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19 nights in Italy, Croatia and Budapest

Hi.

I may be a little all over the place but I have stage 4 cancer and am trying to knock some places to do off my list. Here is my itinerary with questions below...
1st day in Venice
4 days Dolomites
1 night Venice
Ferry to Pula Croatia- rent car
2 nights Pula
1 night Plitvice
3 nights zadar
1 nt Split
2 nts Dubrovnik
4 nights Budapest (flying to Budapest from Dubrovnik)
I am looking for a place to stay in the Dolomites that has lifts into the mountains and you can meander back down. We stayed in Saas Fee and Bernese Overland and fell in love with their mode of transportation to get you in the mountains. Is this possible in the Dolomites?
We fly into Venice and although it looks lovely, I really just would like to take a gondola ride and spend minimal time there. We are traveling with my 10 year old son.
Croatia- We enjoy beautiful scenery, snorkeling, sailing, ruins, architecture and nature. We do not care to party, visit museums, sample wines other than with dinner, bathe nude etc. We enjoy embracing culture. On reading about Split, I am least enticed. Am I missing something? Would you change around itinerary based on my likes and interests? We would rent a car in Pula and drop in Dubrovnik. Last is 4 nts enough for Budapest? I prefer quality to quantity. Another words I don't want to race around just to check items off my list. I think 4 nts in Budapest may be a little longbut I also plan to feel pretty worn out by then. Thoughts???

Posted by
26840 posts

When do you plan to make this trip?

I thought Ortisei looked like a good base for the Dolomites, though I only daytripped there. It is larger than some of the other mountain villages so it has more restaurants, shops, etc. There's a small museum of wood carving as well. But the Dolomites have lots of good walking opportunities, and there are other folks here who've spent far more time in that part of Italy than I have.

Because of your interest in ruins, I think Pula (which I haven't seen) is a good choice for your stay in Istria, but I believe you would enjoy having more time there to see the medieval stone historic quarter of Rovinj and the very colorful Porec. The interior of the peninsula is nice, and there are at least two historic villages each worth a couple of hours, Motovun and Groznjan.

Where to find that time? Well, I really enjoyed Zadar, but two nights would probably be enough unless this is a planned resting spot. Two nights should allow you to cover the historic district and see the two contemporary installations along the waterfront (one of which needs to be seen after sunset).

Sorry that I can't help with Split; it has just been too long since my last visit, and unlike you, I'm not especially interested in ruins.

Posted by
1743 posts

You don't say what time of year you are traveling, and this makes it hard to advise you on alternatives. For spending time on the water, I'd recommend you visit one of the islands, Hvar, Korcula, or somewhere else on the Dalmatian coast. You can also rent scooters on the islands and go off exploring. However, none of this is feasible until mid-May at the earliest. Ferry schedules are very limited until then, and many of the kinds of businesses that cater to visitors are closed. If you do want to spend time on one of the islands, you could drop your car in Split and travel by ferry to the islands and then to Dubrovnik. I can't advise you on what to eliminate in order to find time for an island stop, as I didn't go to Pula or Zadar on my trip.

Best wishes to you! I am sure this will be a special time for your family.

Posted by
9 posts

We will be visiting in July. My son loves water, whether it be the lake, river, ocean... And while we like ruins, we prefer nature and culture at the most. A ruin or two thrown in is enough. We like a well rounded trip.