Getting to Cinque Terre from Croatia
 

In planning process of a trip to Croatia and then on to Cinque Terre (Italy) from late Sept to early October. Haven't finalized itinerary yet for Croatia, don't have starting or ending towns, but considering ending in Dubrovnik, Istria, or Split.
It appears getting to Cinque Terre is not that easy.
Does anyone have experience or recommendations on this?
Also looking into what might be the best airline/flights (least time, less stops) into Croatia? Originating from Logan Airport, Boston MA, ideally. Thank you

Please see your other thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...na-express.cfm

Fly with vueling from DBV via BCN to Pisa for about 150 EUR (9 hrs flight).
If you start at Pula/Istria, just take the daily bus to Venice Mestre and go on by train via either Milan or Florence.
From Split: overnight ferry to Ancona plus train via Bologna.

kja, thank you. I started this thread for matters of simplicity/clarity, so that there aren't too many thoughts going on the original thread. I thought if I started a thread just on the topic of traveling from Croatia to Cinque Terre, it'd be easier on everyone. Was it a good idea or is it generally not a good practice?

I notice that you have also tagged your thread for Albania, and I believe there is a regular flight between Genoa airport and Albania. I could be wrong, but you might want to check.

"I started this thread for matters of simplicity/clarity, so that there aren't too many thoughts going on the original thread. I thought ... it'd be easier on everyone. Was it a good idea or is it generally not a good practice?"

It can be a good idea, but it's generally helpful to include links to the other thread on each. Rather than recommend that you do so, I simply did it. :-)

That will not be easy---why are you so hung up on the CT?
Croatia has so much to offer.

Another option to add to the ones you already have is to fly Air Croatia to/from Rome or Venice and take the train from there to get to/from Cinque Terre. The airport in Dubrovnik is small but very nice. It even had an outdoor cafe. And there is a bus that goes from the DBV airport to the Pile Gate, the main gate to the old city.

In Rome, the Leonardo Express bus connects Fiumicino airport to Termini, the train station. From Termini, take a fast train to Florence which gets you within striking distance of Cinque Terre.

In October, Croatian flies only twice weekly from DBV to VCE and charges about 300 USD/OW

Thank you, kja!
Bobthenavigator-we're hung up on Cinque Terre for its charm. Isn't it colorful and pretty? Little hillside towns nestled into cliffs? Good mild to moderate hikes... Do you not feel it's really worth it? I know Croatia has a lot to offer... we are trying to decide where in Italy to go if CT proves too arduous/difficult a journey from Croatia.
Neckerved and Bogflower, your advice on flights is appreciated; we are going to nail them down tonight, or hope to...
Sandralist, thanks for sticking by me. The tag for Albania was a misdirected finger tap. I posted this frommy iphone and did not realize the error until right after I posted it. Unfortunately, I don't believe that tags can be removed after posting, but thank you for your insights!
Tonight we are looking into getting flights to Dubrovnik from Logan airport perhaps... trying to find out if lodging in Croatia will be possible for late Sept., early October, trying to decide on an itinerary for Croatia (8-nights enough?) then where to go from there in Italy...
We'd love to at least see Venice, Siena and CT if do-able. Maybe just Venice, or just stay in Croatia...
But for now it's figuring out flights.
Thanks for all your help advice and support as we inch towards figuring this out.

"trying to decide on an itinerary for Croatia (8-nights enough?)"

It depends on what YOU want to see and experience. That would NOT have been enough for me! I spent 3 weeks in Croatia per se, a month once you count things just over its borders -- and I felt rushed! After reading a LOT of trip reports and planning threads over the years, I'm convinced that many people find a way to plan an enjoyable 2-week trip to Croatia. And I'm convinced that many people find a way to plan an enjoyable 8-night trip to PART of Croatia, either the south or Istria plus. Far fewer seem to find a way to enjoy an 8-night trip that includes more than that (although at least one poster managed it).

I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (always a good investment IME, or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.


"But for now it's figuring out flights."

We all have different planning strategies, but FWIW, I would NEVER commit to a flight before I decided what country / countries I will plan on visiting! JMO.


Good luck!

I love the CT and have enjoyed it several times now.
But, it is too far for this trip---see Croatia this time.

Kja thank you. When I said for now we're looking at flights, I just meant getting flights from Boston into Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Would you recommend going about looking for flights with any particular airline?
How do you feel about sites like Expedia or Kayak?

Thank you

I like kayak for my initial search at least. I have also had good luck with http://www.croatiatravel.com/.
Into Dubrovnik and out of Zagreb is a good start for researching open-jaw flights.
I agree trying to fit in CT complicates things--and there is great scenery and hiking in Croatia.

If you visit Venice plus Istria, rent a car and drive the coast west of Lovran--scenery very similar to the CT, but with less development (though I think that is part of the charm of CT, the human added scenery of villages and agriculture).

Thank you! We have two flights out of Boston being held with Lufthanza airlines right now. One of them connects with Croatian airlines in Frankfurt (a 747-400 Series with Lufthanza), and the other one connects with another Lufthansa flight from Munich.
Probably will go with the Lufthansa/Air Croatian option...

Oh good--where did you decode to fly in and out?
Lufthansa and CA are both great.

OMG, you wouldn't believe what happened! I booked a flight using British Airways, but were flying Luftanza to Frankfurt then Croatian Airlines to DBV. BUT when I read the email…. it had one of our partys middle name wrong… and it can't be corrected so I'm on the phone right now and the whole ticket has to be cancelled and rebooked, but I got the last 5 seats on the Croatian Airlines flight

GOOD NEWS, They were able to get us back on the same flights but he couldn't reassign the seats. He instructed me to call each airline to try to get the seats back… I am on hold with Luftansa but wonder if there's a number for Air Croatia? Big Relief… Best not to use any middle names or Middle Initials if not 100% sure… because they'll let you fly if you don't have that information but if it's WRONG, there'll be red flags

I'm glad you resolved that, and take it that your question to me is now superfluous. I am curious, though: what did you select for your departure airport?