Croatia trip report
Oct 31st, 2002, 01:34 PM
#1
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Croatia trip report
We got back several weeks ago from a wonderful 2-1/2 weeks in Croatia and Slovenia. To give you a little background, we are a middle-aged couple and I guess you'd call us Italophiles since we've been to Italy 9 of the last 10 years. We travel very simply, usually in 2 star hotels and always using public transportation and we particularly enjoy smaller places - most recently focusing on Sicily and the Dolomites.<BR>We booked our airline tickets from www.panadriatic.com which specializes only in travel to Croatia. Our tickets Seattle - Amsterdam-Zagreb - Dubrovnik, and Zagreb-Amsterdam-Seattle cost about $800 including taxes.<BR>The itinerary for this trip was 4 nights in Dubrovnik, bus (3 hours) to Korcula ( 1 night), ferry (4 hours) to Hvar (4 nights), overnight ferry (12 hours) to Rijeka, train & bus (4 hours) to Bled, Slovenia (5 nights) and train (3-1/2 hours) to Zagreb (1 night). We had reservations for everything beforehand although it would have been possible to find rooms or hotels on arrival. We just don't want to be hassling with that on a short trip and we also like to have the very best location possible. We made reservations about 4 months ahead and were very pleased with all our accommodations.<BR>In Dubrovnik we had a 2 bedroom house with terrace in the old town and, despite the 62 stairs, we just loved it. We booked it through www.i-reception.net and couldn't have been more pleased with their excellent service. They have a number of apts and rooms in the old city costing about $40-$60 dollars. But be aware that the accommodations on the narrow streets that run north from the main street (Stradum) are up steep stair streets and there can be a lot of climbing. We booked a taxi on arrival through them (about $27) and the driver was in touch with our landlady on his cell phone and she met us at the nearest parking and took us to the house, so it was very easy. From my trip journal: "It is a gorgeous city, far surpassing our expectations. It's almost like being in a beautiful, well-proportioned picture. Wherever you turn, beauty meets the eye - in the warm gray stone walls, the shiny worn limestone streets, the red tile roofs, the beautiful skyline of roofs and domes and towers and cupolas, and, of course, the walls. Not to mention the brilliant blue sea and the islands studding the horizon." Our 3-1/2 days passed quickly mostly just exploring the old city and walking the walls, etc. We had one day trip to the fishing village/resort of Cavtat (boats from the old town harbor - about an hour- or by bus) which is charming and completely different. I think there were concerts offered every night. We heard the Dubrovnik Symphony in one of the churches and it was an excellent program - tickets available before the performance. We also went to the Lindo Folk Ensemble show of folk dances from around Croatia and folk music (shows on Tuesdays and Fridays in the season) and it was really exceptional and not to be missed! The dancers were incredible and the performance was outside in the old stone quarantine sheds just outside the walls so it was a very unique venue. The sign we had seen said tickets were available before the performance but that was not the case. It was completely sold out with lots of people vying for any extra tickets and we were very fortunate to get some from no-shows. You can get them from your hotel, I guess, or from Atlas Travel - offices in old city and just outside the Pile Gate.<BR>
Oct 31st, 2002, 01:37 PM
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Food on the whole was not as good as Italian (in our opinion only) but we did have some excellent meals - best were at the Jadran Restaurant which is in an open courtyard in the old city near the Pile Gate. It is not very useful to look at menus since they are all the same and don't give much description.<BR>The people in Croatia were so friendly and helpful and there was no language problem at all. The second language is English and seems to be the language used by most of the tourists from other countries. All the menus were translated into several languages.<BR><BR>We traveled by bus from Dubrovnik to the island of Korcula - a very pretty leisurely ride. You need to buy your bus ticket at the bus station which is about a km from the Pile Gate. We did it a couple of days ahead of time, but that might not be necessary. There is one bus a day leaving at 3:00 and arriving at 6:30 pm. We stayed in a studio apt just on the edge of the old town, booked through www.adriatica.net (they have accommodation all over Croatia) and costing about $22. We paid by credit card, then received the name and phone number of our landlord. You need to call ahead and let them know your arrival so someone will be at the building. Actually they met us at the bus station, so it was very easy. Korcula (the town) is lovely but it is very small and really only takes a couple of hours to explore pretty thoroughly, so the evening and next morning were enough.<BR><BR>The ferry ride from Korcula to Hvar (about 4 hours) was just spectacular with the white limestone mountains and the blue sea - a starkly beautiful landscape with few buildings of any kind. In spite of what the guidebook said, there was no bus meeting our ferry at the port of Stari Grad but there were taxis and shared taxis available for the 10 miles or so to Hvar town along winding roads high above the sea. The town is lovely - mostly warm, honey colored stone with a strong Venetian architectural influence. There is a promenade for at least a mile in each direction with lovely parklike tropical vegetation and views of the harbor or out to sea and the islands. We stayed at the Palace Hotel at the end of the harbor - an older hotel with some character (all the other hotels pretty new, I think) - and had a large room with bath and little balcony with a view of the harbor. We paid E35 to E39 (two seasons) each for half board so it was a very good value. Dinner was 5 courses and very good food, and the dining room was attractive. We also found the other guests to be very friendly, so there was a nice atmosphere.
Oct 31st, 2002, 01:40 PM
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There are concerts every other night apparently and we enjoyed an excellent organ/trumpet concert by two Zagreb musicians at the Cathedral one night. The weather was alright but really only one day of swimming weather. There were inexpensive water taxis to the islands, but we chose to walk around the harbor to the south and keep going to the end of the narrow road (about 1-1/2 miles) to a beautiful cove with restaurant at the end where we had a superb seafood risotto after our swim. You can keep walking south on a trail through the scrub and pine trees and rosemary bushes following the butterflies around a few coves to the little town of Milna. Absolutely beautiful! The air and vegetation are marvelous. Another thing we particularly enjoyed was the 1/2 day tour of the island by Atlas Travel - very well done and interesting tour of the island and several of the other towns. I recommend the website www.holidayinhvar.co.uk for some really great information.<BR><BR>We had 9 hours in Split waiting for the overnight ferry to Rijeka. We enjoyed a few hours of wandering around the old city and the market, but probably should have been more organized and gone to Trogir, too, as we really had too much time. The overnight ferry (Jadrolinija - Liburnija) worked out well. We had a cabin with a sink and it was clean and about twice the size of a train compartment and had comfortable bunks, a table, sink, 2 wardrobes and a little porthole. We bought the tickets from Atlas Travel ([email protected]) and picked them up in Dubrovnik. Cost was $100 plus service and credit card charge to total $118. Dinner in the restaurant was fine and not expensive and a big breakfast buffet was included with the ticket. Even in October the lounges were crowded and smoky and there is no seating on deck, so the restaurant was the best place for the evening - but smoky, too. We had about 5 hours in Rijeka until our train to Ljubljana (bus service very irregular -"tomorrow at 4"
. City bus 32 runs to Opatija (better choice) and Lowran (don't go there, even though guide makes it sound nice) every half hour. There is a stop opposite the train station but we couldn't find it and walked back to the city bus station which wasn't necessary. Left Luggage in train station doesn't open until 9am but the left luggage in the bus station (between port and train station) opens earlier.<BR>I'll post the trip report for Slovenia in another post when I get it written up. We had a wonderful time there, too.<BR>
. City bus 32 runs to Opatija (better choice) and Lowran (don't go there, even though guide makes it sound nice) every half hour. There is a stop opposite the train station but we couldn't find it and walked back to the city bus station which wasn't necessary. Left Luggage in train station doesn't open until 9am but the left luggage in the bus station (between port and train station) opens earlier.<BR>I'll post the trip report for Slovenia in another post when I get it written up. We had a wonderful time there, too.<BR>
Nov 22nd, 2002, 10:37 AM
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This is bringing back some memories! Husband and I went to Croatia in 1998 to visit his relatives, so we didn't see any of the usual "tourist" things except for the time we spent walking around Zagreb. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the trip, and found it a fascinating place to visit.<BR><BR> Thankfully, we had an English-speaking cousin translating for us, as almost no one spoke English where we went. (I'm sure it's different along the coast, however, with the greater tourist traffic). Thanks for the report, Lina.
Nov 22nd, 2002, 01:09 PM
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Croatia is fabulous; we spent 3 weeks just traveling from Dubrovnik to Split, hopping from one island to another. Food was great, especially the seafood which we both love. People were warm and friendly and seemed so glad to see Americans. Prices very reasonable everywhere. Highly recommend it.
Jan 9th, 2003, 04:55 PM
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I decided to go back to Fodors and get involved again after a long break. Lina, I loved reading your report on Croatia. In June 2001 we also went to Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar (stayed in an apartment in Stari Grad), Trogir, and Zagreb. The only place we had a reservation was Zagreb. It was very easy to find a play to stay, although most apartments were pretty basic. But we also absolutely loved Croatia - it's beautiful, easy to get around, and interesting historically and visually. A wonderful trip!
Jan 23rd, 2003, 06:22 AM
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Lina,<BR><BR>Do you recall if you stayed at Apartment Katija in Dubrovnik? We're looking at booking it because of the terraces and views it offers.<BR><BR>Also, in going from Hvar to Split, was there a morning ferry/hydrofoil that you took?<BR><BR>Thank you.
Jan 23rd, 2003, 08:38 AM
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Nancy -<BR>I'm already starting to arrange my Croatian trip for Sept 2003 - fly into Split, Hvar (5 days), Dubrovnik (3 days). One of my co-workers is from Korcula - says there is a slow (car) ferry from Split to Hvar in the afternoon (2 pm) but there maybe catamaran ferries. I'll let you know if I find anything...
