Thanks Ken. <BR><BR>I hate to admit but I'm really excited about this already - only 6 more months to go. I'll defintely post updates regarding information or books I have found informative.

Got my ticket - my hotel reservations - yee haw.<BR><BR>Bought 3 guide books:<BR><BR>Lonely Planet, Croatia - Lots of information about specific cities, towns, villages, islands, ferries, beaches, restaurants, etc. - very comprehensive - but somewhat dry A few photographs<BR><BR>Insight Pocket Guide, Croatia - Nice photographs, great pull out map. Provides a nice over view of Croatia - highlights specific things to see, etc. Felt more "magaziney".<BR><BR>The Rough Guide to Croatia - Like LP, lots of information, a few photographs - I prefer this guide to LP - the writing style is a bit more agreeable.<BR><BR>Now I want to find some historical books regarding Croatia and the Balkans. Any personal recommendations?

<BR>Now I want to find some historical books regarding Croatia and the Balkans. Any personal recommendations<BR><BR>The best: "Black Lamb, Gray Falcon" by Rebecca West. about 60 years old and 1000 pgs.

I concur about Rebecca West's book. I'm reading it right now and its very interresting, albeit long... Also, there are several books by Robert Kaplan - that he talks about the Balkans. I loved Balkan Ghosts in college and have just bought another one that he wrote about hte balkans.

The length of the Black Lamb, Grey Falcon seems a bit daunting. I just finished a book about Istanbul that wound up mainly focused on geneology - who begot who, a tad bit dry after awhile - so I'd like to avoid a repeat. I believe BLGF is about all of Yugoslavia. I'm interested in specifically Croatia. I know - it's hard to separate the two. Thanks for the Robert Kaplan suggestion.

topping for Cynthia...

Update: Started reading "The Balkan Wars" by Andre Gerolymatos. Focuses more on historical influences like the Battle of Kosovo, the Ottoman Empire, the Eastern Othordox Church, etc on the area known as the Balkans. Very interesting read. His observations about the assination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo (on the 525th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo) are fascinating.

Just got back from Croatia and wanted to give some more feedback:<BR><BR>1. Trogir much nicer than Split--very quaint and romantic. I'd stay in Trogir and take a bus to Split (don't miss Split though--very interesting city). I highly recommend Hotel Fontana in Trogir--very clean, nice, small and right off the main promenade near the water. <BR><BR>2. Hvar is great. I don't recommend the Amfora hotel. Other than having its own small beach, its just a large hotel with no character, 10 min walk to town (nice walk though). I'd stay in a private room instead. Great views of the town from Fortress Spanjol.<BR><BR>3. Dubrovnik is beautiful. Stayed at the Bellevue which was very nice, but a bit pricey, relatively speaking. 20 min walk to town, but again, a nice walk. Argentina was being renovated and I'm sure that will be great. Its in a good location, close to the center.<BR><BR>4. Hotel Split in Split was horrible. Its a huge, cold hotel (with a go-go club attached), with nothing nearby, and you have to have a car to get to the center (or take a cab...probably a bus, but a pain). Unfortuantely, no other alternatives to recommend. See point 1.<BR><BR>5. Mljet was a wonderful island. Very peaceful and green. There is only 1 hotel on the island, but we stayed in a private room (where the ferry docks) and it was great.<BR><BR>6. Didn't stay in Korcula, but ferry went by it and it looked wonderful.<BR><BR>7. Took a bus from Dub. to Split. Definitely would have been nice to stop at a couple of the towns, so i actually recommend taking a leisurely drive. Also nice, uncrowded beaches along the way.<BR><BR>Overall, 10 days just wasn't enough. Also, make sure to try the "home" cheese, which can be found at the farmer's market (in trogir, split and dubrovnik. AND try all the fruits and veggies).

Welcome back Kat. Sounds like you had a great time.<BR><BR>I'm off to Dubrovnik in September. One question: did you need to wear foot protection when swimming - I hear the beaches are rocky. Is it smooth rocky or jagged rocky? <BR><BR>Any specific restaurants to recommend? I've heard Atlas Club Nautica (Dubrovnik) is good. <BR><BR>How were the temperatures at night?

Mark, check out www.washingtonpost.com and their travel section. There was a recent article on travels in Croatia and the whole region. (should be available, they do keep them out there for some time) Very interesting with some restaurant recs and all.

Kat,<BR><BR>I'm working on the logistics of getting to Hvar from Dubrovnik other than the Jadrolinija ferry (too limited of a time schedule in the off season). How did you arrive there? It seems like there are more opportunities to get to Hvar from Split, so maybe that should be our destination after Dubrovnik.<BR><BR>Did you have a car at all?<BR><BR>Thanks for any help.

Mark: Yes, you heard correctly there are rocky beaches there. The rocks however are not jagged. They are smooth. If you still find the rocks hard on your feet you can always get some rubber/jelly shoes over there - you can find them pretty inexpensively in most markets/kiosks.<BR><BR>Nancy: You are right about more opportunities to get to Hvar from Split. They also offer hydrofoils to Hvar from Split which can cut the time to get there from 2 1/2 hours to closer to 1 - 1 1/2. You can also go to the island of Brac from Split as well. Having a car in Croatia makes things a lot more convenient.<BR><BR>Nina

Thanks Nina. I'm looking so forward to Dubrovnik.

Thanks, also, Nina. Were you there in off season? We are thinking about going mid May and I've noticed the guide books list limited transportation during that season. I was hoping to avoid renting a car, and just traveling by water through Croatia, and train and bus elsewhere.<BR><BR>Mark, I hope you have a great trip and post when you get back. What resource has given you the most information to help you plan your trip? I've only found 1 or 2 guidebooks so far. We're going to include Slovenia as part of our trip.<BR><BR>Nancy

Nancy: Unfortunately I have never been there in May. I don't think travelling by bus from town to town would be a problem though.<BR><BR>Which towns do you plan on visiting? Have you been there before? I have found the following guidebooks to be helpful, if you haven't looked at these ones yet:<BR><BR>*Lonely Plane - Croatia<BR>*The Rough Guide to Croatia<BR>*Explore the World Nelles Guide - Croatia Adriatic Coast<BR><BR>Mark: Is this your first time to Croatia?<BR><BR>Nina<BR>

Nancy -<BR>Of the three guides I have about Croatia - Lonely Planet, Insight and Rough Guide - I like the Rough Guide best. See post dated <BR>03/17/2002, 11:49 am for review of each one.<BR><BR>Here are some web sites I found helpful and enjoyable:<BR><BR>http://www.croatia.hr/home.php<BR><BR>http://islands.zems.fer.hr/index.html<BR><BR>http://www.dubrovnikportal.com/eng/<BR><BR>http://pages.infinit.net/mljet/prva.htm<BR><BR>http://www.hvar.hr/<BR><BR>http://www.korcula.net/<BR><BR>http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/<BR><BR>http://www.hotel-excelsior.hr/eng/index.html <BR><BR>http://www.villa-dubrovnik.hr/home.html<BR><BR><BR>

Zdravo Nina -<BR>Yes it's my first time. I've been reading a very interesting book about the Balkans in general. Found on Chowhound.com that there are some Croatian / Istrian restaurants in Astoria, Queens. Starting to look at digital cameras. And of course, I have a phrase book. I was waffeling about staying at the Excelsior - especially now with the exchange rate. <BR>I haven't had a vacation since December and I've read some very favorable reviews (it should be a lot more lux for what their charging) and the views look incredible - so I'm staying with the Excelsior. I also met someone through Virtualtourist.com who lives in Dubrovnik and has given me suggestions.

Mark: Excelsior is a good choice. The location is perfect and the beach in front of the hotel is absolutely beautiful. You are walking distance to the old town too.<BR><BR>When you are there, you must absolutely try the seafood & cevapcici (grilled meat). Oh, and don't forget the ice cream - it's really good.<BR><BR>I hope you have a wonderful trip!<BR>Nina<BR>P.S. Do not forget the insect repellent!

Thanks for the links and info about books, guess I should have read the thread a little more carefully. I've got Lonely Planet & Insight Guide, so will check out Rough Guide.<BR><BR>Nina, this is my first trip to Croatia and I'm combining it with a couple other countries (I'm sure I will have to revisit Croatia again). Right now, I'm planning on flying into Munich, spending a few days in Salzburg before taking the overnight ferry to Dubrovnik. Tentatively, I have 3 nights in Dubrovnik, then 2 in Hvar before catching the Sunday ferry back to Rijeka. I'm including Slovenia from there before returning to Munich.<BR><BR>The northern islands look wonderful too and I'm hoping to visit those some other time, maybe on a northern Italy trip.<BR><BR>Do you think the Excelsior is in a superior location than Bellevue? And are you familiar with Hotel Palace in Hvar? <BR><BR>I really appreciate the information, it is all very helpful.

Nancy, I thought the Bellevue and the Excelsior were both in good locations just opposite directions out of the old town. It was no more than a 15 minute walk to the old town from the Bellevue.<BR><BR>I thought the Bellevue was nice, especially for what we paid for it. There was a good view from the balcony of the sea, the breakfast was good and was across the street from a bakery with some yummy meat pastries. I think the Excelsior would have the nicer view and sounds like it might have a few more amenities but for us (we tend not to spend much time at our hotels) the Bellevue was perfect and affordable.<BR><BR>And Nina's suggestion for ice cream was a good one, I thought it was better than any we tried in Italy.