If ever there was a country that deserved all of the hype people give it, Croatia is the one. Croatia is absolutely breathtaking, the people friendly, the food delicious and a very user friendly place to visit.
We previously visited Zagreb, the capital, for a Christmas market, but the allure of the Croatian coast was too tempting for us to pass up.️
We discovered a coast that was jaw-droppingly beautiful and friendly people who clearly took huge pride in their wine, olive oil, culture and history. If Croatia isn’t on your list of places to travel, it should be.
We decided to go to Croatia for one of our final adventures from Turkey. We were drawn specifically to Plitvice National Park and the Dalmatian Coast. We had seen pictures of Plitvice for years and figured that if it was a fraction of how beautiful the pictures were—it would be truly breathtaking.
Croatia is still fairly off the beaten path, although tourism has definitely increased over the past 5-7 years, in no small part because of the popularity of Game of Thrones. It’s not a cheap place to visit but it’s also not super expensive either. We went at the end of May/early June, right before the height of the tourist season, and before the heat of summer. Similar to many destinations, I think that spring or fall would be a perfect time to visit Croatia.
We flew into the capital of Zagreb, easily rented a car and drove the 2 hours to the interior of the country where the Plitvice is located. The Zagreb airport is easy to navigate, clean, one terminal, and only a couple of years old. Another benefit of Croatia–everyone speaks English.
Plitvice National Park – this park is home to the most amazing display of nature in the form of interconnected lakes and waterfalls that I’ve ever seen. The blues and greens and sound of the waterfalls is so peaceful that I literally had nothing else on my mind that day except for how beautiful it was.
The thing to know about Plitvice is that you absolutely must get there early and you must by your ticket to the park online before you go. Ok you don’t HAVE to do this, but if you don’t you will wish that you did. When you do this ahead of time, the park will be less crowded and you won’t have to jostle around throngs of people and massive tourist groups. We bought our tickets online for what we thought was the first window of time between 8-9 but it looked like a few others had a 7-8 ticket…not many though. We did have to exchange our e-ticket for an actual park ticket when we arrived. Something we didn’t realize and took a few minutes to do but not a big deal. The park definitely holds to the time slot on your ticket. You CAN buy a ticket at the park–however if you get there and buy your ticket–chances are that your window to enter will be much later in the day and you’ll have to wait around. By the time we left the park about 5 hours later, the lines were like they are at Disneyland for Splash Mountain–CRAZY long.
There are various routes you can take to see the park and we chose route C. The park’s website indicated we should allow for 4-6 hours to finish route C and we did it in just under 3, likely because we were there early and didn’t have to be slowed down by and navigate around many other people also trying to take photos of all the amazing scenery.
The park is sheer beauty. It’s s mix of lakes and the most stunning waterfalls I have ever seen in my life. A couple of times, I was so struck by the beauty that I had tears in my eyes. Combined with the awesome rushing water sound….there could be a more beautiful park out there, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen it. The sun dictates what colors of blues and greens you see in the lakes, and the water is so clear that at times it looks like glass. The park is relatively flat but there are a few inclines and steps throughout.
I would recommend that you bring water and some snacks. We came across one rest stop area that did have a bathroom and food and drinks–but if there was another stop like that, we didn’t see it. So come prepared and also with an empty bladder!
We stayed at Hotel Bellevue, about a 2 minute drive from the entrance to the park. There is nothing at all fancy about this hotel and that’s the case with all of the hotels in the immediate vicinity of the park. You stay there for easy access to the park, you see the park and then you move on to your next destination. They did have a decent breakfast–but again, the goal is convenience and that’s what this hotel offered.
After being completely wowed by Plitvice, we headed to Zadar, our first coastal stop and the location where we saw a sunset to rival all sunsets. This sleepy little town is relatively untouched by tourism and has unique sights & sounds such as a sea organ (pipes under the water that make music when the waves crash against it) and a huge disc that absorbs sunlight all day and lights up to a cool light show at night.
The town of Zadar is small and easily walkable in a day. The town has a great vibe and is fun to explore. The main square is cute with pretty churches and the walkway along the water is beautiful. We wanted to go to the Museum of Ancient Glass but it was closed the day we were there. It is supposed to have cool glass blowing demonstrations. We ate dinner at Fosa right outside the city walls, in a quiet harbor. They had an amazing tasting menu. Another night we ate at Bruschetta also near the water and very good. We’d recommend 4 Kantuna for lunch or dinner–amazing pizza and the atmosphere, both outside and inside had a great, casual and laid back vibe.
We stayed at Art Hotel Kalelarga, which is located right in the old town area. Parking is near impossible in Zadar and you cannot park inside the city walls. There are parking lots outside the city walls and we were lucky to find a spot. You will need to walk a little bit if you are staying inside the city walls….so be prepared to carry or roll your suitcases and bags over the cobblestone streets!
After we said farewell to Zadar, we headed south along the local road vice the main highway so we could be in full view of the water as we drove–and we were not disappointed by the views. We headed to the cute towns of Trogir and Sibenek. We had dinner reservations in Sibenek so we had some time to explore before dinner. Both towns were incredibly beautiful and while not the big ticket cities, well worth visiting for their charm and feel. We could definitely imagine spending more time getting lost in the cute little streets. Another spot to consider in this area is Kryka National Park. It is similar to Plitvice in that it is full of natural beauty, lakes and waterfalls. Kryka is less touristy but likely just as beautiful.
Our dinner in Sibenek was at Pelligrini and there are not enough superlatives to describe how incredible this meal and atmosphere is. It’s easy to understand why and how it’s listed as the best restaurant in Croatia. We did the tasting menu and wine pairing and it was among the best meals we’ve ever had. The service was incredible and the setting on the open patio with gorgeous flowers and a perfect view of the water was truly magical.
Since we did not stay in Sibinek, we had to drive the hour and fifteen minutes to Split, which is where we stayed next. We had heard such mixed reviews about Split, but we loved it. The old town is full of remnants from an ancient palace/castle and there are tons of tiny, curvy little streets to explore. Our initial plan was to use Split as a base to take ferries to the various islands. We ended up liking Split so much that we went to one island instead of two and we spent the other day exploring Split.
We spent 3 nights in Split and found it to be an easy place to take car or passenger ferries to nearby islands. We originally planned to explore Brac and Hvar but we ended up visiting Brac only. When we return to Croatia, we plan to focus on island hopping in the sleepy little towns on the variety of islands littered with vineyards, wineries and olive trees. We took a 90 minute ferry to Brac, an island with ONE MILLION olive trees. We drove to the cute coastal town of Bol–about a 40 minute drive. The island vibe was relaxed and easy with many cute shops, art stores, gelato opportunities and fresh seafood. You could also rent 4 wheelers or other types of off-road vehicles to explore the island. I recommend that you check out the ferry schedules and be at the boat early, even if you have a ticket but you are last in line with your car because you are late, they will only let a certain number of cars on the boat.
Exploring the old town of Split was so much fun. Diocletian’s Palace makes up the old town and there are remnants of the ancient palace around many corners and squares whether it be columns or arches, the old palace remnants make for a very beautiful and unique setting for an old town. While you are in Croatia, I highly recommend an olive oil tasting. This is something I’ve always wanted to do and it was so fun and we learned SO much about olive oil. We went to Ulje Olive Bar (ulje is olive oil in Croatian) and they do olive oil tastings twice a day but if you miss those times (I think they were at 11 and 5) you can still do it, but you pay a nominal fee–it is definitely worth it. The food and wine here were delicious as well. Other places we experienced in old town Split were Bokeria for dinner and Zinfandels for a wine tasting. Croatian wine is DELICIOUS. I especially liked one type of grape–Plavac Mali–SO GOOD. Not many wineries export because they tend to be small and only bottle so much wine per year. Croatians take so much pride in their wine and it was fun to sample many of them. Another thing we did in Split was to hike up Marjan Hill which offered a beautiful view of the city.
We stayed at Hotel Heritage 19. The location is perfect, about a 5 minute walk from old town and the water.
We said farewell to Split and head to our final destination–Dubrovnik. The drive is about 2 hours and on our way we were listening to our favorite travel podcast, Extra Pack of Peanuts and they had just been to Croatia and HIGHLY recommended visiting a fish restaurant in this tiny little town of Trisnek. They said that the fish here was THE BEST THEY HAD EVER EATEN. OMG. So we made our planned stop at the winery with the most amazing view–Rizman and we talked through whether we should detour to check out this fish place. We decided that we couldn’t pass it up and it ended up being not that far out of our way and exposed us to this amazingly beautiful peninsula with literally wineries and vineyards every two minutes.
The original plan was to stop at an oyster farm and have fresh oysters–the oyster farms are everywhere in this part of the country. Our amazing fish detour led us down a little road to get to Trisnek, and it literally has a handful of houses and shops, nestled along this beautiful little harbor. The fish did not disappoint. We ordered the seafood platter and everything tasted so fresh and delicious. It was all seasoned with only salt, pepper and EEVO. Our waiter took us back to see the fish being cooked over an open grill and we met the chef. He used to own a bar in Dubrovnik but decided he wanted a quieter life and moved to this cute little town and now he catches and grills THE BEST FISH. YUM. We enjoyed our fish looking out over the beautiful harbor and water in the distance. Another memorable meal.
After taking about a hundred pictures, we continued on our journey to Dubrovnik. We decided that Dubrovnik would be where we ditched the rental car. Parking is almost non-existent in the old city and we figured it would be much easier without one. We dropped the car off at the airport and took a taxi to the old city–very easy to do–and about a 25 minute drive.
The red tile roofs and stone washed buildings of this walled city on the Adriatic, cast a striking image from a distance and from above. We woke early on our first full day and walked the city walls and were rewarded with stunning views the entire way. Plan to arrive at the gate for the city walls when it opens so that you beat the crowds and the hot sun. Dubrovnik is more touristy but absolutely worth a day or two to explore.
The streets are fun to walk around and explore but I think the highlight is walking the city walls. We went to a fun cliffside bar called Buza Bar. It is nestled into a cliff and provides amazing views of the water. We went early because there is limited seating, they do not have food but this is a scenic place to grab a drink. Another highlight is the War Photo Museum. The first floor rotates its collection of photos and the second floor contains a consistent display of pictures of the war and break up of the former Yugoslavia. The museum is really well done and worth a visit. There is also a cable car that goes to the top of a mountain that is supposed to have beautiful views. It was closed when we were there because the company hadn’t been paying taxes. We rounded out our time in Dubrovnik with dinner at 360 and it was beautiful and the food delicious. Yet another restaurant win for Lucas!! The setting was amid old castle walls with views of the water and old city.
We stayed at Hotel Excelsior just outside of the old city walls. It was about a 10 minute walk to the old city and the view from our rooms was incredible. The breakfast was delicious as well.
Croatia is a stunningly beautiful country, especially the Dalmatian Coast. If it’s not on your list, do yourself a favor and add it!
