Croatia

Dubrovnik, Korčula, Split

Okay, I get it! I get the hype around Croatia! Part of me, after seeing Albania and Montenegro (other coastal Balkan countries), had assumed that Croatia just happened to become popular before Albania and Montenegro. All three along the Adriatic Sea, I figured the coastlines had to be very similar. There is something special about Croatia that I can’t quite put my finger on. Is it the bright blue waters? No, not necessarily, because Albania and Montenegro have those. The rocky coast? No, Albania and Montenegro have that too. Maybe it’s the dramatic architecture of the old towns that look like movie sets? (Dubrovnik is famous for the filming of Game of Thrones). While the food has been very good, it’s not any match for Albania so that’s not what makes it stand out. Croatia’s extremely busy with tourists so that even is a strike against this beautiful country. Whatever it is that makes Croatia so beautiful and easy to love, I am here to tell you - it’s worth the trip.

The way we spent our nearly two weeks in Croatia was a really great way to see the country. I can’t take any credit for it, as it is all Sam’s mom Melinda’s planning. She did all the research and booking for our time here in Croatia and I am so grateful for that. Melinda, Sam’s dad Dave, and Sam’s sister Miranda, all met us in Dubrovnik. After nearly a week in Dubrovnik, we headed via ferry to Korčula, an island across from the more touristy and popularized island, Hvar. After two nights in Korčula, we took another ferry (a three hour ride) to Split. Split is where our time in Croatia ends, and very unfortunately, Sam and my entire six month trip ends as well. From my limited knowledge of Croatia, I would say this is the best way to see the country in a more limited fashion. You get to see two out of the three major cities and you get some island time, and, as an added bonus, you don’t have to rent a car or drive for a long period of time because it’s all via ferry.

Dubrovnik was a great city. The old town, completely surrounded by humungous walls (that you can walk on), is the most dramatic old town I have yet to see. The walls are so high that can’t see any part of the old town from the street so it looks very cool and, as I said before, movie-set-like. Melinda found the best Airbnb in the best location - it was right above the most popular beach (Plaža Banje), so we could basically walk out our door and be on the beach, and it was a less than ten minute walk from old town. We could walk to the newer part of town and to the ferry port, and we were able to walk to all of our hikes and runs that we did. Dubrovnik also has a great bus system that takes credit card and goes all over town. We got into a great routine of doing a long workout (hike, run, walk etc.) or sightseeing early in the morning, coming back to the Airbnb to make brunch, then heading to the beach to swim and relax until dinner. There is so much to do in Dubrovnik. Even though we spend nearly a week there, we could’ve spent more time there and not have been bored. I would definitely recommend getting the Dubrovnik Pass, which is 40 Euro for a day. The Pass includes access to walking the entire perimeter of the Old City Walls (a must do!), Fort Lovrijenac, tons of museums, and a 24-hour bus pass. With the ticket to walk the Old City Wall being 40 Euros on its own, the Dubrovnik Pass is a no brainer. I would also wholeheartedly recommend visiting/running/walking/swimming on Lapad. Lapad is a quiet, residential peninsula off of Dubrovnik, a short walk from the newer part of town. Sam discovered it on our first day there when we arrived a day before his family and we ended up visiting it many more times. There’s a nice loop to walk along the water the whole way, with beaches (both cement and rocky) along the way to jump in. It’s way quieter than old town and a great way to access nature without having to go too far. Another recommendation I have is hiking up Mount Srđ to get fantastic views of the whole city and the Adriatic Sea. It’s a moderate hike with an option to take a cable car one or both ways to make view more accessible. It’s apparently very gorgeous for sunset, but we went first thing in the morning. After hiking up to Mount Srđ, we went to Fort Lovrijenac, which is right on the water caddy corner to old town. Included in the Dubrovnik Pass, I highly recommend checking it out. I was blown away by the fort itself and of course, the views. Another recommendation I have is taking the ferry (there’s one every thirty minutes) to the island directly across from Plaža Banje. The island is called Lokrum and it’s a fun day trip with easy hiking and peacocks roaming around. Dubrovnik’s food options were seemingly limited but ultimately we found a few places that we loved. The best was Azur, which we walked by one evening and saw these delicious looking “sushi towers” (pictured below), and proceeded to go there for dinner the next three nights. We also fell in love with this gelato spot called Mostro. You have to go if you’re in Dubrovnik.

Around Dubrovnik and in old town

Pictures from (in order) Lapad, Mount Srđ, Fort Lovrijenac

Next stop was Korčula, which was a couple hour ferry ride from Dubrovnik. As I said earlier, it is less popular than Hvar, which is another Croatian island, so it’s the perfect place to visit if you want a bit more of a local experience. Unfortunately I was sick for the first day so I spent the time from when we arrived at the island until Friday morning in our room. The first and only full day, Friday, was incredible and exactly how I would recommend spending a day in Korčula. We ate breakfast at this hotel called The Fabris, which had the best coffee in town. We then rented bikes and headed towards Lumbarda, which was another part of the island of Korčula, away from the center and old town. To get to Lumbarda, you bike mainly along the waterfront until you get to an expanse of wineries. Lumbarda is where most of the vineyards are, which were absolutely stunning to bike through. We all forgot to bring water on this ten mile bike ride and ended up stopping at Popić Winery. They were so nice and gave us all this water and nuts and raisins and just let us sit there. It’s a family-owned winery with the most stunning view - if you want to visit a winery while in Korčula, this is the place. We ended up at this beach and spend an hour or so there, swimming and resting, before we headed back to Korčula center. For dinner, we went to Aterina, which was in the old town. We all loved it and it may be my favorite meal in Croatia. After dinner we watched the sunset, got ice cream, then went back to our hotel and played cards. It was such a great day.

Korčula

The next morning we woke up, packed up, and headed back to Fabris for one last breakfast before catching the ten o’clock ferry to Split. Upon immediate arrival in Split, I was completely in awe. I thought that nothing could beat Dubrovnik in terms of a beautiful, historic port city, but Split might do just that. It has a much more walkable and expansive waterfront, lined with cafes and shops. The city itself is much larger population-wise, but with it being much more spread out the city doesn’t feel too crowded. The restaurants are most definitely better than Dubrovnik and I might like the old town better in Split than in Dubrovnik. Despite this, I would still whole-heartedly recommend you go to both Split and Dubrovnik, as they offer completely unique experiences. Split is close to the Krka waterfalls which offer a beautiful walk through a popular national park. We drove the hour and a half to these waterfalls, stopping by Sibenik for lunch. Sam and I learned about Sibenik from a couple in a coffee shop in Mostar, who happened to be visiting from Sibenik. We took their recommendation to stop by this quaint coastal town and were thrilled that we did. The little artsy shops, lower prices, and yummy lunch spot (Pa’Kai) was fun to experience. It made the longer drive up to the waterfalls even more worth it.

Split (and Krka and Sibenik)

As I mentioned, the food in Split was phenomenal. Melinda actually found the restaurants we went to for dinner the first two nights in Rick Steves Croatia book. The first night, we went to Villa Spiza, which is a family-owned casual spot with an open concept kitchen. Delicious. The second night, we went to Corto Maltese, which was super popular (we had to wait for a table) and had great appetizers and pretty good main dishes. My last night in Split (today, Monday night) we went to an amazing Michelin star restaurant overlooking the water called DVOR. Melinda found this restaurant in the New York Times article about Split that came out this past February. That’s also where she found the beach that we went to to swim prior to dinner. This beach, Bacvice Beach, was closer to town and equally as nice as the ones we’ve gone to called Plaža Ježinac and Kasjuni Beach. Another food spot I would recommend you go to in Split is a breakfast/lunch spot called Ciri Biri Bela. This spot is actually where we’ll go tomorrow morning as my last meal before I fly back to the US. Sam and his family are flying home early on Wednesday morning. I cannot believe this trip is over. I am truly so heartbroken that Sam and my journey, this chapter, is over. I will write another blog in the next week or so to write my closing thoughts etc. because it is just too much right now!

As always, thank you for reading :) <3