Help Arriving Croatia from Venice
 

We are planning a trip to Croatia for Sept/Oct 2007. I am trying to find the best way to get to the Istria area from Venice. Is it practical to fly into Venice, stay a couple of days, and then take a train to the Istria area? I find reference to buses. Is that a reasonable trip by bus? I had thought there might be a ferry across from the northern area of Italy, but I haven't found info on that. If this is possible, please let me know.

We are planning to be there about 14 days and we will be with another couple. I was interested in Istria, Trogir, Hvar, and Dubrovnik. We may have to fly out of Rome.

If anyone has some advice on a possible itinerary and lodging, we would greatly appreciate it. We like to stay in one location at least 3 days and we like small hotels or apartments, rather than large upscale places.

Thanks in advance for any advice, I know you hold a wealth of information.

Trains aren't very plentiful in Croatia. I took a train to Treiste (Italy) then a bus to Rovinj (Istria). I spent a few days in Rovinj, making day trips to Pula and Motovun by bus. Then I bussed to Reijka where I took a ferry to Dubrovnik. You can get off the ferry in Split, Hvar and Korcula, getting back on another day. Pay attention to what days the ferries come and go. It's not necessarily a daily thing.

I flew to Zagreb from Dubrovnik and then took the train to Slovenia where I continued my trip. You can train from Zagreb to Venice.

You can take a hydrofoil ferry from Venice to various points in Istria. Check this site

http://www.venezialines.com/eng/index.asp

For apartments and hotels in Istria, check the web site www.istra.com

I recommend staying in apartments rather than hotels if you are a budget travelor (or traveling with children, as I do).

The advise you received regarding taking a bus from Trieste is also a good way to go. Trieste to Umag is only a 45 minute drive, for instance. would recommend you stay in either Porec or Rovinj.


Check flights to Pula, a few discount airlines are flying directly to Istria now.

Trogir, Hvar, Dubrovnik are also all good choices.

Cid

rayanair is flying to Pula ( London, Dublin ) , and easyjet is flying Krk - Rijeka - London

And there is Opatija ( 15 km from Rijeka ) worth visiting on your way to Istria . I would recommend Vila Astra Lovran as boutique hotel and restaurant Le Mandrac ( www.lemandrac.com ).

Thanks for all your ideas. I had not thought about the option of the bus from Italy. That may be better for us.

I am leaning toward 3 days in Rovinj.
Then going down the coast. I had looked at Cres or Losinj islands to stay another 3 days. Then I wanted to ferry to Zadar and bus or drive to Plitvice and stay the night there. Then I wanted to get to Korcula, Hvar, or Brac for another 3 days and end in Dubrovnik for 2 or 3 days.

Does this sound possible in the Fall? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

That sounds pretty great!

The town of Mali Losinj is one of my favorites in Croatia. Be sure to keep this on your itinerary, you won't be sorry. I usually rent apartments from local agents, rather than stay in hotels.

Stopping at Plitvice can be difficult without a car.

If you are taking ferries from Split, I recommend you stay in Trogir. A lovely town. You can take the local bus into the ferry terminal in Split. Split is nice for a half day visit, but Trogir has more tourist hotels/apartments, etc.

Zagreb is definately worth a day visit, although your wish list is already quite full. The "Dolac" is one of the greatest open air (and underground) markets in Europe.

Cid

Hi - There's a direct bus service - daily except Sundays - from Venice to Pula.

It departs:

11.00 Venice Piazzale Roma
11.30 Venice Mestre

... and arrives Pula 17.30.

Operator: FILS

http://www.fils.hr/home.php/-3-0-0-2-Lines

Hope this helps ...

Steve

This past September I took the bus from Venice to Pula. I picked up a car there and used it for a trip down to Dubrovnik and back up to Split. If I were to do it again I would take the train from Venice to Trieste and pick up the bus from there. I got a good deal on the car rental (Hertz) through AAA. Here is a link to the bus info:
http://www.pulainfo.hr/en/autobus.asp

All good advice you've been given, but note that the hydrofoil and ferries will drop to weekend service and then hibernate during Sept/Oct. A search for "adriatic ferries" will reveal what you need. Either the train to Trieste or the bus direct would also be fine.
The weather is usually quite nice during that period, and the tourist traffic is lessened, so it is the perfect season to visit here.
Driving down the coast, however, is much less enjoyable than bouncing down the various islands and coastal town by boat or ferry - give this some thought.
In Sept/Oct you can find many unadvertised small pensiones or houses directly on the water, or lovely local agrotourismes with sea views from the vineyards and olive groves. I live here and I'm surrounded by such places, where the real value is through the contact with the local Istrian owner families and neighbors.
Good luck

michael

About the bus from Venice to Pula, note you can get off the bus in Rovinj. Much more charming IMO than Pula.

We took the five hour bus from Rovinj to Venice in October. They stopped the seasonal hydrofoil service the week before!