From red roof tops of Dubrovnik, through orange sunset of Zadar, to the turquoise waters of Plitvice Lakes, Croatia is an unmissable destination. There we’ve spent 9 days, in middle of sunny and warm July of 2017. Here’s what we’ve seen and done.
Our journey starts in Dubrovnik – without a doubt, the most beautiful, major city we’ve seen in Croatia. We stayed within the old town, which I highly recommend! If you book in advance, the price won’t be devastating. Oh, and by the way – the food also, isn’t that expensive.
Sunset, seen from the top of Srd mountain is not to be missed and a dinner at the Panorama restaurant (also at the top) is desirable. We took the cable car, which is the most convenient way of getting to the top.
A walk around Dubrovnik walls is an amazing way of seeing the city and its surroundings. The price is acceptable and the views are well worth it.
Details about Dubrovnik are available on a separate post. Check it out here.
An early morning ferry takes us to the port of Hvar on the island of the same name. Accommodation and food isn’t cheap here, but the island is amazing! We spent two days here, enjoying our time on few lovely beaches, while on a road trip around the island. We ate some really nice food, enjoyed drinks while watching sunset at the Hula Hula beach bar and visited a historic fortress (great sunset here too). You can read all about our visit to Hvar here.
Croatia has many islands and I’m sure every single one has something interesting to offer to travellers. Brac is just a short distance away and has one of the most unique looking beach, not only in the country, but entire Europe – Zlatni Rat. It’s within walking distance from the port and city of Bol, where the ferry from Hvar took us and where we booked our accommodation.
We are suckers for sunsets and the island is home to the highest peak of all Adriatic Sea islands… you know where I’m going with this?! Yes, obviously, we had to go up to see the sun going down! We rented a quad, not only for the trip to the top, but to go around the island, there are many nice places to see. You can read all about our visit to Brac here.
Split wasn’t really high on our “to do” list in Croatia, but the city turned out to be pretty interesting. There’s a nice waterfront area full of tables hidden from the sun under huge umbrellas. These seating areas belong to near by bars and restaurants and we ate in one of them. The prices are inflated and food is of mediocre quality.
Inside, what’s known as Diocletian palace, is Split’s old town full of restaurants, pubs and souvenir shops. Its narrow pathways make it for a pleasant wander around. The cathedral complex is the main attraction, with top of the bell tower being the most sought after. The view, however, isn’t spectacular.
On leaving Split, we rented a car and made our way to chase one of the most desired sunsets in Europe – the one in Zadar! As you already know, we’re suckers for sunsets and so we watched quite a few. I now consider myself to be a sort of an expert in that area, so trust me when I say: this sunset is well worth a visit to Zadar. Read all about Split and Zadar here.
Plitvice Lakes was our next stop and what a stop it was! We stayed only one night around the lakes and had only one day to explore, but that is enough to tick of the “must do” here. Views are spectacular and water is turquoise to a point of disbelief. Since the beauty of the park is so overwhelming, any attempt to capture it in words can only be pathetic. I’ll save you reading about it. It really is “you have to see it for yourself” kind of place. Details about our visit to the park are here.
We came back to Split to return the car, catch our flight home and do one last tour in Croatia, a boat one. The main reason for doing this was to see a blue cave. Unfortunately the sea wasn’t calm enough and we couldn’t do that. Apart from that, the tour was great; we got to visit many beautiful places, which are quite tricky to access on your own. Overall it was well worth the price and I would highly recommend it! Check out details here.
That was our trip to Croatia. Come back for more tips on trips.
