My husband and I will be traveling in April/May and were hoping to get a ferry from venice to split, but as far as I can see they don't run in the spring. any advice? is ancona the best bet? is it easy to get there from venice?

Another option is to take the bus from Venice to Rovinj. It's an easy ride. We did this in the opposite direction, from Rovinj to Venice.

I don't think there are any ferries from Venezia to Split, even in summer. There are overnight ferries from Ancona (www.bli-ferry.com or www.jadrolinija.hr). Ancona is on the main railway line down the east coast of Italy; from Venezia, you'd generally need to change trains in Bologna.
There are various boats in summer from Venezia to the Istrian peninsula. Otherwise, take a train from Venezia to Trieste, then a bus. For Split, take a bus to Rijeka, then another bus, or Jadrolinija's overnight ship which runs twice-weekly.

Thanks for the info. . We will have bicycles with us. Do you know if it's a problem to take them on a train? Also, is Ancona a town worth visiting?

we are wanting to take a ferry from Istria to Venice in early May.. Cannot find a website that lists a ferry schedule.. Do you think they are running that early in the season?

thank you.

There should be trips from Istria to Venezia in May, but most operators' web sites are still showing last year's schedules. Venezia Lines (www.venezialines.com) show journeys from Porec to Venezia, for example, in May 2006.

The ferry companies often don't stick to their own beginning and ending schedules. We planned to take the ferry from Rovinj to Venice, and they decided to end the ferry service early.

We took the bus. No worries. And you get to see a slice of Slovenia (or is it Slovekia?)

Slovenia!
Slovakia is the other half of what used to be Czechoslovakia

Just know that april/may is off season and they only run on certain days - not every days so if you are making other committments based on the ferry travel make sure you first know what days they run.