Venica - Ancona - Split
 

Hey guys,

I am arriving in Marco Polo airport at 11:05 AM. I would really like to make the ferry to Split from Ancona at 9 PM at night. So that would mean getting from Marco Polo airport to Santa Lucia Train Station in Venice and getting to Ancona at least a couple hours before the ferry to Split disembarks. So, 7 PM or so.

Is this doable? Or should I just wait for the ferry to Split at 6 AM or 8:30 AM the next day? The drawback to that is, of course, that it would cut in half my next day because of travel time on the ferry.

About how long does it take to get from Marco Polo to Santa Lucia? Trains leave for Ancona at 1:09 PM and I think about 2:30 PM. It's about a four hour train ride to Ancona. If I took the 1:09 I think I'd be safe. If I got the 2:30 I'd be cutting it really, really close I think.

If you're not spending any time in Venezia, it's easier to get the bus to Venezia Mestre (the station on the mainland) to catch the train. The journey to Ancona takes about four hours with one change at Bologna.
At Ancona, you need to take a bus or taxi from Ancona station to the Stazione Marittima. You don't really need to be at the port two hours in advance. Embarkation arrangements are very simple.

How long a ferry ride is this? Do you know the cost of the ferry?

Thanks, Geoff. I'm not spending any time in Venice (no offense! - been there already, loved it). So Mestre sounds good. I'm assuming I can buy a ticket right there at Mestre? Are trains to Ancona on a Wednesday something one should buy in advance, or can I just sort of wing it?

Snowflake,

I don't have the info in front of me at the moment, but I'm not sure of the cost as of yet and I think the ferry ride gets in around 7 AM or something.

There are two overnight ferry operators:
www.blueline-ferries.com
www.jadrolinija.hr
Schedules and fares are shown on their websites.

From Venezia to Bologna, there are hourly regional trains with no seat reservations, as well as faster trains. From Bologna to Ancona, you need to get a Eurostar train for which reservations are needed, but I doubt whether they would be too busy on a Wednesday.