We are thinking of going to Croatia in June. We would like to see the country from top to bottom but are having trouble finding reasonably priced flights which will allow for this.We want to fly from Manchester or Birmingham in the U.K.<BR>So far the only airlines that serve Dubrovnik (in particular) are Croatia Airlines and Austrian Airlines.No-one I have so far tried seems to offer deals on these, quoting fares in excess of &pound;1000.<BR>I am now looking at flying Air France/Alitalia combination into Venice and out of Bari or vice versa.<BR>My guide book offers varying information, depending on what page you look at as to the frequency of the ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik.<BR>Can anyone point me to the website for this ferry company and tell me that they have any experience of the line?<BR>Does anyone have any views in general on what we are trying to do?<BR>With thanks.

Don't know if it's any use to you, but you can get a charter flight from Manchester to Pula for &pound;169 in May. Probably slightly more expensive in June, but the search facility only works for up to 10 weeks prior to departure, so the prices for June can't be accessed yet. <BR>http://etravel.manchesterairport.co....ter_search.asp

Here's the ferry site:<BR><BR>http://www.jadrolinija.hr<BR><BR>As for getting to Croatia - summer air fares are expensive to Croatia. I went in September '02 and my fare was half. One of my guide books states trains from Munich to Rijeka takes about 9 hours and to Pula, 13. Trains from Vienna to Rijeka takes about 5 hours. Hope this helps.

Frances - Is Stansted an option? If so, Ryan Air have flights to TRIESTE for &pound;29.99 in June.<BR><BR>They also fly to/from ANCONA and PESCARA near Bari if you plan on using the ferry ...<BR><BR>Steve

Frances-I flew this route from the US a couple of years ago and yes it was expensive but not anymore. Check out europe by air. You can get from London to Dubrovnik for their flight pass price of $99. Once you are in Dubrovnik you can rent a car, take a bus, ferry or fly to Split, Hvar etc.

It's easiest to go via Italy - bus from Trieste, or ferries from Ancona or Bari - or on the overnight train from M&uuml;nchen to Rijeka. Travelling up and down the Croatian coast is slow as there's no railway; getting along the Italian coast is easy as trains are fast and cheap. As well as Jadrolinija which runs from Ancona and Bari, SEM (www.sem.hr) run from Ancona to Split, Zadar and Mali Losinj. Croatia will be quiet in June as the peak season doesn't start till mid-July when most Italians go on holiday. On my last visit to Croatia in September, I arrived via Venezia and Trieste, and left by overnight ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari. Jadrolinija's schedules are complex and the Bari service is weekly in winter, increasing to several times a week in summer. Their ships in my experience are reliable and well-run.

Thank you for a wealth of information.<BR>The hope is to island hop along the coast and cutting inland where necessary.I was just surprised that no-one seemed to make this easy.<BR>Before seeing all your very helpful replies we had thought we would have to fly return and at that stage we turned up flights to Venice from Manchester. We thought we would hire a car as it seems to be MUCH cheaper to do that in Italy than Croatia but we haven't got so far as to add in all the car ferry prices. We thought we would drive down one way and come back by ferry. We also thought of going by train.<BR>I am interested in the charter options which I hadn't really looked at because until now I wanted to do open jaw which you couldn't do with a charter. Do the low cost airlines sell single fares?<BR>In addition an old road map I have shows a ferry from Venice going to Dubrovnic and yet our guide book makes no mention of this. Does it still run? We are hoping to go out around the 18th June.<BR>With many thanks indeed for your help.

Frances - You can book one-way with the budget airlines if you want to do open jaw. Check their websites for routes:<BR><BR>www.easyjet.com<BR>www.ryanair.com< BR><BR>Easyjet currently have flights for &pound;22.00* + tax to Venice for some dates in June from East Midlands airport. *That fare won't last long ...<BR><BR>Ryanair has more routes to Italy - e.g. Trieste, Ancona, Pescara ... - but mostly from Stansted unfortunately.<BR><BR>I'm not sure that there is a car ferry from Venice to Croatia. Maybe someone else can help on this ...<BR><BR>Steve<BR><BR>

There is no car ferry from Venezia to Croatia. Ferry services change from one season to the next, and even up-to-date maps are never completely accurate. The last ferry to run from Venezia to Croatia was the MARINA, but last summer her Venezia trip was switched to Koper in Slovenia (www.losinjska-plovidba.hr). It's very easy to get a train from Venezia (or anywhere else in Italy) to Ancona or Bari, then an overnight ferry to Croatia - the ships will still be quiet in June and it should be possible to book a cabin at the port.

Well by this morning we had (thanks to you) turned up flights into Trieste and out of Ancona for &pound;100 per person. Then I saw the news report in The Times about Ryanair not honouring Buzz committments and remembered what I'd seen previously about problems with lo-cost airlines.We really have to get back on the date we book and I don't now have faith that we'd get every possible assistance if we booked a lo-cost.<BR>The other side of the story is that we've found a B.A. fare for &pound;155-yes I know it will just my luck if for some reason we book that and get stranded. <BR>Still searching!

There is highspeed catarmaran service from Venice to Istria in Croatia.<BR>http://www.favret.it/eng/home.htm<BR>http://www.usticalines.it/linee.htm<BR><BR>You can try contacting Bosmere Travel: http://www.bosmeretravel.co.uk/<BR>They can help you and organize all your travel needs from Italy especially Trieste and Venice to Croatia.