Has anyone combined Italy/Slovenia/Croatia? Looking for itinerary advice & details we would need to know ahead of time about best transportation (mostly driving). Starting in Rome & heading east (Abruzzo?), north along the Adriatic Coast for a bit, to Padua, Venice. Then to Slovenia: Bled(?), Ljubljana, Piran. Croatia: Zadar, Rovinj, Split (not sure if we'll go as far as Dubrovnik). Back to Italy: Verona, bits of Tuscany, Rome.
How feasible for 29 days? Better suggested stops? We're familiar with driving in Italy & Portugal so aren't novices, but unsure of tolls, border crossings, etc.
[FYI, we've already explored western Italy quite well & have spent time in Rome.]
Thank you in advance for suggestions - so many of our travels have been awesome because of your advice!
Posted by
Issaquah,WA
77 posts
We did a version of this in reverse a few years back-began in Dubrovnik and then moved to Korcula,and Split by ferries, Zagreb, Plitvice Nat Park, Llyubjana, and then Trieste to Venice. It was all spectacular. Ferries until we got to Split where we picked up a car, then dropped the car in Zagreb. Took a train to Lljublana and bus to Lake Bled (day trip). As I recall we took a blabla car to Trieste (a city we loved).
It’s a beautiful part of the world. You can’t go wrong no matter how you route it!
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
It's not hard to combine them if you really want to. I've been to all three countries several times. I've done a combination of countries a few times. But I've never driven in Italy - only in Slovenia and Croatia.
There is no controlled border between Italy and Slovenia anymore. Croatia has supposedly abolished them as of January 2023 since they have finally joined the Schengen. Croatia uses tolling on their roads. Slovenia uses a driving pass system, called a vignette, that all cars driving on the highways must display or risk a steep fine for being caught without one. If you rent a car in Italy, it's very important that you buy a vignette at the border from a convenience store (not sure if there's an electronic option these days).
I'm also not sure of rental restrictions of surcharges for driving an Italian rental car into Slovenia and Croatia. Check into that before you make your plan. It might make more sense to do a one way trip to avoid backtracking: rent a car in Italy (or take trains) and take a bus, train, shuttle into Slovenia and/or Croatia, rent the car there, fly home out of Split or Dubrovnik. You can also take the ferry between Split and Italy if you want to get back to Italy without driving all the way back.
There is lots to see in Croatia e.g. islands, beautiful national parks like Plitvice Lakes National Park (google it). Really up to you what you want to do and see.
Posted by
Auckland, New Zealand
52 posts
We are doing them in record time in June, in reverse! We hire our car from Florence, head to Pisa, Montepulciano (Tuscany) then onto Rome. We then take the ferry from Ancona to Split, go down to Dubrovnik, then Makarska, Brac, Split, Venice. We wanted the Bari to Dubrovnik ferry but unfort didnt tie in with our days as they only go twice a week now :(
We checked that we can take the car on the ferry and it was fine. As we are dropping off within Italy we skip the large fee. I have the website saved on my phone where I can purchase the vignette online for €15. It cannot be done until we know the rego number of the rental van.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7354 posts
Back in 2005 we rented a car after landing in Venice, then drove directly to Slovenia. The vignette program wasn’t in effect at the time. After several days in Slovenia, we drove on for several more days in Croatia, before returning the car in Venice, where we finished our vacation for a few days. A trip of 29 days should be feasible, and you could likely even turn in the rental car in a different city in Italy for a nominal fee (or no fee?) if you picked it up in Venice. You’d need to confirm if the rental company sets sone time limit, if 29 days would be pushing it.