I'm planning a trip, end of September, early October, starting on the Dalmatian coast (Split), hitting King's Landing—I mean Dubrovnik—then heading to Venice. I want to see that city before it drowns.

I can get to Split easily enough. Getting to Venice is the rub. Flights are circuitous and expensive. Trains are well nigh non-existent. Bus and ferry schedules for October are hard to find and harder to suss.

Are there any travel maestros on these boards? Any advice on getting from either Split or Dubrovnik to anywhere on the Italian peninsula in a reasonably efficient manner would be appreciated.

Up to six days. Still working out the details. Want to see Plitvice lakes, Dubrovnik, one or more less touristy islands that is easy to reach (a likely oxymoron). One of those is likely to fall off the list though. I don't want to spend too much time traveling once in country.

Yeah, we're hanging out in Croatia. I'm doing Bologna and Venice on my own.