June Dalmatia trip report
 

Arrived at Cilipi airport in Dubrovnik. Rented VW Polo car from "male model " Dragac...nice kid!
Took first right at Adriatic Sea and headed to Dubrovnik. Great road! Arrived at the Hilton Imperial parking garage in time for dinner. Parking is very hard to come by in Dub. (Tip: when window or door of room is ajar, the a/c will not come on...duh,me)
Walked through Old City and ate small meal at hotel.
Day 1:Large breakfast (Yummy to order omelette and fresh squeezed OJ) Walked the wall early morning. Explored all streets around Old City. Went through ethnographic museum,interesting but very basic. Heard that the "oldest" apothecary museum was unremarkable/ skipped it.
Drove to Trsteno arboretum. Old estate on many acres that is owned by the State. Contains the original house and oil and wine making building. Sat at the cliff on the Adriatic under the shelter during a small brief rain shower.

Friendly kitten joined us during rainshower. All the cats in Croatia look alike with different coloring. Trsteno property includes a large overhead aqueduct that feeds a large fountain with statues and pond. Just serene and lovely.
Returned to Dubrovnik. Dinner at Sesame near hotel. Just okay. Most restaurants serve a small appetizer of small fish in olive oil. Ordered Dalmatian salad: grapeleaves stuffed with cheese, artichoke hearts,gnocchi,zucchini and olives, followed by grilled sea bass, grilled zucchini, nice red house wine DH had pasta margarita and green salad.
A violin concert relocated so large screen tv could be set up on Stradun to watch SOCCER! duh (sorry)It was mobbed.Slept with windows open (soccer fans finally went home). Breezy and quiet.

Day 2:
4 hour drive to Split to catch car ferry to Hvar.
(Note: you must have car headlights ON when driving! 300 kuna=$50/"Have a nice day, officer!(Dovidenje!)")

I found no way to make reservations or pre buy tickets, assured not to worry.

Stopped in village Igrane for photos of my grandmother's birthplace.

Arrived and got in line about 2 hours before 230pm ferry. The line lengthened quickly.
1.5-hour + uneventful ride to Hvar Island. (Did not sightsee in Split, visited Diocletian's Palace last trip...Split is a skip for me).

As you exit the car ferry terminal in Stari Grad you can cross the highway to shop for food or turn right and proceed to Hvar Town.Today was a national holiday (?wellness or body- something ... stores and banks were closed) Again, great roads!

20 minutes later,arrived in Hvar and mentally adjusting to small scale of the city and the roads. Found Pharia aparthotel(3 star). Greeted by the lovely Sanja. Lots of stairs...Hvar is very vertical, homes are very vertical.
Tidy and clean room with a/c and terrace.
Walked the paved wide riva (Which seems to follow the Hvar coast forever) to town center. Beautiful yachts moored!
Had a pizza and DH had calzone, just sat and enjoyed the evening. Got a nocciola gelato and strolled back to pharia (about 20 minutes).
Hotel Adriatic was my first choice, but is still undergoing renovations. Looks terrific and in the perfect location.
More later.

To smudge49,
I'm looking forward to the rest of your report. Everyone here is so generous to write about their experience. It's so helpful. I plan to visit Croatia next summer.
I have severe allergies, so I am looking for places with air conditioning, just in case.

Day 2 in Hvar:
Drove to Zavala Beach. Enroute there is a tunnel that is one lane. At the entrance is a timed traffic light (about 5 minutes wait). Road was in excellent condition. Very scenic. Parked at the marina. There is a konoba/ bar there. Walk past the bar and you are on a paved path that continues along the shore. There are areas of shaded flat rocks. Find a flat rock for sunbathing and a picnic. There are apartments and houses that seem to go on forever along the walking path.

On the return drive to Hvar, stopped in Pitve at a house selling wine, olive oil, and prosec ( very sweet wine). Ivo and Lenka Mileta. Very sweet place.
Dinner at the main placa in Hvar at Kogo pizza. Green salad, green tagliatelle with shrimp, DH had salad and spaghetti Milano and of course local red wine. About $20. Followed by stroll on riva and mandatory gelato. A nice breeze picks up in the evenings. So pleasant.
Next morning, light morning meal at Pharia, strong coffee and continental breakfast. On the terrace with a lovely view.
There are no screens on the windows and virtually no insects. When dining, even in the shade, I choose to be under an umbrella, there are some active birds.

Attended mass in Hvar. Hoping it would be in Latin,but no. Almost no tourists attended.
NOTE: If you have the choice, drive Hvar Island from West to East!
Departed Hvar and headed east to Sucuraj for car ferry.
Made a stop in Stari Grad, visited one of the churches and bought a lavendar ball from a young girl at her lemonade/lavender stand. Stari Grad is a charming port town, and virtually flat area with no stairs.
Continued to Jelsa along the shore. There are many private residences.Stopped for fuel. Another flat port town, but this area is strictly a family resort, as far as I could tell.
Onward to Sucuraj. The road becomes very twisty, but in good condition. No shoulder. One very slow truck was ahead of us and graciously pulled over at first opportunity. We all waved enthusiastically to one another. At one point, a man was shoveling some boulders off the road. My palms started to sweat. No worries. Just pay attention to the road and expect other traffic. It was fine!
The end of the road is the ferry terminal in Sucuraj. We arrived about one hour early, and ther was quite a string of empty locked cars in line. The ticket office opened about 30 minutes before departure.
Walked around the town (my mother was born here). The hospital has an orange grove out front. I wonder if the patients get freshly-squeezed juice?
There is a sandy beach (a rarity) walking distance from the ferry launch.

Ferry to Drvenik was about 45 minutes. Many of the passengers were wearing bathing suits and a towel. Probably daytrippers swimming a the sandy beach. Returning to Dubrovnik we stopped at the delta region, where much of the local fruit is grown. There are many roadside stands. I made the mistake of buying some lavender honey with a 100 kuna bill. Stupid American tourist. Of course the vendor could not change it, instead he gave me a bunch of marginal fruit. Dovidjene!
Absolutely lovely scenery.
Last day in Dubrovnik. Walked to Ploce end of city. There are metal stairs to enter the sea for a swim. Chilly!
Ferry to Lokrum island. Ferry takes about 15 minutes. At the Pile side of the city is a fort . Use the ticket for the wall walk for entry to this fort. (Toilets inside!) Spectacular views of the area from atop this fort. As you leave there a parking lot adjacent to a lovely memorial park. Next to the park is a walled convent and a small cemetery. Beyond this area is a wonderful swimming area where all the locals go.
Early daylight dinner at Ophan, overlooking a cove near Hilton. Good grilled fish. Watched the men working on restoration of a church at the same cove. Some older men were in the water collecting (mussels).

Forgot to mention that my best meal was in Hvar at Macondo.(Lobster and grilled vegetables, house wine)

Left next morning,ANTIFASCISM DAY!Looking forward to my next trip to beautiful Dalmatia.

Great report!

Do you happen to have any pictures of Hvar? I've heard nothing but good but haven't seen a lot of pictures from travelers.

I'll try, Tyler. Meanwhile, have you visited www.hvar.hr?

I'm enjoying your report Smudge! I think we were in Croatia at the same time! We also had a great meal at Macondo in Hvar Town. While we were dining on our fish dinners, a local fisherman delivered his "catch" from his canvas bag, to the waiters at Macondo. They winked at us, and took the fish back to the kitchen for the evening's menu!

Here are pics of Croatia--several in Hvar on a pretty Sunday:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3882

Sorry to hear you got fined for not having headlights on Smudge49
We were driving there in early June
Thanks to this forum, we learned about the headlight rule before we went -our guide book never mentioned it!
I always rely on Fodorites for the top tips now.

Great Trip Report Smudge! I'll be in Dubrovnik and Hvar in September and have been reading every trip report that's been posted on Croatia. Seems like Macondo is the place to eat in Hvar!

Thanks for sharing your travel tales! :)