the car within Italy again to avoid the high drop fees in a different country. That probably won't work, for the reasons Paul mentioned. Picking up the car in northern Croatia would still allow you to drive through Slovenia and then yes, backtrack again from Kotor to drop in Dubrovnik.
Are you spending more time in Italy? If you just thought of flying there because it's "easier," then maybe the reality is that it's not.
