I had every intention of writing this trip report after I got back but then I started back to work and time just got away from me. Now that I'm back poking around on Fodor's and thinking about my next trip, I decided now is as good a time as any to write it up. Hopefully my report will be helpful to someone - I know that the many trip reports I read before leaving helped greatly in my trip planning! I'm going to have to post this day by day as Fodor's keeps deleting my report mid write-up so I apologize for the choppiness.

Day 1 - London
We departed Boston Logan Airport on Friday July 27th around 10PM and arrived in London Gatwick the next morning around 10AM. We were initially supposed to depart and arrive around 9 but were a bit delayed which wasn't a problem for us as we had a 10 hour layover in London. We were flying out of London Stansted around 6 PM and knew it took about an hour to get there by train so were planning on leaving London around 3PM to ensure that we had plenty of time to deal with any unforeseen snags. We stopped and had a quick breakfast in a basic cafe and then spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon doing some sightseeing in the Tower Bridge area and popping in and out of a few pubs (when in London...). By 2PM we were getting tired and decided to just head over to Liverpool Street Station to catch the Stansted Express figuring we'd just have some extra time to kill once we got to the airport. Turns out it was lucky we decided to do that because when we got to the station, we found out that there were no trains running to or from Stansted that day due to an accident on the tracks. Instead, we were directed back onto the street where we found a woman selling tickets to a bus that would take us to the airport. We purchased two tickets and joined a long queue of people waiting for buses. Finally we boarded and began our hour and a half journey up to Stansted. We were now feeling pretty good about our timing as we would have less than an hour to wait in the airport after clearing security. However, just as we reached the outskirts of the airport, we got a notification that our flight had been canceled. Unbeknownst to us, it was the start of the RyanAir pilot strike. We entered Stansted Airport planning to ask at the desk what our best option was only to be faced with the sight of hundreds of people at every desk in the airport and more than half the flights on the board canceled.

We decided our best bet was to head back to London toward one of the larger airports to see if we would have any better luck there - only to discover we were basically stranded at Stansted! The bus that brought us there was not taking passengers back to London and the train wasn't running. At this point, the lack of sleep is starting to kick in and I'm finding the situation hilarious. My boyfriend was much less amused but we both realized there was no sense in being upset about something we had no control over. So an 80 pound Uber ride to Heathrow airport later (with a very kind and helpful driver who patiently put up with my incessant giggling in the back seat) we discover that the problem was not limited to just Stansted and not even to just RyanAir. Numerous flights were canceled, and the next available flight to Croatia was not until Monday morning.

Time to get a hotel! Problem #2: Since there were so many flights canceled, all of the hotels in the vicinity were completely booked up. The closest available hotel was half an hour away in Weybridge/Surrey. Off we go back in an Uber/taxi to Oatlands Park Hotel. Despite the slight hassle in getting there, we really lucked out with the hotel. Oatlands Park is a gorgeous historical building set on the grounds of what was once one of Henry VIII's country estates. There were some renovations going on while we were there as they were trying to do a historic restoration, but they were in a different wing of the building and did not affect our stay at all. The hotel was quiet, peaceful and extremely comfortable, and the staff were so kind, welcoming and accommodating. They even gave us a free upgrade to a suite with complimentary breakfast after hearing about what had happened to our travel plans. After a long day of traveling, we were exhausted and after a quick shower, we fell right to sleep.

Day 2 - Weybridge/Surrey
After a great night's sleep and a delicious full English breakfast delivered to our room, we were feeling refreshed and ready to make the best of Weybridge. One glance out the window, however, told us that clothing-wise we were not prepared for the weather. We had packed anticipating 90 degree weather in Croatia, Malta and Italy but this particular day in Surrey was rainy and in the high 50s. We ventured down to the front desk to inquire about the closest clothing store and were provided with transport to the local "mall" which turned out to be a plaza with a few stores and restaurants in it. We were able to find some sweatshirts and feeling much more comfortable, headed out to do a little exploring. We soon found there wasn't much to see in the area that we were in and shortly after noon the rain returned driving us back inside. We ducked into Carluccio's (which not having traveled much in the UK we didn't realize was a chain) and had some mediocre Italian food for a fairly good price off the prix fixe lunch menu. After lunch we meandered over to kill some more time in Sainsbury's and the Starbucks attached to it before deciding to walk the mile or so back to the hotel. We arrived a bit chilly and damp but were pleased with the day overall. Since we had an early flight the next morning, we decided to order delivery pizza for dinner and spend the rest of our day relaxing in the hotel room.

Day 3 - Zadar (sort of)
Up and at 'em bright and early, we arrived at Heathrow for our Lufthansa flight to Zadar via Dusseldorf. Our layover in Dusseldorf was about 3.5 hours and we decided that wasn't really enough time to leave the airport. Unfortunately, our flight to Croatia ended up getting delayed by 2 hours so we could have done some exploring in Dusseldorf, but instead we became very familiar with the Dusseldorf airport. We spent most of our time wandering around the airport and then having lunch in an interesting German bar/restaurant called Hausmann's.

FINALLY we are en route to Croatia and land around 7PM, several hours after we planned to have landed. Our AirBnb hosts were at the airport to pick us up, which was especially kind considering how many times our arrival time had changed. We had rescheduled a sunset harbor cruise that we were supposed to go on Saturday night for this night, but were supposed to set sail about 10 minutes after our arrival. We chalked it up to a loss but our hosts were much more optimistic. They got us down to the dock in record time (time enough to catch the boat!) and told us they would be back to pick us up when the cruise was over.

The sunset cruise we took was wonderful and I highly recommend it. I'm sure there are any number of tour operators conducting a similar sunset cruise, but our captain was Tibor and he was the best (here is the TripAdvisor link to his cruise with my review and photos: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser..._Dalmatia.html). Not only was he kind enough to let us reschedule our cruise for the next night when we couldn't make the Saturday cruise, but he also provided the cruisers with beer, wine, Pag cheese, prsut and more to snack on while we sailed. He was very informative about both the history of Zadar, and places to go, things to see and where to eat while we were there! The sunset was honestly one of the most incredible sunsets I've ever seen and after the sun went down, Tibor brought us over to the Sea Organ/Monument to the Sun. The Sea Organ makes music (more like sounds) based on the tides and the waves, and the Monument to the Sun is an art project powered by solar power that creates lights that go along with the music the organ makes! After the cruise, Tibor felt bad that he didn't have as much alcohol as he usually does on board ship (I guess the earlier tour had completely wiped him out of everything!) so he took us down to the local yacht club for a drink. This was really fun as we got to meet some locals in a setting tourists normally wouldn't get to do (membership is required and the club is located out on a dock - you wouldn't even know it was there without a guide!)

Our AirBnb hosts picked us up at the docks and brought us to the apartment where we would be staying. To be honest, of all the places we stayed it was definitely my least favorite but we had some really amazing apartments in the coming days, and the kindness and generosity of her hosts really made up for any shortcomings. We stayed at City Studio with Sea View "Antea 1" and it really did have a gorgeous sea view from the small balcony in front. Part of that was because it was up on the 4th floor (a definite downside when lugging a suitcase, but a definite upside for the view). Our hosts attempted to refund us the money for the nights we didn't end up staying but we refused - after all, it wasn't there fault our flights got canceled. So instead they sneakily left 500 kuna (around 50 USD) on the bookshelf in the apartment on their way out and told us they would be very offended if we didn't take it! That was a bonus because we didn't have any kuna yet, and that lasted us quite a bit!

Despite another long day of traveling, we weren't quite ready for bed yet, especially since our time in Zadar was now two days shorter than we thought it would be! So instead we headed to the nearby waterfront bar Cafe Bar Branimir for some people watching and a couple of Ožujskos to toast to finally being in Croatia!

Day 4 - Zadar
Since our time in Croatia had been cut a bit short due to our flight issues, we decided to go for convenience over economy and rent a car instead of taking public transportation as we had planned. Our car was scheduled to be ready around 3PM so we got up extra early to make the most of our half day in Zadar. We ended up thinking that our cancelled flights may have been a bit of a blessing in disguise as we found there was not much to see in Zadar and three days there would definitely have been too much (I think someone on these forums may have warned me about that when I was planning - maybe kja?) We spent the morning wandering through all of the streets of Old Town, stopping once for a nice mid-morning espresso looking out at the Adriatic. By noon we felt we had pretty much seen everything there was to see in Old Town and wandered over to check out the Sea Organ/Monument to the Sun by land. It certainly was less impressive in the light of day without the light show, and by this time we needed to check out of our apartment so we headed back to gather our luggage. We still had some time to kill before our car would be ready so we stopped for lunch along the harbor at Restoran Giardin. This was not on my list of places to eat while in Zadar but seeing as we had our luggage and needed to pick up the car on this side of the harbor we decided not to go back to Old Town and instead to eat here. We were very pleasantly surprised. We had the most delicious plate of cheese, prsut and bread, along with an octopus and potato salad that was probably the best thing I've ever eaten. I'm still dreaming about it. We then wandered over to the car rental place, but in typical European fashion our car wasn't ready yet, so they directed us to a nearby cafe where we could wait until they came to retrieve us. Less than half an hour later, the car was there, we did a quick inspection, filled out the paperwork and were on our way to Sibenik!

Day 5 - Krka National Park
We got up early, sadly checked out of our lovely Sibenik apartment and headed back to our car. From there we drove to Krka National Park, bought tickets and boarded the bus that brings you from the parking lot down to the park. The bus ride is mildly terrifying as the bus drives down hairpin turns on the edge of a cliff, but the view is so absolutely breathtaking you forget to be scared. Once we reached the main bus drop off point, we headed off with the large crowd of other park-goers to explore the park. While it was definitely crowded, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, at least not on the walkways in. However, it was somewhat difficult to get good photos as I constantly felt like I was holding up the people behind me. The colors of the water didn't translate through on my phone camera anyway but it was really something to see. It was also lovely and shady when walking through. Eventually after walking for a time, you come to the famous Krka waterfall, and it's here when you really see how many people there actually are in the park. The view from above is gorgeous but as you get down to the swimming area, it becomes more and more crowded. We were glad we went in the morning as it was less crowded when we got there as when we were leaving. The waterfalls were beautiful and definitely made for a great photo opportunity. The water also was great and felt so nice to swim in after hiking around in the hot weather. However, there were a lot more rocks and tree branches than expected which made for quite the scramble when attempting to get in the water. After some thought I decided I preferred it that way as I would rather they keep it natural than try to make it suitable for tourists. After about an hour of floating around in the water, we got out, retrieved our things and bought an overpriced sandwich to split. After looking around at the hordes of people arriving we decided that since we had the car, we would try to go up to another entrance of the park where Roski Slap (another waterfall) is.

I had downloaded some google maps directions from someone on here I believe that provided the best way to get to Roski Slap. Apparently, we can't follow simple directions because we ended up at a farm with a man who spoke absolutely no English, only Croatian and German. With the (very) few words of Croatian I knew, and a lot of hand waving and sign language, we managed to determine where we needed to go and headed off. When we arrived at the Roski Slap entrance we were immediately struck by how few cars there were. If you have rented a car and are visiting Krka I highly recommend making it up to this entrance. This entrance supposedly does not allow swimming but there were areas roped off for swimming and plenty of people in the lake. The waterfalls here also make some natural "tubs" that people can sit in and relax. My favorite part about this portion of the National Parks is one of the restaurants. The restaurant has tables set in the river at the base of a waterfall, so as you are sitting and eating you can relax with your feet in the water. Our waiter was a young Croatian teen who told us that his family had owned the place for as far back as anyone could remember and his grandfather made all the wine, and cheese and butchered all the meats himself. We ordered a mixed plate which came with meats, cheeses, homemade bread, homemade olive oil and the best tomatoes I've ever had and some homemade wine. Once we gorged ourselves, they brought over several shots of rakia - one of each flavor that they had for each of us! We had to sit and relax a little while by the water before we felt we were safe enough to drive, especially because of the roads we had to drive on. The drive in and out of the Roski Slap area was pretty hair-raising - a lot of sharp hairpin turns on a cliff edge - but honestly the terrifying drive was worth it. I still think that was one of the best afternoons I've ever spent on a vacation. I've definitely never been more relaxed.

Day 5 Continued - Split
From Roski Slap, we made our way down to Split where we would be staying for the next few days. Luckily, once you got off the cliffs, the ride down was mainly well marked highway. The AirBnb we stayed at in Split was called bm apartment Split ST1 with terrace and sea view - and they certainly were not lying about the terrace or the sea view! It was a bit hard to find - definitely cannot use google maps for the address - but the host was extremely good at responding to our messages and with his directions we were able to find it. The house had parking which was a nice perk, and was located within easy walking distance of the Split waterfront and Old Town.

When we arrived the host showed us into the apartment which was very clean, spacious and comfortable, then showed us upstairs to the terrace. The terrace was as big as the apartment and looked out over the Adriatic with an incredible view! It also had grapevines with some really delicious grapes. Our host Miljenko, insisted that the grapes weren't ripe yet and were too sour to eat but they tasted better and sweeter than pretty much any grapes I've had in the US. Miljenko lived in the apartment terraced behind this one, so he invited us up to his porch for some welcome wine and snacks. He also is a photographer, so he took some portrait photos of us just for fun! I cannot stress how highly I recommend staying in one of his apartments. By far the best host I've ever encountered. As we sipped on some wine, Miljenko gave us some information about where to go in Split for dinner and just for some sightseeing.

We left Miljenko and headed down to the Split waterfront for dinner. We went to a small local cash-only tavern called Fife. My boyfriend got another whole fish (a favorite of his) and I got a fish gnocchi pasta that was to die for. We also got a bottle of local Croatian wine which was both cheap and delicious! After dinner, we decided to go walk down to Diocletian's Palace and get a look at it. We wandered through the old area, got some yummy gelato, and then meandered our way back along the waterfront to our apartment for the night.

I found enough in Zadar of interest to me to keep me busy for a very full day, and I think I did mention that 3 days would have been too much for me. I'm glad my advice paid off in the end.

I have to say you seem to have handled your travel delays extremely well. I'm sure I'd have been much more grumpy about it all than you seem to be.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Zadar and Sibenik as there is not much about them in terms of trip reports. We are headed to both of them in July. I'm looking forward to the rest of your report. And nice shots of the sunset sail. I'll have to look into to that.