A narrow strip of land tucked away in one corner of the European mainland and a cluster of small islands littered along the Adriatic Sea are hardly likely to catch your attention on the World map.
Still, a trip to the beautiful country is sure to make you reminisce about your trip with fondness forever.
If you love the Sun and beach combo, then a trip to Croatia can be the vacation of your dreams.
There are over a thousand islands, each one more enchanting than the other.
We went to Croatia from India, changing flights from Frankfurt on a Croatian Airlines Boeing to Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia.
Your vacation starts the moment you board this plane. One can get a beautiful bird's eye view of the Dinaric Alps with their snow-laden peaks.
The beauty of the Dinaric Alps from the top!
My observations about Croatia
Croatia is a sparsely populated country with a total population of 4.2 million.
While at the marketplace, an interesting observation I make is that most prominent American/European brands for food chains, clothes, shoes, and bags are conspicuous by their absence.
Croatia is a small country self-reliant on the indigenous industry. So, we stop looking for known places to eat and decide to grub on the local cuisine which is heavenly in terms of taste and cheaper in terms of price! The same applies to cosmetics, lifestyle products, and many other products found in supermarkets. They are cheaper than most known brands and of very good quality.
If you’re planning to travel to other parts of Croatia as well, then roadways are your best bet. The journey is comfortable, buses are cheap and ply on time, and the icing on the cake is the scenic views that you start to get throughout the countryside especially as you approach the sea.
Our 12-day itinerary included
Zagreb
The capital of Croatia is not your typical touristy European city but it has a charm that is hard to miss.
Must-see attractions are Saint Mark Church and Zagreb Cathedral in the Upper Town.
Saint Mark Church with its impressive colourful coat of Arms of Croatia on its rooftop and the Zagreb Cathedral, a massive Gothic building with its tall twin spires will instantly catch your attention as you reach the Upper Town.
The Upper Town can easily be accessed by a funicular with the journey lasting barely 5 mins.
My Tip -
One can do a conducted walking tour to get a better understanding of the history of this place.
Coming down from the upper town, one can see a variety of cafes and eateries lining both sides of the street, the names of which I find hard to remember. It is a pedestrian-friendly area with no dearth of places to sit and munch and watch the crowds go by.
Plitvice
After a comfortable bus journey of around 2 hours from Zagreb, we reach Plitvice around noon.
Plitvice National Park is every traveller's dream destination. Its beauty has to be seen to be believed.
We spent two full days in this park. I have written a detailed memoir about our visit in the link below -
Zadar
We packed our bags for the third destination in our itinerary. Zadar.
Early morning the next day we take the bus from Plitvice to Zadar. The journey is only 1 hour 30 minutes and the scenery en route is breathtakingly beautiful.
From Plitvice to Zadar by bus
Zadar is a seaside town with most of all tourist activities happening along the sea coast, the most popular among them being the Sea Organ.
We approach the sea coast from the old town square.
Lined with loads of eateries and small shops, the paved narrow streets have something to catch your attention at every step. Trinkets, souvenirs, clothes et al on both sides beckon tourists. There are some boutiques with beautiful pieces of clothes displayed in the show windows, must check these out! The best part is some bargaining also works here ....
These narrow streets lead to an open courtyard with a tower, some historical monuments and a picturesque view of the sea. There are cathedrals and churches aplenty if you have an eye for historical monuments.
‘Greeting to the Sun’ next to the sea organ right on the seafront is equally intriguing. This spherical glass bottom has 300 glass plates, all placed at the same level as the pavement.
These solar plates get activated at night and produce a light show. Around the Sun, there are also planets made in proportion to the sun.
The highlight of this evening outing is the Sea organ.
Huge metallic pipes have been installed under the sea along the seashore. As water strikes against these wind pipes, a sound of mouth organs emanates out of nowhere. One can sit here for hours on end and listen to this melodious syncing motion of water.
One must stay in this area till sunset to capture the illuminated sphere. This is the most popular hub for tourists at Zadar and rightly so. As dusk approaches, the waves become higher and the sound from the sea organ increases.
The day closes with a spectacular sunset.
If you have time just hang around a bit late till the crowds dissipate. You will be able to hear the sea organ more clearly. An overnight stay is enough in Zadar unless you want to come back to the Sea Organ the next day too. We’re tempted to do the same but we have our bookings in place for our next halt in Split.
Split
Split needs at least two full days of your itinerary. The most talked about attraction in Split is the 4th-century Diocletian Palace.
The massive structure of the bishop Gregory of Nin right at the entrance to the palace sets the tone for your outing. It's huge and very impressive.
The massive Gregory of Nin
Touching the toe of Nin is believed to bring good luck, so tourists visiting the palace line up in front of the statue to rub its toe. As did I....
There are loads of eateries and shops in every nook and corner, the palace has also been converted into a hotel in some parts. It's lively and buzzing with activity. Inside is also the Cathedral of St Domnius housing the crypt and the Temple of Jupiter.
My word of advice, just peep into the temple, don’t buy the ticket, the temple is small, only as far as the eye can see from outside.
The Diocletian Palace can easily be a full-day outing with the last leg of the day at the seafront. Luka Split or the port of Split is at its liveliest best all day long!
There are a lot of day trips from Split to many small islands in the Adriatic, the Blue caves and wine-tasting tours, you can pick your choice if you have a day to spare.
We had dinner at Café Fife just along the sea shore, the taste of their fish delicacy is still making me salivate. Total value for money!
Dubrovnik
We are fast approaching the end of our journey with our last destination being Dubrovnik. We’ve allocated four days to this city called the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’. The scenic route on the entire stretch from Split to Dubrovnik can actually make one envious of the people who reside here.
The Scenic route from Split to the Dubrovnik Riviera
The Adriatic Sea has been almost ‘customized’ to suit the needs of the local people, there are play areas for children, lounge chairs for the elderly, all kinds of boats, and personal swimming areas. Every nook and corner of the sea is being put to optimum use and the water is really clean.
The moment we set foot in Dubrovnik, the touristy air of the place hits us. The air is moist and warm, people are swarming everywhere and the town is buzzing with activity.
We moved into a beautiful apartment just facing the sea. Anything less than that would be a shame.
The city is enlisted in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites and is every bit so.
View from the top of the city wall
The old city is a walled city overlooking the sea surrounded by a thick wall and an old harbour.
A walk on this wall is a must-do attraction. It has refreshing views of the sea.
If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, then you will be able to identify some familiar sites along the wall too.
Can you place this in Game of Thrones? What scene was shot here?
One can easily spend at least 2 days just wandering and idling around in the old city soaking in the history or just doing some monument gazing.
‘Stradun’ or the main street can be fun both during the day and at night.
It’s always crowded with tourists and connects the entire old city with lanes and by-lanes.
Scores of shops and restaurants are lined up all along that serve local Croatian fish delicacies apart from conventional cuisines.
Not-to-miss!
Dubrovnik has a lot of islands all around that are favourites for snorkelers and water enthusiasts.
We took a one-day cruise to the Elaphiti Islands. The cruise offers beautiful views of the sea, some island-hopping, and a lot of opportunities for water sports since the sea is so calm and shallow. If you're not a water sports enthusiast, then just splashing in the water can be fun.
The highlight of the cruise is the seagull feeding done by the crew as they hold our little leftover grubs of food for the seagulls to devour. Out of nowhere, the birds flock to grab a bite. There is suddenly so much activity with all cameras going into a frenzy to catch that moment. Amazing!
Yet another beautiful island that can be explored is ‘Lokrum’.
The main attraction is the freely roaming peacocks and bunnies all over the island.
The birds are so used to having humans around that they stay perched on
the rocks while everyone is clicking their pictures.
The island also has a monastery and a small salt lake aptly called ‘Dead Sea’.
Both locals and tourists throng to this lake to soak in the sun and splash around in this lake that is absolutely calm, hence the name.
The iconic ‘Iron Throne’ from ‘Game of Thrones’ is housed here in the museum, you can take pictures with yourself on the throne.
Sitting on this throne was my teenage son's dream come true!
Panoramic view of the sea from the edge of the cliff on Lokrum Island
If you walk to the end of the island to a rocky cliff then you can get some mesmerizing views of the sea.
Our Croatian vacation is all set to wrap up as we prepare to take a flight from Dubrovnik to Munich and back home. But this Croatia trip will be etched in my mind forever.
The few things that stand out for me are the pristine beauty of this small country, the delicious local cuisine comprising of local fish variety and lastly, the warmth that people show towards tourists in general.
After all, it’s the people that make all the difference!
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