Croatia

Croatia

I spent a week here in the summer of 2009, along with a week in Italy.  We took a ferry from Venice to Rovinj in Istria and rented a car and drove down the coast to the islands.  This was an aggressive trip and we had to skip Dubrovnik in order to get it all in.  We absolutely loved Hvar Island and could have spent the entire week down on the Dalmatian Coast.  Hvar is the new St. Tropez with lots of glamourous people which makes it fun people watching destination but you can also do it more remote and just avoid Hvar Town.

Top 5 Days

1. Beach Stipanska – Head over on a 10 minute water taxi to this tiny island with a beach club, Carpe Diem.  The beach bar also has wonderful, fresh food, beach lounge chairs and a great swimming spot.  The bar is done in a sexy Moroccan style and the party starts at 10 pm and we heard goes til 4 am.  Of course, we missed that.
2. Plitvicka Lakes – Plitvice is Croatia’s best known wonder with 16 crystal=clear aqua lakes and countless waterfalls.  You can see the majority of it on a 3 hour hike.  You definitely won’t be alone, as this is quite a tourist destination. You don’t need to overnight here – we stayed at the Hotel Jezero and really didn’t like it. 
3. Explore the Roman Ruins – Everywhere you turn there are lovely hilltop towns and Roman ruins.  Driving through Istria reminds me of driving through Italy with the medieval castles, rolling hills and wine vineyards.
4. Learn history from the locals – Even young adults have experienced one the worst wars and ethnic cleansing.  Try to spend time at the local restaurants and learn from the locals.  They are a wonderful, giving community that have seen so much in their lifetime.
5. Get on the water – Hvar claims over 2,700 hours of sun fall per year so get out and enjoy it.  Rent a boat or kayak for the day or just hop in a water taxi or ferry between islands.  There are cute cobblestone paths connecting towns in Hvar that would be fun on a bike or motor scooter.

Top 5 High Style, Low Maintenance Hotels

1. Villa Angelo D’Oro in Rovinj – This quaint, Bavarian style hotel was smack in the middle of the darling seaside town of Roninj.   You can’t even drive to the hotel, which is on a cute little cobblestone street.   It is filled with lovely Croatian antiques with views to the sea.
2. Riva Hotel – The window to our room opened right on the water where all the yachts dock for the day.  This is modern and ultra chic and we loved the location.  It is part of a collection of 8 hotels, a spa and beach clubs in Hvar and your have an evil little card that gives you passes and pays for them all.   Even though our room is a tiny shoebox, we loved it.
3. Hotel Podestine – If you want to go to Hvar Town but want to be a stone’s throw away from the high-action nightlife, then this is your spot.  It is set amongst palm and citrus trees and is a 20 minutes walk or quick water taxi from the riva.
4. Rent an Apartment – This is one of the most popular things to do and with restaurants, boats and services outside your doorstep, you don’t need all the services of a hotel.  Our friend Mark has cute places in Split and Hvar.  He is a Brit, so you’ll have no problem with a language barrier.  Check out www.hvarandsplt.com.  Tell him Cricket sent you.
5. Grand Villa Argentina – We were going to stay here in Dubrovnik, but stayed in Hvar Town instead.  It looks lovely and is right on the water.

Top Foodie Finds

1. Gostionica Santa Croce in Rovinj – Istrian food reminds me of a mix of Italian and German.  We had superb lamb pasta and grilled squid.  
2. Palaca Paladini on Hvar – This was one of our favorite restaurants of the entire trip with slowed cooked Croatian coastal food.  We had delicious smoked fish carpaccio, scallops and seafood pasta in a delightful garden setting filled with jasmine and orange trees.
3. Lamb or Sqid Peka – Wow, you have to experience this dish.  We were lucky enough to have Mark’s (friend of Andy) neighbors host this at their house on Hvar.  A peka is a metal, ball-shaped lid the covers the main meat an veggies while cooking on a hot ceramic slab.  The lid is also covered in hot ash so it cooks from the top.  You can order these one day in advance at traditional restaurants.
4. Alviz – A local hangout in Hvar with traditional fish soups and seafood pastas.  We went with a large group and the Croatian wine was flowing.
5. Fresh seafood – On the coast, you can’t go wrong with fresh squid, scallops or fish.  Even the small, local, inexpensive places carry quality seafood. 

Top Tips

1. Sailboat or Yacht – This is the way to see the coast.  You can hit 167 little island and stop off at the great cites for fancy dinners and nightlife.   This is not expensive to do at all if you have a group of friends.
2. Go in shoulder season – Late June or September are the ideal times to go.  Winters are dead and July and August we heard are jam packed. 
3. Kunas – Croatia is still not on the Euro so your dollars will go further.  I think the days of this being dirt cheap for Americans has passed, and we found the prices to be slightly lower than the US.
4. Take 2 weeks to do the whole country – We tried to shove too much into one week.  Or hit one week for the southern coast.  There is so much I still want to do after a week there!  I really wanted to head to Mostar in Bosnia for the day from Dubrovnik, but just didn’t have the time.
5. Rent a car only in one country – You’ll pay crazy costs to drop in Slovenia or Italy.  We rented with Hertz and they even brought the car to our Rovinj hotel.

Top Misses

1. SCUBA Diving – Although it was nice to get out on the water, there was very little underwater life and really basic reefs.  We did this through Beach Divers on Stipanska beach and liked the operation.
2. Skip the car in Hvar – We kept our car and headed over on a car ferry and never used it once.  It limited our ferry times and cost extra to transport.
3. Limit the Ferry Use – There are great ferries between Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik , between Venice and the Istrian coast and between Central Italy and Split.  But many are slow and don’t leave that frequently, so you definitely need to plan ahead.
4. Split – With limited time, I would focus on Hvar, Dubrovnik or the smaller islands.  This is great port as a launching pad for the other local sites.
5. Rick Steves’ Book – I went back to my trusty Frommer’s on this trip, as I found his book to be geared toward an older crowd with church recommendations and no outdoor adventures.

Comments

[Chris Keating]

That waterfall picture from Croatia is sick. Wow.