Way-back-when I was thinking about my trip, choosing the countries, picking places to see, things to do, I knew I wanted a ‘vacation type’ county to visit post Berlin marathon, but pre “strenuous” hike to Base Camp Mt. Everest.  All my running friends were heading to Munich for Oktoberfest, but after seeing the prices of the the beer tents and accommodation, I called that Boy up and on a whim said, “what about Croatia? I’ve always heard Croatia was beautiful. And cheap!“  The next day we booked flights and a car, which was all the planning we did for the entire trip, and I think what made the trip more than perfect.

Fun Facts:

Where is Croatia? Across the Adriatic sea from Italy (used to be in Yugoslavia, but on June 25, 1991 it declared its independence).

People Deets? 4.5million people in 56,542 sq km. English widely spoken.

Cities Visited? Split, Hvar, Durbrovnik (must. see. city), Primosten (Map of our route here)

Transportation? A Hyundi Accent -  £240 for the week

Accommodation? We winged it, wherever we saw a place we liked, we just looked for a little, blue “apartment” sign, and knocked on the door to the people’s house.  We found some gorgeous places averaging  averaging €40/night (this was in low season).

The Food? Delicious. But then coming from me, that means nothing as I love all food everywhere. But if you like steak and wine and ice-cream, Croatia is the place for you.  Granted, we didn’t exactly eat on a “backpacker’s budget,” but if you walked into small beach front cafes - they were still quite cheap (at least for low season).

The Beaches? I’m a huge (huge!) beach person —> if you look at my trip’s itinerary, you’ll see I’m actually hitting up some of the world’s best beaches because I love them that much.  Croatia’s beaches were rocky, and pebbly, but the water was spectacular; super blue and super clear.  If you found a groove (Homer Simpson style) in the rocks, the beaches were quite nice, but the pebbles did hurt my feet a little. I don’t want to persuade anyone not to go to Croatia - as I think it’s a “must see” country, but the beaches did photograph better than they were.

Would I recommend it? Yes! But not in high season (July - Aug).  We went in September which was perfect! The weather was 28 or 29 degrees every day with clear, blue skies,  and there were hardly any people around, which meant everything was cheap. I knew the water would be blue-blue-blue, but what I didn’t know about Croatia was that they have a spectacular mountain range along the coast.  I seriously think the drive along the coast must be one of the most beautiful drives the world has to offer - soaring mountains ahead, blue seas next to you, and little islands dotted around everywhere. Spectacular! Not to mention the ancient cities looking like movie-sets around each corner.

Split, Croatia Highlights (My Fav City!)

If you ever find yourself in Split be sure to head up the Belltower (10KR/person or $1.80Cnd makes it VERY worth it - don’t let the sketchy stairs scare you)

Cliche Croatian scenes everywhere you looked.

This was our balcony the 1st night - looking out over roofs of Croatia.

It looked like a movie scene (note. we had dinner on that patio right there. NOM)

Gorgeousness everywhere you looked. This was a 293AD palace, which is the main attraction in Split. 

Hvar (island off the Coast) Highlights

Coastin the Coast Highlights

Dubrovnik Highlights! (Must. See. City!!) Despite the city being crazy with tourists, it’s seriously an incredible place to go as the entire city sits in an old castle.

(those may, or may not be drunk eyes… )

Primosten Highlights (I literally googled: “best beach town in Croatia” and then we drove there)

(view from our room!)