Italy and Croatia 28 days
 

Help, I have booked a flight to London Aug 28th returning Sept 25th . We are 54 and 62 relatively fit like to eat and drink wine. One of us has never been anywhere in Europe the other has travelled quite bait more but not for many years. We have picked these 2 countries 1 picked Italy the there Croatia. We are hoping to have moments of pure relaxation in our holiday and also enjoy the sights (not too many museums nor churches but the best of each).
First thought is to spend 2 or 3 nights in London and then possibly fly to Venice and then 12 more nights in Italy ?? this is where I need help with .....and then ferry over from italy to Croatia- Split, Hvar, Dubrovnik and then fly back to London and then home. Does anyone have suggestions or itineraries they could suggest ??? Appreciate all help

Please let me know your thoughts on an itinerary I have planned for 28 days in Europe.

Day 1-4 London
Day 4-6 Venice
Day 6-9 Florence
Day 9-11 Cinque Terre
Day 11-13 Sienna
Day 13-15 Assisi
Day 15 ferry from Ancona to Hvar
Day 16-18 Split
Day 18-21 Dubrovnik
Day 21-24 London

and 4 days left to ????? Is this too ambitious or is this workable ???

IMO, it is ambitious. Whether it is workable depends on your interests and preferences. Please note that I have NOT checked any of your logistics and am trusting that you have! (For example, I trust that you have confirmed that there will be a ferry from Ancona to Hvar on your Dav 15.)

First, I take it that you have already booked into and out of London, and that an open-jaw flight is no longer an option? If so, do consider options for putting all of your time in London at the end of your trip. (You'll want to be there for the night before your flight, and it would be good to avoid an extra hotel change.)

Second, you don't seem to be taking travel time into account. For one thing, you will lose about 1/2 day each time you change locations because you need to pack, check out, get to your train station or whatever in plenty of time for your train or whatever, actually make the trip, get oriented to your new location, find your hotel, check in, unpack, etc.

For another thing, you seem to be "double counting" days. For example, you won't have time in London AND Venice on day 4; with travel, you may have 1/2 day in EITHER London OR Venice and basically no time in the other city. Get a calendar and mark it up with all your transportation information etc. to see how much time you actually have in any place.

And don't forget jet lag. You don't say where you are from, but travelers from the US or Canada (as examples) can generally expect to lose a good half-day at the start of any trip to Europe.

Getting to specifics:
- You seem to be planning at least 4 days in London. Nice!
- You seem to be planning 1 to 1.5 days in Venice. A bit on the short side...
- You seem to be planning 2+ days in Florence. That one really depends on your interests. I love art, and found 5 full days in Florence insufficient. Many people visit Florence for only 1 day as part of a longer stay in Tuscany.
- Are you planning any time in Hvar? I chose to spend only a few hours in Hvar Town itself, but then I spent time on a number of other islands in the area. Most people seem to want several days in Hvar.
- You seem to be planning a couple of days in Split. I loved Split, thought it easily worth 2 days, and perhaps a bit more to visit nearby Trogir. Many Fodorites have been less satisfied with Split.
- You seem to be planning about 2 or 2.5 days in Dubrovnik. I think that makes sense, but depending on your plans, you might consider cutting that by a day.

You have PLENTY of places to which you can (and probably should!) allocate what you now count as 4 extra days!

Hope that helps!

My first suggestion is not to fly in and out of London. Backtracking wastes time and does not save you any money usually. Book your flight into London and home from either Italy or Croatia (Italy might have better/cheaper flight choices than Croatia). After spending a few nights in London, fly from London to Dubrovnik and work your way north in Croatia. Transfer to Italy (ferry Split/Ancona?) and on to Florence/CT/Venice. Fly home from either Pisa/Florence/Venice/Genoa (depends on where you end your Italy trip).

Sorry I should of said that we already have a flight to London arriving Aug 29th 2:00 pm and then flying out from London Sept 25 at 5:15 pm.

I can only comment on Croatia as I'm planning my first trip to Italy myself! But with 4 extra days, definitely add some time to Hvar, and maybe Split. We only spent a day in Split- I really liked the atmosphere and could have stayed longer, for my husband it was plenty. You could also add extra time to Dubrovnik and do a daytrip. Check cruise schedules and try to walk the walls on a day with a lighter cruise ship load- can get very crowded otherwise.

Personally I loved Plitvice Lakes, but would only recommend squeezing it in if you were going to Zagreb. Too much travel to/from Split.

I agree with the previous poster about taking more consideration into transit times. Maybe write out your schedule as nights instead- e.g., 4 nights in London, etc.