Okay, @El_Jefe, I'm just going to start this thread, as I know you're itching for the info and have planning to do. If the threads from Rivals get migrated, maybe this can be melded in with the old travel thread.
Here are the pics: 275 Croatia Pictures. In large part, you should be able to follow the pics as you read below.
We started in Zagreb, then headed to Slunj (A river runs through this town, and just pours out of every nook and cranny. Our house that night was on/in the river.) for one night, then to Plitvice for a day. Then headed to the coast. Zadar, then Sibenik each one night. From Sibenik, took the seanic (see what I did there?) route to Split and stayed in Split for two nights. Then drove to Propratno and took a ferry to the island of Mljet, where we stayed for one night. Finished out the trip by staying in Cavtat, just south of Dubrovnik, for two nights.
Plitvice: Multiple paths you can take to walk around various parts of the National Park. A river runs through the park, and again pours over multiple levels of lakes with clearest blue water you've ever seen. Tour H, which we took, was about 5.5 miles of walking, broken up by a boat ride across one of the lakes. Culminated in a view of the largest waterfall in the park. This is where we saw our first PSU shirt, a guy from England, who had a buddy who went to PSU.
Zadar: Almayer Art and Heritage Hotel. Great place but the room had a loft bedroom, so you need to be mobile. Had a great hideaway garden dining area for breakfast. Dinner: Konoba Sklobar, excellent food, excellent location on a square in the old town. Found an app called Voicemap, which has narrated walking tours of all of the towns/cities we visited. You don't get the personal interaction that you do with a human guide, but you also don't have to be on a schedule. Recommend: sunset at the Sea Organ. Skip, except that you're already right there for sunset: Greeting to the Sun.
Krka NP: On the way to Sibenik, we stopped at the lower end of Krka. Took the boat ride from Skradin to the landing area and walked to the falls. If you're not going to Plitvice, then I'd say do this. Jefe, since you're going late in the year, you might want to investigate skipping the boat from Skradin, and driving to Lozovac. I believe there is a bus from there that drops you at a wooden boardwalk that takes you to the falls. Depending on the weather that time of year, you might be better off skipping the boat.
Sibenik: Armerun Heritage Hotel. Took an evening tour of the old town. Once again, narrow walkways, stuff that's older than our country by a factor of three. Like a lot of eastern Europe, it seems like at some point, everybody and their brother decided that opening a restaurant was a good idea. Small restaurants and shops everywhere. Mrs.PA was thrilled to find that they were hosting an international children's arts festival, so there were kids' art projects strung up all over old town. They were setting up for some kind of kids performance in front of City Hall, built in 1530ish. Just a great setting. Great dinner on the waterfront next to the hotel at Bronzin.
Sibenik to Split: Took the seaward route and stopped in Primosten. Big, dumb mistake here. We walked around this peninsula which had beaches all around, but I didn't realize that the next peninsula over was the old town. We left town without stepping foot in the old town, and didn't realize it until we were on a hilltop across the bay. I didn't feel like driving back into town, so this is definitely a spot we'll hit next time around.
Kept running down the coast to Trogir, another of the well known old towns. Used the tour app for a tour of the town, and grabbed lunch in a little place off the main square. MrsDW got squid. Not calamari, but the whole damn, big squid. It was fine, but I think I'm off squid for life now. I've never seen the point of calamari and this just cemented it: I don't need squid in my life. I however, ordered ravioli, which is when I realized Croatians do pasta pretty well.
Split: First two-night stay. Probably the second or third most visited tourist town, and the second largest city in Croatia. AirBnB here was inside of the old town. No cars allowed, so we had to roll our suitcases in with us. Once again, medieval old town charm, with a history dating to the Greeks in the 4th century. Old town is built around Diocletian's Palace, and just seems to go on forever. You'd take a picture of a beautiful narrow alleyway, only to take 20 steps and see another alleyway that much more intriguing. Shops and restaurants galore. Restaurant: Konoba Marjan. Make a reservation.
Full day boat tour, visiting Blue Cave, Hvar, and went swimming off the boat a couple of times. We only had time to grab lunch in Hvar, so this is another where we'd spend more time the next time around. Just beautiful.
Split to Mljet: Stopped in Omis. @El_Jefe, I really recommend a stop here. Quite possibly the most beautiful town on the trip, and quite possibly the most overlooked. The Omis River runs between two mountains into the Adriatic here, and it is gorgeous. You can go from sea level to a few thousand feet in a matter of a couple of miles. I don't know how well you get around, but if you're able, walk up to the Mirabella Fortress. Keep going up and up until you get to a building, then climb the ladder inside for a spectacular view of the town. Omis is not the easiest place to get to off of the highway, but worth it, in my mind.
Ferried to the island of Mljet, where we stayed one night, and went to the national park there. Took a boat tour to an old monastery, which was on an island, so we were on an island in a lake on an island.
Mljet to Cavtat: Cavtat is a town just south of Dubrovnik, and minutes from the airport. Since we had an early flight the day we were leaving, I figured it would be a good place to stay. LOL, I hit the jackpot with this place. It was a quiet little town, and the hotel was in a little inlet off the main water, and it was spectacular. Pics 163122 and 163225 were taken out the windows of our room. The only bad part was our room was number 7, and there were only two rooms per floor in the hotel, so it was 113 steps from street level to our room, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Casa Antika Suites on Booking.com.
Took a water taxi from Cavtat to Dubrovnik for the day. Walked the entire perimeter of the old town walls. Spectacular, unique views of the old town, the sea and Fort Bokar. Honestly, we were pretty much walked out from the week, so when we got to the end of the wall walk, we looked at Fort Bokar, and said, "This is as close as we're getting." @jtothemfp, there's a cliff jump at Buza Bar, right outside the old city walls, that's 65-70 feet high. Unfortunately, MrsPA missed the picture of me making the leap, so you're going to have to make up for it. Cavtat dinner: Konobo Galija.
@El_Jefe, Omis is a 45 minutes drive from Split, or it's on the way between Dubrovnik and Split. I'd try to make it there. In fact, if you got off the highway on Route 70, you could get into Omis, then drive up the coast to Split from there.
Split to Sibenik is an hour by highway or an hour and forty five minutes by the coastal route. You might consider one day of the coast route to Trogir and Primosten. Then, another day by highway to Sibenik. I saw you said someone compared it to the coastal highway, but really, it's the coastal highway with islands the whole way. Much better than the coastal, IMO, and with wildly blue water. If you go to Primosten, take lots of pictures and send some to me, since I screwed up and didn't even go.
I had language barrier issues one time, the first night at the room in the water. I can usually say to people, "Your English is better than my _______." Not so, in this case. That woman didn't speak a lick of English, I don't believe. And, walked into a grocery one evening, pulled up my translation app for "sunscreen." I showed it to a woman stocking the shelves. She looked disgusted and said, "Over by the cash registers." I think she said, "Stupid American," after I walked away.
Here are the pics: 275 Croatia Pictures. In large part, you should be able to follow the pics as you read below.
We started in Zagreb, then headed to Slunj (A river runs through this town, and just pours out of every nook and cranny. Our house that night was on/in the river.) for one night, then to Plitvice for a day. Then headed to the coast. Zadar, then Sibenik each one night. From Sibenik, took the seanic (see what I did there?) route to Split and stayed in Split for two nights. Then drove to Propratno and took a ferry to the island of Mljet, where we stayed for one night. Finished out the trip by staying in Cavtat, just south of Dubrovnik, for two nights.
Plitvice: Multiple paths you can take to walk around various parts of the National Park. A river runs through the park, and again pours over multiple levels of lakes with clearest blue water you've ever seen. Tour H, which we took, was about 5.5 miles of walking, broken up by a boat ride across one of the lakes. Culminated in a view of the largest waterfall in the park. This is where we saw our first PSU shirt, a guy from England, who had a buddy who went to PSU.
Zadar: Almayer Art and Heritage Hotel. Great place but the room had a loft bedroom, so you need to be mobile. Had a great hideaway garden dining area for breakfast. Dinner: Konoba Sklobar, excellent food, excellent location on a square in the old town. Found an app called Voicemap, which has narrated walking tours of all of the towns/cities we visited. You don't get the personal interaction that you do with a human guide, but you also don't have to be on a schedule. Recommend: sunset at the Sea Organ. Skip, except that you're already right there for sunset: Greeting to the Sun.
Krka NP: On the way to Sibenik, we stopped at the lower end of Krka. Took the boat ride from Skradin to the landing area and walked to the falls. If you're not going to Plitvice, then I'd say do this. Jefe, since you're going late in the year, you might want to investigate skipping the boat from Skradin, and driving to Lozovac. I believe there is a bus from there that drops you at a wooden boardwalk that takes you to the falls. Depending on the weather that time of year, you might be better off skipping the boat.
Sibenik: Armerun Heritage Hotel. Took an evening tour of the old town. Once again, narrow walkways, stuff that's older than our country by a factor of three. Like a lot of eastern Europe, it seems like at some point, everybody and their brother decided that opening a restaurant was a good idea. Small restaurants and shops everywhere. Mrs.PA was thrilled to find that they were hosting an international children's arts festival, so there were kids' art projects strung up all over old town. They were setting up for some kind of kids performance in front of City Hall, built in 1530ish. Just a great setting. Great dinner on the waterfront next to the hotel at Bronzin.
Sibenik to Split: Took the seaward route and stopped in Primosten. Big, dumb mistake here. We walked around this peninsula which had beaches all around, but I didn't realize that the next peninsula over was the old town. We left town without stepping foot in the old town, and didn't realize it until we were on a hilltop across the bay. I didn't feel like driving back into town, so this is definitely a spot we'll hit next time around.
Kept running down the coast to Trogir, another of the well known old towns. Used the tour app for a tour of the town, and grabbed lunch in a little place off the main square. MrsDW got squid. Not calamari, but the whole damn, big squid. It was fine, but I think I'm off squid for life now. I've never seen the point of calamari and this just cemented it: I don't need squid in my life. I however, ordered ravioli, which is when I realized Croatians do pasta pretty well.
Split: First two-night stay. Probably the second or third most visited tourist town, and the second largest city in Croatia. AirBnB here was inside of the old town. No cars allowed, so we had to roll our suitcases in with us. Once again, medieval old town charm, with a history dating to the Greeks in the 4th century. Old town is built around Diocletian's Palace, and just seems to go on forever. You'd take a picture of a beautiful narrow alleyway, only to take 20 steps and see another alleyway that much more intriguing. Shops and restaurants galore. Restaurant: Konoba Marjan. Make a reservation.
Full day boat tour, visiting Blue Cave, Hvar, and went swimming off the boat a couple of times. We only had time to grab lunch in Hvar, so this is another where we'd spend more time the next time around. Just beautiful.
Split to Mljet: Stopped in Omis. @El_Jefe, I really recommend a stop here. Quite possibly the most beautiful town on the trip, and quite possibly the most overlooked. The Omis River runs between two mountains into the Adriatic here, and it is gorgeous. You can go from sea level to a few thousand feet in a matter of a couple of miles. I don't know how well you get around, but if you're able, walk up to the Mirabella Fortress. Keep going up and up until you get to a building, then climb the ladder inside for a spectacular view of the town. Omis is not the easiest place to get to off of the highway, but worth it, in my mind.
Ferried to the island of Mljet, where we stayed one night, and went to the national park there. Took a boat tour to an old monastery, which was on an island, so we were on an island in a lake on an island.
Mljet to Cavtat: Cavtat is a town just south of Dubrovnik, and minutes from the airport. Since we had an early flight the day we were leaving, I figured it would be a good place to stay. LOL, I hit the jackpot with this place. It was a quiet little town, and the hotel was in a little inlet off the main water, and it was spectacular. Pics 163122 and 163225 were taken out the windows of our room. The only bad part was our room was number 7, and there were only two rooms per floor in the hotel, so it was 113 steps from street level to our room, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Casa Antika Suites on Booking.com.
Took a water taxi from Cavtat to Dubrovnik for the day. Walked the entire perimeter of the old town walls. Spectacular, unique views of the old town, the sea and Fort Bokar. Honestly, we were pretty much walked out from the week, so when we got to the end of the wall walk, we looked at Fort Bokar, and said, "This is as close as we're getting." @jtothemfp, there's a cliff jump at Buza Bar, right outside the old city walls, that's 65-70 feet high. Unfortunately, MrsPA missed the picture of me making the leap, so you're going to have to make up for it. Cavtat dinner: Konobo Galija.
@El_Jefe, Omis is a 45 minutes drive from Split, or it's on the way between Dubrovnik and Split. I'd try to make it there. In fact, if you got off the highway on Route 70, you could get into Omis, then drive up the coast to Split from there.
Split to Sibenik is an hour by highway or an hour and forty five minutes by the coastal route. You might consider one day of the coast route to Trogir and Primosten. Then, another day by highway to Sibenik. I saw you said someone compared it to the coastal highway, but really, it's the coastal highway with islands the whole way. Much better than the coastal, IMO, and with wildly blue water. If you go to Primosten, take lots of pictures and send some to me, since I screwed up and didn't even go.
I had language barrier issues one time, the first night at the room in the water. I can usually say to people, "Your English is better than my _______." Not so, in this case. That woman didn't speak a lick of English, I don't believe. And, walked into a grocery one evening, pulled up my translation app for "sunscreen." I showed it to a woman stocking the shelves. She looked disgusted and said, "Over by the cash registers." I think she said, "Stupid American," after I walked away.
Last edited:
