There's a ferry from Pula to Venice that takes about 3 1/2 hours. I could see staying in Croatia for 3 or 4 days, then ferry to Italy. I'm guessing renting a car in Italy would not be a good choice.....
Croatia >>>>> Italy Croatia is magnificently gorgeous. We did both, on separate occasions, several years ago, and have been back to Croatia multiple times, and not Italy. Plitvice and Krka National parks are legit breathtaking. THE BEACHES! My God are they beautiful. Also lots of old cities. Also, those saying Prague, are dead on. Another great place to visit
Why? Italy is one of the best places in the world to drive. They know how to drive and taking the small roads from say Turin to the Riviera is a wonderful experience.
Went on an Italy trip this summer and went to Split for a day. I thought it was fine. Basically just did the beach thing in a speed boat tour. Some really nice beaches there. Didn’t get to explore much. Montenegro is a lot of fun too.
Oh yeah, didn’t get to do Krka. Photos looked great there. There are several all day tours that looked great. We didn’t have time for that as we were there for less than a day (cruise ship).
Seems to me that if you are going to Croatia for the first time for just a few days, then Dubrovnik would be the best city. There is a ferry to Bari Italy, takes 8 hours and Bari is probably out of the way. Vueling is a good low cost airline and can get you to Rome from Dubrovnik, Volotea goes to Venice but Ive never heard of them.
agreed, Italy is a good place to drive. Just stay out of the big cities. Roman drivers are fucking crazy.
Give Venice 4 days at least. It is overpriced and way to crowded and the canals kind of stink, but there is no place like it. It does have a special magic and you need to soak it in some. 2 days to wander the city and get lost in the ally ways, exploring art shops, in the evening when there are less people its very pleasant. 1 day in San Marco touring the castle and museums. 1 day to explore the islands of Murno and Burano. One tip is DO NOT stay near San Marco, it is the most expensive part of the island, most crowded and when the cruise ships drop people off it is a shit show.
I always found them very good. They are aggressive - but they respect you if you show that you have a basic understanding of how to drive. Had a lovely drive once when I was in a Peugeot 206 and playing with I believe an Opel Astra - and even tho we were in tiny cars - we were willing to push and all the BMW drivers got out of the way and let us drive fast - despite the fact that we were in 'lesser' cars from them - hard to see this happening here where people are unwilling to get out of the way if you want to drive fast. In the same token, I remember getting lost in Milan and having to make an unprotected left on a very busy street - and people were happy to stop and let you do it if you showed your intentions using blinkers - once again, a very rare occurrence in the US. So, my opinion, they know how to drive and if you are not assuming that people can read your mind (as many American drivers do) - they are polite and will let you drive fine, even if they are aggressive and drive fast. Now, if you want to talk about crazy drivers that do not give a hoot - try Brazil or Kenya. Suicidal...
Lol no thank you. I once rented a moped in Georgetown Malaysia. To this day it is still one of the most traumatic experience of my life.
Now that can be an experience to remember. A neighbor of my daughter's father-in-law, near Tortona drove my wife and I to the airport in Milano. I managed to keep a grip, as we hit 150 clicks here and there. Heading into a village at that speed though is exhilarating.
Come on, how close? I don't think I'd want to visit Ukraine. Too much strife. Bosnia, now that's a different story.
My Grandfather (Dad's Dad) immigrated from Belgrade around 1904 as a lone 17 year old. I'd like to go there sometime. A couple years ago I was in Croatia in sound but not body. I spoke with my vacationing client while he was on the coast of Croatia in order to close on an offer on his property. He said the coast is even more beautiful than the pictures, there are guards with machine guns everywhere, the internet is nearly non-existent and the rest of the country didn't seem to be as impressive to him.