The Croatian part of our trip was scheduled as a “vacation” from the hectic pace of our travels — a cruise up the Adriatic Sea, where the most active part of our days involve swimming off the anchored boat, and walks around the port towns where the boat has docked. As a vacation from our adventure, it has not disappointed. My favorite part has been the other passengers we’ve met. They are an eclectic group: singles, families, retirees and students. They hail from a mini-U.N. of countries: Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Singapore, and the U.S. All are great travel companions, particularly the family from Amsterdam (originally South Africa) and the couple from Perth, Australia — all truly lovely and engaging people, and we’ve enjoyed sharing this part of our adventure alongside them.
Croatia was among the places I knew least well — history, geography, the people… just a blank slate to me. Part of the reason is that, since we are doing a cruise, I didn’t research specific cities, places to stay, things to do, etc. Our cruise started from Dubrovnik (which Game of Thrones fans would recognize, as much of the show was filmed there), and then went to two of the 1,200+ Croatian islands, Korcula and Hvar, before heading to Split, the last destination. Each place is beautiful — almost otherworldly — and feels like we are stepping back in time to the medieval age, architecturally at least.
Prior to our visit, I knew that Croatia was part of Yugoslavia following WW I (until the early 1991 when it regained independence), but I didn’t know there was a Kingdom of Croatia from around 925 to 1918, with an even longer active history dating back to the 4th Century B.C. (Chalk up my ignorance to the American “arrogance” of not teaching the histories of other countries (at least not those with whom we are not at war and/or significant trading partners).
The Boat: Our boat — the Lastavica (pronounced: Lah-stah-vitze) holds 30 passengers (2 per cabin, each with a bath/shower), plus crew. There are 27 passengers on our cruise. It is a beautiful boat. The kids share a cabin of their own, and there are decent common spaces for dining, drinking, sunning and just lounging.
The only significant “downside” was that our vessel docked each night alongside other boats arranged through the tour operator (Go Croatia Sail), and those boats were clearly the “party boats,” and occupied by college-age/young adults who were trying to pickle their livers and party as much and as loudly as possible each night. Aside from that, the overall cruise was great.
Dubrovnik: We flew from Munich to Dubrovnik on Aug. 5 — day 66 of our trip — which allowed us a day in town before checking into the boat. There is an “old town” with a wall that wraps around the city, which sits along the Dalmatian coast and the Adriatic Sea. It is a beautiful city with virtually all of its older buildings intact. It is (unfortunately) super touristy with Game of Thrones shops everywhere. We walked around the old city, and spent a fair chunk of our time at a bar (Buza Bar) located just above a cliff jumping spot (alcohol & cliff jumping: what could go wrong, right?!?). We didn’t bring our swimsuits, but watching all the younger people jumping, I had to try it — Max and Zoe thought I was kidding… I was not… and I dragged Max to join me. It doesn’t look very high up from the images, but the distance between the rock face/jump point and water is about 30-35 feet, which I can tell you is pretty daunting, until you take the first jump!
Cruising the Adriatic Sea: Cruising the Adriatic Sea is pretty breathtaking — the island scenery, the varying colors in the blue spectrum, the breeze/air and 80+ degree temps — its all just so peaceful and beautiful.
Korcula & Hvar: The two islands we sailed to are fairly similar in architecture and “feel.” I’m not giving each their due, but the photos below give a sense of each place.
Fun in the sun – everyday! Really, there isn’t much to say about our visit to Croatia, which isn’t already revealed in the images. We had the most fun at each day’s “swim stop,” jumping off the boat’s various levels, and floating around the Adriatic. While cliche, it is true that the pictures do not capture the beauty of the place or the experience.
Split: Our last stop was Split, Croatia. It shares similar architecture, history and culture with the other ports of call, but it is much larger with more “city” outside the “old town” center. It also has a great surrounding mountain range that reminded me of Cape Town and Table Mountain. We had no agenda while there, and just wandered the city and port areas, hitting the Diocletian Palace, old town, walking through markets, and up to a great overlook above the city.
Anthony Bourdain was right. On our last day, at a restaurant, we saw the following quote on the place mat, which rather succinctly sums things up…
If you haven’t been to Croatia, don’t be an idiot, … just go!
