Hi Mak - August is peak holiday season, so traffic is unavoidable.

Heavy traffic is unavoidable at weekends. Your best chance of reducing the problem is to travel Mon-Thur. Good luck ...

Steve

Or take a ferry from Venice to Istria, and rent a car from there.
http://www.venezialines.com/eng/index.asp
One-way fare is around 70 euro per head including all suppls. This still leaves a long drive along the Dalmatian coast (choked with traffic!)
Alternatively, take a train to Ancona and ferry from there to Split. There are at least three companies competing for custom, the fastest being on hydrofoil in 3.5 hours. The train to Ancona takes around 4 hours via Bologna and costs around 40 euro.

Thanks for your note. Do you know if the tunnels that were under construction last year and down to one lane have been completed?

Alex, very interesting idea about hydrofoil from Ancona to Split. I haven't had any luck finding information on that service. Do you know who the service provider is? Thanks for your assistance!

It isn't a hydrofoil. It's a fast catamaran run by SNAV (www.snav.it) in the peak summer. It leaves Ancona in the morning and gets to Split in the afternoon.
The ships from Ancona to Split (www.blueline-ferries.com and www.jadrolinija.hr) sail overnight so you actually waste less time. You spend the night sleeping in your cabin and arrive in Split with a day ahead of you.

Thanks for sharing. it's great.


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GeoffHamer, thanks. We may fly to Bologna on Air France and take our time to the fast ferry SNAV to Split. Airfare for the family more live $2,600 CDN rather than $5,000 CDN Toronto to Split. Some great sites to see on the way as well

GeoffHamer, We are going through Bologna and are trying to make arrangements through www.blueline-ferries.com but the website won't let us make arrangements? Says not a valid intinerary. Know any secrets to booking from North American? Thanks

I live in London so have no experience of booking from America. I've just tried to use Blue Line's booking system and got an error before I even get to choose accommodation - I hadn't chosen a tariff. Eventually, I got to choose accommodation, but didn't go on to the payment stage.
When I've used Blue Line, I've bought tickets at the port, but that wasn't in peak season.
I have in the past made on-line bookings for Jadrolinija's sailings from Ancona via their agents, Amatori (www.amatori.com).

If you are still wondering about the traffic and tunnels, I can put your mind at ease...don't drive. I drive to and from Istria every weekend and can tell you that, even though much work farther south has been completed, Rijeka is now under heavy construction and there are always long delays. It is no better these days through Ljubljana either, with more roadworks.
Take the boat and enjoy the trip!
I've traveled with my car on the ferry several times from Ancona to Split - never with an reservation in advance, always arrived shortly before sailing time, and never denied a place. Of course, if you can book ahead do it...but I usually prefer to follow nice weather.

uaz04, Thanks for your comments. We were wondering about auto travel, but your note ended that thought. The ferry looked pretty good but we found it difficult and expensive to rent a car to take over from Italy. Most companies do not permit their cars on ferries. Looks like our optimum solution to date is to head over to Split via EasyJet in Milan or Croatian Airlines out of Roma. Thanks for you input!

Hi! Reading your forum and questions and having the exact same experience trying to travel from Italy to Croatia. My father and I are starting in Venice and trying to make our way to Hvar/Split. When we try to book ourselves on the Ancona overnight ferry, the site does not allow us to make a purchase or reservation. Is it possible to buy a ticket for the ferry at port during a weekend high season???
Wondering what you discovered or ended up doing? Thank you in advance! Gillian

GJayson,
We got pretty frustrated with the ferry timing and internet site. We ended up booking return flights from Rome to Split on Croatian Airlines. One hour flight and we are there. I think we paid 450 Euros each. Good luck!