Travelling Croatia
- Dimus
- 4 days ago
- 16 min read
Updated: 20 hours ago
In September 2025, we travelled with my wife to Croatia for two weeks. This is not a fiction story, to which my readers are probably used, but rather a diary helping to keep memories that, unfortunately, fade quickly. Meanwhile, Croatia is a popular vacation destination, and some people can build their plans considering our experience. When doing this, keep in mind that our combined age is 140 years, and make your activity adjustments accordingly. If you still want to see Croatia or just check my records, feel free to reach out to me directly with questions. I also added a few historical-geographical notes that can be omitted. Time is running, let's go.
9/4 Departed Boston 22:00 by Lufthansa, delayed 1 hr - running two km to the connection flight in Frankfurt. Otherwise, a good, comfortable flight in premium economy,
9/5 14:30 arrived in Zagreb, rental car in AVIS, Opel Astra diesel. The agent asked me to buy insurance from them for 1500e, and when I refused, they charged us a 4000e deposit!
Drove 200 km, many tunnels. At 19:00, we arrived at the small town of Opatija, near Rijeka. Stay in the Preelook Appts - good small private hotel 3*—location near the sea, swimming beach in 200 m, free public access.
Very hungry, we drove 2 km north to Volosko village, a challenging road and scarce parking, but luckily. Dinner at Ostaria Veranda (Aging Veranda). Good food: cucumber soup, octopus, minestrone, duck breast: - 86e+10e tip. Walked for 45 min along Langomare promenade (its total length is 7 miles).
9/6 09:15 breakfast in the hotel - decent. Swimming at the local beach, the water is about 24 °C, nice and clean.
12:00 drove 60 km to a small mountain town, Motovun (former Montova), parked at the foothill, charter bus to the top town 7e. Scenic small town, nice views around, walled perimeter. Spent about 1.5 hours there. Everywhere, locals were selling truffles and olive oil, so we bought truffle samples.
Drove 17 km to Granjean (former Graziliano). You can get to the top by car—a small, nice town on the hill.
Returned home about 6 pm, had a quick swim in the sea.
Walked, no car challenge anymore, to Volosko for 2 km and another 2 km along the Langomare promenade. Dinner at Plavi Podrum (Blue cellar) upscale restaurant. Ate St. Jacques, foie gras, duck breast, local pasta with marisco – sea creatures. Very good, 130e.
Today's total walking distance is 16400 steps.
History of Istria. Istria is a peninsula in the north of Croatia, in the form of a triangle, like the Hindustan peninsula, but 500 times smaller. Originally inhabited by the Illyrians - Histri local tribes.
V-VII BC. Greeks are colonizing the coastal areas and exerting a cultural influence on the locals.
II BC. Romans gradually Italianized this area; they describe the locals as fierce pirates trying to pacify them in a traditional Roman way.
V AC. As the Roman Empire declined, the Goths and Franks controlled the area. About this time, Avaro-Slavic invasions begin. Nobody knows where they came from, but nothing good happened, since they already knew how to set fire. Some of them, called Croats and settled in the inner areas of Istria, even established a Croatian kingdom, which the Western Roman Empire abolished in the 12th century.
X-XIV AC. The Venetian Republic gradually subdued most of the coastal Istria and Dalmatia when inland areas came under the rule of the Habsburg Empire.
1797–1814 Venice fell to Napoleon, and Istria and Dalmatia experienced good times for a short period of liberty until the Austrians and Russians defeated Napoleon. From 1815, Istria has belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At this time, the government supported the deitalization of the area.
1920 After WW1, Istria was given to Italy by the Rapallo treaty. Italy started a program of Italianization, closing Slavic schools and cultural and political organizations
1941 Independent State of Croatia - a pro-Nazi regime run by Ustaše (Croatian revolutionary movement). Its central goal was to establish an ethnically pure, independent Croatian state, free from Serbs, Jews, Roma, Muslims, and political opponents. Killed about 300,000 people in specially built concentration camps. There is a memorial in place of the Jasenovac camp, 113 km SE from Zagreb.
1945 Yugoslavian Tito partisans "humanly" liberated the area from Ustase, Germans, and Italians.
1947 Most of Istria became the territory of the Croatian Republic of Yugoslavia. Italians who lived in coastal towns were expelled in a few days in 1954. Those who didn't understand the necessity to go to Italy ended up in Foibe - karst holes in the ground. I guess that the famous Italian song "Bella, ciao", first published in 1953, reflects their sorrow at leaving Istria, and Bella refers to "Our beautiful homeland".
In 1991, Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia and became an independent state.
9/7 Left the hotel at 10:30 for Krk Island. Drive to the bridge 35 km by hw A7. Arrived in town, Vrbenik, on the east coast. Very nicely located on the hilltop, with panoramas, and a lot of wineries. Light lunch: sardines, white wine.
14:00 drove to Basca beach, pebbles - need beach shoes, but nice swimming.
16:00 drove to Bunculuka beach (3 km) to hike. Started from Krecin parking (look for Plaža Sveti Ivan on GPS). Walked along a nudist beach and later along the coast, the trail is too rough - sharp rocks, turned back, and a short swim at the nudist beach.
17:15 driving back, awful traffic on rt 102. We arrived at our hotel at 19:30. A Homemade dinner on the hotel's roof terrace.
9/8 Morning drive from Opatije to Plitvice lakes, 3 hr, arriving at 12:15. The last 60 km along a very slow D42 road - better find another way. Stayed in the Pearl of Plitvice villa - nice and comfortable. Our hosts are young Camila and Brian, Colombians managing the property.
Walk through the special park entry point (500 m from the villa) to the park. We booked park tickets for 2 days on their website in advance for 120€. The first trip/hike to the Lower Lakes and Big Falls (Grand Slap). Then, climbing to the rim about 60-80 m high to Station 2, walk 1.7 m to St 1 along the lakes and to P1 (port1) on Lake Kozjak. A small boat (40-person capacity) takes to P2, only about 150m. There we swap into a bigger boat (100-person) that takes us to P3 all the way along Lake Kozjak (20 min). From P3 it is less than 1000 m to our villa. Total easy walking this day: 5.5 miles - 3.5 hr. The AllTrails app is very helpful.
Dinner in Bistro Petar, 10 km, but don't drive through Korana village -crazy road and bridge. All food was good except the duck leg, 90€.
At 9 pm, we are using the villa's sauna and hot tub (need to sign in and pay extra).
9/9 Breakfast at Villa Pearl - very good. Left at 09:50 for the port P3, boat ride 20 min to P2. Walk around upper Plitvice lakes (see Alltrails app) for a total of 4.5 hours, beautiful views, waterfalls, too many tourists (even at the end of the season!). Took a side circular route to Panorama point - worth it! Mostly slow ascent for about 100 m, magnificent view of the three upper lakes, total 1 hour. From there, 2 miles to P2 and returned by boat to our P3 - 1 km from the villa. Total 17000 steps. Short nap.
At 6 pm, drive to Degenija restaurant for dinner: so far, it is the best place to eat: trout, tomato soup, grilled cheese with arugula, and veal peka (must!), Karlovac beer + local Slivovica (samogon) - 82e+tip. A big rainstorm is coming.
History of Plitvice Lakes
The Plitvice Lakes lie in the Dinaric Alps of Croatia, a region of karst topography, where soluble limestone and dolomite rocks dominate. Over thousands of years, water from rivers and underground springs dissolved the limestone, carving valleys, caves, and depressions.
The most unique feature of the lakes is the tufa barriers, also called travertine dams.
As water rich in calcium carbonate flows over mosses, algae, and bacteria, it deposits calcite, slowly building natural dams. In brief, when water passes through narrows, turbulence causes local pressure drops, and dissolved CO2 gas goes to the atmosphere. It shifts carbonate-bicarbonate equilibria in already saturated carbonate solution (mineralized water) and solid calcite (CaCO3) precipitates, causing more stream obstruction and more turbulence. These tufa walls grow continuously—sometimes up to 1 cm per year—and create natural terraces that separate the lakes.
Today, there are 16 interconnected lakes, arranged in an upper and lower series, joined by countless waterfalls and cascades. The colors range from turquoise to emerald, depending on mineral content, sunlight, and organisms in the water.
9/10 No rain in the morning - nice weather to travel. At 10:15, we leave Villa Pearl. Arriving at the town of Broderika (near Sibenik) at 12:15, with light rain. Hardly found 'Tiho and Sladana's apartments' - Google gives the wrong location, no house number. Apt is good, ground floor, two bedrooms, parking on the site. Rushed to see the sea - the swimming beach is 150 m. Bought some food in a small supermarket Djela, nearby.
At 5 pm, drove to Sibenik, 5 km. Parked at Poljana town garage. An old Mediterranean town on the beach with narrow streets, 4-5 story buildings, a Franciscan monastery, and a fortress on top of the hill. The central Cathedral of St. Jacob is not too impressive. Dinner at Jana - Peperoncino restaurant - ok, 45e. Walked for 30 min along the sea and returned home. A significant rainfall began at this time.
9/11 From Broderika drove for 1 hr by hw A1 to Split, arrived at 12:00, parked at Pojisanska st., 17 on the pavement (free). Walk to the old city for about 1000m. Entered the Diocletian Palace and explored it.
History: The Palace was built by Emperor Diocletian for his retirement in 305AD. His most famous reform was to split the Roman Empire into four tetrarchies, ruled by 2 Augusti, senior emperors, and by 2 Caesares, junior emperors. We can say that it was the last chance of the Roman Empire to survive: in a couple of years, Constantine seized all power, permitted Christianity as a legitimate religion, and moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium.
Not much of the palace is left now: many civilian houses were built above it, and now people live there. There is a magnificent five-floor Bell Tower of the Cathedral of Saint Domnius. Walked around narrow streets, through Zidowski passage, and came to the synagogue (locked door). Nearby, just close to the Golden gates of the palace, we found a nice bakery - apple and cherry strudel. Walked in the direction of Marjan Park, reached it, and started descending to the sea when we saw the Marjan viewpoint (must stop!). From there, the stairs go down to the embankment and port. Returned to the car.
15:30 drove from Split to Trogir, rt8 40min. Trogir is a small town built on a tiny island with only one auto bridge. Parked 500 m before the bridge (paid), just near the public swimming beach. Walked towards the bridge, entered Trogir, and wandered its narrow streets for 30-40 min. Entered the Camerlengo Venetian XV century fortress - 5e. Not very much to see, but it is worth climbing to the top of the tower - great view of Trogir, port, and neighboring island Ciovo.
Legend: According to local tradition, a Venetian governor (camerlengo) fell in love with a beautiful girl from Trogir. He tried to force her to marry him. To escape, the girl prayed to God and jumped into the sea from the fortress walls. Instead of drowning, she miraculously survived. Don't try it!
At 18:00 dinner at restaurant Piccolo Ponte: very good: côtelette de veau, bronzini fish, salads and local garlic bread, wine and beer -102e.
Returned to the parking lot and went swimming, water 24C. The drive to Broderika took 1 hour via rt8, no traffic. Total 16000 steps today.
9/12 Visiting Krka National Park. 30-minute drive to the Skradin park entry, arrived at 11 am. Bought tickets for 2x40e and took a 3 km boat trip (included with ticket) to Skradinski buk (waterfall). From there, we made a loop trip around waterfalls - there are many. Looks very scenic, there are a couple of great viewpoints. Need some stairs climbing: the 2 km trail takes 2 hours.
Back by boat to Skradin, ate sandwiches and swam in the Krka river nearby - nice beach and water.
We planned to go to Visovac island to see a Franciscan monastery – a popular destination, but decided first to see the Rosky Slap (waterfall). It is about a 15 km drive. The waterfall is not too impressive, probably 10 m high, and visible only from the boat deck. The last boat to the waterfall at 3 pm- we were late. Walked for about 1.5 km loop to the wooden bridge around cascading rapids (called necklace) - formed by the natural "tufa" dams (as in Plitvice) made of calcite. Rangers told us that we cannot reach Visovac island (7 km drive from Rosky slap), since the last ferry there departs at 4 pm. So, drove home to Broderika. Visiting Rosky slap can be omitted.
Homemade lunch - no restaurant today, and a short walk along the Broderika beach promenade.
9/13 Saturday. A day before, we booked a boat trip on the Viator website to visit three islands near the Sibenik coast, 2x$143.
Sibenik has a natural harbor formed by the Krka River, and to get out to the sea, you need to go through a relatively narrow St. Anthony channel about 2 km long. The entry to this channel from the sea is protected by the impressive fortress of St. Nicholas, built by the Venetians in 1500. There is also an old military tunnel visible from the channel at the water level, which it is possible to visit (we did not know).
Our voyage started at 10:00 from Sibenik's embankment, where we got from Broderika by taxi. A small, inflated motorboat took us first to the Zlarin island and dropped us there for 3 hours. Not very much to do there. We hiked for an hour, and after that, we ended up swimming at the beach. There is a Coral museum - not interesting and a poor exposition.
The captain finally picked us, and after a 15-minute boatride, we anchored at the Blue Lagoon of the Tijat island - a very popular destination, with a lot of yachts and boats there. Swimming for half an hour and another ride to the Prvic island for lunch and a short walk around. This is the most picturesque island, and it is worth spending more time there. Disembarked in Sibenik at 16:15.
Walked to the Old Town, had coffee at Gino's, and returned to Broderika by Uber at 7 pm.
9/14 Sun. From 11 to 3 pm, a transfer drive from Sibenik to Dubrovnik, about 300 km at first by hw A1, the last 120 km by rt 8 - a slow but scenic drive, a couple of miles was along the beautiful Neretva river.
At our destination in Dubrovnik, we were met by our hostess, Mia, who even helped to move our stuff. Villa Ragusa is located about 1000 m from Dubrovnik's old city, between two parallel streets: from the top street it is down 100 stairs, and from the lower street it is up 120 stairs, kinda living on the 7th floor of a 12-story building. The public beach is close, another 100 stairs down from the lower road—great view of the city from our balcony.
Mia recommended buying the Dubrovnik citypass that gives access to all cultural and historical sites: 2x 50€ for 3 days. Also includes free bus.
At 5 pm, we went down to Banja beach to swim, then took an exploratory walk to the city. Dinner at Konob (Rooster) restaurant just above Jesuit stairs and near the Blaise church, very good: Adriatic salad, konob salad, sword fish, fried seafood, beer, wine -112e. Walked along the streets- still very crowded at 9 pm and returned home, 15 min.
9/15. At 10:15, we went to the city and made a City Walls tour (very good!): stunning views of the city's internal street structure and all landmarks, and the surrounding sea and external city. There are a lot of stairs up and down, but generally it is an easy walk, 1.5 hr. Coffee at the street cafe and swimming at Banja beach. Back to the house.
At 17:30 walked 10 min to the cable car, lower station, and ascended (tickets 2x30e) to Mount Srd (elevation ~500 m) that dominates Dubrovnik. On top of Srd stands the Napoleonic Fort Imperial, built ca 1815 to protect from the Russians. Inside Fort Imperial, there is a museum of the Yugoslavian War of 1991-95 with some interesting facts and photos.
History: In 1991, the Yugoslavian army (mostly Serbs and Macedonians) besieged Dubrovnik, defended by Croats, for a few months, including its naval blockade. The Serbian military tried to capture Srd fort and shelled Dubrovnik from nearby mountains, causing some damage and fires, but later retreated to Bosnia, and the town was left to Croatia by some treaty. The Haag tribunal indicted five Serbian commanders for war crimes: the maximum sentence term was 7.5 years.
Watched sunset from mt. Srd, great view of Elefiti islands. Descended by the cable car and wandered again through the streets of the old town. Dinner at Pupo restaurant, very good: bruschetta, swordfish, lamb, beer -103e. Home at 22:30. 15500 steps today.
9/16 Cavtat - day of relaxation. At 10:45, drive 30 minutes south rt 8 to the small coastal town of Cavtat. Parked at the main town's lower car park at the sea level, 4e/hr. Walked about 400 m to the Rat beach. Very good swimming and tanning for 1 hr. Continued walking along the embankment - the town shore between the churches of the Lady of Snow and St. Nicholas. Had coffee with croissants and peach burrata (great!).
The Cavtat town area has the form of a lobster claw with a bay in between. We encircled first the small claw counterclockwise about 1 mile: nice path, but rocky, and hiking shoes are recommended. Finished the loop near the hotel Spinnaker and swam there. Walked to our parking and returned to Villa Ragusa. (Cavtat can be reached from Dubrovnik by boat, 50 min, ticket is 18€ two-way. )
At 7 pm walked to Dubrovnik, crossed the old town, and had dinner at the restaurant Dubravka 1836. Very good, ate sea bass, Wiener Schnitzel, salads, focaccia bread, Konavacka beer, and local white wine Posip. Wandered the streets and returned home at 10 pm. 14800 steps today.
9/17 Lokrum Island is just in front of our window of Villa Ragusa, maybe less than 1 km. The island is all forested, with rocky, steep beaches. We took a boat from Dubrovnik port at 10:30, they are scheduled every half-hour, and in 15 min landed at Lokrum in a small cove, not visible from the town. First went to see what is left of Maximilian's summer house - some walls and botanical gardens.
History: Maximilian (1832-67) was an Austrian archduke, brother of Franz Joseph I, the emperor that brave soldier Svejk praised. Napoleon III persuaded Maximilian to become the Emperor of Mexico, but when the French withdrew their troops from Mexico under US pressure, he was executed by firing squad by revolutionaries. He gave each soldier of the squad a gold coin, asking them not to shoot him in the face, so his mother could see his face one last time, and cried, "Viva Mexico!" His wife Charlotte got mad but lived another 60 years.
There is a small pool on Lokrum called "Carlotta's well". Just at the southern tip of the island is a small natural basin called the Dead Sea, connected with the actual sea by an underground channel. You can swim there.
History: On Lokrum, there is also an old building belonging to the Benedictine monastery founded in the 11th century and operational for 800 years. By the pope's decision, the Lokrum island was transferred to the town of Ragusa (part of Dubrovnik now), and the monks were expelled in 1798. On the last day, they walked three times around the island with wax candles and cursed everyone who took ownership of the Lokrum. As we saw, Maximillian was executed, and the island is still uninhabited.
We are on the way to the top point - Fort Royal, built by Napoleon's order in 1806 to control Dubrovnik, at the same time as Fort Imperial on Mount Srd. Straight cypress alley leads to the fort, but the road is rocky, and hiking shoes are recommended. Fort is in good shape but has no cannons. Descended to the lower southern part of the island and swam for 1 hour - Adriatic clear blue water, 27°C. At 15:30, by boat back to Dubrovnik.
The last walk to the old city in the evening. Second time dinner at Pupo restaurant. Record 20000 steps today ~ 8 miles.
9/18 Driving from Dubrovnik to Zagreb, 600 km, first 100 km by rt8: good but slow, then all the way A1 hw, not too scenic. We started at 09:50 and the journey took 8 hours with short stops. There is an option to consider flying from Dubrovnik to Zagreb on a local plane.
Stayed in the Garden hotel - a good three-star hotel, located near the train station.
Walked to the city center - about 25 min and had dinner at Vinodol restaurant- very good: trout, grilled veal, mushroom soup, red wine, sweet pepper salad with one cayenne - crazy hot - 90e, no tip due to this pepper (could it be a joke?). Back in the Garden hotel at 10 pm.
9/19 The last day in Zagreb. At 10:00, we went to the city center; on the way, we visited the museum of chocolate - not too exciting, but they gave free samples. On the Ban Jelacic square is an info center – we picked up the town plan with a proposed walking path through the Upper town. Zagreb's Cathedral is in restoration after the 2020 Zagreb earthquake. It was only a 5.5 scale, but it damaged a lot of old buildings, many museums are still closed, and the old funicular to Upper Town is also closed. Passed the Dolac market, street named Krwawy Most, and entered the Grič tunnel, which is about 500 m long with side galleries, constructed in 1944 by Ustase as a bomb shelter. Glanced at the Stone Gate - the only one preserved from the Middle Ages, then came to St. Mark's church with a glazed, colorful roof (also in restoration) and moved downhill to the Lower town.
Coffee stop. Visited Nikola Tesla technical museum: many old mechanisms, steam turbines, steam locomotives, cars, and a few cosmic artifacts, including the Soviet Lunokhod-1 (1984).
In the evening, listened to a symphonic concert in the Vatroslav Lisinski concert hall: Mozart, Beethoven, and R. Strauss, conductor Dawid Runtz, soloist violin Frank Peter Zimmermann- great music. Back to the hotel at 10:30. Total 19600 steps.
9/20 Sat. Drove 30 minutes to Zagreb airport and flew to Boston.
Summary. Croatia is a great place to visit and enjoy a vacation—a beautiful country with a very interesting history. Friendly people, all speak decent English. Four million permanent inhabitants are hosting 21 million tourists a year (2024). If we suggest that on average one person spends 5 days in the country, it results in roughly 250,000 people being daily, thus, some iconic places like Dubrovnik, Split, and Plitvice Lakes can be crowded, even in September. Still, we had very few problems with parking, driving was easy (a total of 2200 km), and we never waited more than ten minutes in restaurants. Prices for everything related to tourists are inflated: hotels, restaurants, museums, entertainment, tickets, but food in supermarkets is twice as cheap as in the Boston area. Highly recommend our itinerary, probably with some corrections noted in the text. Have a nice trip!
Itinerary:
1. Arrival in Zagreb and drive to Opatija (Rijeka).
2. Opatije - 3 nights, trips to Motovun, Granjean, Krk Island
3. Plitvice Lakes – 2 nights
4. Sibenik – 4 nights, trips to Krka Park, Split, Trogir, three islands (Zlatin, Tijat, Prvic)
5. Dubrovnik – 4 nights, trips to Cavtat, Lokrum island, Mt.Srd
6. Zagreb – 2 nights
© Dimus, September 2025
Спасибо Дима за рассказ/отчёт. Теперь можно смело туда ехать.
Looks like a wonderful trip, we have been to Dubrovnik, but many years ago