Croatia

We had heard such good things about Croatia but the beauty of Slovenia and the kindness of its people was always going to be a tough act to follow. Croatia’s rise to tourism-stardom since its independence from Yugoslavia (and the resulting Yugoslav Wars) was rapid. In the course of twenty years it went from a place only the brave went to visit to a place reeling from over-tourism, with more than a million visiting Dubrovnik annually in a city with a local population of less than 42000. Whilst the filming of Game of Thrones accounts for some of Croatia’s popularity, a country that is filled with beautiful beaches, gorgeous islands, and stunning National Parks certainly speaks for itself. To their absolute credit, the infrastructure to meet the demand (that we saw) was absolutely brilliant, but it all comes at a cost…especially since Croatia adopted the Euro in 2023 and the price of everything was rounded up to the nearest, or perhaps the next nearest, Euro. Whilst we met lots of lovely Croatians, especially when we were a bit further from the beaten track, many of the people in the tourist-heavy places quite clearly were a bit tired of the endless flow of tourists who all ask the same questions, perhaps made worse by us being at the tailend of a long, hot, busy summer. That being said, we had a wonderful time and could definitely see what all the hype is about!

We decided to split our time in Croatia into three fairly equal parts – National Parks and beautiful views, beaches, and cities (Split and Dubrovnik). But, as can happen when you don’t have bookings, we lingered longer in the National Parks, and pretty beaches kept catching our eye, so our city time was reduced to just one day in Dubrovnik.

Our first National Park was Risnjak. We’d had a busy last few days in Slovenia so we took it slow for a couple of days, enjoying the pretty forests and the deep Kupa River with only a sprinkling of other tourists.

From there we headed to the much more famous Plitvice National Park. Plitvice covers an area of almost 30000 hectares with sixteen gorgeous blue-green lakes linked by cascading waterfalls and surrounded by lush vegetation.

Plitvice is slammed with tourists in the summer so it is well set up with online bookings only allowing a limited number of people to enter each hour. You can then stay as long as you want but it means visitors are staggered and spread throughout the NP. We opted for a 7am start but were unsure we had made the right decision when the day dawned thick with fog. However, we were certain it would lift and, in the meantime, enjoyed the eerie beauty.

It had rained heavily in recent days so the scenery was absolutely spectacular with water gushing all around. There were times that we laughed at how much it felt like we could be at Disneyland – it was all so perfect and stunning, how could it possibly be natural? It really was so incredibly beautiful! We were so glad to have 2-day passes and felt like we’d experienced all parts of the NP at least once, and many parts two, three or four times.

It was really amazing to hear both kids say “let’s go the long way” – they have come to realise that we really have nowhere else to be and it’s taken considerable effort to get to where we are (and might never come back) so let’s make the most of it. Of course we all have our moments, but they really are great travelling companions.

From Plitvice NP we jumped off the beaten tourist path and headed to Izvor Cetine, the source of the Cetina River, close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The current estimated depth of the spring is over 155 metres but they are yet to reach the bottom! Absolutely spectacular!

Our next stop was Split, and Google Maps had a fun ol’ time directing us back to the main roads via small villages and remote farmlands along the way. Whilst it was so pretty, there was evidence everywhere of the military strikes that went on here during the Yugoslav Wars. It was hard to imagine this peaceful, sleepy area being a war zone where neighbours became enemies.

Also in this area lives some of the estimated 150-200 wolves that live in Croatia. As there are so few, we were extremely surprised when Zara shouted “THERE’S A WOLF!” Sure enough, a wolf was running through a farm beside us. Zara was very excited to be the girl who cried wolf!

As I said, pretty beaches kept catching our eye so our days in Split were spent at the beach. Split was also our jumping off point for a ferry to Brač Island, where we stayed for 3 days – mostly at the beach!

We were fascinated by people of all ages playing the Croatian game picigin – essentially keepy-uppy played in shallow water with a peeled tennis ball (so it’s just the inside part of the ball) instead of a balloon! Young, old, mates, couples, gentle players, expert players…no rules, no winners…it was fun to watch! Lucas asked some people if he could borrow their ball to have a go  – and I’m pretty certain that tennis balls will become picigin balls when we get home.

We met a lovely family from Melbourne on the beach after the kids had gravitated towards each other. We thoroughly enjoyed an evening meal with them at their AirBnB, and hanging out with them in their pool and at the beach the next day. The kids are missing their friends (as are we) so even though it was short, this friendship filled our cups.

Our last full day in Croatia was spent walking around the ‘Old Town’ of Dubrovnik.

The Old Town is encircled by a city wall that is almost 2 kilometres long. We’d debated going up because tickets were really expensive, but a friend had said it was a “must do”…we ended up spending 2.5 hours up there as it was so lovely and the views were ever-changing as we walked around.

The roof tiles tell a story – the 1991 siege of Dubrovnik lasted for 9 months, causing damage and despair. Whilst some buildings remained standing, it’s estimated that 70% of the terracotta roof tiles in the city were destroyed, and rebuilding and reconstruction of the city is still being undertaken more than 20 years later. Looking down from the wall, the obviously new, bright orange roof tiles leave a stark impression of the destruction and devastation of war.

We stayed up there for sunset so the colours were beautiful!

From Croatia we crossed the Adriatic Sea via ferry to Bari in southern Italy. Our time in Croatia was a lovely combination of active and restful, beautiful views and warm, turquoise water, history and fun. Croatia certainly earns its place as a spectacular destination.