Itinerary Italy and Croatia

Old Sep 30th, 2011, 09:51 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Itinerary Italy and Croatia

I'm looking for some guidance on my itinerary. I have eleven nights, starting toward the end of April. I'm realizing it's probably not going to be realistic to do all of the things I want to do. I think I might still be trying to cram too much in, so I'd like some opinions. We are flying into and out of Venice. Tickets are already booked, so no room to add more nights.

Here is one option I'm thinking:

Day 1: into Venice, stay in Venice
Day 2-3: Ferry to Rovinj. Rent car, explore Rovinj, Istria, Pula.
Day 4: Ferry back to Venice, stay in Venice
Day 5: Rent car and drive to Cinque Terre. Stay in Cinque Terre.
Day 6: Cinque Terre
Day 7: Drive from Cinque Terre to Rome, stopping in either Pisa or Siena along the way. Stay in Rome
Day 8: Rome
Day 9: Pompei, Amalfi Coast
Day 10: Amalfi coast
Day 11: Back to Rome, stay in Rome
Day 12: fly Rome to Venice, Venice to London for flight home

Am I still trying to do too much? I've been to Rome before (and Florence, so no need to stop there). So I've done the Vatican, Colosseum, Roman Forum.

Another option is to skip the trip to Cinque Terre, spend a couple more days in Croatia, perhaps driving down to Split, and catch a flight from there to Rome.

Or I could skip Croatia (I really want to see Croatia though), and spend the whole time in Italy, taking a little more time working my way from Venice to Rome, perhaps overnight in Siena, maybe another day on the Amalfi Coast.

Any thoughts?
doxie is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 10:21 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,525
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I think you know the answer. Of course you should skip Croatia unless you spend all 11 days there.
I would pick 3 destination in Italy--Venice, CT, Tuscany.
Have you looked at travel times.
bobthenavigator is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 10:31 AM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes, I have looked at the travel times. Most of the places seem to be about 3 hours apart, give or take. So your suggestion is to stay entirely in the North, skipping Rome and the Amalfi Coast altogether?
doxie is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 10:44 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 741
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You have lots of time spent traveling between places.

Have you been to Venice before? I just did a trip where I spent 4 1/2 days in Venice and then cruised down the coast of Croatia, including Kotor, Montenegro (this was my third trip to Venice, and I still haven't seen everything I want to see. If you haven't been to Venice, and you really want to do Croatia, maybe you could add more nights in Venice, either and the beginning or end, cut out the rest of Italy and devote the remainder of your time to Croatia, going from the north to the south and flying back to Venice from Dubrovnik. I thought Croatia was enchanting. I especially like Korcula and Rovinj.
Delaine is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 10:45 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,525
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I would not do both coastal destinations--pick one.
By the time you get the car and drive to CT I would count on 6 hours invested. Where do you drop the car? Why stay in Rome twice? Why not fly home from Rome? Sorry,but this trip needs a ton of help. With only 11 days pick a max of 4 destinations---3 is better.
bobthenavigator is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 11:03 AM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I wanted to fly home from Rome, but I got a REALLY great deal on a ticket in and out of Venice.

So it sounds like I need to think about doing either Venice and Croatia, or Venice and Northern Italy.
doxie is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 11:25 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,525
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Good idea!
bobthenavigator is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 02:28 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Check when the ferries between Venice and Istria start running. Early April is pushing it. Also I don't know if there are car rental agencies in Rovinj. Porec would be more likely.

As it is, you're not visiting Croatia, just Istria. There is lots more to Croatia. Like Split, Plitvice, Hvar, Korcula, and Dubrovnik.

Since you must fly home from Venice, maybe stay in Italy this trip. You don't want a car in the Cinque Terre. You'll just pay to keep it parked. Transport between the 5 towns is on foot or by train or ferry. The road is inland.

How about the Dolomites? Or the Italian Lakes? Or rural Tuscany or Umbria?
Mimar is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 03:01 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,253
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I'd be inclined to investigate if there was a ferry to Rovinj on the day you arrive that would work with your schedule. Put your nights in Venice if possible to make one less hotel change. It might be exhausting to move every other day. But in the long run, I'd follow the advice given: concentrate on Italy only or Venice plus Croatia.

"I wanted to fly home from Rome, but I got a REALLY great deal on a ticket in and out of Venice."
Did you use the multi-city option when booking or did you try to book two one way tickets. My experience is that the extra cost would not be so much more than adding in the costs you'll pay to return from Rome to Venice. Also consider how all this travel cuts into the rest of your vacation. This may be false economy.
ellenem is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 10:23 PM
  #10  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
"Did you use the multi-city option when booking or did you try to book two one way tickets. My experience is that the extra cost would not be so much more than adding in the costs you'll pay to return from Rome to Venice. Also consider how all this travel cuts into the rest of your vacation. This may be false economy."

I got 2 business class tickets for $262. I was using miles, and had a bonus certificate. My airline does not have the functionality to book open-jaw online. I've been checking the prices for months, and the fees are usually around $1500 (even with the miles). I checked the other day and it said $262. I jumped on it, as I figured it was probably a glitch in the system (which would not have been replicated by booking open-jaw over the phone). Also, I saw that Easyjet is $37 to fly from Rome to Venice. So to save $1200, I figured I can make the trip fit to my flight schedule. I'm pretty limited anyway, since I was booking with miles.

To add a wrench into things, I found out today I may have an opportunity to stay with someone in Rome. This would give me a couple free nights, plus could be good networking for my career. Back to the old drawing board.

I may now look at a few days in Venice, a few days in Rome, and a few days in the amalfi coast. Guess I'll report back when I get my act together
doxie is offline  
Old Sep 30th, 2011, 10:48 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,741
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I would skip the car to CT. Train Venice to Florence is less than 3 hrs. Another 90 mts to Rome. I say skip Croatia this trip. You could stay a few nights in Florence and day trip to Pisa or Sienna from there. Then on to Rome.
sarge56 is offline  
Old Oct 1st, 2011, 04:54 AM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,253
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I forgot an important word in my post:
"Put your nights in Venice TOGETHER if possible to make one less hotel change."

$1200 is indeed a great savings. Now see if you can save some time on trains and planes to have more of a vacation and less of a tour of terminals. In any case, it sounds like you are reworking your entire itinerary based on your connections in Rome.
ellenem is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
tarheeltravler
Europe
10
May 4th, 2012 09:26 AM
sega61
Europe
5
Apr 30th, 2012 03:53 AM
me123
Europe
5
Jun 15th, 2007 08:02 AM
ecp222
Europe
8
Dec 28th, 2005 10:08 AM
allanc
Europe
4
Jul 7th, 2004 07:41 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -