Planning a trip to Greece and Turkey but now Croatia looks amazing. Help!
 

Can anyone help me figure out how to include Croatia. It has taken six years to get back to Europe and the kids will be off to college. I wanted to fly into Athens and our of Istanbul which is doable but how can I add Croatia? It looks like I can get some Europe by Air tickets to fly to Rome and then Dubrovnik but it seems like a really cumbersome trip. Ferries seem less reliable. Has anyone done this? We have 3-4 weeks. Thanks.

We have been to Greece and a bit of Turkey, and have just returned from Croatia.

When we went to Greece we spent 3 weeks there, split between the mainland and island hopping. I woudn't cut this time down.

We spent a bit over 2 weeks in Croatia and could have used more time here.

I think it's probably best to just leave Croatia out of this trip and plan on returning someday!

If you do want to connect them, you can do so with SkyEurope Airline. It would be two individual flights though. We used them to connect Budapest and Dubrovnik and were very pleased with the airline and their prices if you book early.

I agree with Images2. Greece is amazing too. We spent 3 weeks there two years in a row, and barely scratched the surface. This year it's Croatia for 3 weeks ... don't want to get in a rut! But we'll be back to Greece.

Thank you. As great as it sounds I think we will have to skip Croatia this time.

COunt yourself lucky ot have three weeks in Greece and Turkey. Croatia is another trip and can be combined more easlily with other destinations.

Even though it sounds like you've already decided to stick with Greece, I read your post title and had to reply because we were in exactly the same situation! Originally we wanted Turkey and Greece for a trip that's tentatively scheduled for May 2007, but then we started hearing amazing things about Croatia and only so-so reviews of the famed Greek Islands. Based on this and a bit of research, we've decided to ditch Greece altogether, and instead go to Turkey for 10 days, then fly into Ljubljana, stay there for 2 nights, and then on to Croatia for another 10 days, flying home from Zagreb. I thought the logistics would be rather complicated but it's looking like it will work out okay....

Amanda,
I would be interested in your logistics. I can't ditch Greece altogether because we did a family poll of four countries and Greece got the most points. I added Turkey because it was easy to do logistically but I am the only one enthusiastic about Turkey. If I ditched Greece in favor of Croatia there would be an uprising. However, If I could sneak it in...

are you considering Greece and Croatia, leaving out Turkey?

and have you seen this trip report?
:)
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34822776

I have only spent 1 day in Dubrovnik and I can't wait to go back and spend more time there and see much more of Croatia. I have also spent 1 day in Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. I don't know where your family gets there information and I realize much of this is subjective, but I can't imagine thinking that Greece has more going for it as a travel destination then Turkey. We were there for 2 weeks and feel like we just scratched the surface. It has everything. If you're going to drop a country, I'd drop Greece and go to Croatia another time or go to Croatia and save Turkey for another trip. Just my own opinion!

I just got back from a trip to Croatia (and Bosnia) and I loved it but I agree, it's a separate trip. 3-4 weeks is an excellent amount of time for a trip to Greece and Turkey, thats what we had when we went 7 years ago. Turkey is amazing, I would not spend less than 2 weeks there. If your family is not completely on board yet with Turkey, I think it is just that they don't know enough about it yet.

Like I said, I loved Croatia and Bosnia (not as much as Turkey though) but save it for when you can spend at least a couple weeks.

Shallot it was in fact this trip report that first got me interested in Croatia. I am not dropping Turkey. I will have to drop the notion of going to Croatia first. The fact is, my youngest son has watched a few travel videos and it very excited about going to Turkey. My oldest 15 is being a teenager and is too stuborn to "beome interested." I am 100% sure that he will in fact very much enjoy Turkey and I will work on prepping him in the interim. My husband also has a mental block in part because his job can make traveling to some countries a hassle. He takes this very seriously. I am sure again that he will love the country. I think that in part with kids it is familiararity that makes them comfortable. Through the media they have been much more exposed to the culture and images of Greece than Turkey. I appreicate everyone's input. I don't want to shortchange our experience with any of the countries so I am taking all advice into consideration. Thanks.