You’ll probably recognise bits of Croatia from parts of Game of Throne’s Kings Landing, but if you haven’t seen the HBO hit, you’ll probably recognise it nonetheless from its stunning coastlines and unreal waterfalls. I’ve visited three times now, and I still have a million reasons to go back. Luckily, of all the European countries to fall in love with, Croatia is one of the most affordable for history-loving student travellers. It’s also incredibly easy to get around. As a perk, Croatia is one of the few European countries that is currently letting Americans and select non-European visitors to holiday in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you’re planning a holiday here, you’ll want to spend about one to two weeks to hit the major sites in Croatia, and longer if you want to head to some more obscure sites. You can visit at pretty much any time of the year. When I visited in March 2018, the mountains and Dubrovnik were covered in snow. In June 2014 and May 2017, I had pleasantly warm days perfect for exploring cities with ice cream in hand and swimming in the Adriatic. Both trips were equally worthwhile and packed with things to do.
It’s important to note that North and South Croatia are quite different. The north has more of a Hapsburg Empire feel and the south is more Roman. Geographically, the coast north of Omiš is quite rocky and dry versus the south which is quite green comparatively.
Itinerary
I’ve added the itineraries from the most recent two trips I made to Croatia. One is a one-week holiday starting in Dubrovnik and ending in Zadar. The second is a longer two-week holiday where we drove from Budapest to begin our adventures in Opatija and ended in Dubrovnik (and drove back up to Budapest at night passing through Zagreb on the way).
Highlights
Depending on your appetite, there are different types of places you can stop at along the way. There are the world famous waterfalls at Plitvice and the stunning falls you can swim in at Krka. Pula, Split and Trogir are historically quite fascinating for their Roman ruins. Dubrovnik made an international name for itself through Star Wars and Game of Thrones, but is famous in its own right for its historic walled Old Town. Some of the best beaches are hidden on the islands off the coast like Murvica on the island of Brač and on mainland like Punta Rata in the village of Brela by Makarska. Abandoned building seekers will find sites scattered throughout the country, one of my favourite is the villa in Trsteno.
Below are some of the places and highlights along the way that you might want to include in your road trip.
ZADAR
I wouldn’t recommend more than a day here. It’s pretty underwhelming, though they do have a nice sea organ. The town also has the nicest sunsets in the world, according to Alfred Hitchcock. The old town is pedestrians only and accessed via a bridge.
However, I would use this Zadar as a based for day hikes through the National Park Paklenica. One particularly enjoyable hike is via the big canyon (Velika Paklenica) to Manita Pec. This is a cave approx. 1.5 hours max one way. You can visit the cave and can buy tickets at the cave, just double check when it closes since it is only open limited hours. You could keep following the trail along the river and get to Paklenica Hut and then take a trail from there back to the parking lot via the mountains. It’s nice, not too crowded and has great views. The river has a few swimming spots as well. If you’ve seen or heard of Winnetou (a German movie about the Wild West) you’ll doubly love the park since a lot of scenes were filmed here.
From Zadar, you can visit numerous islands either by ferry or by car, such as the island of Pag. The islands aren’t the tropical Caribbean types you might expect, but rather quite rocky. Several have reputations for being party islands.
FROM ZADAR TO SPLIT
2 hour drive from Zadar: You should definitely take a half-day stop at Krka National Park – these are some terrific waterfalls you walk around and through via a wooden walk way before getting to the bottom of the falls. At the bottom of the falls you can go swimming.
The city Sibenik is nearby and worth a visit as well since the medieval city is still intact. You can get lost exploring the old city and going through narrow passageways and stairwells.
The small city of Trogir is up next – it’s a lot like Zadar and Sibenik except it still has a bit of visible ancient Roman buildings.
SPLIT
I would recommend at 2-3 days here since it’s a good place to visit other places from. You could easily see historic Split in a morning, go to the beach in the afternoon, and do an excursion the second day. The city itself is really beautiful. I recommend staying near the historic centre, but make sure you double check your accommodation has parking – the streets are very narrow and tight and often can’t fit cars. A good place to stay is in Varos, or immediately to the west or east of the historic centre. That way you can access everything by foot and the areas are nice to walk through.
Park Suma Marjan is a hill worth walking up to Vrh Marjana – Telegrin. It’s also fantastic for jogging. Around this hill area, if you want to go for a swim, head out to Beach Bene. It’s a rocky beach surrounded by pines, but much quieter than the other beaches near the harbour. There are bathrooms and changing rooms. Plus the walk there is really beautiful. Just watch out for the sea urchins.
There’s a fresh food market at Zelena tržnica, near the waterfront at the east side of the old city – great if you like fruits, veggies and figs. If you want ice cream (or cake), I highly recommend Luka Ice Cream & Cakes.
Walk through the city streets as much as you can – there are new places you’ll keep discovering – medieval, Roman, and modern. You should go up the Saint Domnius Bell Tower, if you aren’t afraid of heights. Be warned – it’s got a hollowed out middle and you ascend wooden steps that circle around a steep drop.
From Split you can easily visit the islands. If you do want to go, I would spend a night on one of the islands because the ferry schedules are infrequent. I’ve heard good things about Vis and Hvar, but never been personally. Otherwise, if you really want to go to an island a very nice once seems to be Mljet, which you get to via ferry from Ston (on your way to Dubrovnik). Overall, my reason for not visiting the islands was time and the fact that the islands were quite similar to the mainland.
If you are a mountain junkie, then you should check out the Veliki Kabal, a 1339m summit with excellent views of the Adriatic. The hikes are quite manageable around here because of the high altitude of the parking lot. When we visited in March, we had quite a bit of snow.
FROM SPLIT TO DUBROVNIK
It’s a 3 hour drive from Split if using the toll road. Otherwise 4 hours along the Route 8, a far more scenic and tight coastal road (the old highway). There are several neat abandoned sites from Soviet days here, some hotels and a children’s hospital. I managed to get into Krvavica, a 1963 children’s health resort. If you want to go, drive to Krvavica, park near the boat area and walk south along the beach a little bit. You won’t miss it. For more ideas of abandoned beautiful sites to visit, check them out here.
You can also drive to Mostar, Bosnia in between travelling from Split to Dubrovnik. I don’t recommend going off the highway though because of the unexploded land mines everywhere, so double check Google Maps to make sure the roads are legit. We ended up somehow missing the immigration control out of Croatia and into Bosnia, and drove on some very tight dirt roads through the mountains and passed haunting abandoned towns and graves from the Yugoslav War. You won’t need long to amble through the old town and to take photos by Stari Most (the Old Bridge). Near the border of Croatia, make sure to pass by Kravice Waterfall, which is a stunning series of waterfalls that you can actually swim in. It wasn’t at all crowded when we visited.
DUBROVNIK + TRSTENO
I would spend at least 3-4 days here – one day to tour the city and a couple of days to enjoy the surrounds. I highly recommend staying in Trsteno. It’s a short drive from Dubrovnik which you can easily visit in a day. Just head there early to find free or cheap parking on the city outskirts (around Lapad there is some) and walk into the city. (Parking in the city is a pain, even if you find an AirBnB – almost everything is zoned for residents…).
It’s gimmicky, but I really to recommend doing the city walls walk (approx 1 hr) – it gives you an amazing view of the city. The city itself you can easily explore by foot within a few hours. It’s also worth viewing the city from Fort Lovrijenac, nearby. (You don’t need to go in).
Now onto the real gem – Trsteno. This is an oasis of calm and absolute beauty. I cannot recommend any place more highly. It’s simply amazing. Near the water there’s a really cool abandoned villa you can explore. If you decide to go upstairs, be careful not to walk in the middle of the rooms where the floors are caving in. Otherwise it is quite safe to go all the way up into the tower. There was a creepy rabid black cat the last time I was there, so if you see him walk away – he’s vicious. There’s an Arboretum in Trsteno you can get into for free if you stay in the town (since to access the village you would walk through it). This is really nice to explore and find all the cool nooks and crannies. (Fun fact: was a Game of Thrones film location no one knows about).
From here you could do a day trip to Kotor, Montenegro. Be warned the roads are narrow and slow-going – it will take longer than Google Maps says. The town is quite cute and you can do a hike up the mountainside for a panoramic view of the city below. If you have the time to spend a night, there are a lot of beautiful mountain hikes in the area.
Getting Around
The first time I visited Croatia, I used long-distance buses to get from Vienna, Austria to Split, Croatia. From there, I just walked everywhere. You can easily access all of the cities by bus. But if you want to go off the track and avoid paying for expensive tours to visit the waterfalls, I would rent a car.
On the last two occasions I rented a car – once in Hungary and once in Croatia. The car rentals are extremely cheap, especially if you have credit cards that cover car rental insurance. None of the car rental companies tried any funny business and there weren’t any issues on returning the car. Parking can be a struggle in the old towns of the cities, but I didn’t find it to be a hassle to park on the outskirts of the city and walk in.
Recommended Apps
Get Ulmon City Guides (download Croatia and the individual cities – might have to $$ a little, but it’s the one of the best offline map apps I’ve used) and Maps.Me app.
