My husband and I and 9 yr old, have about 2 weeks (a little over for travel days) to visit Croatia and Venice.

Any suggestions on which to visit first? We would be going mid June coming from the West Coast and possibly hitting up Boston on our way over. It looks like taking a ferry is the best way to get between Venice and Italy?

Any suggestions on itinerary help is appreciated!

You mean Venice and Croatia?

Another way is to take train Venice to Trieste in a few hours -wonderful unique town of Italian-Austria heritage - just over border from Croatia with trains to Zagreb and bus service down the coast. Traveling by trains? If so check out www.bahn.de/en for schedules - www.seat61.com for lots on booking trains and for general info trains BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

With 2 weeks, I would recommend limiting your time in Croatia to its most northern sites -- Istria, the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Zagreb... You might even consider a bit of Slovenia (perhaps Ljubljana, Bled, the Skocjan caves), rather than heading further south into Croatia. Much as I love Croatia (and I do!), with so little time and a little one along for the journey, I wouldn't try to do much more than that. JMO.

You might want to consult the Rough Guides to Croatia and to Slovenia.

Do you need to return to Venice for flight out, or is that booked yet? The ultimate itinerary will determine if it is better to ferry over or rent a car.
I also advise sticking with Istria and parts north--assuming you will have about a week and a half after time in Venice?

Thanks for the responses. As of right now we have booked nothing.

I am sill trying to figure out which destination is the best to start at and what city would we fly into? In Coatia what airport is best and with our time frame would it make sense to skip Venice? I guess I’m confused on what there is to do in Croatia? I have read a lot of forums and it’s mostly just seeing the towns, so does that get boring after awhile?

I don't think it matters where one starts as long as there are not weather or logistical reasons. People tend to fly where the airfare is best and to where they want to go. I am not understanding the question. Perhaps some time with a guide book would be helpful at this point. In addition to touring the towns, Croatia is a nature-lover's paradise.

Well, many people do go to Croatia just to stroll around a few towns, eat, and drink. Many people go to places all over the world for just that purpose. It certainly doesn't mean there aren't things to do!

And yes, as yorkshire notes, Croatia is a nature-lover's paradise.

It is also home to

• some extraordinary, and extraordinary varied, architecture, including Roman, Byzantine, medieval, Renaissance, and other styles;
• churches and monasteries with glorious treasures and lovely cloisters;
• traces of Roman, Greek, Venetian, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Italian, and other empires;
• a wide variety of museums (art, archeology, ethnography, local history / life), and while none are likely to hit anyone's list of top museums in the world, every one I visited held some very special items;
• vibrant markets;
• beautiful gardens;
• a wide variety of delicious foods;
• wineries and some lovely wines....

Yes, time for a guidebook. Of the half-dozen or so that I used when planning my time in Croatia, the Rough Guide was the best by far.