UK to Croatia in a car, via Ferry?

shellsuit

Has anybody done this trip before and can offer any advice, do's or don'ts, or ways to get there?

My Uncle lives in Croatia and has a gorgeous hotel out there which he had built. My Dad has never been abroad in his life and would really love to see how his brother lives but he won't fly!

Hubby has offered to go with my Dad next year but Dad will only go so long as it's by car and ferry.

Any feedback would be splendid!

dzug1

The only ferry route you will need is across the channel - you can drive the rest of the way.

There are ferries from various places in Italy to Croatia but they save little if anything in terms of driving.

It's going to take several days/overnight stops regardless.

apt

It's about 1,000 miles from S. E. England to Istria in the north of Croatia so you could do it with one overnight stop if you don't mind plenty of driving. Unless you need lots of sandy beaches Croatia is a great place for a holiday.

shellsuit

dzug1 wrote: »

The only ferry route you will need is across the channel - you can drive the rest of the way.

There are ferries from various places in Italy to Croatia but they save little if anything in terms of driving.

It's going to take several days/overnight stops regardless.

My Uncle and his twin brother drove from here to there in 20 hours, lots of driving, but then that's what they do for a living so are used to it.

Hubby and Dad were looking at one overnight stay somewhere, 2 tops.

apt wrote: »

It's about 1,000 miles from S. E. England to Istria in the north of Croatia so you could do it with one overnight stop if you don't mind plenty of driving. Unless you need lots of sandy beaches Croatia is a great place for a holiday.

It's working out which is the best place to get the ferry from in the UK and which route to take from there.

They have plenty of time to sort it all out, just wondered if anyone here had done it

dzug1

shellsuit wrote: »

They have plenty of time to sort it all out, just wondered if anyone here had done it

Not this particular journey, but quite a few of similar length.

My own preference is to potter along taking 3 or 4 days over it and make it part of the holiday rather than just a journey. Often turns out more enjoyable/interesting than the final resort.

shellsuit

dzug1 wrote: »

Not this particular journey, but quite a few of similar length.

My own prefernece is to potter along taking 3 or 4 days over it and make it part of the holiday rather than just a journey. Often turned out more enjoyable/interesting than the final resort.

I think they'd rather get there as quick as they can, then take their time coming home to see and stop at other places.

They're doing it over a fortnight so will have plenty of time.

I do wish my Dad would fly, if he did, they could go next month instead of next year!

birder54

I've done the trip a few times but the route I use may not suit your families needs. I go Harwich to Hook of Holland overnight so that I get a sleep before driving across Holland, through the Ruhr, past Frankfurt and into Austria passing through Graz, Cross through Slovenia via Maribour and down via Krapina to Zagreb and then the new motorway down to Split. I can do the majority of the journey in one days driving and then staying overnight in either Zagreb or sometimes in Austria, it really depends on the traffic and if I am with another driver. Friends from Zagreb do it to London using a similar route with the exception that they get the ferry via Calais. We can normally be sitting with them in a restaurant in the West End by about 9pm but their driving is more like low flying.

Ponkle22

Wow, that is some journey. Presume doing it via trains is not an option? Thinking of some sort of railcard - you could try seat61 website - though its probably not worth doing by rail - but what do I know?!

However, a good idea would be to ask this in the Trip Advisor forums . Assuming there is a Croatian section.

shellsuit

birder54 wrote: »

I've done the trip a few times but the route I use may not suit your families needs. I go Harwich to Hook of Holland overnight so that I get a sleep before driving across Holland, through the Ruhr, past Frankfurt and into Austria passing through Graz, Cross through Slovenia via Maribour and down via Krapina to Zagreb and then the new motorway down to Split. I can do the majority of the journey in one days driving and then staying overnight in either Zagreb or sometimes in Austria, it really depends on the traffic and if I am with another driver. Friends from Zagreb do it to London using a similar route with the exception that they get the ferry via Calais. We can normally be sitting with them in a restaurant in the West End by about 9pm but their driving is more like low flying.

The night before last, hubby was actually looking at doing Harwich to Hook, so that they can get some sleep.

I'll show him your post this evening, as I'm sure he will want to make a note of how you get there.

Thanks for the help!

shellsuit

Ponkle22 wrote: »

Wow, that is some journey. Presume doing it via trains is not an option? Thinking of some sort of railcard - you could try seat61 website - though its probably not worth doing by rail - but what do I know?!

However, a good idea would be to ask this in the Trip Advisor forums . Assuming there is a Croatian section.

No, only ferry and even that's pushing it!

Dad suffers from claustrophobia ~ he's OK on a train with someone for 10 minutes or so, but any longer and he'd have to get off. That's why he won't fly too. He hates lifts too and would rather take stairs. Poor sod lol

Will tell hubby about checking Trip Advisor out though, don't know why we didn't think of that first!