Athens - Rome - Sicily -Dubrovnik - Mostar - Barcelona ...

Weismayr42
Traveller
7 comments

Hello again!

So after a bit of thought and chatting with colleagues, I've decided to refine my planned trip.

My plan now is to go for 3 weeks, with 4 definite destinations in mind.

This would be:

Rome - Dubrovnik - Mostar - Athens

So I'm thinking flight to Rome from London Gatwick, and returning from Athens 3 weeks later, exploring Italy, Croatia and Bosnia in between (and possibly other places in Macedonia and Montenegro)

Does this sound feasible? (I know there might need to be at least one or two ferry trips within this)
Would it be sensible to book hotels/hostels in Rome and Athens in advance, and leave the destinations and accommodation in between as flexible?

Once again, advice on this would be hugely appreciate. Thanks again.
Dan

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi Dan,

totally feasible, however you wont need an InterRail pass for this route.

Within Italy it will be sufficient to go with tickets bought at the spot, regional trains are fairly cheap and can get you easily from Rome to the Adriatic for a ferry to Croatia or Montenegro - you might make a few stops in between, say Florence (or other cities in Tuscany such as Siena, Montepulciano) or Assisi and Perugia.
Depending on where exactly you are heading you also could use Intercity or Frecce (high speed trains) which are more expensive but still reasonably cheap when booked in advance. These might be interesting if you take a ferry from Bari which is not as convenient to reach with regional trains only as Ancona.

Ancona - Split ferry: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-ferry/ancona-split/37[/u]
Bari - Dubrovnik ferry: [u]https://rail.cc/en/bari/ferry/c[/u]
There is also a ferry from Bari to Bar in Montenegro

Dubrovnik has no rail links (anymore), frequent buses operate there from Split.
I've been there last summer with my friends and although the city is as beautiful as it can get there are loads of tourists and the overall price level is very high.
I'd recommend to have a good look at accomodation options and to book in advance.

To get to Mostar it is again best to take a bus; trains are serving Mostar and the line is quite spectacular as well however the trains across the border to the Croatian harbour Ploce have been axed recently.

From Mostar again by bus to Podgorica to finally explore Montenegro - if you are into hiking you might be interested in the Durmitor National Park around the city of Zabljak; also dont miss the Bay of Kotor.

How to get to Athens...there are no cross border trains from Macedonia to Greece since 2010; if you want to go by train most of the way you can go from Podgorica to Belgrade first (a really stunning and spectacular line!), then continue to Skopje; bus to Thessaloniki, train again to Athens.
You can buy all tickets on the spot; however Greek Railways offer cheaper advance fares online; you can also prebook special offers of Montenegrin Railways online.
Alternatively you can work your way by bus through Albania either directly to Greece or to Macedonia from Montenegro as well.

I would book accomodation in Rome and Dubrovnik in advance (also including the ferry trip), the rest can be done during your trip IMO.


Flo 8)

Weismayr42
Traveller
7 comments

Hi Flo,

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I've been thinking about the route a little bit more (sorry to be awkward!) and was thinking of doing the following.

Start in Palermo to see Sicily, then ferry up to Salerno. From there, travel through Italy to Rome, Perugia, Florence, Bologna, Verona and Venice (not necessarily stopping in each of these cities - perhaps I won't have enough time to see all of these properly?)

Then from Venice on to Ljubljana, Zagreb, Sarajevo and Mostar (am I right in thinking there will be trains all the way at this point?) Then I'd need to get a bus (I think?) from Mostar to Split (perhaps I'll avoid Dubrovnik based on your advice). From Split I was thinking ferry to Ancona, train down to Bari and then take the ferry from there to Patras and finally on to Athens.

Would this change to my plan require an InterRail pass do you think?
In terms of budget I should be okay for accommodation (so you think I'd be okay to only book Rome in advance?)
My biggest concern is time - would 3 weeks be enough to make the most out of the places I'm going (in particular, Sicily, Rome, Split and Athens)?

Thanks again for your help, it's all a bit scary when you're new to this so it's great to have friendly support on this site!
Dan

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Glad to help. Well, dont be surprised if your route is going to change again during the planning stage - this probably happens to a lot of people, me included. ;)

It should be possible to visit all mentioned cities within the three weeks however you should think about how long you want to stay in each place; it might be a good idea to split your trip in three parts: At the end of week 1 you should arrive in, say, Ljubljana, and at the end of week 2 you should head for Athens - that way you wont spend too much time at a certain place and would not risking skipping other cities due to lack of time (hope that was understandable...)

For that route you could think about the 10in22 IR pass (especially since you are going to use the Bari - Patras ferry which is included in InterRail, only port and fuel taxes have to be paid) however it may just be that you are better off with regular tickets. You can get all the way to Mostar by train; only the border crossing from Italy to Slovenia is a bit complicated: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/travel-lake-bled-train/[/u]

What about taking a night train from Palermo to Rome instead of the ferry?

Did you look into flights to Croatia/Montenegro/Bosnia? Maybe it can be an option to start there, then go the route backwards to Italy and finally by ferry to Greece?

I think three weeks is totally enough, especially since it is your first time doing this kind of travelling - and it can get exhausting at times. ;)

Weismayr42
Traveller
7 comments

Hi again Flo

Thanks once more for the advice. I think you might be right about starting in Croatia perhaps. I've had a look at flights from London to Split. From there, I'm thinking the following I've thought the following route would perhaps be best (if you don't mind having a look at this link?) - LINK TIMED OUT

I've included the ferry from Salerno to Palermo as I thought that would be the quickest way to get to Sicily and explore it. From there, it would be trains back to Bari from Catania before ferry again to Greece. Do you think this could work, or would it be better to get the train from Salerno to Sicily?

Can I just double check the 10in22 pass as I'm not sure that I fully understand it - does this mean you can only travel on 10 days of the trip? Does this include night trains?

Also, would you still recommend only booking accommodation in advance for Rome?

Thanks again for your help so far, I think the trip is gradually taking shape!
Dan

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi Dan.
Please write down your planed route here as text. As links will disappear and future readers can't follow anymore the information/ideas you discussed here. Thank you. :)
Peter :)

Weismayr42
Traveller
7 comments

Hi Peter
No problem, my apologies for not doing this initially.
My planned route would be as follows:

Split - Mostar - Sarajevo - Ljubljana - Venice - Florence - Rome - Naples - Salerno then ferry to Palermo, travel around Sicily - then from Catania to Bari - ferry to Patra - and finally Athens.

I hope that makes sense.

Thanks again

Weismayr42
Traveller
7 comments

Hi all

I hope I'm not pestering too much with these posts, I just wanted to get a final bit of clarification on my trip before I book my flights and train ticket.

So my plan is to fly out to Split, and fly back from Athens, via the route above. Considering my destinations, my main two questions at this stage are:

- should I go for the 10 in 22 day pass? Or am I safer with the continuous pass?

- in terms of accommodation, which of the above places should I book in advance? (I'm not planning to spend the night in every city as some would probably be okay as day-trips, but I'd definitely like to spend nights in Split, Venice, Rome, Sicily and Athens at least - are any of these okay to book once I arrive in the city?)

Thanks again, and apologies for the constant questions!
Dan

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hej Dan,

no problem at all to ask! In return in would be just great if you'd purchase your ticket at [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux] - thank you! ;)

Looking at your route you should be fine with the 10in22. Split to Mostar would be by bus; for the remainder of the trip I count nine travel days; you should have a look at the Catania - Bari connection though as this might take a while requiring you to travel back to Naples.

Anyway, if you have time to travel around Sicily a lot you can get cheap tickets for regional trains while you are there and would be still cheaper off than with the 22continuous.


Flo 8)

Weismayr42
Traveller
7 comments

Hi Flo,

Thanks a lot for this, this is really helpful. I'll go for the 10in22 days I think, and will certainly purchase them through railcc, it's a really great website and service that you guys have here.

I think you mentioned a while ago that I would probably need to book my accommodation in Rome in advance, I'm just wondering if you think I'd need to do the same with any of the other cities? (I'll be going in June, so I'm not sure how this might affect prices/business)

I'll stop with the questions after this - I promise!

Thanks once more
Dan

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Thank you! Glad to help. ;)

Well...I had the impression that prices in Rome were quite high during the peak summer, however when I was there in Decemeber I just paid 13€ or so in a very decent hostel.
Since your route has changed now you might just book accomodation in Rome on the go - what it advisable in general is to monitor rates and availability a few weeks before you go to get an impression of the situation in each city.

Weismayr42
Traveller
7 comments

Excellent, thanks Flow.
Right, time to book the tickets and flights!

I'm glad to have found this website, it's such a massive help and it's great that there is a helpful community of support for this. Thanks to you all once again, I'll let you know how I get on!

All the best.
Dan

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Great! If any questions occur just ask. :)
Have fun planning your trip!