This is only about two years overdue, but after four continents and a few dozen countries, I'm about to make a bold statement: Croatia is the best place I have ever been. Let me back track: Croatia is still a bit ass backward when it comes to tourism and transportation, but it's overall beauty, charm, price, and authenticity makes it top my list of the best places I have ever been.
1. The Kuna. Croatia is not
yet on the Euro, so their currency, the Kuna, is exchanged at a rate of 5:1 to the American dollar. We stayed in beautiful apartments with Ocean views or in the city center for less than $30US/night each. Beer is cheaper than water and we ate like kings and queens for pennies on the dollar.
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| The view from our apartment in Korcula. |
2. The beauty. Croatia shares the Adriatic Sea with Italy, so it has all the beauty of Italy without the crowds and pollution. Flying into Split reminded me of flying into Fiji: beautiful aqua blue waters with scattered islands and sailboats dotting the coastline. The Dalmatian coast is known for its beautiful beaches, most of which are rock beaches, which I think has a hand in keeping the water so crystal clear. In addition to the beaches, it also has beautiful vineyards, rolling hills, and ancient ruins.
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| I grew to love the pebble beaches in Split. |
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| Almost empty beaches in Split. |
3. No Crowds. Croatia also has one thing that major cities in Greece and Italy have almost lost: authenticity. The food, people, and sights almost feel untouched. With the exception of Dubrovnik cruise ships, we rarely saw other American tourist when we were visiting. We hiked up a mountain to see an old monastary built into the mountainside. It was truly incredible and we were the only ones there! We didn't even encounter any other tourists on our way up. It felt as if we had discovered it ourselves. And that's how most of Croatia feels: untouched and authentic.
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| Old town Korcula. |
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| Bike rides along the Adriatic coast! |
4. Seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We had the opportunity to visit two: Diocletians Palace in Split (which we stayed in! $30/night) and the Jewel of the Adriatic: Dubrovnik. We had the absolute pleasure of having no itinerary and it changed the way we travel. We spoke with our inn keepers and other travelers to put together our daily plans and it was so refreshing!
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| In the basement of Diocletian's Palace |
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| The city walls of Dubrovnik: The Jewel of the Adriatic |
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| Beautiful sunset at the port on Korcula island. |
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The view from the top of our hike to St. Jerome's Monestary
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5. It's so easy to get around!!! While on the island of Korcula we decided to fulfill Mary's bucket list
adventure of renting scooters and driving to remote beaches all around
the island. At first Mary was terrified and it wasn't all she had
envisioned, but she became comfortable with the scooter and Croatian
drivers and it turned out to be one of my favorite things we did on the
entire trip. We couldn't have planned it better if we tried. Also,
while in Dubrovnik, we took the advice of Milo, our inn keeper at Villa Klaic, to take a short ferry ride to the island of Lokrum for some rock jumping and swimming. I
look back on those memories so fondly and I consider it one of the best
days of my life that I shared with two of the best people I know.  |
| Frolicking in the water on the island of Lokrum. |
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| Scooter ride through vineyards to beaches. |
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| Life is wonderful. |
Overall, Croatia is a beautiful and magical place. We were met with nothing but kindness from the people we encountered, and met some great travel friends while we were there. If you want the beauty and beaches of Greece and the culture of Italy without the crowds or expense, I'd highly recommend you move Croatia up to the top of your bucket list!
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| Nickey, the Nyugen sisters, Mary and Hera (in front)! |
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