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Thinking about going to Croatia for October week, me and girlfriend in 30s, no kids, generally open minded and good people(her anyway).
Where is good, and what should we be looking to do?
Thanks in advance
Nearly asked that question myself last week
It's a beautiful country with many beautiful islands. Split and Dubrovnik are my personal favourites if you like sea.
Just one thing to be aware, as the Hungarian border is shut, immigrants will be coming through Croatia for the next few weeks at least and depending on where you go, it could be a problem (look at Kos in Greece as an example). There's nothing wrong with the immigrants, very civilised and friendly (at least the ones here in Vienna are) but if you're looking for a quiet relaxing time it might be something to be aware of.
I've been a few times, did some mountain biking in Istria, Dubrovnik and Zagreb a couple of times. GF wants to go here next:
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[url= http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/index.php/croatia-destinations/plitvice-lakes/ ]http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/index.php/croatia-destinations/plitvice-lakes/[/url]
TripAdvisor likes it too, 5 blobs! Full blobbage!
[url= http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g303827-d554038-Reviews-Plitvice_Lakes-Plitvice_Lakes_National_Park_Central_Croatia.html ]http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g303827-d554038-Reviews-Plitvice_Lakes-Plitvice_Lakes_National_Park_Central_Croatia.html[/url]
I rode a motorbike through there years ago, my impression was the coast was stunning but go ten miles inland and it was like going back in time. Horse and carts, little old ladies with bundles of sticks on their heads and all the other cliches.
This was before the wars so I am sure lots has changed.
Went to Rovinj for a week on August, absolutely stunning.
I've been to a few areas. First time was Opatia; lots of germans, nice enough place. We did a bus trip to Plitvice lakes from there; it is every bit a beautiful as the photos suggest. Zagreb is a great city, loads to do. Split is really nice, a bit too busy for me.
We now go to the islands just off split; Brac and Hvar mainly. Theres something for everyone there. Brac (specifically Bol) is chilled out, lazy, largely devoid of brits(!) and has LOADS of water sports, Hvar is busier, lots of nightlife and peacocking, beautiful people. There are water taxis between the islands and a cat to take you from split to Brac.
Been twice. Stayed in Cavtat across the bay from Dubrovnik (20 min drive from the airport). Ace.
Stayed in town on Dalmation coast opposite Korcula (4 hour drive from airport). Ace as well.
Nice people. Not mega cheap but not mega expensive either.
Check the weather is going to be OK in October tho...
We stayed in Plat (between Dubrovnik & Cavtat,) for a week last year and had an amazing time. Fantastic place - I'd love to go back. 😀
Been a couple of times, was just there last month for a couple of weeks.
Islands will be lovely in October - Hvar and Korcula are just brilliant when the crowds ease a bit.
Dubrovnik is nice in October, much quieter than in summer, but it still feels the least "croatian" place I've been to simply because it's so touristy.
Split, meh, not a big fan, but there's enough to do to keep you entertained for a few days.
Trogir is close to Split and utterly charming. Lovely wee place to stay if you're flying to Split and need a night or two near the airport.
If it was me...fly into Split, night or two in Split/Trogir...ferry to Hvar for a few nights, ferry to Korcula for a couple of nights, ferry back to mainland for a couple of nights in Dubrovnik. Then either fly out of Dubrovnik or coach back to Split.
The ferries are nice, cheap and quick.
Went to Dubrovnik before the civil war and to the Island of Lopud, both very good then. Lopud had a very pleasant nudist beach.
Zadar....place of sea organ and just loverly
Just got back from a week in Dubrovnik & Split. Couldn't recommend it highly enough. Loads to see and do, plenty of good food (a nice big ice cream is £1 or less!!), transport dead easy too.
Not a huge help unless you're sailing but the islands north of Split Trogir are lovely.
Overall we found it to be a great place, nice helpful people who mostly spoke English and fairly cheapish. We only saw Trogir (in the islands the rest of the time) but it was really nice.
Take Kuna and not Euros.
I have just booked to go to Zadar mid October for 3nts with the better half. We have got return flights from manchester for £65 each and half board at the Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa for around £450. Really looking forward to it, heard loads of really good comments about Croatia.
Ps: Car hire seems extremely cheap if you are looking to venture out
Just got back from Seget (next to Trogir) on Saturday. Absolutely loved the place & will be going back next year but hire a car to explore further.
Primosten..
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5704/21276813728_ed2820da2f_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5704/21276813728_ed2820da2f_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/yqaes1 ]Croatia, Sept 2015 019[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
Trogir.
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5747/20841603354_c7a2b7db08_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5747/20841603354_c7a2b7db08_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/xKGEyS ]Croatia, Sept 2015 085[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5788/20841570694_6737095e4f_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5788/20841570694_6737095e4f_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/xKGuRL ]Croatia, Sept 2015 089[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
Sibenik.
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5647/21277672609_30571f49d8_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5647/21277672609_30571f49d8_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/yqeCLi ]Croatia, Sept 2015 034[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
Krka National park.
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/664/21438309486_41d60a3f7b_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/664/21438309486_41d60a3f7b_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/yEqWvC ]Croatia, Sept 2015 043[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
Skradin, bullet holes in the walls of this ruin, (the building!)
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/707/20841681214_f7f17ac7b2_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/707/20841681214_f7f17ac7b2_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/xKH4Hh ]Croatia, Sept 2015 064[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
Some tasty boats.
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/628/21453172362_0ab5966042_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/628/21453172362_0ab5966042_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/yFK7J7 ]Croatia, Sept 2015 120[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
& if you need a tour guide from Split, use this guy,
[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/630/20843409753_e6a39ac4a1_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/630/20843409753_e6a39ac4a1_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flckr/p/xKRVxF ]Croatia, Sept 2015 050[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmygrainger/ ]jimmyg352[/url], on Flickr
Cos he's excellent! We did a day trip with him & his sidekick (Kreso) both very knowledgable & funny. I wouldn't go to the same bit of Krka NP again cos it gets rammed, really really busy.
The people are really nice & most speak very good English which is very embarrassing if you have a memory like a fish as I have ( I can't remember phrases or words in anything but English!)
It was getting a bit cool on an evening by the time we came away BTW.
Enjoy!
So that picture of Primosten (which was a tiny little bit commercialised for my liking) was taken from just above an empty building - looked like a hotel that was never opened or something .... any idea?
We picked our boat up 50m from your pic of the superyacht (ours was not like that unfortuntely!)
half pints of fine ale to every one of you splendid human beings
Oh those lakes are amazing we spent two weeks drove from Venice to Dubrovnik with stopoffs great scenery great rocky beaches but my fav was Zadar, really recommend the service stations for strudel and coffee.... Split is wonderfully historic if touristy as Dubrovnik but we stayed in a band b with a little old lady 10 minutes outside the walls and was more Croatian than tourist just watch a cruise liner disengorge its contents...amazing experience. Loads of places off the beaten track that are beautifully wild though need the map to remember the names.
Interesting reading. I am dithering about whether to go to zadar for a few days next weekend. I have flights booked but a family illness in another country means I might be better cancelling and saving my holiday for trips out there. But then it does look lovely, and maybe I need some time for me too. Decisions decisions.
Not long back from Mlini, between Dubrovnik and Cavtat (next village to Plat that someone mentions above) lovely place
Loads to do, we where there for a week, needed 10 days
This place up the coast from Mlini is surreal to wander around http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/08/23/the-bay-of-abandoned-hotels/
Beaches are stones and rocks, don't go expecting sand, loads of lovely little quiet coves and islands though
Oh, and if you need lots of data while you're there, T-Mobile do a data sim that gives you unlimited 4g data for a week and it costs just £8.50!
Available from T-Mob shops or from the many little tobacco shops/kiosks.
Weather in October will be cooler and occasionally wet too from experience. Still a bloody lovely place though as everyone has said.
Is it relatively cheap, what would you expect to pay for a beer or meal for 2 etc....
Dubrovnik area -
Beer varied from £2 to around £3.50-£4 a 'pint' a few weeks ago
Expensive prices being in touristy Dubrovnik cheaper away from the harbour and popular areas
Food was reasonable, about £30 for a good 2/3 course evening meal for two, unsurprisingly a lot of choice of fish
Wine seemed more expensive but still cheaper than UK
Local beer was okay, perfectly drinkable, wife liked the local white wine, I didn't think much of it
Most places not really geared up for kids, not many had seperate children's menus or offered smaller portions (although we where made very welcome everywhere with our 5 year old)
j5kol: Tuna steak was £15 at a nice restaurant in Trogir, really good pizza £4.50 at villages in the islands.
Wine cheapish but Croatian, good cappuccino £1.00.
One place we went to (only village on Zlarin island) 30 of us (8 adults, rest 12-16yo) ate and drank for £200 🙂
unsurprisingly a lot of choice of fish
Except there's not much in the way of fish in the med so prob most of it is shipped in - the meat was very good though.
Except there's not much in the way of fish in the med so prob most of it is shipped in - the meat was very good though.
Well it was more boated into the little village we stayed in, on local fishing boats that where in and out each evening
I don't eat fish so am no expert but there seemed to be no shortage of places offering local wares from the Adriatic
Agree the meat dishes where good, can't comment on the fish be it local or not other than noting a lot of choices of the stuff on the menus, seem to recall most of this lot at some point - http://www.croatia-expert.com/croatian-fish/
First of all dont go....its' rubbish. You'd really hate it...
In reality, its great and we love the place. Just come back last week from 10 days in Rovinj (ooop north). Stayed at the Hotel Lone which is right on the coast and next to (literally) Zlatni forest, which is ideal for cycling, running and nice walks. Weather was pleasant, 32c for the first few days then cooled down to 28c!
Rovinj itself is pretty, lots to see and do, as is the immediate area; hire a car if you can and explore. Lots to see and do.
We have in the past been to Dubrovnik twice and also visited Hvar,Korcula, Miljet (national park = amazing) and Sipan.
People all very friendly and helpful. Whilst Croatia is in the EU it is not in the Euro currency (for now). We found it pretty cheap to get by for food and drink and so on. A meal for two with starters and a couple of drinks is around £25.00.
Find a local supermarket and food is cheap in there too if you're going self catering etc. Wine is expensive though!
Besides that a lovely place, great countryside, mix of people, ages, cultures and lots to see and do.
I'd recommend Dubrovnik for a mix of city break and beach and explore but also Rovinj.
Get out there, but don't tell too many people what it's like eh....
Zadar is a real nice, varied city.
Also spent time on the Kornati Islands, which was really good snorkeling and stopped by Plitvice on the way back up, amazing place, but a bit stand back and look, don't touch.
Cousin just got back from Vos? which looks pretty cool.
Croatia is a beautiful country with beautiful natural sights that are definitely worth a visit. My recommendations are Istria, Hvar, Korcula and in general the whole Dalmatia. My husband and I were there last year and we were thrilled. We travelled in the summer when everything was overcrowded with tourists, which is why I think October is a better time to travel. We only had a minor problem with the movement with public transport, which is why our focus was mostly on]transport from the airport to our accomodation and continued to use it for navigating in the cities.
My favourite places are Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik. Zagreb is nothing special so best stick to the coast. The weather forecast is lots of rain there at the moment.