Railway Dog

From Ancona on the East coast of Italy, ferries regularly sail to Croatia, Albania, Corfu and Greece. It’s population reflects that, and I was served lunch by a delightful Albanian woman. She told me you can take your dog on ferries to Albania too.

Ancona is a beautiful little city, worth some extra time for exploring, as well as to allow for the complex ferry foot passenger check in route. It is possible to leave luggage at the port near the boats, after checking in near the railway station.

As always I consulted the Happy Cow app for where to eat. However it doesn’t seem to get updated as much in Italy. On top of that it doesn’t always reflect seasonal hour changes, so check ahead. Zazie kindly reopened for me even though they had recently closed. I bought lunch and takeaway dinner for on the ferry. Fabulous!

Ancona train station is a long way from where the boat goes from. However check-in is quite near the station. You can walk there or get bus 12. Best to go there first, even if you plan to head into town, as then you don’t have to trudge back (the old town is at the boat end of the port). I wish I’d known.

Bus 20 does a continuous circuit from the check-in to the boats and back on the lower, port, level. Parallel to that, up above that level, is the town bus route road, on which you can get a variety of buses from the train station, including the 12 which may also detour to the check-in. You have to go to check-in before customs and boarding, so you need to go to the route 20 level which can be accessed from above at either end of the port, but not in-between. Bus 20 will circuit you round, for free.

Without queues it took about half an hour to check-in and get to the customs and passport queue for foot passengers, another half hour in that queue on a not busy day. They were only interested in my passport, not Baspie dog’s documents, as normal within Schengen.

Both SNAV and Jadrolinija go from Ancona to Split, at practically the same time. However SNAV are very welcoming to dogs, even having dog friendly cabins. For 73€ we both travelled across the Adriatic in an en suite cabin. There wasn’t an Interrail discount. I’ve realised that this isn’t often an important factor when comparing prices on overnight trains and ferries. I booked online via the SNAV website a few days before, and was emailed a digital ticket. No doubt in high season you have to book further ahead.

Dogs are allowed on all public areas, except close to food and drink service. There are extensive outside decks for exercise and relief. No poo bags, so be sure bring your own. A lovely dog from Perugia introduced us to his companions, who are holidaying by car in Croatia, and will drive back via Trieste. They slept well in this common area, as it turns out there are no restrictions to just getting your sleeping bag out and lying on the padded bench seats, dog nearby.

We arrived just after sunrise in Split. The sea was calm. On choosing my crossing, I had waited till a low wind forecast, as the winds can be ferocious here.

Split train station is a short walk from the boat. Heading the same way as the cars, you get to a T junction beyond the port exit where you turn left. There are buses, and beyond them the train station.

I was soon to discover the only people who take trains in Croatia are locals doing short hops and Interrail ticket holders, almost matched in number by staff, a few of each per train.