Venice-Croatia-Puglia itinerary recommendations
 

Husband and I are planning a Venice trip in September with time also in Croatia (possibly via Trieste, heading toward Rovinj). We were thinking of then heading back to Venice before going home to the US. But we now have been offered time in a trullo in Puglia, near Ostuni, and are rethinking our itinerary Has anyone ever travelled from Croatia (Istria peninsula) to Puglia (perhaps Bari or Brindisi) by boat? With the offer of a trullo in this fascinating region, we'd certainly consider making it a Venice-Croatia-Puglia jaunt. We've been to Italy many times, though never to Puglia, and love the idea of tagging up on another country (Croatia).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I think we need more information to respond intelligently. Puglia and Croatia are incredibly different areas! As one example, I thought a week (give or take) perfect for Puglia; I found it hard to trim my time in Croatia to just 3 weeks (not counting time I spent in other parts of what was once Yugoslavia). It all depends on what YOU want to see and experience....

Rovinj is easily reached from Venice, but it's very far north of Puglia. The are ferries from Dubrovnik to Bari, but I don't know the best way to get to Dubrovnik from Rovinj.

Trieste is also a very nice city, worth spending a few days in.

Thanks kja and bvlenci. We are looking at just over a week total, so realize that we'd only be "sampling" each area. Venice is our definite starting place. It may be too ambitious to add Puglia. Perhaps we should keep it to Venice and a few stops on the Istrian coast for a different experience, then back to Venice before heading home... We like the idea of experiencing two very different environments in one trip, but also don't want to rush just for the sake of variety.

If we take Puglia out of the mix this trip, we'll need to decide whether to drive/bus to Istria (via Trieste) or ferry it back and forth from Venice to Rovinj or Pula. Any thoughts?

Too much---save Puglia when you have a week just for that.

Just a caveat. Istria while interesting and beautiful is not typical of Croatia. It has a strong Italian influence. In fact, it felt like Umbria to me: hilltowns, vineyards, truffles.

You will be missing the Dalmatian coast, the islands, the ancient towns like Split and Dubrovnik, not to speak of Plitvice and Zagreb.

But Istria is easily reached from Venice by boat -- as long as you're not traveling in the off-season. There are also buses and train/bus combinations from Venice.

Thanks, bob and great point, Mimar, thank you. I've been wondering about going further down the Dalmatian coast. But again, we may be limited by the time we have alotted. Hmmmm.

With only a week, the idea of visiting Venice and something very near there makes sense. Venice is IMO unique, so almost anything else will give you a taste of something different. As Mimar notes, Istria was part of Italy as recently as WWII (if I recall correctly) and it still has a distinctly Italian character. I think you would do well to consider places within Italy that are close to Venice.

We caught a train from Venice to Trieste which hugged the coastline for a time offering fantastic views.

We waited a few hours for the 3 or 4 hour journey by bus to Pula in Croatia where there's a well preserved roman amphitheatre. Seeing it from the yacht harbour with myriad masts in the foreground is surreal.

There are other roman ruins, the local tourist authority was helpful.

A very pleasant town and worth a couple of days.

I have to disagree with sartoric. We didn't enjoy Pula. It's a small city, not a small town, rather workaday, with few sights beyond the amphitheater.

To my mind, the way to see Istria is by car, traveling to the many pretty small towns. We really liked Rovinj, where we based, Grosnijan and Motovun. You can pick up a rental car in Porec, accessible by bus or the boat from Venice.

Puglia needs far more than just a week, I've spent 2 weeks and only covered a very small part. High spots for me are Gravina, Gioia and Lecce but once you get into the detail there is so much more to do/see. That before you start trying the food and wine and, of course, meeting the people who are very laid back.

I'd ignore the north and fly into Bari or Brindisi. The Blue Guide is pretty good and you may want to include Basilicata in with Puglia.

Thanks all for these valuable comments. We've decided to make this trip just Venice with a short look at Istria, saving Puglia for a proper visit. My family is from Basilicata, so I see a roots trip in the future.

Rovinj is looking like a reasonable home base; not too far whether we bus, drive or boat, and interesting enough should we find our time short to explore other towns. The decision now will be our mode of transportation from/to Venice to maximize our time and enjoy the journey.

Thanks again, all. Any other insights welcomed.