Croatia (April 2025)

fionasavard
Apr 18
16 min read

We flew from Athens to Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Dubrovnik has a long and complicated history. It is well known for its old town with high city walls and forts. It is also the number 1 tourist stop for Croatia. Our first impression was "wow, this is so well preserved!" after coming from the ruins of Greece, and this is why. Dubrovnik was caught in the cross-hairs of the war that followed Croatia's declaration of independence in 1991, thus being pummeled with some 2000 shells in 1991/1992 by the Yugoslav military, suffering considerable damage to the city, but all those damaged buildings have been restored and thus the reason it looks well-preserved.

#1 The Pile Gate -entrance into the old town. #2 Placa, the marbled main street. #3 The Onofrio Fountain with the Holy Saviour Church behind on the right.

Feeding time for the pigeons in Gunduliceva poijana square.

#1 Fresh fish being sold in the old harbor. #2 Innovative construction in the small alley streets of the old town. #3 Science cat - keeping warm through conduction.

There was a door in the city wall and some entrepreneur thought it would be a great place for a bar. He cemented some platforms on the rocks and called it Buza Bar. Dale is at the far end, we enjoyed watching kayakers having fun on the beautiful Adriatic Sea below us.

#1 The tiled terracotta roofs of the old town. #2. Fort Lawrence. #3 Typical street of the old town lined with restaurants.

I have never watched the Game of Thrones Series but Dubrovnik is a fantasy world for fans of the series. Apparently, a large chunk of the immensely popular TV series was filmed here.

We headed out of Dubrovnik and up the Peljesac Peninsula to Ston, a medieval village. Ston and Mali (little) Ston are 3km apart and are known for 3 things: salt, oysters and the remarkable defensive wall that connects the two. Salt and oysters have been harvested here since Roman times.

#1 The village keepsake. #2 The village fountain. #3 One of the gate into the village of Ston.

The Ston saltworks are preserved from the middle ages and the production method has changed very little throughout the centuries. They claim that this is why the salt is of excellent quality. I am no salt connoisseur, so I will take their word for it.

We continued up the Peljesac Peninsula.

Peljesac Bridge is mid way up the Peljesac Peninsula and connects most of Croatia with southern Dalmatia. Croatia has almost 4,000 miles of Adriatic Sea coast but did you know that there is a small break in ownership down in southern Dalmatia. Bosnia and Herzegovina owns a small 10km strip of coast line called the Neum corridor. This is Bosnia's only access to the sea but this area remains a quiet seaside resort. A little history on the Neum corridor. In the Great Turkish War of the late 17th century, the city-state of Dubrovnik allied itself with the Ottoman Empire, but that didn't end well. The 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz gave a lot of the Ottoman lands in the Balkans to the victors: the Habsburg Empire and Venice. Dubrovnik was so afraid of a Venetian attack that it gave away a tiny tract of land (the Neum corridor) to the Ottoman Empire, to give itself a buffer against Venice. That fateful decision made Neum a permanent part of the region's Ottoman-ruled provinces: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Anyway, enough of that, Croatia has solved the problem by erecting a 2,400-meter bridge across to the Peljesac peninsula, which bypasses Neum entirely. Bridge construction began in 2007, but stalled with the global financial collapse, leaving only a few concrete footings behind. But more recently (2018), Croatia secured $370 million from the EU to restart the project. In 2022, Dubrovnik was rejoined to Croatia by four lanes of asphalt, the second longest bridge in Europe.

The Peljesac Peninsula has craggy mountains, sweeping valleys and idyllic coves. It is predominantly known for it many vineyards and amazing wines.

One of its stars is a little blue grape, known as Dobricic. The best Dobricic is grown on the barren, sun-baked slopes of Dingac. The vines are so difficult to access, that the grapes must be harvested by hand. Dingac area is a recognized appellation: legally defined and protected geographical location primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown.

#1 It is hard to portray the steepness of the mountainside but it is truly crazy to be harvesting grapes on these mountains. #2 Love their passion for their wines. #3 The Croatian wild boar is widespread, found on the mainland and the islands. It is reported that they even swim between islands. Locals report that they are like hitting cement, very dense animals that grow to weights of 180kg (396lb). They have a hunting season for them but do not eat them as they carry too many parasites.

The small village of Orebic where we boarded a small ferry for the 20 minute sail to Korcula Island.

Korcula is the sixth-largest Adriatic Island, stretching nearly 47km in length. Dense pine forests cover most of the island. The south side has steep cliffs with quiet coves, while the northern shore is flatter and more pebbly. — **Korcula** is the sixth-largest Adriatic Island, stretching nearly 47km in length. Dense pine forests cover most of the island. The south side has steep cliffs with quiet coves, while the northern shore is flatter and more pebbly.

Korcula town is a walled village with marble streets and a mixture of renaissance and gothic architecture. #1. Towers on the wall. #2 Entry gate to the old part of the village. #3 St. Mark's Cathedral.

The terracotta roofs of Korcula Old Town with Orebic in the background.

Our beautiful Croatian felines.

Korcula old town looking back at the entry gate.

We stayed on the south coast near a small village called Prizba. The view was stunning and we enjoyed relaxing down at the bottom of the cliff, listening to the Adriatic Sea lapping on the rocks and watching the sun set.

Hvar is the longest island in the Adriatic Sea. It is mostly lean and then widens at the western end with a total length of 68.2km. Mostly mountainous with a large flat valley called the Stari Grad Plain, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site (more about this later.)

We took the ferry from Drvenik to Sucuraj, the eastern side of Hvar. If you cut Hvar island in half, the eastern side is mostly uninhabited. Their is one main paved road from Sucuraj to Jelsa and it was scary! The road is super narrow, our tiny car hardly fit between the center line and the side drop off. I made Dale drive in the center unless another car was coming in the opposite direction and then we totally stopped and shut our eyes hoping it could get by! You can see the drops on both sides here but try to imagine the mountains we came through, one side was a shear cliff, just the same as above, no guard rail, no cement curb...just super dangerous!

Entering Hvar town, the medieval Fortica looms high above the town. It was constructed around 1278 and further fortified in 1551.

Hvar Town and harbor with the Pakleni Islands in the background.

#1 St. Stephens Cathedral at the end of the town square. #2 The beautiful blue of the crystal clear Adriatic sea. #3 Dale was showing this young boy the beauty of the iphone.

The town of Stari Grad and the Stari Grad Plain behind it.

Stari Grad, on Hvar's north coast, sits at the end of a deep inlet and was founded in 384 BCE by the ancient Greeks.

Stari Grad Plain is a UNESCO world heritage site. According to UNESCO it is a cultural landscape that has remained practically intact since it was first colonized by Ionian Greeks from Paros in the 4th century BC. The original agricultural activity of this fertile plain, mainly centering on grapes and olives, has been maintained since Greek times to the present. The site is also a natural reserve. The landscape features ancient stone walls and trims, or small stone shelters, and bears testimony to the ancient geometrical system of land division used by the ancient Greeks.

This same landscape featuring geometrical land division by ancient stone walls is also present in the mountains around the small village of Velo Grablje but it was established in more recent history.

We visited tiny Vrboska nestled on a small inlet that morphs into a canal. The road went around this building, Dale stopped dead and reversed up and we returned the way we came. I watched two cars zip around this corner, just crazy.

We caught the ferry from Hvar Island to Split. We made our way through Split to Trogir.

Trogir - an old Venetian town located on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo connected by a bridge.

Kamerlengo Castle was built between 1420 and 1437 during the Venetian conquest of Trogir.

#1 St. Lawrence Cathedral. #2 Many yachts. #3 Fortress walls.

Mid Dalmatian coast line with Split in the background against the mountains.

The Croatian flag holds deep symbolism, reflecting the values, history, & spirit of the Croatian people. The red-white-blue tricolour has been used as the Croatian flag since 1848. Croatia was under Hungarian rule in the mid-19th century, but Croatian nationalists attempted to revolt in 1848, at which time they chose a flag to symbolize their cause. The red-white-blue colours of the flag were inspired by the flag of imperial Russia, which was an opponent of Austria-Hungary and hence a potential Croatian ally. In 1990, after years of communist rule, Croatia returned the chessboard to its flag. The checkered shield was known as the official coat of arms of the Croatian army. It is adored by the Croatian people and used prominently in their sports and festivities. Above the coat of arms is a five-shield crown representing the five historical regions of Croatia (L->R) Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, Slavonia.

Krka National Park is located along the middle to lower course of the Krka River in central Dalmatia.

We arrived at the cute little village of Skradin and took a ferry up the Krka river to the Skradinski waterfall.

#1 The restored watermills beside the waterfall are from the 19th century. It was the traditional way of grinding grain into flour. #2 Roman ruins. #3 The park cat.

We visited Plitvice Lakes National Park and what an absolute beautiful piece of nature it is.

Within this heavily forested national park lie 18 crystalline lakes that tumble into each other via a series of waterfalls and cascades.

This national park is the oldest and largest national park in Croatia.

The path was beautifully decorated with springtime blossoms.

It is so peaceful to sit and listen to the rushing and tumbling of the water.

There are 18km of wooden footbridges and boardwalks that snake around the edges and across the rumbling water.

Trout swimming in one of the lower lakes.

The Plitvice lake system is divided into upper and lower sections. We caught a 20 minute ferry ride across the lake that connects the upper lakes with the lower lakes.

Veliki Slap, the tallest waterfall in Croatia (78m)

The mineral-rich waters carve through the rock, depositing tufa in continually changing formations. Plitvice Lakes received international recognition in 1979, by being added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, not for the lakes but for the biodynamic process of the growth of travertine/tufa barriers. Travertine is a type of limestone that is formed by mineral deposits on slightly raised surfaces in the river, under the water's surface and then with further mineral deposits the barriers grow vertically forming lakes and areas of cascading water.

A little history of the area according to Lonely Planet: A preservation society was founded in 1893 to ensure the protection of the lakes, and the first hotel was built in 1896. The boundaries of the NP were set in 1951 and the lakes became a major tourist attraction until the civil war. The civil war actually began in Plitvice on 31 March 1991, when rebel Serbs took control of the park headquarters. Croatian police officer Josip Jovic became the war's first victim when he was killed within the park. The Serbs held the area for the war's duration, turning the hotel into barracks. The Croatian army retook the park in August 1995, and subsequently the park's facilities have been fully restored.

Krk Island

The island of Krk is unique in Croatia for the number and types of wild plants. Around 1400 species of land plants are present on the island. The island cultivates vines, figs and world-famous olives, as well as aromatic herbs; sage, rosemary, wormwood, yarrow, laurel, & brnistra.

We visited Vrbnik, a tiny village perched on a cliff overlooking the Adriatic Sea with a view of mainland Croatia.

This tiny village boasts that it has the narrowest street in the world!

The village is surrounded by vineyards which produce the grapes that are used to make the zlahtina white wine - indigenous to this area.

We moved onto Krk Town.

Krk town is ancient, being among the oldest in the Adriatic Sea. It has been continuously inhabited since ancient times. The city has preserved many medieval fortifications, including Frankopan Castle and part of the city walls built during the five centuries when the Republic of Venice ruled the city.

#1 The bell tower of St Quirinus' Church. #2 The walls and the round tower of the old Frankopan Castle, believed to have been erected in the 13th century. #3 The promenade.

The primary school is within the old historic quarter. I bet these kids don't even give a second thought to playing along side this ancient city wall.

#1 Dale braved the cold water of the Adriatic. #2 Our hotel was set in a beautiful little inlet with crystal clear water. #3 Dale drying off after his skin tingling and toe numbing dip!

We took the ferry from Valbiska, Krk Island to Merag, Cres Island - a 25 minute journey.

Cres town sits on a beautiful sheltered bay surrounded by green hills of pine and Adriatic brush.

The medieval town has a maze of old town streets and pastel-hued terrace houses with some Venetian mansions.

We enjoyed staying here, especially for the long sea-walls that were so pleasant to walk around.

We walked 2km along the sea-wall and was rewarded with this beautiful sunset. This cute dog and his owner were watching the sunset as well.

#1 All things diving was offered here! #2 Does this mean a beach where public displays of affection are allowed one side of the sign and not allowed the other? On further research the closest we could find to "Textil" is textile, so clothing is needed? AI told us "FKK" typically stands for Freikorperkultur, a German term that translates to 'free body culture.' Most of us just know it as a nudist beach!

We traveled down to Losinj Island which originally was part of Cres Island. History tells us that the first known residents of the islands were the Illyrians who inhabited the area since the 7th century B.C.. As skillful seafarers the Illyrians dug an artificial channel at Osor, separating the islands of Cres and Lošinj to provide faster maritime transport in North Adriatic. At a later date a bridge was built across the channel.

Mali Losinj - the largest town on Losinj Island is beautiful. It is set at the top of a long natural harbour and is ringed by colorful gently weathered houses. The town straddles both coasts on the narrowest section of the island.

Veli Losinj, a stunning small village ringed around a tiny harbor. It was the perfect place to sit and ponder while life moves on.

The north of Cres Island is mostly uninhabited. It is mountainous and boasts of ancient giant oak forests and chestnut groves. It is on the high coastal cliffs that the protected griffon vulture nests. In Croatia, the griffon vulture is only found on the Kvarner islands of Cres, Krk, Prvic & Plavnik. The griffon vulture is one of the largest birds in the world with a wing span of 2.8 metres(~9 ft) and a speed up to 120mph. The griffon vulture explores the world for the first 5 years of its life, then returns to the islands to find a mate and build a nest. It spends the rest of its life on the islands. Statistics from 2024 report that the Kvarner region has 152 nesting pairs. Some interesting history, the Tramuntana sheep (Pramenka) are unique to the island. (Tramuntana is a region in the north part of Cres Island). This sheep breed was developed by the Illyrians more than 1000 years ago. A couple of decades ago, there were 100,000 but todays count is close to 15,000. One of the main factors in this decline is the introduction of wild boar (purely for hunting).Boar numbers have grown exponentially and they prey on sheep and lambs. Griffon vultures now don't have enough sheep carrion to survive on, and they have to be fed at feeding sites by volunteers.

Pramenka sheep are very resistant and adaptable; they are free-ranging (skinny legs and long hair, kinda like Mick Jagger)

We took a 20 minute ferry ride from Cres Island to the Istrian Peninsula. The heart-shaped Istrian Peninsula, juts out into the northern Adriatic Sea, and is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy. Istria has a Mediterranean climate which brings hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters. It rained for most of the time we were there and we were amazed at the lush green thick countryside. It is mountainous, hilly & forested with valleys of orchards, vineyards, sheep and cattle. Overall, Istria is best known for its magnificent food and the region is called Croatia’s pantry. Its stars are fresh seafood, prime white truffles, wild asparagus, top-rated olive oils and award winning wines.

Pula, in the southwest; has some of the most impressive Roman ruins outside of Italy.

This is a magnificent 2,000-year-old Roman Amphitheatre. Of the dozens of amphitheaters left around Europe and North Africa by Roman engineers, Pula's is the sixth-largest, and one of the best-preserved anywhere.

#1 The arch of Sergii. #2 Temple of Augustus. #3 Zerostrasse - an underground tunnel system built during WW1 to provide shelter, trenches, ammunition storage and communication passages. The tunnel world stretches almost across the entire town of Pula.

#1 The colours and blooms of spring. #2 Many towns and villages are getting ready for Easter. #3 This shop was called the "Duck Boutique' and the window sign says, "Pluck your Quack." It was an entire shop of little yellow rubber duckies - REALLY!

The countryside we seen was mostly lush and green.

We visited quite a few medieval hilltop towns surrounded by orchards, truffle forests and vineyards.

#1 Main street of Motovun with kindergarteners out in the rain with their bright umbrellas. #2 Church of St. Margaret in Motovun. #3 Continuation of Motovun's main street.

#1 The main street of tiny Hum - this little village is known for Biska - mistletoe brandy (made from the leaves.) #2 The village of Ipsa only had 20 residents. #3 Elongated lemons.

Istria has been in the top olive oil producers in the world for 8 years in a row according to FLOS OLEI 2025. We visited the hamlet of Ipsa to take an olive oil tasting - it was a wonderful experience. The farm's olive oils are one of the most awarded olive oils in Croatia. They have 4 olive oils of which three are single variety and one is a blend. In 2011 & 2017 the Frantoio oil was in the world top 20 olive oils list by FLOS OLEI, receiving 99/100 points. We tasted their 4 olive oils (after learning how to taste correctly); then they brought us a charcuterie plate with all homemade meats, cheeses, pickles, & jams. Once we devoured the food, we took a tour. #1 picture above shows two olive trees - one 150 years old & the other 200 years old. Only Sulphur and copper can be used as insecticides. They hand pick in October and cold press there own olive oil. #3 The olive mill is on two levels, the top level removes the leaves and cleans the olives, while the lower level is dedicated solely to oil production. Even the pit has 10% olive oil in it! The pits are gathered and used in a pellet stove to give heat to their homes all winter. The slurry after the oil is removed is held in a bin for 2 years and then used as fertilizer for the olive trees. The vine wood that is pruned is used for the fire places in their homes, apparently the wood burns much longer than other woods. It was so fun and interesting.

#1 Black truffles. #2 Three truffle shops right beside each other in Motovun. #3 Inside the stores - many different uses for the truffles; jams, pastes, pesto, chocolate, ect.

According to the dictionary a truffle is a strong-smelling underground fungus that resembles an irregular, rough-skinned potato, growing chiefly in broadleaved woodland on calcareous (chalky) soils. The area we visited had black and white truffles; the black are 500 euro/1kg and the white are 6000 euro/1kg (the white is a much sort after delicacy). The black are found ~5cm below the ground while the white are ~25cm below ground. Truffle hunters use dog to find the truffles. I had main courses using black truffle shavings and they were absolutely delicious, makes my mouth water to think about those dishes!

We ventured to the west coast to visit the charming historic medieval town of Rovinj. The old town stands on a headland, with houses tightly crowded down to the seafront. A tangle of cobbled streets leads to the hilltop church of St. Euphemia, whose towering steeple dominates the skyline above.

#1 Charming coloured homes adorn the harbour. #2 The harbour abounds with water craft. #3 The many cobbled streets are steep but interesting.

We traveled through Solvenia to reach Zagred, the capital city of Croatia. We mostly traveled the A2 motorway which connects the Karawanks Tunnel (at the Austrian border) with the capital city Ljubljana, Slovenia and then onto Zagred and other eastern European cities. It is part of the Pan-European Corridor X. We were amazed at how many trucks we seen on this motorway (>200) and so we started to check out the number plates. These are the plates we seen: SLO(Slovenia), HR(Croatia), A(Austria), BG(Bulgaria), H(Hungary), RO(Romania), SK(Slovakia), BIH(Bosnia & Herzegovina), SRB(Serbia), and PL(Poland).

Zagred - we loved this city but were disappointed with how much restoration was going on, so many buildings were closed. We asked about the restoration and found out it is ongoing from the damage done from the 2020 Zagred earthquake of magnitude 5.5. It caused substantial damage in the historical city center with more than 1,900 buildings reported to have been damaged to the point of becoming uninhabitable. The other things that is unattractive, is the graffiti on city walls and buildings. But, overall, this city has some grandiose buildings which look even better with the numerous flower beds scattered around full of bright blooms to enjoy.

Zagred has many large well maintained homes flanking the many green belt in the city center.

The Croatian Academy of Sciences & Arts.

#1 Central Ban Jelačić Square, great shopping up and down Ilica street. #2 At the turn of the 20th century, Tkalčićeva Street was the red light district, with every other building a bordello. The street's brothels continued to operate until WW2. Today, it is lined with bustling restaurants and the go-to place for savoring Croatian crusine. #3 Part of the old historic town wall.

Hrvatske Zeljeznice - Corporate offices of the Croatian Railways.

The mural artwork was impressive - Gulliver Mural.

#1 Medika Diving Mural. #2 Technicolour Dream Mural. #3 Fakin Mural.

Gric Tunnel is a pedestrian tunnel located in the city centre under the historic neighbourhood of Gric. It was built during World War II by the Ustaše government to serve as a bomb shelter. The tunnel saw renewed use only in the 1990s, hosting one of the first raves in Croatia, and functioning as a shelter during the Croatian War of Independence. In 2016, the tunnel was remodeled and opened to the public.