Croatia to Italy last week in September through October (Bernina Express?)
Jul 28th, 2015, 08:25 AM
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Croatia to Italy last week in September through October (Bernina Express?)
Hi, planning to leave from the US the last week in September and going to Croatia for at least that week (Dubrovnik then…. ?) and then onto Italy (was going to do NW Italy, (Cinque Terre, Siena…) but heard weather might wreak havoc in Cinque Terre in October, so now I'm worried.
We have 16 nights. There are 5 of us.
The only for sure thing so far is basically Croatia, then somewhere else, most likely Northern Italy (and now the Bernina Express IMO IME is begging for attention and I don't know if it's worth it for this trip or save it for another time…. Not sure if all parties are interested in Venice, as maybe 2 of the 5 have been there done that..
We are interested in hiking (mild to moderate), touring of ruins, doing just a bit of relaxing by the sea or cafes watching passerby with a glass of wine perhaps.
We enjoy architecture, exploring quaint little towns and alleyways, would love hillside towns along the coast (a big reason we are going to Croatia) and maybe some wine tasting, as at least one of the group has expressed a hope for this. She had suggested Tuscany for this. I had wanted to see Siena. I understand Siena is in tuscany…
I would like to know if a day of pleasure boating might be possible on this trip. Is it possible to rent a boat so that we might enjoy an easy, pleasant scenic boat ride somewhere? It'd be a nice activity and would add variety.
Would it be warm enough for this?
Should we be mindful of the weather in NW Italy in October and avoid Cinque Terre and maybe go instead to Venuto, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia as weather won't be a problem at this time of year as someone suggested?
Are we way too late right now to even THINK of finding lodging in Cinque Terre for October?
The Bernina Express IMO IME from Milan to St Moritz looks beautiful, and I don't know if it's do-able at all on this trip or not… should we just maybe do Croatia and the train, and get off and hike and sightsee along the way? To be honest, there's so much to research that we haven't gotten into researching this option much yet, not sure how easy it'd be to get there and how many nights we'd need between Croatia and Italy or for the Bernina 'excursion'.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
I'd like to keep this as stress free as possible, so I was thinking the minimum number of nights in any one place should be no less than three, and perhaps it should be something like 5 nights in one place, 6 nights somewhere in the middle, and 5 nights at the end. We've done that before and found it to be very do-able.
I could really use your help. It's difficult to get an itinerary that pleases all of us, with weather we can count on (we all hope for warmish, not too cool. I understand October is getting there…), and easy navigating from place to place.
Thank you very much
We have 16 nights. There are 5 of us.
The only for sure thing so far is basically Croatia, then somewhere else, most likely Northern Italy (and now the Bernina Express IMO IME is begging for attention and I don't know if it's worth it for this trip or save it for another time…. Not sure if all parties are interested in Venice, as maybe 2 of the 5 have been there done that..
We are interested in hiking (mild to moderate), touring of ruins, doing just a bit of relaxing by the sea or cafes watching passerby with a glass of wine perhaps.
We enjoy architecture, exploring quaint little towns and alleyways, would love hillside towns along the coast (a big reason we are going to Croatia) and maybe some wine tasting, as at least one of the group has expressed a hope for this. She had suggested Tuscany for this. I had wanted to see Siena. I understand Siena is in tuscany…
I would like to know if a day of pleasure boating might be possible on this trip. Is it possible to rent a boat so that we might enjoy an easy, pleasant scenic boat ride somewhere? It'd be a nice activity and would add variety.
Would it be warm enough for this?
Should we be mindful of the weather in NW Italy in October and avoid Cinque Terre and maybe go instead to Venuto, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia as weather won't be a problem at this time of year as someone suggested?
Are we way too late right now to even THINK of finding lodging in Cinque Terre for October?
The Bernina Express IMO IME from Milan to St Moritz looks beautiful, and I don't know if it's do-able at all on this trip or not… should we just maybe do Croatia and the train, and get off and hike and sightsee along the way? To be honest, there's so much to research that we haven't gotten into researching this option much yet, not sure how easy it'd be to get there and how many nights we'd need between Croatia and Italy or for the Bernina 'excursion'.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
I'd like to keep this as stress free as possible, so I was thinking the minimum number of nights in any one place should be no less than three, and perhaps it should be something like 5 nights in one place, 6 nights somewhere in the middle, and 5 nights at the end. We've done that before and found it to be very do-able.
I could really use your help. It's difficult to get an itinerary that pleases all of us, with weather we can count on (we all hope for warmish, not too cool. I understand October is getting there…), and easy navigating from place to place.
Thank you very much
Jul 28th, 2015, 09:29 AM
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I'm sorry--is there a question in there?
It's never a big problem to be planning a vacation, so let's start with the basics. Are the flights purchased?
Just to throw out one suggestion, one week in southern Croatia and one week in northern Croatia could be great and give you everything you are looking for. If Italy is a definite, then I would not be too fussed about bad weather in early October--it is the transport logistics of dealing wit 5 people that need to be worked out.
It's never a big problem to be planning a vacation, so let's start with the basics. Are the flights purchased?
Just to throw out one suggestion, one week in southern Croatia and one week in northern Croatia could be great and give you everything you are looking for. If Italy is a definite, then I would not be too fussed about bad weather in early October--it is the transport logistics of dealing wit 5 people that need to be worked out.
Jul 28th, 2015, 09:45 PM
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Hi teadrinker,
Can't comment on much in your post -- except to say that the Bernina Express is really FAR out of your way. It will take about 24 hours just to get near and to do the train trip.
I'd just say to leave it off your plans for this visit and concentrate on what is local/regional.
Have fun as you plan!
s
Can't comment on much in your post -- except to say that the Bernina Express is really FAR out of your way. It will take about 24 hours just to get near and to do the train trip.
I'd just say to leave it off your plans for this visit and concentrate on what is local/regional.
Have fun as you plan!
s
Jul 29th, 2015, 11:44 AM
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A great breakout would be 10 nights in Croatia, 6 in northern Italy (or even 11 and 5). Rent a car to give you the most flexibility for visiting small towns, wineries, ruins, etc.
Croatia recommendations(south to north)-
Dubrovnik, Peljesac peninsula (wine tasting), Korcula (or Hvar), Split, Trogir, Sibenik, Zadar, Plitvice Lakes NP, Istria peninsula (hill towns, Pula, Rovinj)
As part of our Croatia trip we also did a couple of days of wine tasting in Italy's nearby Friuli region in June. There were some excellent wineries and great places to eat. Driving was very easy and roads were not crowded. The "Here" app gave us great off-line GPS door to door directions and was invaluable.
Croatia recommendations(south to north)-
Dubrovnik, Peljesac peninsula (wine tasting), Korcula (or Hvar), Split, Trogir, Sibenik, Zadar, Plitvice Lakes NP, Istria peninsula (hill towns, Pula, Rovinj)
As part of our Croatia trip we also did a couple of days of wine tasting in Italy's nearby Friuli region in June. There were some excellent wineries and great places to eat. Driving was very easy and roads were not crowded. The "Here" app gave us great off-line GPS door to door directions and was invaluable.
Jul 29th, 2015, 12:32 PM
#5
Your thinking is all over the map (literally).
"It's difficult to get an itinerary that pleases all of us."
You need to sit down with your group and come to some decisions over geographic priorities, speed of travel, budget, etc. Everyone needs to agree on everything before you go, or you're going to be putting out little fires all along the way.
At that time of year, I wouldn't plan around bad weather than might not happen. We usually travel in the second half of October and have had truly plan-changing weather only once and that lasted for all of a morning.
"It's difficult to get an itinerary that pleases all of us."
You need to sit down with your group and come to some decisions over geographic priorities, speed of travel, budget, etc. Everyone needs to agree on everything before you go, or you're going to be putting out little fires all along the way.
At that time of year, I wouldn't plan around bad weather than might not happen. We usually travel in the second half of October and have had truly plan-changing weather only once and that lasted for all of a morning.
Jul 29th, 2015, 02:47 PM
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Thank you to all of you, I apologize if my intent was not clear.
Yorkshire, no flights yet. My question was basically how to break out the trip, and what parts of Italy/Croatia might work best, weather wise and based on the interests of the group, something John_R was really helpful with.
Swandav2000, thank you. We will forget about the Bernina Express for this trip and we will enjoy planning the trip. Jean, it's hard to get together with the people we are traveling with in order to discuss this as a group. We are all in different areas, so we have weekly phone conferences after doing as much individual research we can on "focus areas"… Our next one is tonight, and thanks to more research on my part and with all of your input, I feel like we are getting closer.
As for now… the focus for tonight is: Where are we going, exactly, in Croatia and Italy with 4 - or 5 - stops, meaning destinations within each place. We are thinking the less "stops" the better. We don't want to do too much, move too much, cause too much upheaval, yet we want to keep busy and see a lot.
The other thing we need to check on is the weather in Croatia (Northern and Southern and Northern Italy) from Sept 25 or so through Oct 15. We'd like to be able to count on the weather as much as we can without it being "iffy"… I understand Venice would be fine, but as far as Cinque Terre, it gets iffy in October, but I think it's more like mid-October and on that it really becomes a concern.
We also need a "back up plan" for Cinque Terre in the event of a deluge, which I've read CAN happen there, and it's best not to make reservations for lodging without first calling ahead the night before or the morning of the day we plan to go to Cinque Terre.
As far as lodging elsewhere, is it advisable to secure lodging as soon as we know where we are going and when, or is it just as well to wait until we get there for certain places?
I do appreciate all of your help. Thank you for your thoughtful and always insightful and valuable imput.
Yorkshire, no flights yet. My question was basically how to break out the trip, and what parts of Italy/Croatia might work best, weather wise and based on the interests of the group, something John_R was really helpful with.
Swandav2000, thank you. We will forget about the Bernina Express for this trip and we will enjoy planning the trip. Jean, it's hard to get together with the people we are traveling with in order to discuss this as a group. We are all in different areas, so we have weekly phone conferences after doing as much individual research we can on "focus areas"… Our next one is tonight, and thanks to more research on my part and with all of your input, I feel like we are getting closer.
As for now… the focus for tonight is: Where are we going, exactly, in Croatia and Italy with 4 - or 5 - stops, meaning destinations within each place. We are thinking the less "stops" the better. We don't want to do too much, move too much, cause too much upheaval, yet we want to keep busy and see a lot.
The other thing we need to check on is the weather in Croatia (Northern and Southern and Northern Italy) from Sept 25 or so through Oct 15. We'd like to be able to count on the weather as much as we can without it being "iffy"… I understand Venice would be fine, but as far as Cinque Terre, it gets iffy in October, but I think it's more like mid-October and on that it really becomes a concern.
We also need a "back up plan" for Cinque Terre in the event of a deluge, which I've read CAN happen there, and it's best not to make reservations for lodging without first calling ahead the night before or the morning of the day we plan to go to Cinque Terre.
As far as lodging elsewhere, is it advisable to secure lodging as soon as we know where we are going and when, or is it just as well to wait until we get there for certain places?
I do appreciate all of your help. Thank you for your thoughtful and always insightful and valuable imput.
Jul 29th, 2015, 02:50 PM
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PS Yorkshire, thank you, also, for your suggestion as far as an itinerary, and you're right, it certainly IS an important point to consider the logistics of five people traveling together. Thanks. I want to thank everyone, because I really appreciate everyone's time and helpfulness.
Jul 29th, 2015, 06:23 PM
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Hello, after the phone conversation with the others, we decided to go to Croatia first, then to Cinque Terre (Italy), before moving on to other areas of Italy due to CT's climate and the importance of getting it out of the way before mid-October when there's more chance of rain.
How/What would be the best way to get from Croatia? Our itinerary hadn't yet been planned for Croatia (not sure if we are starting or ending in Dubrovnik...or ending in Istria or Zagreb.
Are there any advantages to ending our time in Croatia at any of these places as far as getting to Cinque Terre in the most efficient way?
How/What would be the best way to get from Croatia? Our itinerary hadn't yet been planned for Croatia (not sure if we are starting or ending in Dubrovnik...or ending in Istria or Zagreb.
Are there any advantages to ending our time in Croatia at any of these places as far as getting to Cinque Terre in the most efficient way?
Jul 29th, 2015, 07:05 PM
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There is some air service (not every day) between Split, Dubrovnik and Milan. Not sure about Zagreb and Milan. It will take you pretty much an entire day to travel from somewhere in Croatia to somewhere in the Cinque Terre.
Jul 29th, 2015, 07:14 PM
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Please note that the OP has started another thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...om-croatia.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...om-croatia.cfm
Jul 30th, 2015, 06:14 AM
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Thank you, kja and Jean. It makes me wonder if perhaps CT is best saved for another time in our lives… maybe concentrate just on Croatia, and go East into Bosnia? Or somewhere in IT which is easier to get to… such as perhaps the Fruili (?) region…. We have 16 nights or so. We really liked the idea of CT though, it looked beautiful.
The weather in Croatia and CT both had us feeling a sense of urgency to visit and both by mid-October. Aren't both best done by then due to ferries shutting down in Croatia to some of the islands in October (that's why we were going there first, then planned to go to CT before there's more of a chance of rain…)
Our date of departure is slated for Sept 21st…. haven't made those flights yet as we haven't fine tuned the trip (where to after Croatia?) but we were thinking the trip would conclude around 10 October…
Thanks again - we sure picked two of the most difficult places to get to I think, never knowing!
The weather in Croatia and CT both had us feeling a sense of urgency to visit and both by mid-October. Aren't both best done by then due to ferries shutting down in Croatia to some of the islands in October (that's why we were going there first, then planned to go to CT before there's more of a chance of rain…)
Our date of departure is slated for Sept 21st…. haven't made those flights yet as we haven't fine tuned the trip (where to after Croatia?) but we were thinking the trip would conclude around 10 October…
Thanks again - we sure picked two of the most difficult places to get to I think, never knowing!
Jul 30th, 2015, 06:35 AM
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In October, ferries are reduced, but people live on the islands, so you can still get to just about anywhere you would want to go. Just maybe not on a high speed catamaran.
I have found this website useful for figuring out point to point transportation options: https://www.rome2rio.com/
There are ferries between Croatia and Italy (from Dubrovnik and Split to southern Italy and from Pula and Rovinj to Venice).
I would figure out--at least roughly--where you want to go first and then put the transport together, as slight adjustments can always be made. It is just too nebulous to offer much help otherwise.
I have found this website useful for figuring out point to point transportation options: https://www.rome2rio.com/
There are ferries between Croatia and Italy (from Dubrovnik and Split to southern Italy and from Pula and Rovinj to Venice).
I would figure out--at least roughly--where you want to go first and then put the transport together, as slight adjustments can always be made. It is just too nebulous to offer much help otherwise.
Jul 30th, 2015, 11:47 AM
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I'd suggest concentrating on Croatia, Slovenia and the Friuli & Veneto regions of Italy (if you look at a map you'll see that it makes sense to throw Slovenia in there if you are going to see Croatia and northern Italy). These three areas will completely satisfy all the interests you expressed: "hiking (mild to moderate), touring of ruins, doing just a bit of relaxing by the sea or cafes watching passerby with a glass of wine perhaps... architecture, exploring quaint little towns and alleyways..., hillside towns along the coast... maybe some wine tasting."
Jul 30th, 2015, 04:27 PM
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"maybe concentrate just on Croatia"
With just 16 nights, I think that would be an excellent choice. But it really depends on what YOU want to see and experience. I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (always a worthy investment, IMO, or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.
With just 16 nights, I think that would be an excellent choice. But it really depends on what YOU want to see and experience. I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (always a worthy investment, IMO, or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.
