Is croatia much fun? I've done some reading up on it, Belgrade and Dubrovnik are two places that I would love to visit. Anybody has first hand experience on these towns?

Alec:

Croatia is fascinating, people are warm, weather is usually great, sites are interesting, prices are still rather low compared to Western Europe..Note: Belgrade is in Serbia , Dubrovnik is in Croatia...please look at a map so you can orient yourself for planning purposes.

I have spent a good deal of time in most areas of the former Yugoslavia...Belgrade, postwar, is alive and well...same for Dubrovnik
Animosities seem to have cooled down since earlier visits.
Stu T..

Yes, you will want to be careful about noting Belgrade as a Croatian city.

If memory serves I believe they recently had words over that issue.

Yup, sorry, I made a mistake. I meant to say Zagreb. Thanks for noting out my mistake.

Zagreb didn't do much for us (in all fairness, it rained so it didn't look it's best). But Dubrovnik was a beautiful old city, tons of history and lots of restaurants. We stayed in a place in the Old Town and heard kids playing outside all day Sunday, and then watched all the kids head to school Monday morning. Yet there's a lot of tourism there and the days could get crowded with cruiseship visitors (cleared out by later afternoon), so hopping a ferry to a beautiful island was a nice alternative one day. We were in town two nights and there were concerts offered both nights. I'd gladly go again.

Dubrovnik is delightful-we got back on Sept.30th. friendly, picturesque and incredibly clean. Croatia had the cleanest restrooms we had ever seen. The downside was the crowding from the cruiseships. We rented a car and did day trips to Montenegro , one day to peljesic wine country and then would go down to the old town to eat , drink and shop in the beautiful evenings.

Dubrovnik is great. Be sure to spend a day or two.

My family and I also loved Croatia. I agree it is beautiful and clean. While in Dubrovnik, it is simple to do day trips if the crowds from the cruise ships are bothersome. We did many day trips, but also found it fun to sit in a sidewalk cafe and people watch. If you do go, have a wonderful trip! pp

Dubrovnik is the highlight of several beautiful towns along the coast, and therefore crowded in high season. You must see it. Zagreb has more of an Austro-Hungarian style and feels more like a city of course--I liked it, but many are underwhelmed after seeing the coast.
To me, though, the best part of Croatia is the amazing coastline, so if you like nature and outdoor activities you are in luck. 1000+ islands and a lack of overdevelopment make it a wonder.

Croatia is what I hope Heaven looks like!

I'm with you on that one, travel2live !!

Wow! THanks for all your replies! You got me all excited about my trip. I am planning an eastern europe trip, and am wondering how many days would be enough for Dubrovnik. I was thinking maybe 2 days in Dubrovnik, then 1 day in Tivat and then fly back to Moscow from Tivat. Is it a good idea?