Croatia.. recommendations

S1403

Hi there,
Myself and my boyfriend are looking to go to Croatia and maybe travel around the country a bit. We have about 2 weeks and will book for maybe September. I've heard the Bac islands, Dubrovnik and Plitvice lakes are must-sees, flights seem to be easiest from Dublin to split/Zagreb - is it worth flying into Zagreb, stay 1 night, rent a car to get to the lakes then keep going to Split? A few days on the islands then and finish off in Dubrovnik.

Or does anyone recommend other 'must-see' places or flying in somewhere else? Really like some activists, nice beaches and nice restaurants with a bit of life around in the evening.. we're in our late 20s.
Thanks in advance.. really appreciate any advice!

green n gold

Hi S1043, Spent 2 very enjoyable weeks in Croatia recently. Flew into Zadar, about an hour north of Split. Hired a car for the full duration and stayed in a number of destinations for a few nights each. Done the entire length of the coast, heading north first and then southwards.
Had planned for Zagreb, but on chatting to others over there (nice, but just another city etc) skipped it. Starting in the northwest, the coastline is beautiful, more like Italy up there with regards, food, buildings etc. Food is brilliant all over the country btw, never had even an average meal, always very good standard even in cheaper establishments.
Moving down and inland - Plitvice National Park was a highlight, shaded woodland walks and boat trip through a maze of glorious lakes and waterfalls (allow 5 hours or so for there, but do not miss ).
Zadar is a lovely town, not near as touristy as Dubrovnik, all the coastal towns seem to have an "old town" , the old towns are generally well worth a ramble, stroll down to the end of old town Zadar and see the "sea organ " and the "greeting to the sun " the latter at night is cool.
Down a little Krka national park is well worth a visit (4 - 5 hours there), only a few waterfalls there compared to Pitivice but more spectacular.

green n gold

Part 2 messed up on reply somehow. Southwards, Split is a nice city, the old town is a unique kinda mix of ancient buildings amongst modern shops and businesses . Have to confess we just did the touristy day boat trip to the islands of Brac and Hvar, was a lovely day though and what we seen of both was very beautiful (wear sun block on them boat cruises btw, lol ).
We done a day in Bosnia, i always wanted to see the bridge in Mostar where east meets west, well worth doing, there are constant reminders of the war there, but was a much more upbeat and cheery place than guide books etc had led us to believe. Came back by Medjugorje, neither of us are religious anyway but it was a disappointment, think tacky stalls selling all sorts of goods in front of an average looking church. Petrol/Diesel btw is about 25% cheaper in Bosnia compared to Croatia (Croatian fuel nearly the same as here ).
South to Dubrovnik - Old town walled area that all the pics you have seen is very nice indeed, ramble around the town area, if doing the city walls walk do so in early morning (less hot and a lot less crowds). Cable car trip up over the city is worth doing, awesome views. In comparison to the rest of the country, Dubrovnik is expensive. Definitly go see Dubrovnik, but a couple of days is plenty.
Done a day drive into Montenegro- Bay of Kotor and a few towns, beautiful scenery , ocean, mountains.
Feel free to ask any questions, i've only touched the tip of our trip, but it was one of our most enjoyable holidays.

amber2

Apologies for hijacking thanks green n gold for all the info going to Zadar in next few weeks, was going to do the national parks, is renting a car advisable & did you find Croatia expensive overall, eating out, car rental etc. Thanks again.

green n gold

amber2 wrote: »

Apologies for hijacking thanks green n gold for all the info going to Zadar in next few weeks, was going to do the national parks, is renting a car advisable & did you find Croatia expensive overall, eating out, car rental etc. Thanks again.

Hi amber2, I'd definitely recommend the national parks, Pitivice was a major highlight and Krka was well worth it too. Zadar is a nice coastal town, not over big and pleasant strolling in beautiful weather. It's a good central location for exploring from.
Car hire was about 160 euros for 2 weeks for the likes of a Ford focus/Astra type size (prebooked this). Petrol prices were just slightly lower than here. There is a decent enough bus service (trains extremely limited with few routes). Personally we thought the car was a must and gave great freedom.
Eating out was a joy, surprisingly excellent food all over. A very good 3 course meal, without drinks for 2 approx 45 - 50 euro total, but many cheaper options with good food too. As a rough guide I'd say Croatia is about 25 % cheaper than here, as said Dubrovnik I found much more expensive. You'll find it hard to resist the ice cream gelato cones for about 1 euro a go
Like anywhere the real centre of attractions have certain prices but around the corner can be cheaper. Overall I was happy with value there.
Anything more, I'm happy to help or advise as best I can. You'll have a great holiday there.
Oh btw, beaches over there are not sandy like here but small pebbles.

amber2

Thank you so much for all the info, car hire sounds the way to go for that price, what hire company did you use & were they ok to deal with?

green n gold

amber2 wrote: »

Thank you so much for all the info, car hire sounds the way to go for that price, what hire company did you use & were they ok to deal with?

Used Europacar, have used them a few times, never any hassle and competitively priced. Like all car hire companies prebook and arrange any insurance then. Zadar is a small airport, hassle free, the car hires are across from the entrance as you leave the little terminal in a row of little kiosks, hire cars right behind them. A sat nav is invaluable, we brought out own but the hire car had one in it. Be aware though that Croatia is a payable download through the update website for sat navs, it's not included in western Europe. Dowland to our own sat nav was about 30 euros or might be worth checking if a hire car has sat nav included.
Ask away btw, I'm happy to help if I can.

green n gold

green n gold wrote: »

Used Europacar, have used them a few times, never any hassle and competitively priced. Like all car hire companies prebook and arrange any insurance then. Zadar is a small airport, hassle free, the car hires are across from the entrance as you leave the little terminal in a row of little kiosks, hire cars right behind them. A sat nav is invaluable, we brought out own but the hire car had one in it. Be aware though that Croatia is a payable download through the update website for sat navs, it's not included in western Europe. Dowland to our own sat nav was about 30 euros or might be worth checking if a hire car has sat nav included.
Ask away btw, I'm happy to help if I can.

Rechecked back there now, car hire late may for 2 weeks was 17 euro a day, not quiet as cheap as I said earlier ☺

amber2

green n gold wrote: »

Rechecked back there now, car hire late may for 2 weeks was 17 euro a day, not quiet as cheap as I said earlier ☺

Going In August will check out hire car, thank you for taking the time to reply I appreciate it.

green n gold

amber2 wrote: »

Going In August will check out hire car, thank you for taking the time to reply I appreciate it.

No problem, August will definitely be a bit more costly, peak season. Seemingly the cities over there go very quiet in August with most heading for the coast, don't forget the sun block

S1403

green n gold wrote: »

Hi amber2, I'd definitely recommend the national parks, Pitivice was a major highlight and Krka was well worth it too. Zadar is a nice coastal town, not over big and pleasant strolling in beautiful weather. It's a good central location for exploring from.
Car hire was about 160 euros for 2 weeks for the likes of a Ford focus/Astra type size (prebooked this). Petrol prices were just slightly lower than here. There is a decent enough bus service (trains extremely limited with few routes). Personally we thought the car was a must and gave great freedom.
Eating out was a joy, surprisingly excellent food all over. A very good 3 course meal, without drinks for 2 approx 45 - 50 euro total, but many cheaper options with good food too. As a rough guide I'd say Croatia is about 25 % cheaper than here, as said Dubrovnik I found much more expensive. You'll find it hard to resist the ice cream gelato cones for about 1 euro a go
Like anywhere the real centre of attractions have certain prices but around the corner can be cheaper. Overall I was happy with value there.
Anything more, I'm happy to help or advise as best I can. You'll have a great holiday there.
Oh btw, beaches over there are not sandy like here but small pebbles.

Thanks so much for all the tips and the detailed reply. I've decided to fly into Split instead and drive up to the lakes for a day, spend a few nights on the islands and then onto Dubrovnik.. I just have to decide which island to stay on now because it would be nice to settle for 4 nights with! ..if you've any thoughts?

green n gold

No bother at all, happy if any of it was helpful. I'm afraid i cant help much on island selection, only overnighted on one island, Krk which is up in the northwest. It was nice but i suspect there are others more appealing further south where your headed. Hvar is supposed to be the liveliest island for nightlife etc. We just done a day trip by boat to Hvar and Brac islands, it was a lovely trip, but we really only got a taste of them, but what we seen was very nice.
Hopefully a boardsie who has stayed on one of the islands may be able to offer some info. Youtube has lots of videos/holiday type blog stuff which can be helpful sometimes.
Anyway , hope you enjoy it out there and feel free to ask anything that i might be more help with, probably should of explored islands more tbh (next time, hopefully)

S1403

green n gold wrote: »

No bother at all, happy if any of it was helpful. I'm afraid i cant help much on island selection, only overnighted on one island, Krk which is up in the northwest. It was nice but i suspect there are others more appealing further south where your headed. Hvar is supposed to be the liveliest island for nightlife etc. We just done a day trip by boat to Hvar and Brac islands, it was a lovely trip, but we really only got a taste of them, but what we seen was very nice.
Hopefully a boardsie who has stayed on one of the islands may be able to offer some info. Youtube has lots of videos/holiday type blog stuff which can be helpful sometimes.
Anyway , hope you enjoy it out there and feel free to ask anything that i might be more help with, probably should of explored islands more tbh (next time, hopefully)

No problem you've been very helpful, thanks for all the info. I'm thinking doing Hvar and Korcula:)

Mandser

Hi, sorry to be resurrecting this thread after a few months! just wondering if you could give an advise on the islands you visited, where you would/wouldnt recommend?  Myself and Himself are thinking of booking for September.  Regarding car hire, all look to charge a sizeable deposit on credit card, did you encounter this if you hired a car?  Have rented cars in the States before and didnt have a holding deposit applied so trying to avoid it

green n gold

Hey Mandser, not much help to you really about the islands as i said on here a while ago. Used Europacar for our hire and even though it was only last May we both cant remember any big deposit kept on the card on hire, suggesting there wasnt one with them because two years ago went to italy and still remember having the car hire holding 3k on the card which we found was pretty standard in Italy. Have a look at Europacar to see what their conditions are but definitely was not much if anything for Croatia.

S1403

Mandser wrote: »

Hi, sorry to be resurrecting this thread after a few months! just wondering if you could give an advise on the islands you visited, where you would/wouldnt recommend?  Myself and Himself are thinking of booking for September.  Regarding car hire, all look to charge a sizeable deposit on credit card, did you encounter this if you hired a car?  Have rented cars in the States before and didnt have a holding deposit applied so trying to avoid it

Hi there,
No problem, we had a great time in Croatia. It is quite expensive and overall we did find the food poor to average quality especially for what you're paying but the country is absolutely picture perfect. It's beautiful.

We hired a car with Fleet car hire in Split - STAY AWAY from them. It really put our holiday off to a bad start. We treated ourselves to a Mercedes or similar but got offered a car that was in a lower class than that. The car was absolutely filthy so we asked for another. The second one seemed a bit better but when we agreed to take it and sat in I found the dashboard sticky and on closer inspection it wasn't clean either. We had to pay for the full amount and got no satisfaction through vehical rent who we booked through. So don't go near them!

After split we got rid of the filthy car and tried to put that behind us. We went to korcula for the night and stayed in a beautiful hotel Aiminess Lumes hotel about 40mins outside. I wish we stayed there longer it was so beautiful and had our own private beach. Wouldn't eat there though. Didn't see much of korcula but wouldn't need long there. A day trip would be plenty.

Hvar was gorgeous. Loads to do and very picturesque. Finishing in dubrovink we spent 3 nights there and that was plenty. It rained unfortunately but still got to see the main attractions like the walls.

Overall lovely holiday, enjoy!

green n gold

Hi S1403, good to see ya posting about your trip, i always appreciate feedback from those who have been to the place we're talking about. Personally, i found the food very pleasing but we all differ. Did ye make it to the Pitivice National park after ? Aside from Dubrovnik i thought overall Croatia wasn't that expensive, as you say Dubrovnik is nice but wouldn't waste a lot of a holiday there, a couple of days is plenty there. , We were very lucky with the weather, over 16 nights we saw rain once and we were travelling in the car during that.
Having given our 20's holidaying in the usual Spain/Portugal places , the last few holidays in eastern Europe have been thoroughly enjoyable and just trying to select a spot for this may in that region.

Fitz*

+1 for Zadar.

Lovely old town, relaxing. The Sea Organ & surrounding area at sunset time are some of the best things I've seen. In terms of partying, while there are some bars it is not exactly 'mad craic' there! Good for a couple, but lads group I would not recommend.