Plavi

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.)

lincasanova

I wish I needed your advice!

zeppole

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?

zeppole

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

Plavi

@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!

zeppole

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.

zeppole

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.

zeppole

And yes, you are obviously a real Croatian!

Plavi

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

maryann

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 ?

Plavi

@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.

isabel

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.

Plavi

@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

nyse

One of the best post titles, ever!

Mathieu

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.

Plavi

@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.

maryann

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.

nolinenowait

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.

JoyC

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.

Percy

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