Trip itinerary: revised again!
 

My husband and I will be going in May... let us know what you think. I have done countless hours researching, revising and planning. As you know, things will end up changing, but all and all we have got a pretty good handle on this trip at this point! Thanks.

Day One:
Arrive in Bern at 9:50 from the US early morning
Get luggage, customs, find train etc…
Train to Zermatt
Train ride: 2-3 hours
$155
Afternoon for rest and possible Zermatt exploration

Night: Zermatt - CONFIRMED

Day Two:
Day in Zermatt: Matterhorn

Zermatt to Milan
Train ride: 3 ½ hours
$153

Night: Milan - CONFIRMED

Day Three:
Day in Milan: Duomo, Looking at the shopping areas

Train to Corniglia
Train ride: 3 hours
$
Night: Corniglia – BOOK IN OCTOBER

Day Four: Day in Cinque Terre: Walking between towns, exploration

Night: Corniglia – BOOK IN OCTOBER

Day Five:
Morning in Cinque Terre if needed, stop in Pisa or train directly to Rome

Depart Cinque Terre in the early afternoon or morning

Arrive in Rome
Train ride: 3-4 hours
$
Night: Rome - CONFIRMED

Day Six:
Day in Rome

Night: Rome - CONFIRMED

Day Seven:
Day trip to Naples and Pompeii
Train Ride: 1 ½ hours
$
Night: Rome - CONFIRMED

Day Eight:
Day in Rome

Night: Rome - CONFIRMED

Day Nine: Depart Rome
Leisure morning

Train to Ancona
Train Ride: 3 hours
$

Night: Overnight ferry to Split

Day Ten:
Arrive in Split
Day in Split: Diocletian’s palace, Marjan Hill/Park?

Bus to Dubrovnik
Bus ride: 4-5 hours

Night: Dubrovnik

Day Eleven:
Day in Dubrovnik: Explore Old Town Dubrovnik

Night: Dubrovnik


Day Twelve:
Day in Dubrovnik: Day trip to island near Dubrovnik – Island TBD

Night: Dubrovnik

Day Thirteen:
Depart Dubrovnik
Fly to Zagreb (Flight departs at 6:25, arrive at 7:20)
Get luggage, rent car

Drive to Plitvice National Park
Driving Time: 2 ½ hours

Arrive in Plitvice: Check into hotel/room, park exploration

Night: Plitvice

Day Fourteen:
Morning in Plitvice National Park

Depart Plitvice, drive to Bled (via Rijeka not Zabreb)
Arrive in Bled late evening

Night: Bled

Day Fifteen:
Day in Ljubljana or Lake Bled or Lake Bohinj or other
Night: Bled

Day Sixteen:
Day in Ljubljana or Lake Bled or Lake Bohinj or other

Night: Bled

Day Seventeen:
Day in Ljubljana or Lake Bled or Lake Bohinj or other

Night: Bled

Day Eighteen:
Fly from Ljubljana back to the US

Looks very busy to me. Assuming you haven't been to these places, Rome deserves at least 3 full days, we spent 4 and had a long list we hadn't seen when we departed.

If you are only going to spend 1 day in Switzerland I would skip it and fly into Milan. Cinque Terre deserves 2-3 days.

I can't comment on Croatia as I've never been. If you like a very rushed vacation then this is probably okay but I think you will leave Italy very exhausted.

Last June we spent 11 days doing your Italy portion (the same order except no day trip to Naples).

Hi there again!

For Slovenia, day 15/16 spent exploring Bled\Bohinj
Pletna to island in centre of lake, Bled Castle, Walk around lake, ride to Vintgar Gorge, walk around Lake Bohinj, Cable Car to top of Vogel, Savica Waterfall.

Day 17 spent exploring Ljubljana. You can pretty much take in everything in a solid day.

Have a great trip!
Greg and Rona

I agree with lindy27 that you seem to be short-changing Rome and are planning a very fast-paced trip.

From my experience with the Cinque Terre, if you have good weather, it is possible to see all the towns in a day and a half. But if the weather doesn't oblige, you might need to limit yourselves to just a few of the trails and villages.

Day 10: I don't know when the ferry arrives or when the last bus departs for Dubrovnik, so I don't know if you will have enough time to see very much in Split.

Hope that helps!

In general, I think you've greatly improved your itinerary. Of course, all objections against the scarce time scheduled for Rome are still true.
Another thing I don't get is the flight to Zagreb. You will have to start at 5 am from the hotel to catch that flight, and you will arrive in Plitvice about 11.30 am. So if we assume you stick to the 5 am departure, 11.30 is exactly when you'd arrive in Plitvice, as well, if you rent the car in Dubrovnik and drive from there. So IMO, the air fare is just wasted.
And as kja said, I hope you've diligently checked the ferry and bus schedules whether they leave you enough time for Split, which is most probably Croatia's best sight.

kja:
We think the few days we have in Rome is ample for us.
Thanks for the tip about C.T. We do hope for good weather!

We are taking an overnight ferry from Ancoona to Split. We arrive in Split at 8am.

franco:
We think the few days we have in Rome is ample for us.

We didn't want to bother with driving for 6 hours from Dub. to Plit., so the flight was a better better option (and cheaper) for us.

We only plan on spending a few hours in Split, so with our 8 am ferry arrival we should be just fine. Thanks for the tip about checking the bus schedule to Dub.

Well, that's what kja and I were trying to say: it's a mistake to spend just a couple of hours in Split. Split is more interesting, more beautiful, and historically more important than Dubrovnik (which is of course stunningly beautiful, as well). So my (and I suppose, kja's) suggestion is to adjust your itinerary accordingly, unless there happens to be a really greatly convenient bus connection. You could easily skip the island daytrip from Dubrovnik, for example, since you don't even know which island you want to go to, and stay at least one night in Split.

We have a few ideas in mind for the island day trip. We just haven't decided yet.

Split does look great and all, but we think a few hours to see Dio.'s palace will suffice.

Thanks.

If you are set on your itinerary, which is fine, why exactily did you post it?

Several people have given some good advice but you appear to not want to alter it in any way. If that is true, is there any other advice, like hotels or transportation connections you are interested in?

Don't take this the wrong way but I think you're packing in way too much and you'll be ready to kill yourself or your husband at the end of your adventure. If you like to travel at this pace then go for it but I'd recommend cutting back so you can relax and truly enjoy each place you'll visit. Otherwise I think it will seem like a blur. My husband & I were in Italy for 3 weeks two year ago and along with a Venice/Tuscany had 5 days in Rome. It was nice because we were at the end of our trip and could chill out, wander the sites, have nice meals, nice wine etc. and relax.We stayed 2 nights in Manarolo in Cinque Terre and that was enough for us.
On another note we are going to Croatia in early October this year. There is so much to see & do there - 3 nights in Split, 2 nights Hvar Island, a few nights Dubrovnik.After that we have no plans and can drive the Dalmatian Coast stopping as we please. I'll report back upon our return. Again, not to criticize, if you like that kind of a pace go for it. Otherwise consider eliminating a country.

I'm exhausted just reading this itinerary!! From what I can see you are spending more of your time travelling between cities than exploring them. Not for me, but each to their own I guess!

One tip for you re train travel in Italy - buy food at the train stations. It is generally good and inexpensive. The food on the trains is very average and quite expensive.

Having returned from one week in northern Italy, and over two weeks in Croati and Slovenia, of course I concur with all the comments about how rushed you're going to be. And Split really is fascinating; Dioclesian's Palace is spectacular and the town certainly deserves more than a few hours. The Hotel Peristil, where we stayed, is built right into the walls of the Palace.

Re Cinque Terre--are you aware that Corniglia is the only one of the five towns that does not have ferry service? We really enjoyed hiking one way between villages and taking the ferry or the train back to Manarola, where we stayed.

By the way, isn't planning trips like this fun? It's a pain sometimes, but I really do enjoy it, so have fun and have a great time.

I can't speak to Italy, but just returned from Croatia. I loved Split, but then I loved everything! for the island trip, consider Korcula. Traveling along the Plejesac Penisula you can visit the small town of Ston with it's 5.5 km city wall. Only part of the wall is open so you can walk the wall, see the town, have coffee in a cafe and move down the penisula to the ferry at Orebic. The car ferry was running every hour for the short trip to Korcula town. (always check the ferry schedules, you can't rely on guidebooks.
As for the plane trip back to Zagreb, go for it. You will want to be rested for the hiking in the park, and driving all that way and then doing the park would really wear you out. Have fun!