a few questions

[chris]

Hi, a few things to ask, not in any order! myself and 4 or 5 friends will be backpacking for 4 - 5 weeks between June and July, we're planning to visit Amsterdam then go through Berlin to Prague, head south to Vienna then into Slovenia and Croatia; next we'll get a ferry from south Croatia to Bari in Italy and work our way up to Milan.

Any ideas how long we should stay in each country, alternative towns/cities we should consider? Which railcard to go for? We're currently planning to get a 3 zone inter-rail pass..

I haven't seen many comments on Slovenia & Croatia - has anyone been and do you have some suggestions? I've heard very good things about the Dalmatia coast!

[nitsansh]

There are 4 zones included in your itinerary. Which one you want to leave out?

[Marc]

Hi! I just read your message and I must say, your plans are extremely ambitious....

I think it's better to concentrate on The Netherlands and surrounding countries, and the same goes for Slovania, Croatia or Italy. Of course it can be done to visit all the seperate countries and cities in the number of weeks you mentioned, but I'm afraid you'll spend most of your time on the road! So I'd say, select the zones you want to see and drop the other plans or do them another time (if you've got the time and money of'course... ).

[chris]

cheers! it does seem a slight bit ambitious doesn't it!!

we've decided to go to amsterdam for 4 days, then get a train directly to slovenia, spending 3 or 4 days there and heading to croatia staying in zabreb & split on the coast.. then over to italy for rome, florance, cinque terre & milan... seems a bit more reasonable!!

any suggestions for other towns cities in these countries? & Does the Interrail pass that covers italy & croatia include the ferry crossing or is that usually extra?

[nitsansh]

Chris:
Most of us are not Europeans, and therefor not familiar with the fine details of Inter Rail, such as which ferries are covered by Inter Rail...
I suggest that you don't use trains in Croatia... bus is much better... and since you are not going to Prague (Czech Republic and Croatia are on the same zone), I don't think it would be worth it to add a zone for Croatia alone. Slovenia is in the same zone as Italy, so you should have that zone. It's probably worth to add the Germany-Austria zone only for the trip between Amsterdam and Slovenia through these countries... BTW, I don't think there's a direct train Amsterdam-Slovenia... your best connection is probably a night train to Munchen and change for another train to Ljubljana.
If your time and money is short, I would overlook Zagreb and travel along the Dalmatian coast all the way from Istra to Dubrovnik - if you get as far as Split it's worth to travel further south, and then take the ferry to Bari. You can also take the same ferry from Split to Dubrovnik - this is a nice day trip via some of the islands.
Check the ferries timetable - this route is operated 2-3 times a week in high season. Ferries from Split to Pescara (closest to Rome) or Ancona are more frequent.

[chris]

thanks the Croatia bit was useful.. i've got a feeling that we might do something along those lines. our train to slovenia does go via munchen i just call it direct as it's pretty much a straight line!!