Croatia: The Dalmatian Coast

We've been wanting to travel to Croatia for a while now, and this summer we finally got the chance to do it.  All the photographs we'd seen looked stunning, and in person the scenery was even more beautiful.

Croatia is getting pretty popular with tour groups and cruise ships these days, so it was quite busy in the places we visited, and not so cheap like the Czech Republic.  We arrived by plane, a short trip from Prague, to Dubrovnik - the country's #1 tourist destination, and for good reason... Dubrovnik was gorgeous and ended up being our favourite place on the trip, and one of the coolest cities I've ever been to.

Dubrovnik - inside the walled city

Dubrovnik isn't a large city, with a population of less than 43,000 people, but so many tourists flock to it because it is simply AMAZING.  You need to go there to experience it, but in a nutshell it's a preserved medieval walled city on the Adriatic coast, part of the beautiful Dalmatia region in southern Croatia.  There are nearly 2 km of walls that surround Dubrovnik, and if you pay the entrance fee (worth it) you can walk around the city walls, overlooking the old town.  The views are absolutely awesome and this was probably my favourite thing that I did in Croatia.

View from on top of the city walls

Checking out the city walls!

The rooftops of Dubrovnik!

Another cool place in Dubrovnik that we visited was Banje Beach.  It is located right next to the walled city, and is the city's most popular beach.  Part of it is privately owned by a beach club, but the other half you can use for free.  Just plop your towel down on the rocks and jump in that refreshingly cool water!  Mostly all the beaches we visited in Croatia were rocks, not sand, so wearing water shoes might be a good idea.

Banje Beach

We found the food in Dubrovnik to be quite expensive.  The local specialties were mostly seafood (which I don't enjoy), but the one thing that was a great deal was gelato.  We could get huge scoops of it for a cheap price.  Just thinking about that gelato makes me hungry!  To save some money and calories on food, we made some meals ourselves, as we were staying in an apartment that had a full kitchen.  Our apartment had a balcony overlooking the city which was a great place to sit, relax, and enjoy the view.

View from our apartment balcony

From Dubrovnik we made our way by bus to Split.  Since the country is actually split into two parts, the highway to Split requires you to carry a passport as you leave Croatia, enter Bosnia and Herzegovina, leave Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then enter Croatia again.  We made a pit stop at Neum, part of Herzegovina.  I think it would be an interesting place to spend more time in some day, and it probably isn't too expensive as it hasn't been ridden with too many tourists yet... hmmm, future trip?

Split is the second largest city in Croatia.  It was also on the Adriatic coast, and also very beautiful.  Unlike Dubrovnik, it wasn't totally surrounded by walls, but did contain the remnants of the Roman Emperor Diocletian's former palace.  Split also has a wide promenade called the Riva, which is lined by palm trees, cafes, and shops.  If you want to shop, Split is the place to do it!  There are lots of street vendors, boutiques, and high end shops everywhere.

Ruins of Diocletian's Palace

The Riva

In Split, we climbed the steep stairs of the clock tower in Diocletian's Palace to have a great view of the city.  Views like this make the climb worth it every time! 

View of Split from the clock tower

During our trip, the weather on the coast of Croatia was sunny and hot.  This called for some island hopping.  We took a catamaran for a short ride to the island of Hvar.  We stayed at a lovely apartment on the hill overlooking Hvar Town.  The town was small but bustling, with a busy marina in front lined with some pretty impressive yachts.  Hvar had several beaches worth checking out, but we heard the best ones were on the small Pakleni islands just off the coast of Hvar.  We bought a boat ticket and made our way to Jerolim and Stipanska.  There were a lot of nudists at Jerolim which was kind of weird, but lots were swimming in bathing suits too.  There was wild rosemary, lavender, and other flowers growing all over the island, and once we got away from the main beaches it seemed like no one else was there!  At Stipanska we visited the famous Carpe Diem Beach Club and had lunch there.  Apparently they have parties there that go all night but we weren't crazy enough to check it out!

Hvar Town

Jerolim Island

Island hopping!

The best part of our trip to Hvar, and one of my other favourite places of Croatia was visiting THE BEACH.  Dubovica.  To get there from Hvar Town, we had to take a bus to the other side of the island, get off on the side of the road where a small sign marked the beach, and then walk 10 minutes down a steep dirt path.  The hassle was worth it because Dubovica was gorgeous!  It wasn't as crowded as the other beaches we visited, and the water was so clear and calm.  We spent all day there relaxing.  I hope it won't become as crowded as the other beaches, but I don't think this hidden gem is really that hidden anymore.  It's ranked as the #1 place on Hvar TripAdvisor, but luckily its out of the way location seems to be deterring people from going there.

The path down to Dubovica Beach

Dubovica

Love this place!

I can definitely see why Croatia has become a hot tourist destination.  I'm just happy that we finally made it there and got to see it at its best - in the warmth of the summer sun!