Croatia

Our final morning in Slovenia consisted of waking up before sunrise to drive two hours back to Ljubljana, returning the car, and getting on the bus toward Split. This bus took a little over six hours, including a two hour stopover in Zagreb, and we made it into split just after dark. Getting to our hotel from the bus station was an easy walk across the promenade, only complicated by a large crowd and live music just outside of our hotel. We later learned that this was the largest supermarket chain in Croatia was putting on a concert to celebrate some corporate achievement. We made our way through the crowd with bags in tow and hauled everything up three flights of stairs to the room. After we settled in, we went back out for dinner, where we found a quiet sushi place. Then we went through the old town looking for gelato and enjoyed it while listening to the live Croatian rock music. We stayed out there just long enough to finish our gelatos, then we retreated to the room for some sleep.

The next morning, we slept in to make sure we were well rested and proceeded with a slow morning focused on a good coffee and breakfast, which took us through to the other side of the old town. From here, we spent the rest of the morning exploring the old passageways, and ruins mixed in with the shops and apartments of old town Split. Walking through the old town felt like we were transported back 300 years, surrounded by the old limestone buildings, and the empty limestone streets that were worn down to a polish from hundreds of years of use. We explored the winding streets for a couple of hours, where we got lost going down the wrong passageway more than once, but eventually we made it out of the labyrinth and back to the room.

Ruins of the limestone structures in Old Town Split

For the afternoon, we stopped in for an acai bowl for lunch before continuing our walking tour up to the lookout over split. This was about a two kilometer walk halfway up the hill on the outskirts of town. It didn’t take us long to get here, and we had a panoramic view of the city and out toward the islands just off the coast. It was a beautiful day, and it was still early in the afternoon, so we continued up the hill from here to see what other views were on offer. We were rewarded well for our efforts climbing the rest of the hill, as the top had panoramic views across the sea and the coastline. Then the path back down the other side followed the cliff line where we watched some climbers and explored an old stone house built into the wall.

View over Split from the first lookout

We walked a little over five kilometers over the hill and down to the end of the peninsula, where there was supposed to be a flat path along the road back to the city. In reality, we had to walk along the narrow road with cars coming from both directions, continuously searching for a path closer to the water, or at least a bit off the road. Eventually we found a path down to a beach, and we were able to continue along the waterfront from here, taking in the views as the sun started setting.

Because we weren’t expecting a ten kilometer walk when we left, we were starving when we made it back into the city. The first restaurants we started to see were these nice bars with food and snacks lining the promenade, and we decided to stop at one for a snack to get us through until dinner. We took a seat in a nice lounge in front of the restaurant where we had an incredible view of the sky turning pink over the water. We ordered a couple of wines to accompany the views, along with a large charcuterie plate of local meats cheeses and fresh bread. It was the perfect end to the day, and it was so much food that we only needed a gelato later instead of a full dinner.

Sunset from the Split Promenade

The next morning, we woke up early to walk across town to the rental car office. We hired a car for the day to drive out to Krka National Park. This is a popular tourist destination due to the dramatic waterfalls cascading over the largest tufa barrier in Europe. It was a public holiday in Croatia, which made some things difficult, but it also meant the tour companies weren’t running and the park would be extra quiet.

We had about a two hour drive out to the national park from Split in this old manual fiat that was giving us tire pressure warnings. Despite this, driving in Croatia wasn’t difficult and we made it out to the national park without any real issues.

Once we purchased our entry tickets, then we opted to walk one kilometer down the hill instead of waiting for the bus. At the bottom, there was about a four kilometer loop, starting with boardwalks over the river as it split into many shallow streams feeding the different waterfalls, and ending with the larger waterfalls at the bottom. Everything we read online said this park is a nightmare with the crowds, and they have to limit the number of people allowed to visit daily. We were happy to get to experience it without the tourists, the waterfalls were stunning, the water was crystal clear, and there were no hordes of tourists to take away from our enjoyment.

Lower waterfall at Krka National Park

In Split and this national park, we also started to see cats everywhere. They were very cute, and surprisingly friendly, so we gave them some pets before they went and posed in front of the waterfalls for us.

After the waterfall loop, we walked back up the hill and drove off to find some lunch. We knew that it would be difficult because it was low season, and a public holiday, so we drove to this small town that showed about twenty different restaurants on google maps, hoping that something would be open. When we arrived, about half of the restaurants were open, but only for the locals to have a drink and a smoke on their day off. There was only one restaurant that was serving food, an Italian place where we were treated like it was a burden to serve us. This wasn’t unusual in Croatia, but it was more pronounced here, especially since the food was also very average.

After lunch we continued the drive to the other side of the lake where there were some cliffs and another waterfall. The road over to the other side took us across the clifftops before winding down toward the lake. On the way down, there was a lookout where we could see the view and I could let the guy following close behind me pass. I pulled into this, driving across the pullout to park at the end facing the road, but the guy behind me also wanted to check out the view and pulled in behind me, and nearly t-boned us as I pulled around. He got out and started speaking very aggressive Croatian and making crashing hand gestures, although I don’t think he was upset, that’s just normal for Croatians. After this experience, we took a minute to enjoy the view before we continued down to the lake.

At the lake, we walked down to the dock where we had a view of the waterfall, before setting off on a three kilometer loop under the cliffs and across more shallow streams spread out across the tufa barriers. It was nice, but it was nothing compared to the waterfalls on the other side. We reached the end of the loop where it crosses the river again, and for the second time in two days, we were forced into walking along a narrow road with cars coming from both directions. It was very confusing to be walking on these well developed paths, just for them to end and send us out onto the street.

Tufa barriers and limestone cliffs at the upper end of Krka National Park

We made it back to the car and started on our way back to Split. We enjoyed a quiet drive and a nice sunset until we made it to the outskirts of the city. Everyone was on their way back home after a long weekend, so traffic was stop and go, and we started to experience how bad Croatian drivers can be. We stopped at a service station to fill up fuel and check the tire pressure so we could reset the sensors and finish the drive into the city to drop the car off. Despite a long day of walking, we decided to walk thirty minutes back to the old town, stopping for a quick dinner on the way.

The next day was another travel day. We packed up our bags and walked back to the bus station to catch our bus to Dubrovnik. This was the most scenic bus ride we had been on so far, but it was also a bit terrifying as the bus sped along the winding clifftops above the beaches far below. We spent the ride looking out the windows and trying not to get sick. Luckily, it was a somewhat short trip, and we made it into Dubrovnik a little after noon.

In Dubrovnik, we took our taxi out to our hotel from the bus station. I think Millie understood where we were staying, but I had no idea that this was a 5 star resort that costs five times as much in the summers. Another one of the perks of travelling during the low season. After relaxing in the room for a bit while waiting for some weather to pass, we left to walk into the town center. The first half was a nice coastal walk past all the closed 5 star resorts and great views out to sea. Then once we made it more into town, we bought some bus tickets to ride across to the old town.

At the old town, our priority was to find some lunch. Most places had the exact same menu of pastas, sandwiches and pizza, where the only option for Millie would have been soup. But eventually we found this little café restaurant that had a GF fried chicken that looked like it was fried in corn flakes. I also had a huge chicken burger, and this place completely made up for the fact that we didn’t have breakfast, and it was now 2 pm. After lunch, we found some gelato before calling it a day and heading back to the hotel.

The next morning it was raining, and we were not very motivated to get going. Eventually the weather backed off, and we set off to walk into town again where we could catch a bus, although this time we left from the bottom of the hotel where we could walk along the water instead of on the road. This was a much nicer, and quicker walk, and we were at the bus stop in no time. Before entering the old town again, we went up to Fort Lovrijenac, which is up the hill with views over Dubrovnik old town and the castle walls that surround it. This day was not the perfect, sunny, calm Croatia that you see in post cards, and we sat up in the fort watching the stormy seas crashing into the old castle walls.

View over Dubrovnik Old Town from Fort Lovrijenac

This castle was a popular filming location for the Game of Thrones series. Despite the series being long complete, there still appeared to be some props lying around, and most of the windows were fitted with small targets to help the producers add their CGI to the castle.

Caught in the rain in Dubrovnik, but lucky we brought our jackets

When we left Fort Lovrijenac, we walked back down the hill and through the old town to see the other side, where there was a marina filled with small fishing boats, but during this walk the rain returned, and the temperature dropped. Our plan had been to also walk the castle walls, then stay in the old town until dinner, but the castle walls closed, and the weather was not as inviting as we would have liked. Instead, we took a bus back to the hotel and enjoyed the views from the room until we had to head back in for dinner.

For dinner, we booked a Michelin Guide restaurant in the old town as a little treat. We dressed up and took an Uber back to the old town where we found the little restaurant tucked in a narrow alley. It was very cozy, and the walls were lined with maritime artifacts and decorations to make sure we knew it was a seafood restaurant. There was a large group next to us that did not seem like they were enjoying the experience, which took away from our night a bit, but we still enjoyed our food, especially since we had skipped lunch in anticipation of this meal.

After two rainy days in Dubrovnik, we were delighted to wake up to the sun on our final morning. We booked our next car rental for 8 am but decided to pick it up later to enjoy the weather and went back into the old town to walk the city walls. This was advertised as a two hour activity, but we were trying to do it in one so we could get driving down to Albania. Unfortunately, the views from the top of the walls were stunning, and I had to stop every two minutes to take more photos. Eventually we made it back down and took the bus out to the rental car pickup.

Dubrovnik Old Town from the top of the city walls

After five days in Croatia, we were ready to move on. The scenery was incredible, and the sunny warm weather was a welcome change after the mountains of Slovenia, but we were tired of feeling like an inconvenience to the workers at every café, restaurant and store that we entered. The country has a well earned reputation for natural beauty, but there are many other beautiful places where the people aren’t as rude and off-putting. We enjoyed this leg of the trip, and don’t regret travelling through Croatia, but it is also a country that we don’t feel we ever need to return.