Trying to get to the Dalmatian Coast, Croatia from the U.S.
 

Those who have traveled to the Dalmatian Coast who live in the U.S: Have you flown directly and which airline did you choose?
Or did you fly into a European city and transfer? Which city?
And, again, which airline did you take to Croatia?
I'm trying to go at the end of next month and am having a bit of a hard time figuring it out. I don't want to fly round-trip to Dubrovnik or Split because I will be hoping to go elsewhere afterward. It starts to get very costly and time consuming....many stops by plane....to go on to France or Spain where I'd like to visit with family and friends.
Would like to hear what those who have had similar experience have done?

I doubt that are any direct flights from the US.
Look at www.skyscanner.net to find flights/airlines.

We flew Air France thru CDG to Zagreb the Croatia Air to Dubrovnik. That was 5 years ago....don't know what current options are.

Try searching on kayak.com using the multi-city tool. Fly into somewhere in Croatia and home from another city. Using the Kayak multi-city search tool will find you the best prices/flight.

Could you fly into Venice and from there catch a train? I have done it, just trying to help.

Sorry....... haven't done it!

We flew BA to London, then another BA flight to Dubrovnik.

History~ we are history travelers too~ hence, Split.....dh anything Roman. Did you stay overnight in London or keep going?

oddly enough when I search on Kayak I get a very very high fare. It's a little better if I break it down.

And that's doing "multi city"

I guess it's to be expected that Croatia Air is very high fares from CDG or MXP or AMS?

A flight to Zabreg and back from Barcelona seems to be about $1200 - but don;t know when you are traveling or where you are coming from - both of which can significantly affect your flights.

Where are you coming from - and how much are you looking to pay?

coming from ABQ~ would pay up to $1500 each and then there's the domestic flights in Europe.

From ABQ you could do American and British - through Dallas then London on to Dubrovnik, but you'll have to change from Heathrow to Gatwick in London (not the best option IMO unless you want to stay a day or two in London, but I am kind of a woos.) Croatia Airlines is part of Star Alliance (Lufthansa, United) so you could fly those airlines to Munich and then a Croatia Airlines flight the rest of the way, on one ticket. Or you could fly to Barcelona and spend the night then fly Vueling from Barcelona to Dubrovnik, but they do not fly that route every day.

It would help to know where you want to fly into and where you want to fly out of...

We flew into LHR and spent the night in London and flew BA from Gatwick to Dubrovnik. I usually like a lay over of at least one night, and it was just easier when flying into LHR and out of Gatwick. Depending on flight times there are frequent buses from LHR to Gatwick. Just checked on fares and BA has flights round trip London, Gatwick to Dubrovnik starting at £ 280 or about $ 470.

there are no non-stop flights from the US to Croatia. I have flown from NYC/JFK to Munich and then to Dubrovnik on Lufthansa with a return from Zagreb to Frankfurt to NY. The airfare will be high.. especially this year it seems.

you should focus on where you want to go in Croatia and where you will be visiting family elsewhere. the low cost airlines in Europe will have lots of fees for luggage etc and many do not take off or land in the major airports.. so you have to factor in travel time from or to an airport

you may want to look at travel sites that specialize in Croatia such as croatiatavel.com they are located in Queens NY and im pretty sure its the one a friend uses when going to Croatia to visit family there.

Rialto I'm not clear on where in and where out yet. It depends on where I can get to from Split. For instance if I could fly into Marseille then I can rent a car to get to family in Provence or in Spain. I could do the same into Nice. Also, I have a fancy to go to Amsterdam but couldn't find direct flights to Dubrovnik from there except through London or Frankfurt. It's not easy getting there is my observation.

Until you know where and when, you're floundering in "ideas."
IMO, this is an instance where it might be worth the cost to work with a travel agent who specializes in U.S.-to-Europe trips.

If you rented a car in Marseille or Nice, you'd have to return the car in France to avoid huge drop charges.

Yes Jean, thank you....I know that about the car. I've been renting cars in Europe since the early 1970's. My dates are mid to late May or early June. I am flexible. I was very clear; for instance I wanted to fly from Split to Marseille but couldn't find anything. So now I have to be more flexible with it. I think you are right about a travel agent.

Thank you Maxima, that seems to be a travel agency in Queens. I will definitely contact them since they specialize in Croatia.