silas

To thank you all for your help with our recent trip, here is the start of our trip report. It includes our 8 days in Croatia and 2 days in Venice. This was my DH's way to get my mind off of turning the big 50...get me planning a trip. Actually it was really a dream trip for both of us. We've been to other parts of Europe but this was our first trip to Croatia. Our trip was in early May so I worried about the weather but we had sunny days every day but one in Venice where it rained and temps into the upper 70's. I even swam in the Adriatic!

We flew Delta from BOS to VCE and rented a car driving into Croatia and our first stop in Rovinj. Thanks to great advice from you all we purchased our vignettes ahead of time online and had no trouble getting through Slovenia. The drive from VCE took about 3 hours though our rental GPS did not work due to the car lighter being broken. Had to use our phone GPS but it worked out fine.

Got to Rovinj mid afternoon and checked into Hotel Lone. Upgraded!! Our jazz room not available to we got upgraded to a suite overlooking Lone Bay! Spoiled us for the rest of the trip. Staff were very helpful and the facility was gorgeous; it is definitely for those who like modern. Espresso machine in the room, running and biking trails right on the grounds. The beach was quiet (low season for us) and the water was so many different shades of blue/green. The walk along the water to the town took 10-15 minutes and was a good way to work off all the food we ate. I have to mention one thing that I did not see mentioned anywhere... at night there are Scop Owls. The sound is almost like loud sonar. I had to look it up to figure it out. I loved it once I knew what it was. I made my own recording after I heard them again in Zadar. Wish we could have seen them; very neat!

While in Rovinj we walked the town which was beautiful. Ate at Monte which I would highly recommend. Able to eat outside most everywhere which for us after a long horrible winter was a special treat. Visited Pula for the arena- no crowds and quite impressive. Went to Motovun and Groznijan and loved them both. After several attempts, we did get to a winery that was open. They actually were hosting a communion dinner but gave us a tasting and we purchased several bottles of fabulous wine. It was called Vina Deskovic- award winning wine. Lovely Cabernet, nice rose and fabulous muscat. Very friendly owner and staff. Also got some wonderful olive oil outside Groznijan on road to the town. Lucky us!

Fireman

Silas,
Thanks for the great information. We are looking forward to our trip to Croatia via Venice next week. Forcast says rain, but we are from sunny Tucson so we will just go with it. Can you remember the name of the winery you visited? We will be visiting Rovinj so look forward to some great seafood and wine as well.
Love this forum for the spirit of sharing information for those who love to travel!

Andrew

I was in Istria (and points south) about the same days as silas - so it will be interesting to follow her journey compared to mine. I'm still working on my own trip report and pictures.

Fireman, the weather report before my trip - even a few days before - also called for rain many days, but over two weeks I had only a few rainy days. I was in Rovinj for two nights and it really rained (drizzled) only parts of two days, and it was sunny and beautiful for good parts of the days too. So don't worry too much yet - I was freaking out over the weather reports too before the start of my trip. Remember, rain may not last all day and it may not rain very hard for very long.

silas

Fireman, the winery is near Groznijan and called Deskovic. Lovely people and great wine. Interesting about the weather. Before we left the forecast about two weeks prior called for rain and then when we arrived, every day was sunny and warm. There was one night when we were in Rovinj that there were really loud thunderstorms but it was late. Then it rained the Friday we drove back to Venice and all that day. Made the taxi ride from the airport to Venice really choppy but fun. Andrew, I think you might have been there around the same time? We were there May 7 and left for Venice on May 15. I feel very lucky to have gotten such nice weather but the staff at the hotels said it was typical and like Andrew said, if it rains it is usually for part of the day.

Andrew

I was in Rovinj a week earlier. I arrived in Rovinj April 29 and left May 1. I toured the hill towns that day, and the weather gradually changed from sunny in the morning to overcast to drizzle to heavy rain as I was leaving Motovun. I spent that night in Lovran (near Opatija and Rijeka) and it poured rain all night. But that was the worst weather I had on the entire trip.

geenance

Thanks Silas. I was in Croatia and Ljubljana, but missed Istria. I've filed away this information for the next time I'm in the region!
I'm glad the weather worked out for you.

silas

Part 2 of the trip report..... on to Zadar. But before I do that part, I should mention for any cyclists reading that my husband took his bike on this trip. Usually takes it along and no, I do not mind (I don't ride). He likes to ride and does so in the morning before we get breakfast. The only hassle with the bike is transporting it and paying the fee to get it on the plane. I know, he can rent a bike somewhere but he is a pretty serious triathlete and enjoys his own bike. So he did enjoy riding in Istria. People friendly and nice to cyclists, which is what we've always found in Europe. Good riding and nice way to see pretty towns that we later went back to. He also rode in Zadar, where we headed to next. He rode to Nin, Pag and Vis which we visited on our second day staying in Zadar.

Also, we tend to like less crowded places unless the plan is to visit a city. So, we were really lucky with our timing. We also don't like to jump around and stay too many places so chose two locations in Croatia which limited what we could see unless we really wanted to drive a lot.

The drive to Zadar reinforced that I was happy we stayed for the first part of the trip in Rovinj. It was a beautiful ride but would have been too long just off a flight from Venice. We stayed at the Bastion and loved it. The staff were very helpful and the place was lovely. We loved the sea organ which put on a great show the first day as the surf was up when we got there. We strolled the town and went for a run along the water and into the park. Later we heard more owls there. Dinner at the Bastion was wonderful. Great wine and the Prosciutto and Pag cheese-terrific. Something about the truffles too. Tasted less pungent than here at home. Loved the asparagus..we came at just the right season. (Food great in Rovinj too; great pizza and seafood).
While staying in Pag we went to Pag island and Nin. I hate to even post this here because I'd like to keep it secret but there is a road on Pag that takes you to this cove that is just amazing. The water was warm and the colors spectacular. It is just a pull off and then you hike down to the cove. I'm pretty sure there are lots of them given the island (actually connected by bridge). Nin was also a very pretty old town we strolled through. Quiet and picturesque.

The next day we went to Split which was interesting but way too crowded for my tastes. Walked through the palace which was really interesting. From there we went on to Trogir which I loved. Small, old and lovely.

The last day in the area was spent more in Zadar and also in Krka National Park. We did not want to drive to Plitvice and will save that for next time along with Dubrovnik and more islands. Krka was beautiful! More crowds there but well worth it for the spectacular colors and falls. Had a lovely dinner at the restaurant for the Hotel Kalarga which we really good. More cheese and I'd recommend the darker version of the cherry brandy.

Andrew

I've known serious cyclists like your husband, so I completely understand why he would bring his bike (though I would never dream of doing such a thing myself).

Did you drive from Rovinj to Zadar via the A1 (toll roads) or via the slower coastal road? The day I drove down from Lovran, the weather was overcast so I just took the A1; otherwise, I might have taken the coastal road - which I understand isn't that amazingly scenic. Of course, the A1 wasn't, but it was an easy drive.

Did you see sunset in Zadar? I didn't - to my disappointment. The sun was out an hour or two before sunset but the clouds rolled in right before and I never saw it. Alfred Hitchcock famously claimed the sunset in Zadar was the most beautiful in the world, but I'm starting to think he made it up.

Zadar was crowded on the Saturday night I was there - some sort of "run for the cause" race the next day then a celebration concert the next night in the main square/Roman forum area. I was glad to leave town right before that happened the next day! Zadar does have nice feel in the core area, though, doesn't it?

I enjoyed Trogir more than Split too - though I saw Trogir this trip and Split last trip, so maybe it's not fair to compare them. I stayed over a night in Trogir - very pretty at night and quiet.

Did you stop in Sibenik? I did - really loved it, wished I'd spent more time.

silas

we did drive the A1, for time I think. Scenery still pretty considering the openness of the county. ( We're from the northeast where there is not open space) Zadar seems small enough to navigate easily and retain it's charm. It was more of a city than I was expecting but we loved it. We were lucky enough to see sunset in Zadar each night. Beautiful... I think it is because of the islands off in the distance that makes it special. The light show at the installation was cool too. I also liked sunset in Rovinj; beautiful when the sun sets into the sea.

As for Split and Trogir, I guess I did not think Split would be as busy as it was. Buses and cruise ships. We were lucky it wasn't high season when it really gets crowded. The palace was neat and the bell tower had great views.

I liked Trogir for the being small and quiet. We didn't get to Sibenik. So much to see that I know we missed a lot but it's a good reason to go back again and again.

Andrew

Yes, exactly, a reason to come back! This is was my second trip, and partly it was a re-do of my 2009 trip but with stops at places I missed the first time.

I saw the sunset in Rovinj one night I was there - sadly, this was the only sunset I saw on my entire trip. (I saw it go down in Montenegro on the Bay of Kotor too, but not really a "sunset," more of the sun going behind the mountains .) I had decent weather on my trip but not perfectly clear skies.

silas

Last part of this report...I know I have not posted this correctly, sorry for that. We drove back to Venice on the rainy Friday. The drive took us about 5.5 hours-my husband drives fast. We returned the car at the Venice airport and stowed luggage there as well. Trasbagagli is a very convenient and pretty inexpensive service. 5 Euro per 24 hour charge to store luggage rather than drag it all over Venice.

Took the taxi to Venice for a really bumpy but fun ride to the hotel. We stayed at the L'orologio hotel. New (since December) hotel with cheaper rates than many. On the canal in San Polo close to the rialto market but somewhat quieter area. Great breakfast; the room was nice, nice bathroom. Modern fixtures/lights which took a bit to figure out. Lucky enough to meet dear friends who came to Venice from Rome. Walked and talked and ate around Venice. Headed to the quieter end and saw some of the Biennial exhibits which was fun. Hate to say it but I kind of think we got somewhat better service and treatment at cafes and restaurants...one whopping glass of sambuca was the extreme example from a pal she talked to from her home in Sicily. The crowds were really tight except when we walked to the far end of the area to the pretty park at the in Castello- really quiet and lovely. Surprising.
Left early the next morning; flight from Venice to Amsterdam delayed causing us to run to catch our connection.

Highly recommend renting car to see as much as possible. It was not the hassle I thought it could be once we cleared with the rental company that we'd be traveling into Croatia. Roads well marked with very little traffic.

All in all a wonderful trip, wish I had more time but as Andrew said that's a good reason to return. Thanks to all for their help on this site. Much appreciated!