Croatia Love
Prior to booking my trip to Croatia, I actually knew very little about the country. A dear friend had spent a day in Dubrovnik on her honeymoon a few years ago and her photos of the walled city are images that have stuck with me and inspired me to consider Croatia as my next destination. From the moment I arrived in Croatia, I was quickly pulled under the spell of her beauty and seduced by the rich history and the gracious people I encountered. Croatia is a fabulous fusion of Central European and Mediterranean influence and boasts of having over 1200 islands.
English is widely spoken and though we attempted some of the language, all the locals we encountered were anxious to practice their English. Tourism is fast becoming a pillar of their economy and the locals want to do all they can to encourage and entice others to visit their land. Currently, most Americans tend to just make the day trip to Dubrovnik as part of their Mediterranean cruise itinerary. My advice is to dedicate more time exploring other parts of Croatia as well and try to get there before the secret of this spectacular country gets out and becomes part of everyone’s travel agenda.
Accommodation
The most popular type of accommodation in Croatia is to stay in sobes, usually a set of private rooms in someone’s house. We stayed in three different sobes and all were inexpensive, spotless, centrally located, and some even had kitchen facilities in the room. My favorite sobe was Apartments Lenni in Korcula, shown above.
With BASE sobe in Split coming in a close second.
Transporation
If you don’t fancy renting a car for your travels around Croatia, you will find that you need a mix of buses and boats to get around. Bus travel was inexpensive, safe and reliable. We took a bus from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes and onward to Split, with another bus ride later in the week from Korcula to Dubrovnik. Some of the drivers will charge a dollar or two for storing your luggage underneath the bus.
We also took a catamaran from Split to Korcula and it proved to be fast and efficient. For the one day trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, we hired a driver. This turned out to be the highlight of my trip and will be covered in an upcoming blog post.
Food
Breakfast in Croatia was a simple affair and usually consisted of a chocolate croissant, white coffee, or an espresso. The one day we ordered a bowl of fruit at our local café in Dubrovnik, we got just that; one orange, one banana, one apple, and some strawberries – for each of us.
In all the towns and cities I visited, the lunch and dinner menus were heavy on Italian influences. Fresh pizza, pasta, and seafood were plentiful, quite tasty, and hit the spot after a long day of being on the move. I devoured more pizza than I care to admit that week. However, my two favorite meals were risotto dishes. My first memorable meal was in Split, at a newly opened café tucked away in a quiet courtyard near Diocletioan’s Palace. There I had a risotto with shaved zucchini that was so fresh and full of light delicious flavors that I would have returned here again and again. My second most memorable meal was in Korcula at a restaurant called Marco Polo. There I tried both a shrimp and a vegetable risotto that will now be what I measure all future risottos after.
Beverages
My beverage of choice during my time in Croatia was pivo, Croatian beer. After long hot cloudless days scouting out city treasures, nothing hit the spot more than a cold libation. The winner and clear favorite of the trip was Ozujsko, a marzen lager brewed in Croatia since 1892. Some of the other tasty Croatian beers we sampled were Karlovacko, Lashko, Pan, Velabitsko.
Cafes
Full days could easily be spent café hopping in all the places I visited. Dubrovnik was probably my favorite place to while away the hours floating from café to café. The cafes along the Stradun proved to be prime people watching spots and we even watched Ashley Judd film a few screens down this wide pedestrian boulevard that sprang to life as soon as many of the cruise ships arrived in port for the day.
However, the two afternoons I spent at the cliff side café Buza I, quickly became my favorite afternoons of the trip. The café, which is built into the fortified city walls overlooking the Adriatic, can be found by following the sign for cold drinks along the interior of the stone walls circling the city. Nothing says vacation to me more than sitting with a great companion, sipping a drink, and soaking in the Mediterranean view at my fingertips.
Part of the satisfaction that one gets from traveling is having someone to tell your tales to, so I appreciate all the questions and curiosity!
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