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Croatia Itinerary: 14 Days

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2 weeks in Croatia is a trip everyone should consider taking.

What could possibly be there to peak my interest, you ask? Beaches, mountains, old stuff, and really, really good food.

Before you Go:

Rent a Car.

 

That’s Motovun in the distance. We had to stop and pull over to gawk. We didn’t include Istria in this itinerary as it would have made the trip too long.

 

Although you can see Croatia without a car, I highly recommend you rent one. Jackson and I found an incredible deal online and got a manual 4-door sedan for 2 weeks for about $180 USD (and that included that $50USD fee for “going into another country” which was Bosnia, a country you have to pass through in order to get to Dubrovnik…).

If you look hard enough, you can find companies that will rent you a car that you can drive one way (you won’t have to drop it off where you picked it up). We got our car through ridecar.hr and they didn’t charge us the one-way fee!

After two weeks of driving all over the country we spent about $130 USD on gas and avoided highway tolls (you can avoid tolls relatively easily by telling Google to plan routes around them!).

Here’s our recommendation for a Croatia itinerary: 14 days based on what we did in May 2017:

Day 1: Zagreb (2 nights)

Start in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city.

One of these things is not like the other.

There are plenty of things to do here. We found that a solid day of taking in the downtown was enough. It’s walkable, there are bars, restaurants and old churches to see. It’s quite charming, actually. Here are some photos Jackson snapped while we were there.

I’d definitely recommend going to the Museum of Broken Relationships! This was an awesome museum and you can get tickets for about $4USD per person. It’s a couple hours of reading, and such a great stop.

Want lunch? Stop in at Vjestica Bistro. This place was SO GOOD. You can read about me gushing over it here. Seriously: do yourself a favor and eat here. I almost cried tears of joy from the food.

Applause-worthy mushroom toast.

Day 2: Travel from Zagreb to Samobor to Plitvice

30 min outside Zagreb is the charming medieval town of Samobor.

Jackson and I enjoyed visiting the old ruins of a 14th century castle (a bit of a climb but free and deserted when we got up there!) before trotting down to the town center for a delicious piece of samoborska kremšnita at Slasticarnica u Prolazu. This was HEAVEN, I’m drooling thinking about it. (You can read more about what I’m describing here).

Samoborska kremšnita

Another 3.5 hour drive to Plitvice! We booked a quaint little room through AirBnB which had gorgeous views of the mountains. It was lovely watching the sunset and listening to the crickets.

Day 3: Plitvice (2 nights)

This is the park everyone will post jaw-dropping images of and with good reason.

The price of admission is about $18 USD per person but gets more expensive in the summer. You can get a several day package, but we only did the one day and that was plenty. (We looped the walk and then some within a few hours!). If you want more pictures and information about what we loved you can read more here (for photos) and here (for what we did).

A word of caution: this park is gorgeous, but SUPER tourist central. Be prepared to have to wait to take shots and fight your way toward a particularly beautiful area.

At one point, we were able to take a boat from the lower lakes to the upper.

Day 4: Travel from Plitvice to Crikvenica

This is a 4-hour drive if you take the off roads, not the main toll roads. The local roads were gorgeous and took us into some seriously beautiful back country. Honestly, though: coming out of the mountains and dropping toward the sea is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It’s unreal. I can’t talk about it enough!!

We thought we’d be sneaky, and tell Google Maps to ‘avoid tolls’. It never seemed to add much time to our trip, but took us on some wild roads, and gave us some wicked views. We pulled over at one point to try and capture some of the views.

Driving in this country can be hair raising because the roads will switch back and curve and the drivers can go really fast, but it is so beautiful!!

In Crikvenica, get dinner at Konoba-Restaurant Maslina. I got the best grilled Calamari OF MY LIFE there. Thinking about it now gives me goosebumps. Here are some pictures Jackson took of Crikvenica.

Walking the staired streets of Crikvenica.

Day 5: Crikvenica (2 nights)

After sleeping in your AirBnB or hotel on booking.com, wake up semi-early and head over to Dramalj for the beaches (that is, if you are into FKK or nude beaches). When we went, it was quiet and we had a whole beach to ourselves.

I’ve never seen beaches so outstandingly beautiful. Just be sure to bring some shoes to walk on the pebbles with!

Day 6: Travel from Crikvenica to Zadar

This 2.5 hour drive is packed full of spectacular views. We avoided the tolls and loved every minute.

Why not stop in Senj? It’s a beautiful medieval village and the brand new walkways around the old Fort are beautiful.

The old fort.

Day 6-8: Zadar (2 nights)

Zadar boasts some incredible roman ruins that date back to the 9th century. It’s got a quaint old town to walk around and a beautiful walkway along the sea where you can watch people on their boats (Jackson took a bunch of photos here). Just do yourself a favor and don’t order any ice cream. We thought the ice cream was terrible! You can read more on our reactions here.

Although the ruins are lovely, we found that Zadar’s main attribute was the drive from the mountains down to the coast. It’s a stunning drive. Like: one of the most dramatic drives we’ve ever done (and we’ve road tripped in New Zealand and Namibia). Otherwise, one full day in Zadar should be enough.

The Adriatic Sea.

Day 8: Travel from Zadar to Šibenik to Split

Stopping in Šibenik for lunch will help break up the drive to Split. We didn’t find Šibenik to be the most interesting of places, but it was pretty. What we liked about it was how untouristy it was. There were lots of small street and stairs to climb and at the top you can see beautiful views of the sea.

The streets of Šibenik

Continue on to Split!

Day 8-10: Split (2 nights)

Being the 2nd largest city in Croatia has its perks. There’s a lot to see and do in Split and we really liked this ancient city!

The cons of coming here is that it is very touristy. Like: tons of instagramming foreigners snapping shots of everything.

Diocletian’s Palace is a beautiful ruin to check out. It’s really tall and there are costumed Roman soldiers waiting to take pictures with you at the base. Ha!

Beautiful ruins

We enjoyed walking along the prominade and checking out the local market that was selling all sorts of yummy-looking Croatian goodies. Jackson and I got some fried fish and ate while we people watched, it was lovely.

Be sure to check out Park Šuma Marjan, it’s a nice break from the bustle of the city and you can get some gorgeous views of the sea.

Day 10: Travel from Split to Brela

Here’s another treat: this drive. Even thinking about how beautiful it is makes me filled with longing to go back. Lucky you. Plus, it’s only a little more than an hour from Split.

Day 10-12: Brela (2 nights)

You want the best beaches in Croatia? Look no further. Brela is a tiny town on the cliffs of the Biokovo mountain range. It’s stunning. Go: relax. Repeat.

 

This isn’t us. But, you get the idea.
The beach is on the other side of this path. It’s such a contrast and unbelievably beautiful.

Day 12: Travel from Brela to Dubrovnik

This drive is about 2.5 hours. If you want to break it up, might I suggest taking a stop on Pelješac Peninsula to check out Ston? It’s an old medieval town that boasts a really trippy-looking wall that goes up a mountain.

The entrance to Ston: you can see the wall up on the hill.

Day 12-14: Dubrovnik (2 nights)

Dubrovnik, like Spit, is incredibly touristy. Game of Thrones did a lot to put this place on the map and it is now firmly on said map. It can get clogged with tourists at times, but with a little bit of sneaking, you can find some great places to be alone.

Try going to Lokrum island off the coast, if you get a chance. It’s a great escape from the city and provides stellar views of the area.

Lokrum Island

Otherwise, Dubrovnik has plenty to see. It’s a beautiful medieval city and the iconic orange roof tops are really beautiful.

The End!

You’re at the end of your itinerary. Fly out of Dubrovnik.

We didn’t include Istria in this itinerary, but that does not mean it is any lesser than anything else we did. In fact, I think of Istria as my favorite area of Croatia. We didn’t include it because we think it would have made the itinerary too rushed. If you want to read about what we did you can go here for the pictures and here for more information.

Thanks for stopping by! Anything you think we left out? Let us know in the comments!

Sri Lanka Travel Tips

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I’ve been asked a lot about this country and although we’re only in this corner of the world for 2 weeks, I though I’d pass on what we’ve learned thus far.

On Buses:

  • They’re super cheap. A 20-minute ride will cost about 40LKR each way (roughly 35 US cents). A longer ride, like 3+ hours will run you about 160-200LKR (about $1-1.25).
  • Buses can be labelled and easy to find if you are going to the final stop, say: Kandy to Dambulla will be well marked but if you need a stop along the way it’s harder to know where to go, but really easy to ask around. People will point you in the right direction.
  • Bus stations are chaotic. Period. Expect it.
  • Putting your bag in the back of the bus for storage has been straightforward so far. We did try and keep our bags on the bus but had to pay extra for it and I felt bad when inevitably the bus filled up and our bags were taking up a seat.
  • Buses are not very comfortable. Lots of rattling, shaking, bouncing and horn honking.

On Trains:

  • Calmer than buses, for sure. Even air conditioned depending on the car.
  • Much slower than buses. For example: a train trip from Kandy to Ella will take 7 hours and a bus ride will take 3.5.
  • More expensive than buses. Our tickets from Colombo to Kandy was about $12USD each. We did stay in first class, however and I imagine that the lower class seats are much cheaper.
  • Train stations are chaotic as well, but there are announcements made in English and finding your track can be easy.

On Tuk-tuks:

  • Bargaining is a must otherwise you’ll get ripped off. Don’t be too zealous about it, however. The difference in price between 240LKR and 200LKR isn’t that much to us, but to the locals can mean a lot.
  • The drivers are usually inquisitive and friendly although they will try to pitch a ride for the next day (or week). We’ve found that smiling a lot and keeping neutral is the best way to deal with the sales pitches. A polite “no thank you” works.
  • No, tuk-tuk drivers don’t know where everything is and will get lost a lot if you tell them the name of your hostel and they’ve never heard of it.
  • They’re a good deal if you have a short distance to go, but a half-hour ride will cost about 800-1,000LKR ($5-7USD) each way.

On hotels/hostels/home stays:

  • Varied. Prices can range from $5USD a night to $200USD. Having stayed in the cheaper home stays (about $10-15USD a night) it’s definitely what you pay for: the beds are thin, the rooms are bare-bones and sometimes there’s free breakfast. The cheaper places we’ve been in have very sweet proprietors, however and they’ll come over for a chat in broken English.
  • The more mid-range places ($30-50USD a night) are really nice. The only problem I have is the clientele who stay are generally more entitled and snobby. It’s harder to connect with the staff and locals, too. The beds are a lot nicer, though, and there’s AC.
  • We haven’t stayed in a high-end hotel. To be honest, I don’t want to.

WiFi:

  • Terrible. Everywhere. At best it’s OK.

The People:

  • Are overall very friendly and helpful. It’s not uncommon to get smiles on the street and the occasional question about where we are from.
  • There are those who’ll try and sell you a “vacation package” or a tuk-tuk ride. Firmly stating you’re not interested usually shakes them off.
  • Bargaining is important.
  • They’ll help you if you need it. Directions? No problem.
  • Most speak a little English.
  • Some are the sweetest people! Talking with them and chatting about your life will go a long way. We’ve gotten advice, car rides, food and drinks all for free just because we’ve chatted.

The Country:

  • Is not India. It has its own identity and history.
  • Is relatively clean, there is garbage, but it’s not obscene.
  • Is relatively small. A long trip will take 6 hours and you can practically cross the country. Jumping from location to location by bus will take between 30min-3hours.
  • Is lush, varied and beautiful. Peacocks are not uncommon to see in the wild, there’s bird song everywhere and plump fruits hang off the trees. The wildlife is extraordinary.
  • The Cities are intense. Colombo was too much to handle for me. Kandy was a bit more chilled out (but no by much). The downtown centers of the cities we’ve been to are usually packed with traffic, people and pollution. Outside the cities life is calm and slower.
  • The heritage sites are SO worth a visit.
  • The beaches are lovely, but there is garbage on the beach which is sad.
  • The mountains are lovely and a completely different climate: cooler and rainier.

The Food:

  • Spicy.
  • Similar to Indian food in some ways, but also similar to Thai food. It’s a mix. We’ve tried a variety of dishes and all have been delicious.
    • Some examples of food:
      • Kottu: a noodle dish that’s chopped up and served with vegetables and meat.
      • Roti: a flat pancake-like bread served with curry.
      • Daal: a flavorful lentil dish.
      • Sambol: a condiment served with most dishes. It’s a powdery-grainy mixture of falvors that you misx in with your curry.
      • Chutney: a variety of flavors also served with curry.
      • Fried rice: not like the Chinese version, but fluffy and served with chopped veggies and bits of meat, if desired.
      • Hoppers: a thin, chewy pancake with a light flavor, sometime served with an egg in the middle. Really good with curry.
      • String Hoppers: a spaghetti-like bread that soaks in lots of juices, a very light flavor.
      • They’ll use all sorts of fruit in curries (as well as meats). We’ve been surprised at the variety of curries to try! Ambarella fruit (which I’d never heard of!) was one of the most unusual.

Our Itinerary:

  • This can be changed depending on your needs and time/budget. In the first week we went:
    • Colombo -> Kandy
    • Kandy -> Sigiriya
    • Sigiriya -> Polonnaruwa ->  Anuradhapura
    • Anuradhapura -> Trincomalee -> Nilaveli Beach

Is it worth a trip?

  • Yes! Aim for 2-3 weeks to really get a good dose of the country. UNESCO sites are expensive ($20-30USD per person) but everything else is pretty cheap. We’ve been staying relatively budget in our accommodations and have spent about $65USD a day for the two of us (and that includes shelling out a lot for the Historical Sites). You can go cheaper if you wanted (or WAY more expensive).