Side trip, Venice to Barcelona

Grad, With only about five days to work with, I don't think you have a lot of time to "meander", especially in Slovenia. I haven't looked at all the transportation options, but the first suggestion that comes to mind would be to travel by train from Venice and spend a couple of days in both the Cinque Terre and Nice. If you want to also spend a day or two in Barcelona prior to your flight home, adjust your times accordingly in the other locations. Happy travels!

Ken's advice is good. One possibility to also keep in mind is the availability of an overnight ferry from Rome's port (Civitavecchia) to Barcelona. This would give you more time in Italy. However, if you haven't visited Barcelona, I would also suggest spending a couple of days there.

Barcelona is a wonderful city. You might want to spend more than two days. Don't miss the Sagrada Familia and all the other Gaudi sites. We flew from Naples to Barcelona on Vueling. Of course, you are spending a few days in Venice, aren't you?

Thanks very much Ken, Janet and Camille, All your suggestions make a lot of sense. We will definitely try to spend 3 days in Barcelona and 2 days in Venice (our ship arrives a day earlier, so we have 2 nights in Venice aboard our ship). I will look into the train travel to "drop in" to France as well, but have also noticed that it is very cheap to fly Venice to Barcelona direct, depending on the day of the week. It is the first time I use this service and I think I will be "hooked to it" as we travel fairly extensively, and often. Perhaps I can help some other people in the future with cogent advice. Best Regards to you and all other travelers, Grad