A week’s holiday in Croatia… wow, I don’t actually know how to put it into words! But I’m going to try my best. We’re very grateful to have been able to go on a summer holiday this year. One of the main reasons why we moved to London was to take advantage of having all these amazing countries at our doorstep. Croatia has been on our list for a long time and when it remained on the green travel list, we decided we’d jump at the opportunity!
There are a few things I wish I had known beforehand, so as well as sharing some of my favourite things we did, I thought I’d share a few useful holiday tips too!
Stay in a few different places
Before we left, we weren’t actually sure whether or not visiting a few places within Croatia was the best idea or if we should just spend the entire week in Dubrovnik. It didn’t help that we were getting so many mixed opinions on Split and why we should go there or why we should rather stay away. In the end we decided that because we were there, we may as well see as much as possible. I’m so glad we did this instead of remaining in Dubrovnik only.
While Dubrovnik is gorgeous (I will 100% return), it’s also fairly easy to see a lot of it in a few days. So after 3 days here, we took the ferry to Split and were there for another 3 days,
I definitely preferred Dubrovnik to Split. The old town in Split is also really beautiful and I’m happy I saw it, but I wouldn’t say you absolutely have to go there.
We ended up visiting a different island each day. Taking the ferry from Split, we spent one day on Brač island and another on Hvar. Both islands were absolutely incredible and I would absolutely recommend a visit to them! You don’t need to stay in Split to be able to take a ferry to the islands though and I actually think when we do visit Croatia again in the future, we’d like to spend on few nights on each island.
In my opinion, it’s worth dividing up your time between a few different places but I wouldn’t say it’s completely necessary to visit Split. The next islands on our list are Korčula and Vis!
Rent a scooter or quad bike on the islands
We learnt the hard way that public transport on the island isn’t as good as in Dubrovnik (the busses were so good there btw!). So, to save yourself some stress and a LOOOT of walking, just rent a bike for the day on each island.
The thing is, you want to be able to see as much of the island as possible (especially if you’re doing day trips like us) and when you’ve got a lot of ground to cover, many beaches to see and lots of space in between them all, walking is not the greatest option.
As we arrived on Brač island I found us a beautiful beach on Google maps that said it was a 25 minute walk (I enjoy walking and it’s always nice to walk on holiday too) but little did I know that the route was taking us on a main road with NO SIDEWALKS. I’m not exaggerating when I say we were slipping off the side of the road into bushes and sand, trying to remain as far as possible from passing cars (and people speed here). It really wasn’t a pleasant experience. The annoying thing though was that it didn’t seem like there was an easier walking route to this beach – most people had cars. This meant we had to do the walk back too! But it’s a memory and we survived to tell the tale.
Take a good pair of walking shoes
I knew we’d be walking in Croatia (as I’ve just mentioned)
A week’s holiday in Croatia… wow, I don’t actually know how to put it into words! But I’m going to try my best. We’re very grateful to have been able to go on a summer holiday this year. One of the main reasons why we moved to London was to take advantage of having all these amazing countries at our doorstep. Croatia has been on our list for a long time and when it remained on the green travel list, we decided we’d jump at the opportunity!
There are a few things I wish I had known beforehand, so as well as sharing some of my favourite things we did, I thought I’d share a few useful holiday tips too!
Stay in a few different places
Before we left, we weren’t actually sure whether or not visiting a few places within Croatia was the best idea or if we should just spend the entire week in Dubrovnik. It didn’t help that we were getting so many mixed opinions on Split and why we should go there or why we should rather stay away. In the end we decided that because we were there, we may as well see as much as possible. I’m so glad we did this instead of remaining in Dubrovnik only.
While Dubrovnik is gorgeous (I will 100% return), it’s also fairly easy to see a lot of it in a few days. So after 3 days here, we took the ferry to Split and were there for another 3 days,
I definitely preferred Dubrovnik to Split. The old town in Split is also really beautiful and I’m happy I saw it, but I wouldn’t say you absolutely have to go there.
We ended up visiting a different island each day. Taking the ferry from Split, we spent one day on Brač island and another on Hvar. Both islands were absolutely incredible and I would absolutely recommend a visit to them! You don’t need to stay in Split to be able to take a ferry to the islands though and I actually think when we do visit Croatia again in the future, we’d like to spend on few nights on each island.
In my opinion, it’s worth dividing up your time between a few different places but I wouldn’t say it’s completely necessary to visit Split. The next islands on our list are Korčula and Vis!
Rent a scooter or quad bike on the islands
We learnt the hard way that public transport on the island isn’t as good as in Dubrovnik (the busses were so good there btw!). So, to save yourself some stress and a LOOOT of walking, just rent a bike for the day on each island.
The thing is, you want to be able to see as much of the island as possible (especially if you’re doing day trips like us) and when you’ve got a lot of ground to cover, many beaches to see and lots of space in between them all, walking is not the greatest option.
As we arrived on Brač island I found us a beautiful beach on Google maps that said it was a 25 minute walk (I enjoy walking and it’s always nice to walk on holiday too) but little did I know that the route was taking us on a main road with NO SIDEWALKS. I’m not exaggerating when I say we were slipping off the side of the road into bushes and sand, trying to remain as far as possible from passing cars (and people speed here). It really wasn’t a pleasant experience. The annoying thing though was that it didn’t seem like there was an easier walking route to this beach – most people had cars. This meant we had to do the walk back too! But it’s a memory and we survived to tell the tale.
Take a good pair of walking shoes
I knew we’d be walking in Croatia (as I’ve just mentioned) but the walking ended up being more than I expected. Don’t get me wrong, the public busses in Dubrovnik were really great, but on the islands there wasn’t much option in terms of transport (apart from the bike rentals).
And even with the help of good transport, many of the places you want to see are kind of hidden away; as in, you need to explore on foot to see more than you would in a car. But something else to note is that there are a lot of steep hills in Croatia! It sounds random but I feel like this is something I’d like to know beforehand. Wearing Primark’s 90p slip slops was not the one Funnily enough though, Pedro and I ended up buying Birkenstocks which are surprisingly tough and came in super handy when having so much walking to do. So, it’s good to know that you don’t need to rely on a solid pair of trainers but just make sure that whatever shoes or slip slops you do end up taking, that they’re solid enough to withstand some pressure!
Triple check your accommodation
Oh my goodness, this is a big one. Our Dubrovnik accommodations were soooo amazing (we stayed in two airbnbs) and both were really wonderful. Our Split accommodation on the other hand wasn’t great (read: it was horrible!)
Apparently when you move abroad and you travel, your first shitty accommodation experience is kind of like a rite of passage. If that’s the case, I hope there’ll be no more!
The worrying thing is that the reviews gave the place between 7.5 and 8 stars and had titles like “Exceptional”, “Amazing”, etc. so it seemed promising! Let me tell you, the front door had graffiti all over it, it was always unlocked (even when coming back at midnight), it smelt like a hospital, the bed felt like a blowup mattress with the worst fuzzy-feeling sheet and everything about it was just so off-putting. We didn’t spend much time in our rooms anyway because we wanted to make the most of every minute but it’s still a bit annoying coming back to a dingy place after a beautiful day.
I don’t want to name and shame the accommodation because I feel bad, especially after a dry spell due to Covid and I think the hosts were elderly. So, as much as I’d like to save people from this experience maybe just send me a message if you’re heading to Split and I’ll tell you the name so you can avoid it!
The water is cold
We were expecting the water to be warm like Greece, but it’s the Adriatic ocean and not the Mediterranean! I completely didn’t realise. So, here’s just a friendly PSA that Croatia’s sea is chilly when you get into it and more so if you feel the cold 10x worse than others, like me!
But as everyone annoyingly puts it “it’s not too bad once you’re in”, this is obviously true and on the really hot days it’s actually very nice to be properly cooled down (even if you get a shock for the first few moments you’re in!)
Overall, Croatia is an INCREDIBLE holiday destination and I would go back in a heartbeat! I loved everything about it, even the points I’ve semi-moaned about in this post; they all made the holiday memorable and truly adventurous. There’s really no other feeling like when the sun is hot on your skin, your hair has those beachy (somewhat tangled) vibes, your skin has some extra freckles and there’s not really a care in the world because it’s summer time and you’re exploring a new country. That pretty much sums up our summer holiday! Let me know if you’ve been to Croatia and what your favourite parts were!
