Croatia or South of France?

Hi there,

Hoping you can help give me some advice. My fiance and I are traveling to Italy (Lake Como) to get married and we have a week to spend after that in September. We can't decide between South of France (riveria or beaches) or Croatia--which is easiest to get to, which is more realistic to relax and enjoy during the month of September. The dates we'll be there are Sept 13-20, and we want to go to one of those places as we've already traveled throughout Italy.

Also- if you suggest Croatia, can you tell me what Island/City is best for a week's stay? I'm pretty familiar with France as I have been there before-- just not the south area but I'm thinking Nice or the Riviera.

Thank you for your help!!

Lissy

well croatia would certainly be cheaper, but im not sure which would have more tourists etc...

Id think Croatia as well...but both would be swarmed with tourists. Where is the Riviera anyway?

ill be in croatia in september too, so i hope i made the right choice! :P

sep 16-28th shouldnt be too bad i dont think.....

Both the Croatian Adriatic coast and the French Riviera will indeed be swarming with tourists, although likely not as much as in July and August (Dubrovnik excepted). Croatia has witnessed a massive influx and a concomittant rise of prices ever since Lonely Planet proclaimed it "Travel Destination of the Year 2005". I wouldn't be too certain about Croatia being cheaper. Accommodation on the coast probably is not. Despite this, my vote goes to Croatia. To get there from Lake Como, take the train or bus to Venice and the coastal ferry from there. The ferry will take you to the main tourist destinations.

Gonna be taking the ferry from Venice to Pula late August then 2 weeks in Croatia visiting Opatija, Zadar, Split, Hvar, Korcula then Dubrovnik. I think we may have to drop either Hvar or Korcula as this itinerary may be too rushed.
For ferry advice from Venice to Croatia, try http://www.venezialines.com/eng/index.asp
As mentioned before, LP gives Croatia rave reviews so I'm expecting lots of tourists.
Supposed to be some lovely islands close to Istria so you could look there, as you wouldn't want to be spending hours ferrying south to Dubrovnik.
Check out the LP Croatia book.

Anthony

P.S. Took the Croatia travel book back to the library last week but think Zadar gets an extremely good mention, and that shouldn't be too far down the coast.

[ Edit: Edited on Jun 3, 2008, at 8:32 AM by wotthefiqh ]

do you think its easier to go with the ferry or train?

ill be going from milan and had planned on taking the night train which went to zagreb... it was going to cost €60ish, is a ferry faster/cheaper/more worth it (views etc)?

If you're in Milan it'll be far more convenient getting the train, although with that said if you don't want to stay in Zagreb then you should be aware that it's still a long trip from Zagreb to Split/Dubrovnik and some of the other destinations on the coast.

yeah i have 2 weeks in croatia and i fly outta split so ill have some time to get there!

Hi there!

I don't know about France but Croatia can make a pretty nice trip - especially if you're not from "non desired country". In this time in September it will not be that crowded anymore since ferro gosto is over and school begins in September. Main facts: sea is cleaner the souther you go, people are nicer in South Dalmatia, too. It will still be warm enough in South too. For me Croatia has really nice beaches (all kinds of them, also a lot of nudist beaches) and great sea but all state accomodation is still not completely adapted after Yugoslavian times - in almost every case it is better to pick private accomodation, people are nicer, rooms are better. Also there are a lot of history monuments (Roman times, Venecia Republic): for total romantic go to Dubrovnik or island Korčula, if you are a nature lover go see island Mljet. Split is very viviant town, Pula in the North has second greatest colloseum after Rome where there are great concerts during the whole summer... And if you have enough of salty water sun and heat you can visit Krka river fall, which is a total refreshment: forrest, fresh water,....

In general you can't miss with islands Korčula, Hvar, Mljet and penninsula Pelješac.

You can find some info about accomodation at www.adriatica.net and you can always contact me with extra questions: I spent all summers in Croatia until my 20th birthday