ITALIA: VENEZIA

Our trip along the Croatian coast really began in Venice, where we spent three days walking along its streets and canals.

After this weekend in Venezia, what I liked the most, together with Piazza San Marco, was to walk along its narrow streets of Venezia and to discover, suddenly, a gondola sailing slowly on a small quiet canal. For me that is the essence of Venice.

Next you have what we visit each day:

Day 1

• Grand Canal in Venezia
• Small Canals in Venezia
• Ponte and Mercato di Rialto

Day 2

• Grand Canal in Vaporetto
• Piazza San Marco in the morning
• Palazzo Ducale
• Basilica di San Marco
• Campanile
• Ponte dei Suspiri
• Arsenal
• Piazza San Marco in the afternoon

Day 3

• Jewish Quarter

Our hotel in Venezia was Casa Per Ferie Alle Lagune. It was actually in Mestre, an adjacent town to Venezia. There is a bus stop next to the hotel, so we were in Venezia in only 15min.

We went to Porec in Croatia with a high speed ferry of Venezialines, which departs from San Basilio Station in Venezia. In 2013 Venezia Lines offers trips from Venice to POREC, ROVINJ, PULA, and MALI LOSINJ and Vice Versa.

Below you have some pictures of the most interesting places we visited in Venezia:

Day 1

Grand Canal from a bridge near the train station of Venezia

Lovely small canal in Venezia

Another small canal in Venezia. For me, this is the real Venezia

Enjoying a Spritz, the typical drink of Venezia

A mask I liked in Venezia

Ponte di Rialto in Venezia

Masks in Venezia near the Rialto Bridge

Gondola on the Grand Canal in Venezia from Rialto Bridge

Mercato di Rialto in Venezia

Day 2

Gondolas sailing on Grand Canal near a typical palace

Ponte di Rialto in Venezia from a Vaporetto

Gondolas on Grand Canal of Venezia

A colourful palace behind a Gondola on the Grand Canal in Venezia

Basilica di San Marco and Palazzo Ducale in Venezia

Palazzo Ducale in Venezia

Facade of Palazzo Ducale in Venezia

Mosaic on the main facade of San Marco Basilica in Venezia

Campanile in Piazza San Marco in Venezia

Piazza San Marco from the top of the Campanile in Venezia

San Giorgio Island and Piazza San Marco in Venezia from the Campanile

Church of San Giorgio Maggiore from the Campanile in Piazza San Marco in Venezia

Ponte dei Sospiri in Venezia

A gondola under Ponte dei Sospiri in Venezia

Gondola in Venezia near Ponte dei Sospiri

Arsenal in Venezia

San Marco Basilica and Campanile in Piazza San Marco in Venezia

Basilica di San Marco in Venezia

Basilica di San Marco in Venezia

Grand Canal in Venezia

Enjoying a Spritz in Venezia

Day 3

Jewish Quarter (Ghetto Vecchio) in Venezia

Piazza San Marco in Venezia from the ferry of Venezia Lines which was taking us to Porec in Croatia

Porec (Parenzo) in Croatia

Restaurant in Porec, a beautiful town where we spent our first night in Croatia

Next you have more beautiful places in Croatia we visited in this trip:

• Day 1 - 3: Venice
• Day 4: Porec, Rovinj and Pula
• Day 5: Zadar
• Day 6: Plitvice Lakes
• Day 7: Sibenik
• Day 8: Krka National Park
• Day 9: Split and Trogir
• Day 10: Hvar Town and Korkula
• Day 11: Korkula, Ston and Dubrovnik
• Day 12: Mostar (Bosnia Herzegovina) and Dubrovnik
• Day 13: Dubrovnik and Cavtat
• Day 14: Dubrovnik

Other fantatic places in Italy are:

- Italy

• Rome and The Vatican

• Florence in Tuscany
• San Gimignano
• Siena
• Pisa
• Lucca
• Milano
• Como Lake and Bellagio
• Bergamo

Finally, other great cities and countries I have already visited are:

Barcelona

Berlin

New York and Washington

London

Dublin in Irleland

Istanbul in Turkey

Saint Petersburg

Rome and The Vatican

Paris

Florence in Tuscany

Lisboa in Portugal

Madrid

The Greek Islands and Athens

Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

CROATIA, VENICE AND BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA

During this trip which began in Venice and ended in Dubrovnik, we discovered a beautiful coast with charming villages, breathtaking natural parks, important monuments and beaches of clear and turquoise water, although they were of rocks instead of sand.

Apart from Venice, what I liked the most in Croatia was Plitvice Lakes National Park and the tale city of Dubrovnik with its impresive city walls. I found lovely the towns of Rovinj, Sibenik, Trogir and Korkula and I have a wonderful memory of the turquoise and clear water of the beaches of Hvar and Korkula. Finally the beauty of the old town of Mostar in Bosnia surprised me a lot. 

This was our trip route from Venice to Dubrovnik:

Days 1,2 and 3 - Venice

• Rialto
• Piazza San Marco
• Grand Canal
• Small Canals and streets

Day 4 - Istria Peninsula in Croatia

• Porec, Rovinj and Pula

Day 5 - Dalmatia in Croatia

• Susak and Mali Losinj
• Zadar

Day 6 - Croatia

• Plitvice Lakes National Park

Day 7 - Dalmatia in Croatia

• Sibenik - Cathedral of St. Jacob, Old Town

Day 8 - Dalmatia in Croatia

• Krka National Park

Day 9 - Dalmatia in Croatia

• Split - Diocletian Palace, Riva, Marjan Hill
• Trogir

Day 10 - Dalmatia in Croatia

• Hvar Town
• Korkula

Day 11 - Dalmatia and Dubrovnik  in Croatia

• Korkula
• Ston
• Dubrovnik

Day 12 - Bosnia Herzegovina and Dubrovnik

• Neum, Pocitelj and Mostar

Day 13 - Dubrovnik  in Croatia

• City Walls of Dubrovnik and Banje Beach
• Cavtat

Day 14 - Dubrovnik  in Croatia

• Stradun and Pile District

Next I would like to show you some pictures of these days in Venice, Croatia and Bosnia:

Days 1,2 and 3 - Venice

Gondolas on a small canal in Venice

Masks near Ponte di Rialto in Venice

Enjoying a Spritz in Venice

Palazzo Ducale in Venice

San Marco Basilica in Venice

Grand Canal in Venice

Day 4

Porec (Parenzo)

Euphrasian Basilica in Porec

Rovinj (Rovigno)

Saint Euphemia church in Rovinj

Pula (Pola)

Pula amphitheater in Croatia

Day 5

Susak

Susak from the Jadrolinija Catamaran. This was the first stop of our journey from Pula to Zadar

Mali Losinj

Our Catamaran of Jadrolinika stopped in Mali Losinj too

Zadar

Forum in Zadar

Day 6

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Turquoise and clear water of one of the lakes of Plitvice Lakes National Park

One of the many waterfalls we saw in Plitvice Lakes National Park

The day was lovely in Plitvice Lakes National Park, so we can enjoy all of its beauty

Day 7

Sibenik

Saint James Cathedral in Sibenik

Loggia of the City Hall in Sibenik

Day 8

Krka National Park

Stradinski Buk in Krka National Park

Day 9

Split

Riva and Diocletian Palace in Split

Diocletian Palace in Split

Trogir

Loggia in Trogir near the cathedral of Saint Lawrence

Day 10

Hvar Town

Beautiful beach near Hvar Town

Hvar Town in Croatia

Korkula

Revelin Tower in Korkula

Day 11

Korkula

Korkula in Croatia

Ston

Ston Walls in Croatia

Dubrovnik

Pile Gate in Dubrovnik

Day 12

Pocitelj in Bosnia Herzegovina

Mosque of Pocitelj in Bosnia Herzegovina

Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina

Stari Most in Bosnia Herzegovina

Stari Most and Neretva River in Mostar

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik from Fort Lovrijenac

Day 13

Dubrovnik

Old Port in Dubrovnik

Old Port in Dubrovnik

City Walls of Dubrovnik

Cavtat

Cavtat, a lovely village near Dubrovnik

Day 14

Dubrovnik

Stradun and Clock Tower in Dubrovnik

In summer it is completely feasible to perform this route with public transport, as we did, basically with Catamaran and bus. The main destinations have daily combinations, often several times a day. In our case, almost all the catamarans and buses were comfortable and punctual.

The only minor drawback was sold out tickets in catamarans between Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik (you can`t buy them in advance) but we always found an alternative to reach the destination on time.

So my advice is that the first thing you should do as soon as you reach a place, is to buy bus or catamaran tickets to the next destination.

These are the means of transport we use during our route through Croatia:

• Venice - Porec: Venezia Lines Catamaran (2h45 and 72€)
• Porec - Rovinj - Pula:  Public Bus (45min and 35 Kn each one)
• Pula  - Zadar: Jadrolinija Catamaran (5h30 and 200Kn)
• Zadar - Plitvice Lakes: Bus from Zadar Station (2h and 105Kn)
• Plitvice Lakes - Sibenik: Bus (5h15 and 110Kn)
• Sibenik - Krka National Park - Sibenik: Public Bus from Sibenik Station (30min 25kn)
• Sibenik - Split: Bus from Split Station (1h45 and 75Kn aprox)
• Split - Trogir - Split: Public Bus from Split Station (45min and 25Kn)
• Split - Hvar: Jadrolinija Catamaran (1h and 60Kn)
• Hvar - Korkula: Jadrolinija Catamaran (1h and 40Kn)
• Korkula - Dubrovnik: Bus shuttle (3h and 20€) (GV lines Catamaran tickets sold out)
• Dubrovnik - Neum - Pocitelj - Mostar: Excursion with Lea Travel (40€)

and these are our accomodations during this trip:

• Venice (Mestre): Casa Per Ferie Alle Lagune (quite good)
• Porec: Arlen Bed and Breakfast
• Pula: Hostel Sonja (highly recommended)
• Zadar: Nina Apartment
• Plitvice Lakes: Hotel Bellevue (quite good)
• Sibenik: Apartment Jasminka (quite good)
• Split: Hostel Peruzovic (highly recommended)
• Korkula: Accomodation Drasko (highly recommended)
• Dubrovnik: Rooms and Apartment Kortizija (highly recommended)

We found the information we needed to plan our route in the following websites:

- What to visit in Croatia, advices etc:

• http://www.sobrecroacia.com/

- Accomodation

• http://www.hostelbookers.com/
• http://wwww.booking.com/

- Catamarans and buses

• http://www.jadrolinija.hr/en/home
• http://www.venezialines.com/
• http://www.croatiaferries.com/
• http://www.buscroatia.com/

Finally, other great cities I have already visited are:

Barcelona

Berlin

New York and Washington

London

Dublin in Irleland

Istanbul in Turkey

Saint Petersburg

Rome and The Vatican

Paris

Florence in Tuscany

Lisboa in Portugal

Madrid

The Greek Islands and Athens

Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco