Budući da je dvorana daleko od centra, krenut ćemo ranije i uzeti taksi.

Yes, budući can mean future in other contexts, but in this sentence Budući da is a fixed conjunction meaning since, given that, or seeing that.

So:

• Budući da je dvorana daleko od centra... = Since the hall is far from the center...

This phrase is a bit more formal or written-sounding than jer (because). In everyday speech, many people might also say:

• Jer je dvorana daleko od centra...

But Budući da is completely normal and correct.

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti (to be).

The clause literally contains:

• dvorana = the hall
• je = is
• daleko od centra = far from the center

So:

• dvorana je daleko od centra = the hall is far from the center

After Budući da, Croatian still needs a full clause, and that clause includes the verb je.

Centra is in the genitive singular.

That is because od normally takes the genitive. In this expression:

• daleko od + genitive = far from + noun

So:

• centar = center
• od centra = from the center

This is the normal Croatian pattern for expressing distance.

Because the sentence is expressing distance, not movement out of a place.

• daleko od centra = far from the center
• iz centra = from/out of the center

So iz would suggest origin or movement from inside a place, while od is the normal preposition after daleko.

Compare:

• Živim daleko od centra. = I live far from the center.
• Dolazim iz centra. = I’m coming from the center.

Because daleko here is the normal word used to express distance in this kind of predicate.

Croatian commonly says:

• Škola je daleko.
• More je daleko.
• Dvorana je daleko od centra.

Even though dvorana is feminine, daleko does not change here because it is not behaving like a regular agreeing adjective in this construction. It is the standard way to say that something is far away.

So for a learner, the safest pattern is:

• X je daleko od Y = X is far from Y

This is the future tense.

The verb is krenuti (to set off / to leave / to start going), and the auxiliary is ćemo (we will).

Croatian has two common ways to form this future:

• ćemo krenuti
• krenut ćemo

When the infinitive comes before the auxiliary and ends in -ti, the final -i is dropped:

• krenuti + ćemo → krenut ćemo
• raditi + ćemo → radit ćemo
• uzeti + ćemo → uzet ćemo

So krenut ćemo is standard and correct.

Because the future meaning can carry over to the second coordinated verb.

So:

• krenut ćemo ranije i uzeti taksi

means:

• we will leave earlier and take a taxi

Croatian often does this just like English:

• We’ll leave earlier and take a taxi.

You can repeat the future auxiliary, but you do not have to. For example:

• Krenut ćemo ranije i uzet ćemo taksi.

That is also possible, but the original sentence is more compact and very natural.

Because ranije means earlier, while rano means early.

Here the idea is comparative: earlier than usual, earlier than planned, or earlier than we otherwise would.

So:

• rano = early
• ranije = earlier

Compare:

• Krećemo rano. = We are leaving early.
• Krećemo ranije. = We are leaving earlier.

Because Croatian usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject.

Here, ćemo tells you it is we:

• krenut ćemo = we will leave

So mi is usually omitted unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Compare:

• Krenut ćemo ranije. = We’ll leave earlier.
• Mi ćemo krenuti ranije, a oni kasnije. = We will leave earlier, and they later.

In the second sentence, mi is used for contrast.

Both krenuti and uzeti are perfective verbs.

That means they describe a single whole action:

• krenuti = to set off, to start out
• uzeti = to take

This fits the sentence well, because it is about specific future actions:

• we will leave
• we will take a taxi

If you used imperfective verbs, the meaning would shift more toward repeated, ongoing, or habitual action.

Very roughly:

• krenuti / uzeti = one completed future action
• kretati / uzimati = repeated or habitual action

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Budući da je dvorana daleko od centra = subordinate clause
• krenut ćemo ranije i uzeti taksi = main clause

In Croatian, when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, a comma is normally used.

So the punctuation is standard:

• Budući da je dvorana daleko od centra, krenut ćemo ranije i uzeti taksi.

Yes, but the structure and tone would change a little.

You could say:

• Krenut ćemo ranije i uzeti taksi jer je dvorana daleko od centra.

This is very natural and common.

Difference in feel:

• Budući da... often sounds a bit more formal or explanatory
• jer is a very common everyday because

Both are correct, but the original sentence has a slightly more structured, written tone.