Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Croatia is amazing

MY TRIP REPORT:

we just returned from spending 11 days in Croatia - - started out in Zagreb for 1.5 days, then rented a car and headed to the coast. This country is beautiful - - maybe the most beautiful we have seen (and we've seen beautiful countries). it is friendly, people speak English (I don't expect them to, but what a bonus!), the food is great and very affordable (pastas, salads, pizza, panini, cheeses, great inexpensive wine, great locally made beer and incredible pastries everywhere - - the Croatians know their desserts!)

I wish we would have had an extra day in Zagreb - - it is a great city, rich in history, and has some great shops, caffes and neighborhoods. We stayed at the Westin, but only because we had free nights there (frequent traveling points). it is a wonderful hotel, great location, with free internet access in their business center. We did NOT need a car in Zagreb - - it's a 10-minute cab ride (and about $20) from the airport to downtown. Parts of Zagreb are only 100 years old, other parts are 800 years old. the Croatian National Theatre in the center of town is gorgeous (my great grandfather's bronze bust is in there!) and there is a great art gallery right across the square from it. The Old Town section of Zagreb, up on the hillside, is lovely - - incredible alley ways and homes and buildings.

we also took an afternoon trip to a town called Samobor, about 45 minutes outside of Zagreb. it is lovely, and worth the trip. there are lots of great caffes with outdoor seating, and a gorgeous old church and monestary.

On the third day of our trip, we rented a car (that is the expensive part! rental cars aren't cheap in Croatia!) and drove the brand new highway from Zagreb to Trogir -- which took about 3.5 hours. it is a great highway, and prior to it opening, this was a 6 or 7 hour trip. We went down to Trogir, because a friend of ours who lives in Zagreb said that Sibenic (just north of Trogir) is at about the point in the coastline where the scenery becomes gorgeous. She said that everything above there is "kind of boring, and not the kind of coastline you see when you "google" pictures of the Dalmatian coast." So, we didn't go straight across, we followed her lead and went down to Sibenic/Trogir.

Trogir is enchanting. We stayed on the Island of Ciovo, in an apartment high up on the hill, overlooking the city. we loved this spot, though it's not for everyone, because it's a walk up a very steep hill to the house. However, once there, the view and the hospitality of Miranda are worth it. You can google trogironline/smoljic or Apartment Smoljic Trogir to find it. Otherwise, you can find something closer in. the farmer's market at Trogir is great, the restaurants are wonderful (all built into ruins of buildings or in fabulous old buildings) the harborfront caffes are great. it's a very clean and very beautiful spot, worthy of two days.

We then drove down to Split to catch the ferry to the Island of Hvar. We bought our ferry tickets and put the car in line for the ferry, about 2.5 hours ahead of departure (they let you start lining them up that early) We then wandered around Split, which is a town I would not have much interest to spend too much time in - - it's over-built with ugly modern (1980's?) high rises, but Diocletian's Palace is a must see, and an easy walk from the ferry terminal. The old part of Split, right beside the palace, is great. So, park the car and wander for a couple of hours, then head to Hvar!

the ferry brought us to Hvar, and just a stone's throw from Stari Grad, where we spent two nights at a 550-yr old house that normally we might share with others, but it was still the off-season so we had the whole place to ourselves. it was central in the little village of Stari Grad, and spotlessly clean - - Apartment Sandulov (you can google it easily) Stari Grad is lovely, quiet, rich with history. It has just enough restaurants and shops to keep you interested for three or four days. Don't miss Petar Hektorovic's home - - ask the locals which door to knock on to go in... :-) You can google this site and have a look, it's very well photographed. We also drove to Hvar City, on the other side of the island. the drive across the mountains is something else. 2 lane roads and high, high up on the spine of the mtn range, and often no guard rails. it's not for the squeemish, but oh so worth the views (driver must not look! don't take eyes off road!). Hvar City is gorgeous - - go up to the fortress above the city for spectacular views of the city, the harbor and the surrounding islands. Sit in a caffe in the huge open area and take it all in, and roam the alley ways and shops. Walk the boardwalk all the way around the harbor.

we then headed back to Stari Grad, but this time taking the western road - - not nearly as scary as the other road. And good thing the days are long, because you do not want to be driving that road at dark -- no way. However, on the way home, the less scary road also offered spectacular views of harbors along the way, especially at Sv. Nedjelija, right before we cut over and back to Stari Grad. Another great little town right near Stari Grad is Vrboska, and it offers some great beaches. (all the beaches in Croatia are either soft gravel or rocks - - you won't find many sand beaches)

the next day we left Stari Grad for the southern end of Hvar Island, to catch the ferry at Sucuraj to head back to the mainland. The drive from Stari Grad to Sucuraj was gorgeous - -up high, overlooking turquoise bays, and for the first time seeing the incredible scale of the mountains coming down to the sea on the mainland.

we again put our car in the line at the ferry terminal, and went to a local caffe for a great local beer (on a hot day you must have a Karlovacko!). The trip over to the mainland was only about 25 minutes and landed us at Drvenik - - a lovely coastal spot. Along the coast on the way southward is Gradac - - a town I would stay in on a future trip. Beautiful.

we then drove along the coast to Ston, where we spent the night in Mali Ston (our intention was to go see the Peljesac Peninsula, and these two towns are right at the front of the Peninsula) Ston must be seen to appreciate the engineering feat of the fortress walls (google that and have a look) it's most incredible. here you will also find salt ponds that have been harvested since Roman times. But, Ston is a place to only spend a couple of hours - - not too much going on there.

The Peljesac Peninsula (wine region!) is gorgeous, and you must stop and see two incredible little towns I hope to spend more time visiting in the future - - Zuljana and Trstenik - - WOW. Lovely, both located on turquoise water, and hardly any tourists. We drove all the way down the peninsula to Orebic, but it wasn't much to see -- it's not a very interesting city, beyond that it is the ferry terminal to go over to Korcula, which apparently is gorgeous.

we then drove back up the Peninsula and back to the mainland and headed toward Dubrovnik, where we spent the last 3 days, visiting the walled city and wandering around. I would say, personally, that 3 days in Dubrovnik is too long. 2 is plenty. When we arrived in Dubrovnik, we returned our car, because it's such a walking city, and we were staying right outside the walls of the old city, but thinking back, we wish we would have kept the car for one extra day to drive beyond Dubrovnik and see the coastline. If you go to Dubrovnik, you must walk the wall -- the views are amazing - - although again, the heights will freak some people out (it did me! but it was always worth it) The walled city is amazing and rich with history. It's also full of shops and restaurants and caffes. If you are looking for accomodations in Dubrovnik, we cannot say enough about the two fabulous people we rented from there. Sergius and his wife, Suada, were SO wonderful and offered great accomodations. Sergius runs a travel agency, and their property was great. See www.magiclinetours.com of Croatia, and that is his company. We then flew via Croatian airlines from Dubrovnik to Zagreb, spent one last night in Zagreb, and out the next day - - to Paris for three days, which was quite a culture shock (and shock to the wallet!) after the laid back, friendly and wonderful trip to Croatia.

finally: 1) everybody spoke English, and many spoke it fluently. 2) if you love gelato, you'll love Croatia - - we live in Seattle, where there is a coffee shop on every corner, and the Croatians have a gelato stand on every corner! 3) it's clean, and the air is so fresh! 4) the sea really is the color you see in the brochures!

for my husband and I, it's not IF we'll go back, it's WHEN.