I'm Croatian, ask me anything!
 

Visiting Croatia? Great!
I'm a local, feel free to ask me anything and I'll do my best to answer / translate!

(Don't expect me to give any hotel or service recommendations though, I believe most of the country has a very good price vs. quality ratio.)

I wish I needed your advice!

What's the best wine area in Croatia?

Are there beautiful seaside locations that are not changed too much by tourism?

What about the mountains (no ski resort destinations)?

Are there books or websites one can read about traditional Croatian cooking (especially seafood)?

If you were to recommend a trip to Croatia plus other countries, which countries would those be that would help a visitor understand Croatia better?

PS: Are all Croatian women as pretty as the ones I've met?

@zeppole
1. Most claim Istria, however many (if not all) islands have a strong viticulture tradition.

2. Too many to list. In a nutshell: visit any of the islands a book a boat trip (or rent one), you can easily spend a day on a "private" beach.
I'm a bit biased but I find Brac great for this, you can have the best of both worlds: the tourist center Bol, and peace and quiet everywhere else.

3. http://www.bjelolasica.hr/index.php?l=en and http://www.sljeme.hr/default.aspx?id=92
There's very little snow in the mountains outside of winter season. Sljeme is best known for the the world cup slalom (http://www.snowqueentrophy.com/) and for being minutes away from the capital, Zagreb.

4. http://www.coolinarika.com/ comes to mind, but it's in Croatian only so use google translate to navigate it. By the way, Anthony Bourdain recently shot "No reservations" here, I don't believe it aired yet.

5. Slovenia is quite beautiful, Serbia also has wonderful sites to visit and an awesome night life (in major cities), Bosnia and Montenegro have a lot to offer as well, and are a short flight away.

P.S. Yes! :-)

Actually, I better qualify that last question. I'm not trying to encourage sex tourism to Croatia!

I only know two Croatians, and both are women who are strikingly pretty, so I threw in the question to joke because they always come to mind when I think of Croatia. But I think your answer may prove to us if you really are Croatian. ;)

We were posting at the same time. Thanks for your answers. I hope to visit soon. I live in Italy, and it is easy to fly there.

And yes, you are obviously a real Croatian! ;)

Split carries a strong reputation for very beautiful female citizens :) and I'm not just saying that because I was born there!
As a guy, I'm stamping a bold "TRUE" on that one :)

We were in Cavtat about 5 years ago and loved the small, friendly and scenic city. I think it was beginning to be discovered and possibly has become crowded.

We'll be in Dubrovnik next Spring and want to get to Cavtat on our own (no cruiseship tour) by boat or car.

What will we find in Cavtat now ?

@maryann Sorry, I never visited Cavtat.

A lot has improved in terms of transport since you last visited, so I can take an educated guess that their tourism improved as well.

This is a last year's local newspaper article about Cavtat:
http://goo.gl/izfVk (google translated)
They still describe the village as small and quiet, and much cheaper than Dubrovnik.

Great timing to see this. I have logistical questions. I am just visiting Rovinj this trip (we did a great trip to Dubrovik, Korcula, Split, Trogir two years ago).

I am coming from Ljubljana and see that there is a bus from 13:00 to 19:15. Is that correct, does it really take six hours? Any other ways to get from Ljubljana to Rovinj (without renting a car)?

Then I'll have two nights, so one full day, and then want to get to Trieste. I see two buses, one at 7:40 in the morning and the other not until 16:40. Are there any other options for getting from Rovinj to Trieste. It will be in July. Is there a ferry?

Thanks.

@isabel

Six hours sounds about right.
As an alternative you can take a train from Ljubljana to Rijeka (about 2.5 hours) then a bus (also 2.5 hours). You won't save much time but you'll get to take a short break and visit Rijeka.
Take this with a grain of salt though, you might end up in Rijeka longer than you plan for, don't schedule too tightly.
You can also fly, but that way you won't get to see much and you'll still have a bus trip to Rovinj.

I checked http://www.jadrolinija.hr/ and I don't see any ferries from covering Rovinj, bus seems to be your only option for Trieste

One of the best post titles, ever!

Plavi, I spent 10 days in Croatia a few years ago and I still remember it well. It was one of my most enjoyable trips and I've taken many.

I too loved Brac. While everyone was recommending to go to Hvar at the time, I chose Brac instead and I really loved it. Bol is a beautiful town and the wooden promenade through the pine trees alongside the water is beautiful, especially at night. Zlatni Rat at one end of the walk is a nice beach area too. I did go for a day to Hvar and it was nice, but bigger and more touristy.

I also enjoyed Dubrovnik very much, and so too Split and especially Trogir.

I look forward to returning to your beautiful country and exploring other areas further north.

@nyse All credit goes to Reddit's "AMA"s :)

@Mathieu I'm glad you enjoyed your holiday!
Zlatni Rat really is amazing, but it can get crowded. Great thing about Brac is it's versatility, you can spend the day hiking on Vidova Gora and the evening swimming on the beach that's usually a few steps away from your hotel room or apartment.

Thanks Plavi, When we were last in Cavtat, I remember some small boats in the harbor advertising taking you over (around a headland) to Dubrovnik for around 10E.

I'm sure the price has gone up but that kind of trip to & from is what I hope is still offered there.

Nice article about the town.

I'm visiting Croatia for the first time with my wife next month. What customs or formalities should we know when visiting to make a good impression with the locals. We will mostly be in Istria and parts of Slovenia.

Hi Plavi!

Thank you for your offer to answer any questions we have about travelling to Croatia.

I wanted to ask your opinion about the island of Rab. How is it compared to Hvar? We have been to Hvar, and touristy as it is, we loved our time there....swimming in hidden coves, visiting villages around the island and hanging around the beautiful Riva. I was wondering if we can find a similar feel in Rab, or should we try Brac?

Kind regards.

Where were you when I could have used you last year.:)

@nolinenowait
I like to believe we're very understanding towards foreigners, so just bring some common sense and wear a smile :)
Perhaps not related to your question, but I read someone mentioning people holding "Rooms!" or "Sobe" signs. If you decide to venture their way and use their services make absolutely sure you're being registered. Hotel and apartment owners need to register their clients (tourists) to the police, and people holding those signs usually don't to avoid taxes, that can cause problems to both parties.

@JoyC
You should definitely try Brac. Unlike Hvar and Rab almost all tourism on Brac is accommodated by private owners (families renting their own houses and apartments), meaning the island looks and feels authentic even mid season.
It's great both if you're outgoing and adventurous and if you're looking for a place to relax, but I must say it's a bad call if you're looking for parties/night life, since most of that kind of entertainment is focused on one village, Bol.

Rab has it's own charm, there's a lot of "tourist villages", great road connectivity, everything feels close and within reach (unlike Brac).
But it's very tourism oriented, like most of Istria, whether that's good or not depends on your preferences.

@Percy
Right here, hehe :)

Hi Plavi,

would you recommend booking transportation from the US or just booking it when I'm there?
Also, are there any short cruises going along the Coast? I'm a student on a budget.

Do you have a favorite food or dish from Split or elsewhwere in Croatia?

@rebelrebel
Bus reservations are usually free, so it's not a bad idea to have one, but I don't believe you'll have any problems buying a ticket on-site, even during season.
When you arrive it's best to call a day before your trip just to check if any tickets are available, and make a free phone reservation for the desired time.
This somewhat applies to flights as well, but be prepared to pay extra if you're buying the last available seat on the plane.

Yes, there are plenty cruises available, most appear during season and are only active for a couple months. We call them tourists boats, loosely translated, they travel very close to the shore (law permitting). They are easy to get into, some are party-focused, some are floating restaurants.
You can even rent a taxi-boat (with a skipper)and make a mini-cruise of your own, with friends.

@suz24
Njoki, it's a traditional dish in Split (and Dalmatia), with special "pasta" made out of potatoes with bolognese sauce.
http://www.coolinarika.com/recept/ju...da-sa-njokama/

Plavi, you are awesome! Thank you. As for the ferries to Italy, do you think 3 days in Italy from Croatia is ok?

@rebelrebel You can see a lot in 3 days, there are regular ferry lines to Ancona.
Keep in mind that Italians have a collective vacation in mid August called "Ferragosto", and a lot of them spend their holidays in Croatia, overloading the traffic in the respective dates :)

Plavi, as RebelRebel has said, you are awesome.
Thanks for being so helpful to so many here.

As I said earlier, I really loved my time in Croatia and look forward to returning soon.

"Njoki, it's a traditional dish in Split (and Dalmatia), with special "pasta" made out of potatoes with bolognese sauce"

I have visited Dalmatia ( and Split)a number of times , did not have the impression that gnocchi is a traditional dish.

@Mathieu Thanks, looking forward to having you back!

@danon I guess you got the wrong impression, you're missing out :)

About Cavtat: My husband, a friend and I had dinner there about a year and a half ago, in early October 2010. WE were staying in Plat, a small town a little bit north of Cavtat. We had planned to take a bus from Dubrovnik to Cavtat, then back to Plat. (We had a car but wanted to be able to drink at dinner) Then as we were getting ready to leave Dubrovnik, we realized there were water taxis in the harbor that would take us to Cavtat so we went that way. it is a beautiful trip down the coast. I can't remember how much it cost but I am quite sure no more than 10Euros.

Unless it has changed drastically in the past 18 months, Cavtat is a charming small city quite popular with people traveling along the coast by boat.

hi plavi,

we will be going to croatia, our first time, july 3-7. will start in dubrovnik then take the bus or train to split for 1 night then catch 8:15 am easyjet flight next day to venice. i think we have to be at SPU by 6 am since easyjet does not have any assigned seating and we are checking in luggage. would you suggest that we stay in trogir or split for early morning transfer to SPU? is there an airport shuttle we can catch or do we have to take the taxi, if so around how much is the fare to either split or trogir and how much time should we allow to get to the airport from either town?

thanks in advance for your input.

@flyme2themoon
There's a regular bus line dedicated to airport passengers leaving from Split, trip to the airport takes about 45 minutes.
http://www.plesoprijevoz.hr/vozniredst.htm
You're probably interested in the 5:30am departure.
Last time I used them (last year) the price was 50kn (~8$) and I payed inside the bus.

They don't cover Trogir so I recommend you stay in Split that night for better connectivity.
I believe ordering a taxi is possible in Trogir but prices are outrageously high during season.

@flyme2themoon
The price for the airport shuttle from Split is 30kn (~6$), free for children under 6.
http://www.plesoprijevoz.hr/kartezagreb.htm

Thank you so much Plavi. There's not too many posters on here for Croatia, so glad you posted your availability for questions. If you don't mind, i have a couple more:

1. Our easyjet flight to Milan leaves at 8:15 am. If we take the 5:45 am bus, we should be in SPU by around 6:30. Will this give us enough time to check in luggage and get to the easyjet boarding gate? We got a fantastic rate of about $55 pp incld tax and 1 pc of checked in luggage with easyjet, but of course, it comes with a some restrictions, incld no assigned seating. And the planner in me is wondering, in the dire event that we are not able to board this flight, what are our options to get to Florence (our final destination)and the ensuing $$$damage?

2. From Dubrovik to Split, in July is it better/faster to take the train or bus? We want to arrive in Split before noon to give us time to explore and wander around the Diocletian Palace.

3. What is the best way to day trip Montenegro? I have read hiring a taxi or private driver to take us there and back and act as a guide too, is practical but I've also read public transportation will do. There's 3 of us, all adults, in this trip. For the taxi/private driver option, what is a reasonable amount to pay for this service?

Thanks again Plavi.

Thanks again.

correction:

...i meant the 5:30 am airport shuttle, approx arriving SPU at 6:15

...dayrtrip to montenegro from dubrovnik

Is it easy for English-speakers to manage?

Presumably they are interested in attracting international tourists and English is almost the lingua franca.

Are there sites to avoid? I've heard that there may be still be land mines in various places in the Balkans from the '90s.

In general, probably not a good idea to bring up the war as a topic of conversation?

@flyme2themoon
1. You should have plenty of time, I've never flown with EasyJet but I know people who did, and their experiences were positive.
Worst case scenario, there are regular Croatian Airlines flights on the SPU-FLR route, however very expensive: 450$/person (375 to Milan)
http://www.croatiaairlines.com/Plan-Book

2. Bus definitely, it's much more convenient. You ca catch a bus at 5am, 6am or 7am just make sure to call a day earlier to confirm and make a reservation:
http://libertasdubrovnik.hr/

3. I have no idea, sorry.
I do however see this as far as the buses go (libertas):
HERCEG NOVI
10:00 15:00 15:30 20:30* (*Monday, Wednesday & Saturday)

PODGORICA
15:00 ("every other day", they didn't mention what days)


@scrb11
Yes.
A foreign language is mandatory in our school system, most kids pick English (with German as a popular second choice).

That's a sad fact, yes. There are still landmines in the continental Croatia, and great effort is being put into removing them.
Thankfully those are areas are now small, rare and very well marked.

If you're genuinely curious, I don't see why you shouldn't discuss the war with a local. It's getting a bit "old" though, I doubt you'll run into someone with first hand experience, everyone else will probably know as much as you can find out from the interwebz right now.

thanks again plavi. did you spend some time in the US or did you learn english in school, as you suggested earlier. your English is impeccable. excuse my asking, just curious.

@flyme2themoon
Thanks! No, I never visited the States :)
I'm a programmer, so my English is probably a (positive) professional deformation, however my spoken English is still far from perfect: I need to Skype more :)

You were so kind and helped with suggestions and good advices a lot of people here.
I have a question to you: we have 11 days and want to see as much is possible from Croatia and Slovenia. We think that the best option to cover a lot of area in a short time and to not be stressed by driving, is an organized tour. We found this tour , we like it but it will be great to hear your opinion about it.

Thank you very much.

1. The tour starts at midday. Zagreb, Bled area
Visit both parts of the city Zagreb.. After the tour cross the border to Slovenia, to the hotel in Bled

2. Bled, Canyon and Vintgar, Bohinj, Krupa and , if time permitted, go by cable car up the mountain and look out over the Triglav

3. Julian Alps , crossing the mountain travelling in National nature reserve Triglab, continue to the magnificent river valley in Sochi. Later arrival in the Italian town Treviso

4. Ljubljana, Postojna

5. Istria Peninsula _ Opatjia - Rovinji

6. National Park Plitvice

7. Zadar, Trogir, Split

8. Split, Dubrovnik

9. Dubrovnik

10. Day trip to Montenegro – Kotor, Niigoshi, Cetinje

11th. Dubrovnik – in the evening flight home