HBKev

I'm trying to help my brother and sister-in-law plan a trip from Los Angeles to Italy and Croatia (their first trip to Europe). We're finding it a bit overwhelming with the multitude of routes to get there. They are going to be traveling in September for 2 weeks...spending half their time in Italy and half in Croatia - starting/finishing in either country.

These are the areas they would like to visit in each country:
Italy - Florence and Tuscany
Croatia - Hvar, Broc or Korcula, and Dubrovnik

Is it least expensive to fly into Italy, then fly to Croatia and back; or fly to London or Munich and fly to Florence, then ferry to Split or Hvar, then fly back to London or Munich? How long is the ferry from Ancona to Hvar? Ahhh! So many options...

Any help is appreciated!
-Kev

Andrew

I've been to Italy before, and I'm considering a fall trip similar to what you mention (Italy and Croatia plus Slovenia). From Portland, I can get a direct flight to Frankfurt, Germany on Lufthansa and connect on Lufthansa directly to Dubrovnik and return from somewhere in Italy (Venice or Milan) again connecting in Frankfort. From LA they must have direct flight options to Europe than I do, but that's probably what I'd recommend instead of connecting somewhere in the US - just seems quicker and easier that way.

But you can check yourself. Go to www.kayak.com and plug in your cities as an open jaw: fly LA to Dubrovnik, then maybe Milan, Florence, or even Pisa back to LA (or Venice if that would make it onto their agenda). It will show you the best prices and options. I'd recommend only one connection if possible each way, no matter where it is.

My plan is to drive through Croatia and then train from Zagreb to Ljubljana, Slovenia and use trains through Italy the rest of the time. If your brother doesn't want to do that he can perhaps drive the whole way (if he's comfortable with that - not sure how it works to return the car in a different country) or perhaps fly from Croatia to Italy. He can even take a ferry across the Adriatic but that may not be cheap.

Amanda23

I would suggest that they fly into Rome (1.5 hours by train from Florence) and out of Dubrovnik. With only 2 weeks they are trying to cover an awful lot, if it were me and I was dead set on doing both countries (one would be much more manageable in that time frame though) I would fly into Rome, do a weeklong rental somewhere in Tuscany with a car, then train back to Rome and fly from Rome to Dubrovnik - the ferry will take too long and waste precious time. In contrast, the flight is about an hour. Then I'd spend the second week based in Dubrovnik and do daytrips to the surrounding islands (including Korcula, which is close, but also Lopud and the Elafiti Islands, and maybe down to Montenegro or Bosnia). It's quite far from Dub to Hvar/Brac (7 hours by ferry) so again, a lot to pack into one week. I loved Hvar but if I had to choose I'd spend more time in Dubrovnik. We had 4 nights in Dubrovnik and I desperately wished we'd had more. There was just so much to do and see.

Good luck!

drr8066

My husband and I are actually leaving for a very similar trip on Tuesday! We're using frequent flyer miles on United and flying out of Chicago so we have to make some random stops along the way but eventually we make it into Rome. Here's our itinerary:

Days 1-5 spend in Rome
Days 6-8 travel to the Amalfi Coast via train and bus, stay in Positano and take day trips to Pompeii and Capri
Day 9 travel back to Rome and take the 6pm flight to Dubrovnik on air Croatia (booked through cheaptickets)the flight is one hour 10 minutes long
Days 10-13 Spend in Dubrovnik and take days trips to Montenegro and the closer islands like Elafiti for the exact same reasons Amanda mentioned above.
Day 14 fly out of Dubrovnik back to Chicago

There is a lot of travel involved but we're really excited about seeing each and every place and have limited vacation time so a bit of cramming is necessary... this is also our 6th big trip together and by now we know that we like to keep it fast paced and longish travel bits don't bother us... from our experience as long as you go into it knowing you're not aiming for total and utter relaxation and are energized by seeing and experiencing amazing sights around the world it's very doable.

HBKev

Thank you Andrew, Amanda23 and drr8066! I'll post what they end up booking.