Best Way to Get to Croatia from Florence

I%26#39;m new to international travel and will be doing some studying abroad in Florence Italy this upcoming summer. I have been encouraged to do independent travel and I%26#39;m really wanting to go to Croatia for a weekend trip. I would be leaving on a Thursday evening and coming back on a Sunday evening/night. What is the best way to get to the Croatia, particularly the beaches there? I would assume a ferry would be good, but have no idea where I would need look to find out where one would leave from. Any help would be greatly appreciated

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Ryanair should fly from Pisa next year as well. The service should start in June, however...

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Both Ryan Air and easyJet fly seasonally direct from northern Italy to Croatia (from Pisa and Milan to Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik) but I don%26#39;t think you can check schedules this far ahead of time. They don%26#39;t fly every day and not all year but should fly in the summer. Keep them in mind next year closer to the time you%26#39;d be traveling.

I suggest you do some research on these budget airlines - they are different from what you are probably used to in the US. The closest budget airline I can compare them to here is Southwest Airlines, but even Southwest is liberal with carry-on and checked luggage allowance. easyJet and especially RyanAir are strict about the weight of your luggage and charge you heavy fees for luggage heavier than than their limits. Also, they charge you for everything (a fee just to use your credit card to buy a ticket for example!). Some of their fees are ridiculously low (like about $8 fare one way for a Ryan Air flight Pisa to Zadar) but after all the extra fees it costs a lot more...

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You can do research on any airlines at this time, however the fares may not be accurate for next year travel. The budget airlines have websites and most of them do have something up for next year.

If you are only going to visit Croatia for a short weekend trip, may I recommend you visit one town or area as you may not have daily service on some of the ferry lines to the islands.

Also you need to begin some research on what part of Croatia you wish to visit. If you%26#39;re flying, you will have some varied choices but if you are going to be coming by train and or bus, stay close to Italy. Istria is a lovely area and you will be charmed by it%26#39;s natural beauty. There is a ferry service from Venice to the Istrian peninsula.

http://www.venezialines.com/eng/index.asp

Very important you begin to research Croatian beaches, as they are not all soft sand, many are pebbles. There is a website dedicated just to Croatian beach, just google it.

Dobrodosli u Croatia