wenday

Hi we were planning a 4 month trip to Europe when we discovered through these forums we are only allowed to stay in the Schengen Countries 90 days. Thank you for all your help, everyone!!
Now we are replanning our trip. If we travel through Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and down to Greece, for a total of 89 days,then we are within the 90 day rule, then head to Croatia for 30 days, then back to drop the bike off and fly out of Athens, 1 day. total 90 days. Has anyone out there exceed the 90 day rule and had no problems flying back out of the country?
Questions we have, If we keep the motorcycle, how are the highways in Croatia to drive? Many tolls? Very well connected to all the great sights? How far from the border of Croatia to Athens by driving?
What about train travel? Can anyone help us on this? Would we even need our bike?

Thanks!!
I will continue to read the forums on Croatia to help us decide on this country for a vacation.

ellenem

You can get good mileage estimates by inputting Athens and locations in Croatia at online mapping sites like maps.google.com and viamichelin.

There are lots of ferries that travel the Dalmatian Coast (Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia). Some even start from Venice and go to Rovinj in Croatia. Do a google search for "Croatia ferry" and you will get a lot of links.

A simple search of "Croatia ferry Greece" got this link. The info is two years old but it might be a good place to begin.

http://www.balkanology.com/overview/...to_greece.html

ellenem

Also, Rick Steves has recently added the Croatia and the other nations of the former Yugoslavia ti his lists of guidebooks and TV shows. I know our U.S. PBS stations have been featuring these episodes recently. You might find them helpful in giving you an idea of the beautiful sights of this interesting area.

Andrew

You can watch all of the Rick Steves shows (including the Croatia episodes) for free on Hulu.com on the web; I'm watching the Salzburg one right now.

Croatia does not have an extensive train network throughout the country; the Dalmatian coast has almost no trains. To get from say Split to Dubrovnik you'd need to drive, take a ferry, or take a bus. Croatia does have an excellent bus system but I doubt a bus is compatible with a motorcycle. A ferry would be though.

The roads in Croatia were excellent in my experience. The A1 is a modern tolled highway but you can skip it and take the slower roads instead if you aren't in a hurry. Don't miss Plitvice Lakes Park.

alainr

is it worth driving from dubrovnik to rijeka to pick up a ferry to venice or better taking a ferry from split to ancona and then either taking a train up to padua or bologna. the ferry to ancona is overnight but the drive up the dalmatian coast someone said was at least 6 hours. we have no idea if the drive up the coast on a toll road is worth it. any thoughts on any aspect of this?

Andrew

When are you going? FYI, in the summer months, easyJet flies direct from Dubrovnik to Milan a few days a week.

Ackislander

The coastal route in Croatia from anywhere south is fabulous. Have you thought about riding the whole distance from Greece through Albania or Montenegro to Dubrovnik, then up to Split, Pula, and finally Venice?

Jackie

Andrew--I've never flown on EasyJet. How does it work? If you fly from US to Milan and flight is late and causes you to miss EasyJet flight, can you take next flight out? or do you lose ticket? I'm planning on Croatia in Sept and been researching different flight options.

Andrew

I have flown easyJet, but I've never missed a flight. However, I believe they have basically a "no changes, no cancellations" policy - so unless it is entirely their fault, you'd have to buy a new ticket if your incoming flight was late. I flew from the US to London a few years ago and caught a flight on easyJet to Prague a few hours later and it worked fine - but I was lucky that my US flight was on time.

I think as long as you have a backup plan - other flights on other airlines - you could use if you miss your easyJet flight you might still go for it. You want a plan that at worst means you pay extra for a last-minute flight and get in late the same day but don't arrive a day late. If there are NO flights out to get you to Croatia after that easyJet flight leaves that day, I'd probably find another plan.

In any case, I don't think they fly to Dubrovnik from Milan in September but may from the UK - to Split also.

If you can fly to Zagreb via other airlines, Croatia Airlines has regular flights between Zagreb and Dubrovnik that aren't too expensive, if you're trying to get to Dubrovnik. There's also the Europe by Air option - $99 flight passes for each direct segment (used them in 2009) and they contract with Croatia Airlines among others.

Jackie

Thanks Andrew. I'll check out the Europe by Air option. Flights back to States seem to be more of a problem (30 hours travel time), but I was curious about EasyJet.

Andrew

Yes, Jackie, it does seem to be hard to get to/from many US cities to/from Croatia in a single day without horrendous connections. In 2009, I flew to Milan and took trains/buses through Italy and Slovenia to Croatia (just made that part of my vacation) and flew back to Paris from Split and spent a few days there before flying home.

If there are key western European cities you can fly into easily from your origin city, look for direct connections even without easyJet to Croatia. You didn't mention Slovenia, but there are regular connections between Ljubljana (capitol of Slovenia) and Paris out of CDG. (Ljubljana is a lovely city for starters, plus it is only a few hours by train to Zagreb.) Connecting via London to Croatia may be cheaper (more easyJet flights) but with scattered airports it could be challenging to make a connection without spending at least a night somewhere.

Jackie

Lots of options to consider. I'm flying out of Boston so have some key airports to choose from. I found a flight to Dubrovnik for $730, but it has a 24 hr layover in Dublin. For several hundred dollars more, I could get a better connection. I checked EasyJet and they have flights in Sept from London to Dubrovnik for $178. Thanks again for your help Andrew.

Sorry for hijacking your thread Wednay.

Vttraveler

Jackie--we have been looking at flights from Boston to Croatia or Slovenia in the fall. The Swiss Air flights via Zurich to Ljubljana are pretty reasonable.

wenday

Hi Thanks for all the good info!! We will be leaving Venice by motorcycle and driving the whole coast through Croatia, Albania and arriving in Athens. We have allowed ourselves 3 weeks and hope that is enough time to catch all the great sights. Does anyone know if there are toll roads on the coastal highways??
Wenday

Jackie

Thanks VTtraveler. I see a flight on Swiss Ari to Ljubljana for $940 in Sept. I'm hoping it will come down.

kismetchimera

Jackie,Easy Jet last flight of the season(July/September) from Dubrovnik is September 4th.I was going to use that airline from my flight Sept.20th DBV to Paris.

Luckily Vueling has the same route but the ticket cost more.