eglbc

Hello fodor friends. Your advice and wisdom is needed.
Guide books in the mail.

I found some cheap flights into split, and decided this is the honeymoon destination. Late May. Hows the water for swimming this time of year?

We are young, food driven adventure loving creative types looking for some relaxing beach time, with some good hikes, and incredible food and wine.
What regions are more wine centric, and what areas are renowned for their cuisine?
I also wouldn't mind indulging in a bit of local nightlife, not spring break style, but fun bars and music spots.
Would most likely rent a car so we can cover ground at will.
We wont mind splurging a little on lodging. Design hotels, beautiful little villas ect...

Hows the tourist intensity in May? Cruise ships?

I would love suggestions but so far a sample itinerary would be:

2 nights split, as we are flying in.
Ferry to Hvar 3 nights (do we need a car for split/hvar?)
Dubrovnik 3 nights (is this too many?)
???
Not sure where we would fly out of yet.
Total 9 days +/- 1 day.

Since we will be driving, towns or islands that offer somewhat convient to each other.

Can I have suggestions for islands or towns that are relaxed and beach driven with a touch of romance?

Thank you!
-E

TorontoSteven

Just some random answers to your questions. Swimming in late May is possible. It will be chilly. Locals will assume you are violently insane and will stay away from you.

Food: Since you are in Split go to Klis for the out door grilling. Unbelievable little town and excellent mixed grill. All of Dalmatia is wine country. Ask your server what they like to drink - they will rarely screw you over on that one. Split is good for fish. Pag is great for cheese. Istria is also well known for its cuisine.

Dubrovnik is very touristy and you will want to stay out of the old city when cruise ships are in. The prices get doubled and it is hard to walk around. Go early in the morning for the market and go in the evening after the ships have weighed.

If you want a good beach go to Makarska. You will never want to go to any other beach.

lindaday

Hi,

in late may you can expect very unpredictable weather. Swimming is surely possible, 2 years ago I spent my summer holiday in Biograd on the sea (town located in north Dalmatia) in the period from May 25 to June 3, and I remember the weather was great, I was swimming every day athough sea wasn't warm, but wasn't too chilly either. I hope that you will be so lucky too Also there was very few tourists in that period.
I would reccomend you to visit that city because the private accomodation was high quality, beaches are very nice and you can go on many boat excursion from there to other interesting and romantic places (like Kornati, national park on the sea)

If you enjoy sightseeing museums, sacral objects, churches and curtural events 3 nights in Dubrovnik isn't too many but don't expact lively nightlife there.

eglbc

Thanks folks!

Any resources for finding unique rentals? Im looking for authentic and historic rental options.

Lazer

Hi,

Here's a nice hotel, but it's on the island of Solta -- www.martinis-marchi.com. It's near Split and easy enough to get to, but if you spend a night there it will mean taking a night from somewhere else, probably Hvar. On Hvar, there is a chain of Suncani hotels that seem quite nice.

Also on Hvar, there's a village called Sv. Nedjelja that has a stone restaurant right on the water that is built in the shape of two wine vats. It is run by the local winery (Zlatan Otok) but in May you should call first to make sure it's open.

Not sure how you're getting from Hvar to Dubrovnik. If you're returning to Split and driving down the coast, when you get to the "Makarska Riviera" there are many small villages/towns that have nice beaches and atmosphere. You could stop and have a swim and lunch on the way.

From Dubrovnik it might be possible to take a day trip to Mljet. I know in the summer they have daily passenger ferries to Mljet, but in May it might be a little early. It's a National Park and you can rent bikes or maybe kayak on the lake. It would be a pretty low key outing, if you're in the mood for that by then.

This website has a listing of the various ferry schedules -- it might make it easier to plan the logistics of your trip. www.croatiatraveller.com.

Have fun.

eglbc

Wow that hotel looks amazing, thanks!

So our tickets our booked.
Flying into Split then out of zadar. 10 nights.
We havent decided a itinerary, though Im contemplating the idea of skipping dubrovnik to focus on the northern areas more. Given our goals- food, beach, rest and relax, is skipping dubrovnik a logical choice in favor of pushing north and exploring up the coast to pula then back to zadar for departure?

Revised itinerary
Split 2 nights
hvar 2 nights
pula/rovinj 3 nights
zadar 3 nights

As far as renting a car, would going to split and hvar without rental, then picking up in split to head north make sense? Is hvar easily explored on scooter?

yorkshire

Since you are flying out of Zadar, I would definitely skip Dubrovnik--IF it is not vitally important to you to see it. To me, the entire coast is beautiful, and it is more important to maximize time.
With only 2 nights on Hvar, I would definitely not bother with a hire car. You probably won't even need a scooter. There are boats to the Pakleni islands in late May. Even if the sea is cold, it should be nice to walk to your own little cove and sit.
I have not been to Zadar since 2003 (on my own honeymoon!), and I know it has become a much more vibrant place since then, but I would consider adding a day to Hvar. You may also end up wanting that extra day in Istria.
I have not been to Istria yet but done a lot of research, for Pula versus Rovinj, I think Rovinj wins.
Have you read about lighthouse rentals--that would certainly be a unique accommodation.
congrats!

eglbc

Also is pag worth checking out? Based on tony bourdains experience it looked like theres some good eats to be had, but are these cheeses and wines common throughout?

yorkshire

I also watched that episode--note that the place he visited is not in Pag town per se, but since you will have a car it is worth looking into. I believe it was a winery that did a special event for him--check to see if they offer accommodations.
As far as Pag cheese and good wine, you can get both everywhere.
I found Pag town to not be a "must see" destination, but again it is a place I visited on my first trip many years ago. There are so many places that really will wow you that I would suggest you prioritize.
One thing to keep in mind is that Croatia has a zero tolerance drinking and driving policy--so if you plan special dinners you need to plan the accommodations carefully, especially since some of the best places in Istria are rural.
There is an Istria specialist that occasionally pops up here as well as on tripadvisor. She knows the restaurants of Istria especially well.

yorkshire

also, since you are on the food trail, this Croatia website did an overview of the AB episode with some additional recommendations--worth bookmarking!
http://www.tasteofcroatia.org/faces-...rdain-croatia/

eglbc

Amazing stuff yorkshire many thanks. Will follow the food trail!

Is it better to stay in rovinj and shoot down to pula to sight see?

Any other sources for finding the unique / historical lodging options? Similar to www.martinis-marchi.com

eglbc

So we are getting our plans in order (trips in almost week, better late than never)

Split 2 nights
palimazana (hvar area) 4 nights

We are leaving zadar, and have 4 nights after hvar area, and cant figure out where to go.
Trogir? Sibenick?

Seems like 4 nights in zadar is too many, any suggestions on where to check out for 1 night before zadar?

Good day trips from zadar to local islands? Is silba worth checking out?

Any food recs for hvar? Looking into taking a tour to zlatan otok for a wine dinner at bilo idro.

yorkshire

I've always been interested in the Kornati islands, but I have not been there.
Plitvice National Park might work.
Because you mentioned food, and if you are interested in another island, do you have time to include Vis? It would probably require backtracking through Split, but some of the best seafood I've eaten in Croatia was in Vis.

eglbc

im looking into moving days around to go from hvar to vis to zadar, though the ferry wont work from hvar>vis on our days. Whats the alternative to ferry? do smaller catamaran servcices make that run, or excursions from tourist companies. Ive been seeing 3-500E cost for water taxi, seems a bit much.