There are quite a number of cheap flights from the UK to Venice Marco Polo Airport, operated by various airlines. (There are also cheap flights to Venice Treviso, which is a completely different airport - see how to get from Treviso to Croatia.)

One option in travelling from Venice would be to take one of the numerous daily trains from Venice Santa Lucia or Mestre stations to Trieste and then change there for more transportation options to Croatia. See Trenitalia for train timetables.

Catamaran Service from Venice to Istria
Venezia Lines operate routes from Venice to various Istrian ports (Porec, Rovinj, Pula, Rabac) as well as services to the island of Mali Losinj. Most services operate between June and September; more popular ones operate from April to October (e.g. Venice to Rovinj and Porec). Book online using the form below:

Venice - Pula by Bus
There are two daily (except Sundays) services from Venice to Pula - one is run by the company FILS, and the second by Brioni. This second route actually starts in Padua and stops in Buje and Rovinj along the way.

Flights from the UK to Venice Marco Polo
British Airways Flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick
Easyjet Flights from London Gatwick, Bristol and East Midlands
Jet2.com Flights from Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Edinburgh
Thomsonfly Flights from London Gatwick and Manchester
flyThomasCook Flights from London Gatwick and Manchester

(N.B. Not all of the above flights operate all year round.)

Can I travel from Venice to Split or Dubrovnik by ferry?
It's a question we get asked quite frequently but, unfortunately, no - there are no ferries from Venice to either Split or Dubrovnik. Aside from the catamaran services to Istria and Mali Losinj (mentioned above), there is no ferry service from Venice to anywhere else Croatia.

But what if I do want to get from Venice to Split or Dubrovnik?
By far the easiest way of travelling from Venice to Dubrovnik is by air - Croatia Airlines are starting this twice-weekly route on 19th May 2011. From Dubrovnik, you could then also take a bus (about 4.5 hours) up to Split.

Otherwise, travelling by train isn't really a suitable option - train services go via Zagreb, so add on unnecessary hours to your journey. This is, of course, in the case of Split; Dubrovnik has no train station!

You could travel from Venice to Trieste by train, and then take one of the daily buses from here to Split or Dubrovnik. See our guide on how to travel from Trieste to Croatia.

However, the bus journey from Trieste to Split/Dubrovnik is rather long, and it's not everyone's cup of tea being cooped in a bus for that long! In our opinion, therefore, the best way of travelling by Venice would be to take a train down the Italian side of the Adriatic, and then take a ferry across to Croatia. Travel to Ancona for ferry services to Split (or Zadar) or to Bari for services to Dubrovnik.

Check for train schedules on the Trenitalia website, and then see our pages on travelling from Ancona and Bari.

Useful Travel Links
Venice Airport Information on getting to/from the airport
Trenitalia Train timetables for journeys within Italy
Die Bahn European train timetables