Touring Italy and hopping over to Croatia - Is it feasible?

The best seems to be to stay few days in Rome then fly to Dubrovnik. I checked online for random dates in June. The cheapest ticket $35 round trip by Vueling. It is nonstop, takes 1 hour 20 minutes.
We did it by ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari, then by train to Naples and then by train to Rome. That was in October. I think in June it could be too hectic for honeymooners. First option looks better, at least to me.

Attractive as Dubrovnik is, I say leave it for another time. 12 days isn't much for Italy, even if you've been there before. On the other hand, if Croatia is really where you want to go, you could have 12 very nice days there.
Now as to transportation logistics . . . Take a look at one or more of the sites like Kayak or Skyscanner. You may find that one of Delta's partners goes to one of the Croatian airports, like Zagreb or Dubrovnik. If not, see whether any of the budget airlines will get you there from any of the major European hubs. Look at Frankfurt, as well as Rome and Milan. I'm pretty sure you'll find something.

Lastly, just a couple of caveats. It is widely advised here that you book directly with the airline, rather than with 3rd parties. If anything goes wrong, it's much easier to correct that way. Secondly, if you use a budget line, you'll have separate tickets. It will be imperative to allow plenty of time for your connection. Before laying out any money, come back to this forum for advise on how much time is enough.

Just out of curiosity, I looked at skyscanner.com. They show flights from Rome and Frankfurt to Zagreb on KLM and Alitalia, both of which are Delta partners. You could just spend your 12 days in Croatia. If you must have days in Rome, you could book an open jaw ticket. Having all your travel on one ticket is a huge advantage, in that if there is a delay, the airline has to get you to your final destination. If a delay causes you to miss a separately booked connection, too bad for you.

I would pick one country or the other and just spend all your time there. You've already discovered that both are interesting, so why not just concentrate on one at a time? Dubrovnik is not the easiest or cheapest place to get to, and you certainly won't get there directly from the US. There will be a stopover someplace. If Dubrovnik is truly your "goal", then focus on getting to Croatia the cheapest way you can - it may be through Split or through Zagreb. Then devise a comfortable relaxing schedule in Croatia. Even with 12 days, you won't see everything and, depending on how you space out your trip, you can have a really relaxing trip or a very hectic one (or something in-between). When you're moving around from base to base every 2 days, then your trip will veer toward the hectic side. By the way, Dubrovnik is tiny and compact - it really doesn't need more than 2 full days there (and it will be so crowded that you probably will want to bail after 2 days anyway). You can easily combine Dubrovnik with a side trip to Montenegro since it's very close by (I did a day trip with a tour company but you can also easily rent a car and drive in).

Dubrovnik is a very inconvenient destination, way down at the end of the country with no train and the flights tend to be inconvenient and sometimes expensive. My first answer is that if Croatia is where you really want to go, you should plan a trip around that. Split, Croatia is also well worth a visit. I have never been to Zagreb or Ljubjiana, Slovenia (which allows a side trip to Lake Bled) but I think they are worth a visit too. That said, you can't go wrong in Rome (which I just visited for the fourth time a few weeks ago) on a honeymoon. Except by rushing through it, which you will regret. I recommend four full days there, and then fly to Croatia, if that's the approach you decide on. So my second answer is, fly to Croatia from Rome. Or better fly open jaw into Croatia and out of Rome. I would not feel captive to Delta, don't let that keep you from having the trip you want. If you do connect on a separate ticket, have at least a day before and after. I would stay in Sorrento over Naples, if you do decide to make that stop. I have thought about the connecting on a ferry in Bari, but as you have experienced in trying to plan this, it quickly becomes too convoluted with limited time. My wife and I were in Dubrovnik and Split for only a day each as stops on a cruise in 2011. That can be a very practical way or seeing those places too, although it has obvious drawbacks you actually can have a reasonable visit in part of day. I would like to go back an spend three nights (two full days) in each city, because they are so pleasant and there is not that much that is obligatory in terms of sightseeing.

You should probably stay in Croatia the whole time, but if you want a little bit of Utaly, there are ferries to Ancona or perhaps Venezia.

FYI, direct Rome-Bari trains (3x/day, 4 hrs) do not travel via Naples. Naples would be a detour.

I agree with those who have suggested that either of these two countries offers more than enough for a 12 day trip, but if you really want to do both, there's no need to cross the Adriatic twice. It sounds like you haven't yet booked, so why not start your honeymoon in romantic Dubrovnik, then travel to Italy. As mentioned, Vueling flies nonstop between Dubrovnik and Rome, in about an hour and a half. Or, take the ferry. My wife and I took the overnight ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari in May, 2014, and had a very comfortable trip in a cabin with toilet and shower. (Don't forget to pick up a bottle of wine before boarding, to enjoy on the deck as you sail out of Dubrovnik!) We got to Bari at around 8:00, and had a leisurely 30 minute walk to the train station. As Laura pointed out, there are fast trains to Rome (we were headed to Bologna). As I recall, the ferry ran in opposite directions on alternate nights.

Is the ferry itself a good sightseeing opportunity if taken during the day? Or is it just a means to an end? At this point I'm torn between doing a complete tour of the Dalmatian coast versus a split between Rome and Dubrovnik/Split (probably renting a car to get from one to the other).

I suspect flying into Dubrovnik is going to make for a substantially longer flight and more costly airfare. Given the number of wonderful sightseeing opportunities in both Croatia (not to mention Montenegro and Slovenia) and Italy, I would not subject myself to that extra cost for just a few days in Dubrovnik. I agree with the others who have urged you to pick either Croatia or Italy for this trip. If you mix them, you're just going to want to return to both places, and you'll have another excessively expensive airfare to buy in a year or two.

You don't really need to rent a car to get from Split to Dubrovnik (unless you want to spend the money or stop somewhere on the way, or out of the way). Nice buses go down the coastline several times a day, making it very easy to get between these two.

I don't think there is a ferry during the day; ferry services have been losing sales to cheap flights for the past few years.

I think if you really want to do Rome and Dubrovnik your best alternative is to fly round trip from Rome to Dubrovnik by Vueling for $35 as I mentioned previously. I went by ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari in October and that was just one ferry a day and it was overnight. I think Bari to Dubrovnik goes during a day. Also I am not sure if they have two ferries a day in June. There is not much scenery on the way only just before Dubrovnik.

"Is the ferry itself a good sightseeing opportunity if taken during the day? Or is it just a means to an end?"

The first ten minutes of the sail provided a beautiful view of Dubrovnik as the sun set. For most of the next ten hours, it was dark- but I am pretty sure I didn't miss anything, other than open sea. Even if there is a daytime ferry, don't take it for the scenery.

Dubrovnik is not Timbuktu. It's not that hard, even with sky miles. Let go of the Bari ferry idea - what a waste of time. Use Delta partners to get to Croatia or buy separate tickets on a low cost European airline. Skip Italy and go to Croatia- where you really want to go anyway.

All right, with everyone's suggestions in mind I'm leaning towards a tour of Croatia plus maybe a side trek into Montenegro/Serbia. Maybe open jaw into Zagreb and then down the coast to Dubrovnik? I guess saving Italy for another trip would probably be a good idea.

You won't regret that decision. There are many wonderful places to see in Croatia. I'd consider Plitvice Lakes National Park a must, and it's essential (due to crowding) that you spend the night before your visit very near the park so you can get an early start the next day. Others have enjoyed some time in the park late in the afternoon, after the day-trippers have left. You can get to Plitvice from Zagreb by public bus if you opt not to rent a car. Don't rush out of Zagreb, though, it's a handsome historic city with good museums and a very lively café culture. I spent several hours on multiple days wandering around the historic district.

You can also see some of Istria by bus, but it would be really handy to have a car there. The interior towns of Motovun and Groznjan are much less touristy than the (very interesting) coastal hotspots of Rovinj and Porec.

It can be quite hot in Croatia in June, so be sure your lodgings are air conditioned. I think it would be unusual for them not to be.

Dubrovnik is lovely, we visited while on a Med cruise. That said, if you should decide to limit your trip to Croatia, consider including Rab Island, which would be wonderful for a honeymoon. Also, while not Croatia, Slovenia is beautiful, especially Lake Bled.

Dubrovnik is lovely, we visited while on a Med cruise. That said, if you should decide to limit your trip to Croatia, consider including Rab Island, which would be wonderful for a honeymoon. Also, while not Croatia, Slovenia is beautiful, especially Lake Bled.

Rather than staying in Dubrovnik, I recommend staying in the tiny village of Cavtat, just south of Dubrovnik. It's incredibly beautiful and very close to the Dubrovnik airport, so arrival after that long flight is easy. It's a great place to start a honeymoon.

From Cavtat you can take a boat ride or a short bus into Dubrovnik. Check cruise ship schedules and find a day to visit that doesn't have thousands of cruisers in town. You can also visit Montenegro -- either on a bus tour, with a private driver or by rental car.

If you decide to rent a car, you could then drive to Plitvice, and the Istrian peninsula. Drop your car there, take a bus or train to Venice for a few days and fly home from there.

EDIT: Or since you'll be there in June, you can take a ferry from several Istrian towns to Venice. Faster and easier than the bus or train.

And here's the cruise ship timetable for Dubrovnik. There are not many ships scheduled yet for June 2017, but check back at the June 2016 schedule and you'll see more what to expect. If you stay outside of Dubrovnik you can book your hotel in advance, and have more flexibility on what day to visit the city if there are late additions to the schedule.

We did essentially this trip a few years ago (Dubrovnik to Venice) and it was wonderful.