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Torn Between Two Itineraries!

Fellow travelers, my wife and are stuck in a dilemma. After leaving Vienna, we plan to visit Bled for a couple of days and probably visit the Karst region for a day (and spend the night). After that the problem arises. Option #1) We have wanted to visit Plitvice and then possibly head south to Split and the Dalmation coast -- however we are travelling in mid to late July and worry about the crowds. If we did this, we would then come back up to Split after a couple of days and take the ferry to Ancona in Italy. Option #2) After Karst, do a speedy trip to Plitvice then back up to Rijeka, drop the car, take the train into Italy to see the Dolomites and Venice before heading south to Florence.

Given our time frame, we cannot do both of these. Remember that we are traveling in mid to late July so there will be heat and tourist crowds. Which itinerary would you recommend and why? Would one of these cost significantly more than the other? Please help us decide!

Posted by
7 posts

From Rijeka, Pula is near, and there is a ferry (I think it takes 2 1/2 to 4 hours) to Venice. There may even be one from Rijeka or Opatija. Maybe this can help shave off so travel time for you, and may be a great experience...

Posted by
34 posts

Ilona, thanks for the reply! We will take a look at the ferry schedules. It might be an interesting way to get to Venice and if it is not a significantly higher cost than the trains, it might be more fun!

Posted by
811 posts

Hmm... you couldn't go wrong with either itinerary, but you might find that continuing on with your trip using option #1 would be less expensive and you'd possibly encounter less crowds (although maybe not by much!).

On our trip to Croatia in March, we paid an average of about 50-60 Euro per night for hotel rooms. Italy was (easily) double that on our trip last year (not to mention food was more expensive, too).

In addition, Italy is Italy and will always be crowded, while Croatia is still up-and-coming so it might be wise to do your travel there now before it REALLY becomes (even more) popular. That said, Venice is one of my favorite towns, but I love Venice in March and have never attempted it in July (and don't think I would!).

Plitvice is lovely and if you want to see it, now is definitely the time while you'll be so close. However, unless you are avid hikers, one day is more than plenty to spend there. Split is also a great town, but may be less so if you have a car there (just something to keep in mind). Same thing goes for Dubrovnik, parking can be a nightmare.

By the way, we stayed at a Rick suggested place in Bled called the Penzion Berc and LOVED it. Would highly recommend it if you are still looking for a place - and they have parking available.

After all this rambling, my vote is for Option #1 with a future plan to go back to just Italy some day. Happy travels!