Way back in August of last year, Bill and I went to Croatia with a group of college friends. Fast forward 7 months later to February and I finally started my blog on our trip. When I set out my blog layout I was going to do something a bit different and have it read more as a “what to do in these cities in Croatia”. Then, still uncompleted, fast forward to April and the whole world has changed. With all travel on hold indefinitely, I debated if I should still do the travel guide type of format. The optimist in me says even though world travel isn’t possible this moment, it won’t be stopped forever. So even if this guide isn’t useful to you now, maybe it can give you some hope for the future. If nothing else, some pretty pictures to look at today in between your “working from home” and Netflix binge. This blog will focus on the 3 areas we visited – Dubrovnik, Hvar, and Split. Some general nuggets before getting into those specifics about Croatia in general:
- Croatia is part of the European Union but is unfortunately not on the Euro. That being said, I don’t remember having any issues using cards and we didn’t need to pull out a lot of cash.
- Before you go it would be good to do a quick google on the Croatian War of Independence. This is the war in the 90’s between Serbia and Croatia. Since it was so recent, most people were alive during at least a portion. It gives you a good context for their recent history and also may keep you from putting your foot in your mouth. A lot of the younger people we were with were fine talking about it but warned us most of the older generations do not prefer to discuss it.
Ok so here we go! Our first stop – Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik
This small walled city is in the Southern-most part of the country. I found the history of Dubrovnik fascinating so a quick aside before we get into the travel tips. Dubrovnik has a very diplomatic history, they were able to keep their independence from the Ottomans and the Venetians by paying people to not invade the city. The relationship between Dubrovnik, Venice, and the Ottoman Empire actually explains why the city is detached from Croatia itself. This land barrier used to be part of the Ottoman Empire to protect Dubrovnik from the Venetians who were seemingly always looking for a way to incorporate this city into its empire. This separation is one of the reasons the city is more expensive than the rest of the country (aside from it being a tourist haven). For goods to get in and out they have to travel through Bosnia and Herzegovina. A bit more about the diplomatic history of Dubrovnik – the Ottomans wanted someone from Dubrovnik on their court to give them dirt on the Venetians. The Venetians found out the Ottomans had someone from Dubrovnik on their court and said, “well we want to dirt on the Ottomans so obviously we need someone from Dubrovnik on our court!”. Seeing an opportunity, Dubrovnik started selling secrets back and forth between the two empires. You could call Dubrovnik the Little Finger of the game of thrones between the Venetians and the Ottomans. Speaking of Game of Thrones… if you are any kind of Game of Thrones fan you know that Dubrovnik was one of the main filming locations for the series serving as home to Kings Landing for every season except season 1. Interestingly, season 2 – 5 they spent about a month filming in Dubrovnik but before filming season 6, Dubrovnik thought they could take advantage of the success of the show and upped taxes. As a result, HBO reduced the amount of filming in Dubrovnik to only one week. So it sort of backfired… whoops! More on Game of Thrones later on.
Getting there
We flew into Dubrovnik airport which is outside the city about 30 minutes and took a bus to the city center. If you are like me, when you hear the word “bus”, an image of a public transport bus probably pops into your mind. I was pleasantly surprised though that the bus was a charter bus with AC. Praise be for a hot August afternoon. You buy the tickets inside the airport right before you exit, show the driver your receipt, and away you go! The stop is right outside the Place Gate, super convenient to walk anywhere within the walls of the city.
When to Go
We went in August because that was the timing that worked for us but obviously this is the peak of tourist season and very very hot. The winter most things are closed so that’s not really the time to go either. If you can, I would try and go in a shoulder month like May/June or September/October. If you go during the peak months, one big piece of advice, look at the cruise schedule – assuming cruises are still a thing in the post Covid-19 world. It can really dampen your experience if the few days you happen to be in Dubrovnik you are sharing the city with all your closest friends from the 5 mega cruise ships in port that day.
How long to Stay
We were in Dubrovnik the equivalent of one full day which was a fine amount of time. We were able to do everything we wanted within the city itself but I will say we tend to not build in a lot of “relax” time to our trips. So to do Dubrovnik proper at a slower pace, you may want to spend the equivalent of two days. I do wish, however, we had built in a day for some side trips from Dubrovnik. You can easily go to Kotor in Montenegro and Mostar in Bosnia (recently I feel like this city has been all over my gram feed). So in summary, if you only want to do Dubrovnik, I would say you need 1-2 days and if you want to add some side trips, I would up that to 3 – 4 days.
What To Do
Walk the City Walls
Definitely a must do in Dubrovnik but timing is key. We waited until late afternoon – first it was HOT when we first arrived so we wanted the temperature to drop a bit. Second, the cruise ships head out of port in the late afternoon so by waiting we were hoping to dodge some of the crowds. If you are there with a lot of people you feel a little bit like you are just following a seemingly endless line of people. Most of the path is very narrow so you can’t really pass people which led to a lot of waiting for tourists to get their perfect gram or you feeling rushed to take your own perfect gram shot. Even more reason to try and go either later in the afternoon or first thing in the morning. We bought our tickets in advance but there was a lot of confusion on how to actually get the paper tickets themselves. I am all for buying things ahead of time but I am not actually sure if this saved us any time in the long run. You are probably safe to just buy your tickets when you arrive. Also, there are a few stands along the path where you can buy beer, water ice cream, etc. but be prepared to pay for the convenience. I would definitely recommend bringing your own water to save some money. All in all this activity take about an hour.
Cable Car to the Top of the City for Dinner/Sunset
One evening you should definitely take the cable car up above the city and have dinner at the restaurant up there. The food was good and the view was amazing. Some advice, if you go at sunset (great time to go), you will not be alone and should expect a line. We waited in line maybe 20 minutes, not too terrible. There were taxis sitting at the cable car entrance in anticipation of tourists not wanting to wait for the cable car. I personally think the wait was worth it for the views but to each their own. No need to buy tickets ahead of time, you have to wait in the line regardless. You should, however, reserve a spot at the restaurant for dinner. Put in a request for a table with sunset views but even if you don’t get one, you can easily wander away from your table for a bit to enjoy the painted sky. Once the sun goes down, it does get chilly, particularly if it’s windy. The restaurant had some blankets which was nice but not a bad idea to bring a light jacket. Going back in the dark you will be rewarded with twinkling lights of the city.
I put an asterisk on this activity to say it is only something for those who enjoy Game of Thrones. We went with a paid tour although there are free options you can choose as well. We started just outside the gates of the city and crossed over to Fort Lovrijenac which actually has a pretty interesting non-Game of Thrones history. Back to the days of the Venetians and the Ottomans, the Venetians at one point decided they were going to try and insert themselves into Dubrovnik by building a Fortress on the site of the current day Fort Lovrijenac. The Dubrovnik diplomats found out about this plan and built a church on the site before the Venetians had a chance to begin construction. By building a church, the Venetians had to abandon their plans because an attack on any church would not be seen favorably by Rome and the last thing the Venetians wanted was beef with Rome. The Fort itself served site to many Game of Thrones scenes most notably the port right outside. This is where Cersei said goodbye to Myrcella (her daughter) when she traveled to the Dorne.
The next stop on the tour was into the old town with the main attraction being the location of the famed walk of shame. This was the most expensive scene shot in Dubrovnik because the path on which the walk takes place has many windows overlooking the street. They had to pay people $1K per window, per day, to keep the windows shut and not disturb filming. Also fun fact, Lena Headey used a body double in this famed scene and they inserted her face on the body double for the episode. Because Dubrovnik is such a small city (only 45K inhabitants), none of the local woman wanted the part.
The final stop on our tour was the island of Lokrum off the coast of Dubronik, about 20 minutes by boat. The island is home to a plethora of rabbits and peacocks oddly enough. They were put here as a way to draw tourists to the island. Probably a bigger draw to the island and the reason our tour took us here was there is a replica of the Iron Throne here. Get your insta captions ready! The Queen of England when she visited apparently declined a seat on the throne. Apparently one throne is enough for her. For me, I don’t know if I would go out of the way to visit the island but it was a nice break from swarms of tourists and we had a really nice lunch here.
With that – on to Hvar!
Hvar
Hvar is Croatia’s equivalent to the Greek party islands. Here the focus is fun and sun.
Getting there
We arrived as most people arrive to Hvar, via ferry which from Dubrovnik took about 3 – 4 hours. The ferry was fairly nice. I will say I think the ferries between the Greek isles are a bit nicer.
When to Go
Although August is busy, being here when it is busy is in my opinion the best time to go (minus everything costing more). The island is basically a big party so you want that party to be filled with people. Also, you need it to be warm enough to enjoy the beaches and ocean so if you wanted to avoid some of the crowd you could go in a shoulder month like June or September when it is likely still warm enough for the beach.
How Long to Stay
It really depends on what the goal of your trip is. We stayed for 2.5 days but I definitely could have stayed longer. This is a really good point to build some relaxing beach days into your trip to refresh between busy tourist locations like Dubrovnik.
What to Do
Rent a boat
One of our full days in Hvar we rented out a boat to take us out for the day. Highly recommend and particularly fun if you have a big group like we did. We used https://rentaboathvar.com/hvar-boat-tours/ and they were very professional, located in the main city square. They took us to several coves, one with cliff diving, one with an excellent lunch, and 2 others which were very secluded. Would recommend!
Hit the Beach!
There is no shortage of beaches in Hvar for you to dip your toes. One thing to make sure to either pack or purchase once you arrive is a pair of water shoes. Most of the beaches are stone beaches and can be uncomfortable in your bare feet. Much more pleasant with shoes on. Bill consulted this blog in our research https://www.thecommonwanderer.com/blog/best-beaches-on-hvar-island. We ultimately spent our day at Pokonji Dol beach which was a gem. Advice is arrive early and rent a chair for the day. There are pay showers you can use and cafes around the beach for lunch. We took a cab to the beach and had one of the restaurants call us a cab home (beach had 0 cell reception).
Eat!
We had some really tasty food in Hvar. Here were the top three from our trip:
- Bacchus Palmižana: I am fairly certain this is the name of the restaurant we ate at on our boat day. We had amazing fresh fish. Drawbacks were you can only access by boat and it was a bit pricey. It was worth the price tag though.
- Lungo Mare: Another great seafood pick close to our Airbnb. We had enough food to feed a small army and it did not break the bank.
- Dalmatino: An Italian restaurant in the city center. Delicious and very friendly staff. Make sure to book in advance!
Now, the final destination – Split!
Split
Split is a good mix of traditional tourist sites with a little of the laid back feel of a beach town.
Getting there
Similar to Hvar, we arrived in Spilt via ferry. It was a much shorter journey, only about an hour. Split also had a very nice, new airport from which we departed back to Amsterdam. You can take a ferry to the airport interestingly enough but we opted for an Uber. It was not terribly expensive and the ferry was far from our Airbnb.
When to Go
Similar to Dubrovnik, during the summer months you should expect crowds. This is another heavy cruise ship stop so it is smart to consult the internet to see how many ships are planning to be in port on a given day during the high season. It may be wise to go in a shoulder month like June or September where the weather is still enjoyable but you aren’t at peak capacity.
How Long to Stay
Split itself you can do in a full day. We also built in a day to do the Plitvice National Park (more on this later). I don’t think you would need any additional time unless you wanted to try and go to the beach for a day. We had our fill of beaches in Hvar so we didn’t make this a priority in Split.
What to Do
Diocletian’s Palace
The city of Split is built around a giant palace built to be the retirement home of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. The palace is really a house for the emperor as well as a walled city. There is a LOT of history within the Palace so I would definitely recommend getting a tour or, if you are so inclined, purchasing Rick Steve’s Croatia book and following along on his self-guided tour. For the cost of a tour you can get the whole book. I won’t write out all the sites but here are some pictures which some highlights.
Real Egyptian Sphinx in Peristyle Square
Entry Vestibule (left open after WW2 bomb destroyed the dome) with excellent acoustics
Called the “Let me Pass by” street in Croatian, this street next to Jupiter’s temple only fits one person across.
Jupiter’s Temple
Drink some Local Wine
One of my favorite things we did was a local wine tour at Putalj. They pick you up in the city and you start at gazebo in the wine field overlooking the city. They start you with their rose and allow you to explore the fields and take photos. Then they take you to the cellar where they make the wine where it’s time to break into the cabs and you get a selection of meats and cheeses. Did I mention it’s all you can eat and drink? I’ll leave the link here for you https://putalj.com/.
Day Trip to Plitvice
If Zagreb is not on your itinerary, you can make a day trip from Split to Plitvice. Which I HIGHLY recommend. We organized our visit through a tour company so we wouldn’t have to figure out transportation ourselves – it’s about a 2-3 hour drive so prepare for a long trek. You can use the same company we did via this link. Many of the tours I am sure are similar but it was nice that this one was a smaller group as opposed to a giant bus. When you arrive, however, it is well worth it. You feel like you had arrived at Pandora. The pictures speak for themselves.
Have Passport Will Travel 