Rome to Zadar
 

My family is planning to travel to Zadar, Croatia, first landing in Rome then taking a train to Ancona and ferry to Zadar. Is it realistic to land in Rome Fri July 25 at 11:40am, spend the night in Rome, then take the train Saturday to Ancona, spend the night there, then ferry Sun @12:30?? I know we won't be able to do much sightseeing on the way but I don't want our travel to be too rushed. We have a 2 & 5 year old so it should be interesting! Coming home we are planning to take the ferry out of Zadar or Split Fri Aug 9 or Sat Aug 10 to Ancona, spending 3-4 nights in Rome then flying out Mon Aug 12 @6pm. My husband's family is in Zadar so our vaction centres around being there, but flying directly to Zadar is almost $3000 more than flying to Rome. I thought it would be nice to get a little taste of Italy as well! Any thoughts on where to stay, what to do would be appreciated!
Thanks, Jen

Hey you are a great planner. Congrats on that. I am last minute guy traveling on instinct. Anyways, back to your question. My recent vacation was in Tuscany, Italy. Luckily, my friend had it planned all along for us. A good travel agent helped us out with our stay in Florence, Rome. You can check them out for your Rome stay http://www.traveltuscany.net/rome-rentals/ . I even have their mail id and the concerned person's number. So do let me know if you want to dig in deeper :). Have a wonderful outing

As a general rule, we Fodorites don't find travel agents that helpful. Most people here know more about your proposed destinations than a travel agent would. And will have stayed in the hotels they recommend. You certainly don't need a travel agent to find a hotel in Rome.

I think your plan of one night in Rome, one night in Ancona is a good one, especially traveling with small children.

I assume you want one hotel room for your whole family, a family room. You probably wouldn't need a quadruple room, a triple plus a crib should work, but make sure the hotel understands your needs. This kind of room is relatively rare. And popular in the summer travel season. So you should start looking now. How much do you want to pay per night?

In Ancona there is one hotel close to the ferry terminal, the Grand Hotel Palace. This would be most convenient for you.

Sounds like a memorable trip for you. I'm glad you're taking it slow. Hope you'll be able to see something of beautiful Croatia while you're there.

Hi Jen!
We are hoping to catch a ferry from Zadar to Ancona or Pesaro but am having difficulty finding a company which does this other than Jadrolinja. Can I ask which ferry company you are using? Also do you know how long the crossing takes? Jadrolinja seem to have an overnighter which leaves at 10pm and arrives in Ancona at 7am but I am unable to book a berth or cabin through there website, it's getting pretty frustrating! Any info would be appreciated. We are from Perth, Australia and it's our first time over in that part of the world. I hope you have a great holiday! Cheers, Lil

Snav has ferries listed from Ancona, but not daily.

http://www.snav.it/en/timetable-and-fares.html

http://www.blueline-ferries.com/timetable