Croatia: A Country Full of Life

I have to admit- when we started planning our trip to Croatia I knew almost nothing about this country. It was pretty much put on our itinerary purely due to its convenient location from where we were coming from to where we were going. And it has a huge coastline right on the Adriatic Sea so it couldn’t be that bad, right?

I think the reason most North Americans haven’t historically traveled to Croatia is due to the fact the country was a war zone from 1991-1995 and has been rebuilding. I am here to tell you- Croatia is officially rebuilt and ready to show you an exciting, beautiful, historical time!

I think the pictures and videos will speak for themselves, but this is an incredibly unique place to visit with so much to offer. While the rest of Europe is in full force vacationing here, North America has taken a little longer to take notice. Croatia is considered a “New-Europe” travel location. Because it is a newer tourist spot it is still very reasonably priced, especially compared to places like Switzerland, Paris, London, Rome, etc.

We decided on spending our time in Split, Dubrovnik, and doing some waterfall chasing. We also were super excited about having our friends Molly and Kory join us for two weeks and loved experiencing this country with them.

Here are some of our favorite things about Croatia:

Cliff Jumping

This is definitely one for the courageous people. There were cliffs nearly everywhere there is a sea border to jump off. You had to hike a bit outside the city in Split for the cliffs. They were all over the place in Dubrovnik.

Kory ended up with a huge bruise from landing on the side of his leg from one of this jumps. I ended up with one as well- although not quite as bad since I was jumping from significantly lower than him.

And here is my crazy husband jumping from a cliff. One of the cliffs he jumped off we estimate is around 50 feet (15 meters).

Sailing the Dalmatian Islands

There are more than 1,000 islands off the coast of Croatia. No matter where you land on the 3,600 miles of coastline on the mainland, you will see mountainous, green islands in the distance. The main cities offer countless boats you can spend an affordable day hopping from island to island, checking out beaches, walking through the towns, snorkeling, eating fresh fish, and drinking Croatia wine and Karlovac beers.

Hiking in National Parks Full of Waterfalls

This is a great thing to do whether you are an expert hiker or more interested in taking a casual stroll. The paths to the waterfalls are very easy to get to with wooden planked walkways built for miles through these parks. We visited two different parks while we were here.

It is worth renting a car and spending a night or two in the area to slow down and appreciate all the parks have to offer. We stayed at the cutest Bed and Breakfast run by a family living across the street. We were surrounded by green rolling hills, everything we ate or drank while here was completely homemade, and our backyard was roaming with cows, roosters, and an adorable warthog. Here is where we stayed if you want to check it out: Pansion Izvor Bed and Breakfast

Plitvice Lakes National Park is the most well known place to find waterfalls in Croatia. There are many different trails you can choose from. We opted for Trail C which takes between 4-6 hours. We were able to see almost all of the park and got to ride a boat and a panoramic train which is all included in the price of your ticket.

The other park we visited is the Krka National Park. This is a much smaller park with less waterfalls- but still very beautiful.

This park also has one thing Plitvice does not have- a lake to swim in! You can barely make me out down there.

Ancient City Walls

Dubrovnik and Split have some of the very best ancient ruins still intact today. They both have the full walls still standing that were used to encompass the cities since the 8th century.

Dubrovnik’s old town is an enormous area with only two entrance/exits to get in and out from the wall the surrounds the city.

There were historically around 8,000 people who lived inside these walls. The walls reach as high as 82 feet at certain points and were built to protect the city right on the Adriatic Sea.

Split has a smaller old town city to walk through. There is a church tower you can climb up located within the walls to get a great view of the entire city.

Game of Thrones Filming Sites

There are many Game of Thrones tours in Dubrovnik given the old town is used as the Kings Landing, which is as I understand a very main city in the show.

GOT has in a way really put Dubrovnik on the map. Chad is really into this show so we did the tour while we were here. We took some pictures where some scenes were filmed in the show. The show normally starts filming here in September after the busy summer rush has died down.

Beautiful Beaches

I will start by warning all of the North Americans who are used to big sandy beaches- these beaches are MUCH more rocky than what we are used to. Nonetheless they are still beautiful.

There are breathtaking islands in the distance, clear blue turquoise water to swim in, and surrounded by enormous cliffs.

I will also say, while the rocks really hurt to walk on (I would highly recommend water shoes), they are actually pretty comfortable to lay on.

After all, when it’s 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) and the sun is beating down there is no better place to be than the beach.

Cable Car in Dubrovnik for City Views

The cable car is a wonderful way to see Dubrovnik from up high. The 5 minute car goes about 900 feet up the mountain to showcase some beautiful views of the city, water, and mountains.

There was also a restaurant at the top to chill out and take in the views over a refreshing drink or light lunch.

Split Riva Promenade

Split had a very accessible port with many large boats right on the base of the main city. There were countless small, mobile shops set up in between the palm trees and tons of restaurants with plenty of outdoor seating to take everything in.

Roadside Markets

If you drive through Croatia you will see tons of local farmers selling their crops and homemade goods on the side of the road. It’s a great opportunity to stop for a drive break and grab some goodies to enjoy with a beautiful view.

We went for the kiwi and strawberry juice!

All in all, Croatia was an amazing stop on our trip and we would highly recommend it. Cheers goodbye from our Croatian wine glasses 🙂