Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sailing Between Croatia and Italy
Many travelers are tempted to splice a little bit of Croatia into their Italian itinerary,
or vice versa. But zipping across the Adriatic isn't as effortless as it seems. Most sea
crossings involve an overnight on the boat, and the Italian towns best connected to
Croatia—Ancona, Pescara, and Bari—are far from Italy's top sights. Plan thought-
fully. For example, if you're in northern Italy and want to sample Croatia, it's much
easiertodipintoIstriathanitistogetallthewaydowntoCroatia'sDalmatianCoast.
Ifyoudecidetosetsail,youhaveseveraloptions,runbyvariouscompanies.Split
istheprimaryhub,butyoucanalsogofromothercities(usuallyDubrovnikorZadar;
some international ferries also call at the small Dalmatian islands). Almost all boats
go to Ancona, Italy, which is about two-thirds of the way up the Italian coast (on the
calf of Italy's “boot”). Others go to Pescara, about 100 miles south of Ancona; and to
Bari, near the southern tip of Italy (the “heel”). Most trips are overnight and last 8-10
hours,buttherearefasterdaytimecatamarans.Notethattheseconnectionsarehighly
subject to change from year to year; do an Internet search to be confident you know
all of your options.
Slow Night Boats:
Figure about €45-60 per person for one-way deck passage
(about 10-20 percent more in peak season, roughly July-Aug; sometimes even more
on weekends). Onboard accommodation costs extra (about €20 per person for a
couchette in a 4-berth compartment, €60-75 per person in 2-bed compartment with
private shower and WC). These companies operate night boats to Italy:
Jadrolinija
goes from Split to Ancona, from Zadar to Ancona, and from
Dubrovnik to Bari (tel. 051/211-444 or 021/338-333,
www.jadrolinija.hr
)
.
SNAV
connects Split to Ancona (Croatian tel. 021/322-252, Italian tel.
081-428-5555,
www.snav.it
).Inthepast,thiscompanyalsoranfast,4.5-hourdaytime
catamarans between these cities, but as of 2013, these were discontinued; check
SNAV's website to see if this service has resumed.
Blue Line
sails from Split to Ancona; in summer, some crossings stop en route
at Stari Grad on Hvar Island (can book at Split Tours travel agency in Split, tel. 021/
352-533,
www.blueline-ferries.com
)
.
Other companies serving these routes come and go each year—ask the Split TI or
poke around Split's main terminal building to discover the latest.
Trains Within Italy:
From
Ancona,
you can catch a train to Venice (almost
hourly, 4.25-5.25 hours, most transfer in Bologna), Florence (almost hourly, 3-4.25
hours,mosttransferinBologna),orRome(8/daydirect,3-4.5hours).From
Pescara,
