The famous beach is to the west of Bol, but, to the east of Bol, there is another seafront path that leads past an active and scenic monastery and eventually to a nude beach. We saw signs for another nude beach beyond Zlatni Rat on the other side of town. The 1400’s monastery, with its cemetery on a promontory, advertises a museum and rare books, but it appeared to be locked to the public. There are several out of the way restaurants and small beaches before we decided to turn back, just short of the nude beach. Not our thing, and we didn't want to intrude.

We walked by a former waterfront hotel, reportedly closed for years due to a fight over land with that monastery next door. Every year, a street art competition completely changes the exterior of the building, even though it's closed. A couple weeks prior to our visit, someone torched the place, adding to the eeriness.










































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We didn’t photograph all of them, but all over Bol there are various sculptures in a community obviously consumed with an interest in art.

Brac’s white limestone has always been sought after, going back to its use as the building blocks for Split’s massive Diocletian’s Palace. Not to mention its use in famous government buildings in Vienna and Budapest and even the White House.

The sculptures likely are one of the results of a highly regarded masonry school 30 minutes or so from Bol. We read that, since 1909, this school has accepted students (teenagers), mostly from Brac, but some from all over Europe, to fill the 25 slots available. Some of the limestone works looked a bit rough, but it was fun to see something new at almost every turn.

Wow!!! Brac looks really, really interesting! I love those sculptures! So quirky! I appreciate that you give some historical information, too.

We wanted to find a vibrant, fun coastal town that you never hear about that frankly caters to Croatians, not to international tourists, and we found it in Makarska, south of Split.

It has it all. Restaurants with views galore, a seafront promenade, and, we were told, lots of nightlife. There are small ferries that go to Brac island from here, but this town offered the island vibe we got on Brac, without the need for traveling to an island. The town has such a local identity, this area of the coast from Split to Dubrovnik is considered the Makarska Riviera.

The beaches, hiking trails and restaurants attracted much of the local attention, but there was a fruit market, a vendor selling old record albums and a packed soccer store, featuring one of Split’s favorite players giving autographs and a mobbed team mascot.

Finding free parking and a bathroom in new territory is often a challenge in Europe, but a modern, very quiet shopping mall took care of both needs for us. We were curious about shopping trends, so we also walked around the neat mall before the 10 minute walk to the old town and its scenic harbor with more of those crystal clear waters.

I love your description of Makarska and your photos. When I was planning our trip, I considered Makarska but chose Trogir instead. Although we enjoyed Trogir, Makarska sounds like it might be more interesting and a more local experience.

Across from the old town is a nice peninsular walk to a lighthouse. The walk went along the shore and into the woods. We saw secluded pebble beaches and a few nude sunbathers.

Fabulous scenery, perfect for wedding photos. And a great place to watch the local boating traffic.

Makarska Beach is a short walk north of the old town, and that's where you will find the locals and Croatian visitors. There are large hotels and a long beach promenade.

The seaside walkway has many restaurants and shops, with fantastic views and easy access to the beach. There are many water activities including a floating water park, mini-golf and even a large tennis facility with grandstands.

You can’t avoid traffic accidents and jams anywhere in the world. A motorcycle accident backed us up for a while, as we headed south on the Croatian coast. We again went by the Great Wall of Ston, with disappointment we didn’t have time there.

The entrance to Dubrovnik, with its cruise ships, is always a signal that this fortified old city is one of more popular tourist destinations in the world. It is wonderfully preserved, despite the 1990’s bombings that damaged almost every roof in the village. We have been here before, as part of the awful cruise ship influx that almost always overwhelms the place during the day.

And, add to that the Game of Thrones effect, which has given retailers something else to sell. Our visit this time was for less than 24 hours, to be closer to the airport, with the idea that peace would come, once the cruise ship passengers left for the day. We even got up early the morning before our flight, so we could capture one photo to send to our kids of that famous Game of Thrones stairway, without any people on it taking selfies.

We were surprised to see so many people even in the evening, thinned out only after a quick downpour.

This will be the last post for this trip, so we will simply post a lot of pictures that show what a special place this is, even with the crowds and during unsettled weather. The last photo is along the coastline of Greece, which doesn’t look bad even from the air.

Again, thanks for viewing and commenting!

I'm late to reading your trip report (just started), but find it very interesting. I'll be traveling in May to Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro, so the info is quite useful. Haven't finished your report yet, but this, above, made me chuckle.

I could, and probably have, said exactly the same thing. I live it.

Thanks for the great report.

Whitehall, I love your photos of Dubrovnik! You took more photos of street scenes than we did. Most of ours are from walking along the walls. You are a wonderful photographer.

And thank you for posting your reports. I know they are a lot work. I agree with your sentiments about reminiscing about the trip while writing the report and going over photos. I was able to reminisce about our trips to Greece, Croatia and Montenegro while reading your wonderful reports.

Thank you. Within a day, I am also going to provide a separate report on our 24 hours in Bosnia and Mostar. Certainly not earth shattering due t0 such a short time, but we did see a lot in a very short window and are glad we took a day from our Korcula stop for that.

Thanks for following and your kind comments. We walked the walls the last time we were there. A definite must.

At times, I wonder if taking so many photos interferes with the travel experience itself. My wife is more observant than me, and she often points to things I might miss. After one of our month-long journeys, we counted 6,000 photos or 200 per day. We do long days when we travel like 15 or 16 hours. But if I deduct some time, that still means 15-20 photos an hour. I am pretty fast at it and came up with 15 seconds per photo (that's on the high side). When I saw that I was only using 4-5 minutes of each hour, it made me feel better. However, my iCloud has been giving me problems this week with my 150,000 photos.